Ana Julaton wins MMA debut at One FC Rise of Heroes

MANILA, Philippines (Updated) – Former boxing world champion Ana Julaton proved that prizefighters can succeed inside the cage as she thumped Aya Saeid Saber in her mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in the undercard of ONE FC: Rise of Heroes on Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The 33-year-old Filipina who was born and raised in San Francisco, California dropped heavy bombs on the Egyptian kickboxing practitioner to pick up the stoppage at 0:59 of the third round.

(IN PHOTOS: Ana Julaton wins MMA debut by KO)

Julaton’s first outing as an MMA combatant was not a walk in the park as the 5-foot-7 Saber went toe-to-toe with the two-inch smaller Pinay pugilist in the opening salvo.

Saber flaunted and blended her signature foot-strikes and takedown attempts to fend off her opponent, but Julaton relied on her boxing knowledge and extended her left arm for stiff jabs.

But “Sheklesa” sneaked her way to pacify the trade by dragging Julaton down to the mat and placed herself in side control while raring for a crucifix grasp.

Due to inactivity on the canvass, referee Oliver Coste restarted and put them back to feet, where Julaton clobbered with combinations and a quick takedown to end the first frame.

As Julaton swiftly gained the upper hand by pummeling her rival with jabs at the start of the second stanza, Saber barged with a double-leg takedown and fastened a deep guillotine choke.

The lady known as “Hurricane” was able to find the escape door by slamming Saber on the floor and plunged vindicating shots on the face to finish the round.

Saber obviously did not want to swap fists with Julaton as she utilized kicks to have the proper distance to grab the head for a pull down to the mat once again.

However, Julaton wisely overturned the grip to obtain a full mount and battered Saber with ground-and-pound that forced the third person in the cage to stop the match and award the technical knockout win.

Even though she showcased a remarkable performance in her initial MMA introduction, Julaton stressed that she is still uncertain with her future.

“As of now, I don’t know yet. I need to digest what’s happening. I’m still living in the moment,” she said in her post-fight interview.

Prior to her meeting with Saber in an MMA bout, Julaton pointed out that she is not turning her back on the sport that catapulted her to the pinnacle of success.

Promoted as a boxer by Allan Tremblay of Orion Sports Management in Canada, she has been booked to fight on May 29 and is hoping to challenge for a world title again this year.

On the other hand, Saber heads back to the losing territory and downgrades her professional record to 2-4.

Along with Julaton’s MMA triumph, two Filipino fighters were able to pull off impressive victories over their respective adversities in the preliminary card of ONE FC: Rise of Heroes.

Eugene Toquero wore down Malaysian prospect Gianni Subba with vicious strikes in the stand-up department and his never-been-seen ground mauling in three rounds to earn a unanimous verdict from the cageside officials.

The 5-foot-5 representative of Submission Sports Philippines revealed that his game plan focused on scoring takedowns while neutralizing his cage counterpart on the floor with hard blows.

“In my last fight [in ONE FC against Geje Eustaquio this past December], I was disappointed because my opponent kept on running. This time I made sure that I would get the fight I wanted,’” Toquero shared in Filipino.

Meanwhile, Jujeath Nagaowa overwhelmed seven-time Indian kickboxing champion Jeet Toshi with her punching prowess to force veteran middleman Oliver Coste to halt the contest at 1:17 of the second round. – Rappler.com