Eric Kelly Returns On November 30 At URCC 24 “Uprising”

After being out for 8 months, Eric “The Natural” Kelly, is hundred percent ready and healthy to return inside the URCC ring on November 30, 2013, at URCC 24 “Uprising” as he takes on a yet to be named undefeated Chinese fighter who according to some sources, has a 6-0 record.

The news was confirmed by Eric Kelly’s manager, Chef Ro.

Chef also told us that Kelly will fly to Macau to train for his up coming fight

Kelly has long been considered as the first homegrown Filipino fighter to be signed by the UFC. But all the high hopes for Kelly were smashed when Honorio “The Rock” Banario stopped him in the 4^th round of their world champioship fight at ONE FC 7 – Return of Warriors.

“The biggest mistake I made in my career was when I accepted to fight him (Banario) even though my eye injury is not completely healed”, said Kelly in a conversation with MMA Orient staff, Zike.

Now that his injury is all healed up, Kelly is pumped to redeem himself from his last fight when takes on an undefeated Chinese fighter as a main event bout of URCC 24 “Uprising”.

URCC 24 is set to go down on November 30, 2013, at the SMX Convention Center.

A heavyweight contest has been confirmed by URCC as Igor Subora, the current heavyweight champion, will defend his title for the first time against a former champion and a two-time SEA Games Wrestling Gold Medalist, Marcus Valda. This heavyweight contest is going to be interesting. A very accomplished grappler takes on a mammoth Ukranian fighter, who is on a roll.

Also, a rumored bantamweight championship match is said to take place as Team Lakay’s Dave “The Scarecrow” Galera will make his first title defense versus Submission Sport Philippines’ Reysaldo “Onyok” Transmonte.

*Update – Reliable sources confirmed that the Galera vs. Transmonte bout is off.

URCC 24 will also showcase the return of the former URCC featherweight king, Ali Khatibi. The DEFTAC standout aims to impress URCC fans after four years of not fighting inside the ring. Though his opponent is yet to be determined, Khatibi is preparing very well for his comeback fight and looks to reclaim his URCC title soon.

Here’s Our Interview With Team Lakay’s Rising Star, Dave “The Scarecrow” Galera

There comes a point in every fighter’s journey where they come in contact with that important moment in their career that defines who they are. Traveling along down his fight venture Dave “The Scarecrow” Galera is about to hit a pinnacle moment in his MMA career career as he gets the opportunity to fight for the interim bantamweight title belt at URCC 23 ‘Unrivaled’ in SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines.

A lifelong martial arts practitioner Galera has put many years into his training that has got him to where he is today. With this deep dedication in what he does there is no denying that he would be rewarded with many great accolades in his venture. Holding a perfect  record of 4-0, Dave Galera brings an exciting yet strategic approach in all of his fights. This method has equaled major success coming out victorious over all his opponents with the majority of the fights ending in the first round thus dubbing Galera as a rising sensation throughout his homeland.

Despite of being a massive bantamweight fighter with tremendous mentality of a warrior, Dave Galera is also known for his very impressive ground game. He is a purple belt under Charles Gracie and now trains in the Philippines at Team Lakay in Baguio City, Philippines.

He is set to take on a highly dangerous striker in Reydon “Red” Romero on April 27th at URCC 23, dubbed as “Unrivaled”, for the URCC interim bantamweight belt.

MMA Orient: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Galera:

My name is Dave Galera. You can call me, The Scarecrow. I was born in Santa Clara, California and raised in Baguio City. I’m a father of 2 beautiful girls Melissa Mae and Marisselle.

MMA Orient: How did you get into the sport?

Galera:

I started BJJ 2005 under Charles Gracie and moved back to Baguio City. Since then, I’ve been training with Coach Mark at Team Lakay.

MMA Orient: Who is your biggest inspiration?

Galera:

Well there are a few names: The Landslide, The Silencer, The Punisher, The Rock, The Slugger, The Machine… these guys motivates everyday.

MMA Orient: What’s the history behind your nickname “Scarecrow”?

Galera:

Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon named me, “The Scarecrow”, after I weighed in for a fight last year. He told me I looked like a scarecrow after cutting weight.

MMA Orient: You are training at Team Lakay, the most dominant fight team in the Philippines today. What is it like for you to be a part of fight team that includes One FC lightweight champ Honorio “The Rock” Banario, PXC bantamweight champ Crisanto “The Slugger” Pitpitunge, URCC and MCFC champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, URCC flyweight and pinweight champion, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon and Rey “The Punisher” Docyogen?

