Amateur MMA tourney in Parañaque on April 30

For the entertainment of sports enthusiasts in the city, the Buhawi Martial Arts, in cooperation with the Parañaque City Government under the leadership of Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Jr will stage an amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament on April 30 at 7:00 P.M. at the parking grounds of Santana Grove in Brgy. San Antonio, this city.

Dubbed as the “1st Florencio Bernabe, Jr. Amateur Mixed Martial Arts”- “Hatawan sa Parañaque 2010!”, the tournament is expected to draw a big crowd. Bouts will be staged in pinweight, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and welterweight divisions with seven teams taking part in the tournament. There will also be a special bout between Welterweights Moon Si Yu and Curtis MacDonald.

Mixed Martial Arts gained popularity during the 90’s with rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) which influenced the creation of MMA organizations such as Strikeforce, Bellator MMA, Sengoku, DREAM, M1-Global and lesser known counterparts in the U.S.A., Canada and other countries. MMA fighters usually train in boxing, wrestling, jujitsu and Muay Thai to be well rounded in the matches.

“MMA is becoming one of the most popular sports worldwide and our constituents will now have an opportunity to see it first-hand.”, Mayor Jun Bernabe said.

The sports event is sanctioned by the Yawyan Mixed Martial Arts Association of the Philippines. It is coordinated by the Youth and Sports Development Office. Admission is free, courtesy of the city government and Buhawi Martial Arts. (Public Information Office)