Onra:September1st,2011

Hafa Adai,

On August 28th and 27th,2011 under the supervision of Mr. Larry Papadopoulos, aFILA Instructor and World Grappling & Pankration Committee member– 8 Participants from several Jiujitsu and mixed martial arts academies from around the island sat in for 2days of in-depth lectures on the various regulations, tournament procedures, refereeing systems, and on mat techniques to receive FILA Referee certifications in the courses of Pankration, No-G Grappling and Combat Grappling.

FOR THIS WEEKEND’s COMPETITORSWeighIns for the Guam Grappling Qualifiers for Cadets, Juniors and veterans will be on September 2nd, 2011 from 6pm to 8pm at the University of Guam Fieldhouse .On the next day the tournament will run at the same location from 10am-5pm

A big congratulations again goes out to Josh Calvo who submitted his opponent in just 34seconds of the first round in the main event of Rumble on the Ridge19 at the SnowqualmieCasino in Wahington on August 27th

It’s going to be another night of exciting fights on September 9th in the CNMI as 17 matches are scheduled for competition in Trench Wars’ Rites Of Passage 11: Onra on at Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Hall

It’s a paramount date for August 18th,2011 as The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a multi-year broadcast deal on in a joint press conference with FOX Sports bringing live MMA programming to FOX starting eary to mid November of this year. Coincidentally August 18th, 2011 marked the ten year anniversary for Guam’s first locally promoted MMA event Jungle Rules 1:War in the Pacific.

The 1st several editions of the UltimateFighting Championships introduced most of the island to the Octagon, and SuperBrawl did a great job of introducing Micronesia to live MMA entertainment with UOGFieldhouse sellout events . Arguably, however, it might have been our first locally-promoted event that really got the wheels turning in industry for a good part of Guam’s recent and accumulated combat sports ventures. .

It took a lot of work for infant promoters to gather fighters, sponsors, and fans and bring them to an event that sought out to deliver live MMA entertainment with local branding. It took almost just as much effort living up to the guidelines of a very-diffiicut-to-deal-with Guam Boxing and Wrestling Commision. But ultimately it was the collective efforts of our island’s faith and love for Mixed Martial Arts that filled the University of Guam Fieldhouse past capacity, with outstanding fights, and not one displaced incident of violence among the more than 4500 in attendance on that very eventful night.

Melchor Manibusan made his pro MMA ,debut, Kid Yamamoto fought on Guam, and and among many other things –the tone had been set in both fight talent and event choreography for local residents to take by the reigns and soar with the different potentials of live and local Mixed Martial Arts event promotions.

10years later and Its uplifting to see most of the major faces of that event today still so instrumental in the notable success that has come from this industry’s ventures since the arrival of that monumental event. Though they might be making different headlines, and happily to even larger numbers, our industry today is in the hands of a good supply of the experience and momentum filled from the efforts of those who have been involved from the get-go.

10 years have passed and this industry has endured many rough roads ranging from noteworthy gym rivalries, two questionnable professional competitive martial arts Commissions, the fall of some of our local champions, and many justified arguments towards local MMA’s legitimacy as sport…

10Years of controversy has passed yet among our defeats we have found even more victories defending local soil and in proudly representing our islands in faraway lands. 10years of controversy have passed and we have graduated above the though-still-existing gym rivalries and 10 years of controversy have passed for us to leave the priorities of identifying our island’s toughest man in the wakes of finding for our island a dignified position in the world arena.

10years of controversy has passed yet this gas tank is still full as Competitive Martila Arts continues to are cultivate a brotherhood with our neighboring islands, and we are still in many ways to promote locally and even to promote abroad to provide opportunity…

Opportunity for the promoters, opportunity for the athletes, and opportunity for a growing collection of fans to hopefully archive another ten years and more of even greater opportunity of more strength, and even more honor to the growing numbers that are hearing Guam’s voice and feeling the percussion of our anthem through our athletes more widespread and stronger than ever; our promoters, well-networked and more driven than before; and the goals hard-sought yet more accessible than believable… from this tiny dot in the Pacific.

Though we may never totally convince the masses of the legitimacy of this sport, though we may make many mistakes along the way—over the past ten years of controversy and for the ten years of controversy that even might be ahead, lets not forget that we have been able to and must continue to extract positivity from competitive combat sport and from professional mixed martial arts competition

Thanks, Respect, and Cheers for all who in one way or another are helping bring this vehicle forward. Obviously we still have a long way to go.

Great if just for the legitimacy of our sport, but additionally and even moreso, for the legacy of our islands.

Thanks for dropping by.