Galera:

I’m really blessed to be part of these guys’ Team. They’re not not just my training partners-I consider them family.

MMA Orient: Could you tell us more about Team Lakay’s Fighters Program and how it has elevated your overall game?

Galera:

Hardcore!

MMA Orient: How has being with Team Lakay changed you as a person and as a fighter?

Galera:

I became a better person in and out.

MMA Orient: You are an undefeated fighter with 4-0 record. You are coming off a very impressive submission win over one of the toughest bantamweights in the Philippines, Keiff Mangusan. There were controversies on that fight because some fans saw that when you first caught him with that triangle, he clearly tapped, but the referee didn’t saw it. But in the end, you still caught him using the same choke and he did tap. Tell us a bit about that fight.

Galera:

I know Keiff Mangusan as fighter. He is a good fighter. It’s a sport and sometimes we have to fight the same guys we know. Its part of the job. It was a good fight. I trained hard. I just had to prove it twice that I was a better fighter that night.

MMA Orient: You are a quite big for a bantamweight fighter. How much weight do you cut from walking around weight to fight weight and how that affects your strength and stamina the day of the fight?

Galera:

My walk-in weight is 74 kilos. Cutting weight is no joke, it affects pretty much my strength and stamina but, again, that’s part of the game. Professionals need to follow the rules and one of those is cutting weight.

MMA Orient: Your next fight will be in April at URCC 23 against Red Romero for the URCC interim bantamweight title. What do you know about Romero?

Galera:

Pretty impressive guy can’t say nothing bad about him.

MMA Orient: What holes do you see in his game?

Galera:

We’ll see what happens. It’s MMA.

MMA Orient: What can URCC fans expect from you on April against Romero?

Galera:

A good fight!

 MMA Orient: Any shoutouts?

Galera:

My number 1 fan Mariel, Family , XCV, Team Lakay, friends. Thank You GOD for the opportunity!

Egly Diaz vs. Will Chope To Headline URCC Baguio 5 “Unleashed”

Will “The Kill” Chope getting his hand raised after finishing Angelito “The Saint” Manguray via RNC at URCC 21. Photo by: Anton Tabuena of bloodyelbow.com

Two exciting and explosive featherweights will face each other at URCC 5 “Unleashed” scheduled on March 2nd, 2013 as heavy-handed Filipino warrior, Egly Diaz (4-0) will go up against the world’s tallest featherweight fighter, Will “The Kill” Chope.

In the co-main event of the evening, Team Lakay’s Roldan “The Executioner” Sangcha-an (4-0), fresh from his head kick KO win against Aslan Toktarbaev in Kazakhstan, battles Renan Ramos of Ground and Pound MMA.

URCC Baguio 5 also features some of the best up and coming fighters in the Philippines.

Dave “Scarecrow” Galera (3-0), a submission expert from Team Lakay, will be making his second appearance inside the URCC ring as he takes on a fellow dangerous grappler in Keiff Mangusan (3-2) of Tribal Sumbission.

Lito Adiwang (2-0), the youngest competitor of this event, will go up against Fernando Venus of Ground and Pound MMA. The 19-year-old Adiwang has been considered as one of the best up and coming MMA prospects Baguio City has ever produced and is ready to once again, entertain his hometown crowd.

Another Team Lakay fighter is poised to make his first URCC win on March 2nd as Tristan “Grim Reaper” Rebuyaco, who holds a perfect record of 3-0 will try to make a quick work of Armando Daligdig of Submission Sport.

URCC Baguio 5 “Unleased” Fight Card

1) Jonathan Corton (Lakay) vs Franklin Donglay (Torogi) 

2)  Stephen Loman (Lakay) vs Alvin Velasco (Torogi) 

3)  Kevin Yongaan (Tribal Submission) vs Jay Olod (Torogi) 

4)  Tristan Rebuyaco (Lakay) vs Armando Daligdig (Submission Sports) 

5)  Edmund Velasco (Torogi) vs Alexandro Anas (Highlands Gym)

6)  Dave Galera (Lakay) vs Keiff Mangusan (Tribal Submission)

7)  Lito Adiwang (Tribal Submission) vs Fernando Venus (Ground & Pound MMA)

8)  Robert Buminang (Highlands Gym) vs Florian Garel (Taiwan Top Team) 

9)  Roldan Sangchaan( Lakay) vs Renan Ramos (Ground & Pound MMA)

10) Egly Diaz (Tribal Submission) vs Will Chope (Phuket Top Team)