We haven’t been a particular fan of Mixed Martial Arts and the various forms it has taken in recent years with a proliferation of organizations and competition formats.
That’s until we met with Ferdie Munsayac, USB MMA founder and president and fight promoter who was introduced to us by Floyd Mayweather’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza who also works with some MMA fighters.
What struck us about Ferdie Munsayac was his unbridled passion for what he does.
But to us the more significant aspect of his involvement in promoting events – something like 18 in the past two years –is the underlying care and concern for the Filipino fighters who are only now getting the attention they deserve and the opportunities to progress and to earn so they could improve the quality of their lives.
A retired US Navy chief, Ferdinand Abadilla Munsayac says his primary goal is “to help the young, poverty-stricken but skilled boxers/Muay Thai/ Jiu Jitsu and MMA fighters develop their craft so that they would be able to provide a brighter future anchored on the advocacy – “Beating Up Poverty” which in itself is a commendable goal.
Slogans in sports events are generally fashioned to attract the attention of fans similar to the Ali-Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” or the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” or more recently the May 2, 2015 “Fight of the Century” between unbeaten, pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr and eight division world champion.Manny Pacquiao.
There are times sports promoters deliver on their slogans while at times they don’t, not necessarily through their fault.
What struck us about Ferdie Magsayoc was his deep sense of his Filipino heritage which he has reflected alongside his fundamental mission, not just to grow the UGB MMA Brand but to reinforce his commitment to the Filipino fighters most of whom, like Pacquiao in boxing, come from the fringes of poverty-stricken family backgrounds.
Ferdie talks with measured tones and a deep sense of commitment which underline such slogans as “Para sa FIGHTERS, dahil sa FIGHTERS” and “Ang Gym ng MAHIRAP na may PANGARAP!”
Viva Sports which is best known for its weekly, top-rating boxing show “The Main Event” which is telecast on Pinoy Box Office over Sky Cable at 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays with a replay on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. will venture into its first coverage of the January 22 Underground Battle MMA “Foreign Invasion” headlined by the middleweight battle between Brad Robinson of the United States and Mark Palomar of the Philippines and two supporting main events in which Rodian Menchavez of the Philippines faces Ahmed Mujtaba of Pakistan in a featherweight clash while another Pakistani Uloomi Karim faces off with hometown boy Michael Mondragon and nine other supporting bouts which are expected to thrill the rapidly growing MMA fan-base.
The obvious success achieved by Ferdinand Munsayac in his efforts are reflected in the recent signing of a strategic agreement between World Series of Fighting Global Championships and UGB Mixed Martial Arts.
WSOF-GC president Shawn Wright described the breakthrough agreement as “the first step down an exciting road for us.”
As comparative newcomers to the sport, we ourselves and Viva Sports hope it will be just as exciting for us and will provide us with the opportunity to capture and convey the excitement of the first event scheduled at the Makati Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. on January 22.
As we know MMA attracts a huge audience among young men and women. The fact that Ferdinand Munsayac was able to excite a fundamental purist like us at 80 years of age tells you something about the passion with which Ferdinand infected us.