Eros Baluyot chases UFC dream in Macau: 'This was always the plan'

Everything Eros Baluyot has prepared for his entire life will face its ultimate litmus test this Friday, May 29, when he enters the Octagon at the Galaxy Arena in Macau for Road to UFC Season 5.

Known primarily as an elite grappler, transitioning to mixed martial arts was always the end game for the 33-year-old Manila native. Now, with a life-changing UFC contract on the line, Baluyot is stepping into the definitive proving ground for his life's work.

“Ang goal ko naman originally kaya ako nag-start ng wrestling at jiu-jitsu para pumasok ng MMA,” Baluyot told GMA News Online. “Pero naiintindihan ko na hindi tayo pwedeng pumasok agad at the very beginning.”

“So ayun, nagbabad muna ako sa wrestling tapos mas nagbabad ako sa jiu-jitsu. Noong time na yon, 10 years akong actively nag-compete, lumalim ako sa jiu-jitsu.”

(“My original goal when I started wrestling and jiu-jitsu was always to transition to MMA. But I understood that I couldn't just jump straight into it at the very beginning. So I immersed myself in wrestling first, and then even deeper into jiu-jitsu. During that time, I actively competed for 10 years, which allowed me to really deepen my jiu-jitsu roots.”)

Baluyot is aware that by traditional standards, his professional MMA journey started late. Kickstarting his career at 30 years old in December 2022, he has since defied the clock, racking up a pristine 7-0 professional record.

Come Friday night, he will square off against a mirror image of himself—Japan's Takeru Uchida (8-2).

While the 23-year-old Uchida is a decade his junior, the Japanese prospect boasts only one more professional victory than Baluyot. Like the Filipino, Uchida prefers taking care of business on the canvas, with all eight of his wins coming by way of submission.

“Pareho ang strengths namin,” Baluyot pointed out. “At the same time, ngayon palakasan kami [maghanap] ng weakness.”

(“We have the exact same strengths. Right now, it's a race to see who can exploit the other's weakness first.”)

“At bata siya ng 10 years sa akin, 8-2 record niya. Mga panalo niya, submissions; yung dalawang talo niya, submissions din. So ang trabaho natin sa May 29, i-expose siya at i-showcase yung overall skillset na wino-work ko ngayon.”

(“He’s 10 years younger than me with an 8-2 record. All his wins are by submission, but his only two losses were also via submission. My job on May 29 is to expose that and showcase the overall skillset I’ve been developing.”)

In terms of pure grappling, Baluyot holds the undeniable edge. Having trained in wrestling since the age of 12 and Brazilian jiu-jitsu by 15, the Filipino possesses over a decade's worth of mat experience over Uchida.

Yet, Baluyot refuses to let seniority breed complacency. He acknowledges that when it comes to inside-the-cage maturity, the advantage belongs to Uchida.

“Meron akong total ng seven fights sa MMA pa lang. Pero kay Takeru Uchida, sa MMA combining yung amateur and professional record niya, mas mahaba yung mileage niya compared sa akin. Kumbaga ako pa rin yung lalabas na underdog dito sa laban.”

(“I only have seven fights in MMA. But when you combine Takeru Uchida’s amateur and professional records, he has far more mileage than me. In a lot of ways, I am still the underdog in this fight.”)

However, that is a label Baluyot wears gladly as he prepares to step onto the global stage.

“Being an underdog, gusto ko yun kasi yun yung nagbibigay sa akin ng fuel na mas mag-perform better, mas i-showcase yung skillset na meron ako na hindi pa nakikita ng karamihan.”

(“I like being the underdog because it fuels me to perform better, to showcase a deeper skillset that the majority of the world hasn't seen from me yet.”)

—JMB, GMA News