Team Goat Locker banners 10 bouts at UGB 8

MANILA, Philippines – With the drive to develop young talents from the grassroots level before heading them to the big leagues, Team Goat Locker staged the 8th installment of its amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) competition dubbed “Underground Battle” on Sunday, November 30 at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

The promotion was conceptualized by Goat Locker Gym owner Ferdie Munsayac in 2013 through a desire to spread the sport’s awareness to a wider audience and catapult local combatants into the mainstream MMA scene.

The 10-bout card was headlined by former professional boxer Jun Paderna locking horns with Jessie Salvador in a scheduled 3-round featherweight tussle.

Salvador, who had two unsuccessful outings under the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) banner as a pro before relegating himself back in the amateur ranks, pulled off an upset against Paderna as he submitted the 32-year-old Cebuano in the first round.

Paderna, who had a two-year run in URCC while simultaneously competing as a boxer, was taken down by Salvador in the opening proceedings of the contest and never got out of his opponent’s mount.

Battling for leverage on the mat, Salvador secured a rear view of Paderna and wasted no time latching on a body triangle.

The defenseless Paderna gave Salvador an opportunity to fasten a rear-naked choke, but he tried to defend and remove the dangerous submission hold.

With 6 seconds left in round one, Salvador tightly gripped the neck to give Paderna no alternative but to call the attention of referee Arnel Lomibao to halt the action.

“This win serves as a confidence booster on my part as a fighter. Jun Paderna is an experienced fighter as he had professional fights in both boxing and MMA. I really hope someday that I will have the chance to showcase my talent on a bigger MMA stage,” Salvador told Rappler.

In other matches, Arvin Chan knocked out Team Elorde Gilmore’s Don Socratis with ground and pound in the first frame.

Jaypee Espinosa of Team Goat Locker bowed down to Henry Yap Kobayashi’s Hybrid Yaw-Yan student John Vincent Miraflor via split decision.

Despite Espinosa’s disappointing setback, 3 of his colleagues were able to score submission victories at the aforementioned event.

Dan Doma forced Team Camba MMA’s Dhaner Palmario to wave the white flag with a rear-naked choke in the first round, while Dindo Camansa compelled 17-year-old Ezekiel Sanchez of Team Titans MMA to tap with an armbar in the last 10 seconds of round two.

In addition, Efren Benavidez submitted Team Yawsa MMA’s Diover Mangayaay with a first-round rear-naked choke in their planned 3-round bantamweight scuffle.

Meanwhile, Jovanie Bualan of Yaw-Yan Fervilleon thumped URCC veteran Janito Bayot with a guillotine choke in the first stanza.

Criz Aplicador, the teammate of Pacific Xtreme Combat fighter Rolando Gabriel Dy, thwarted Jaro Boxing Stable’s Marvin Dela Cruz by second-round technical knockout (TKO).

Underground Battle 8 also featured two Juego Todo matches, an armed Filipino combat practice that was incorporated with MMA rules and style of fighting.

Eman Sapaga defeated John Rio Ampo by second-round TKO, while Jessdan Dela Pena came out on top of Jesus Barcelo via doctor’s stoppage in round two. – Rappler.com