Yaw-Yan sets the stage for ‘CEFL: Respect’ card

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu fight fans will be treated to another explosive mixed martial arts and kickboxing show as Yaw-Yan Ardigma Cebu Martial Arts stages the seventh edition of the Cebu Extreme Fight League dubbed as 'Respect' on August 26 at the Yaw-Yan Headquarters located at the 4th floor of Coast Pacific Downtown Center just across the UC-Main Campus along Sanciangko Street, Cebu City.

Unlike the past editions of the tournament, Yaw-Yan ArDigma Cebu founder and Vis-Min director Master Benigno ‘Ekin’ R. Caniga said the event will focus only on amateur fighters.

"We had professional fights in the previous CEFL cards, but  we will now focus on the up and coming amateur fighters because we want it to be a developmental league," said Master Ekin. "CEFL will be the starting ground for these warriors for the bigger stage and that is when they turn pro."

The main event features a showdown between a grappler and a striker, with Cipoz 'Aquaman' Guadez of CITI BJJ trying to assert his mastery in jiujitsu against Tonix 'Silent Killer' Borres of JB Dream Fitness Gym in a bantamweight match.

The rest of the card is yet to be finalized but Master Ekin said they will have nine MMA bouts and three kickboxing matches in the preliminaries.

In MMA, amateur fighters will deal with a four-minute per round during bouts, shorter than the five-minute per round used in the pro. The competitors will use a standard MMA gloves and will not wear a headgear.

The weight classes to be contested are the strawweight (115 lbs.), flyweight (125 lbs.), bantamweight (135 lbs.) featherweight (145 lbss.) and lightweight (155 lbs.). There will also be special categories for women and kids. (FREEMAN)