Fight Corps MMA mainstay Dave “Kintas” Banguigui made his presence felt in ONE Championship after a hard-earned unanimous decision win against a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt at the historic Lum-pinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on weekend.
The 26-year-old Banguigui of La Trinidad, Benguet but hails from Bauko, Mountain Province has outwrestled fellow debutant Marcus Paulo Amaral of Brazil in his own game during the three five-minute rounds in the ONE Friday Fights 14.
While fans were expecting the Brazilian to bring the match to the mat, Almaral opened round one with some solid punches and kicks on his own before the Igorot warrior went for a takedown, as he scored points through elbows and body punches.
The second stanza was almost a same scenario in the first round, as Almaral landed leg kicks but Banguigui, who is reportedly a white belt in jiu jitsu, went for a powerful body slam before scoring points on the ground.
Knowing he is ahead in terms of points, Banguigui did not give Almaral an opportunity to execute his BJJ skills, as he again scored a single-leg takedown and then landed some heavy blows to the Brazilian’s ribs until the dying seconds of the last stanza.
Banguigui, who was accompanied by coach Nicho Tabora, improved his professional MMA record to nine wins against one loss.
To recall, Banguigui had two matches under the original ONE Warrior Series franchise hosted by ONE Vice President and Hall of Famer Rich Franklin in 2019.
He won both of his outings by finish, defeating India’s Susovan Ghosh by way of second-round knockout and then authoring a second-round submission of Brazil’s Alberto Correia. – Harley F. Palangchao
