Hurricane out to blow foe away

MANILA, Philippines - The Hurricane made landfall the other night as Fil-Am mixed martial arts fighter and former WBO/IBA superbantamweight female champion Ana Julaton arrived in Manila from Las Vegas to keep her appointment with Egypt’s Walaa Abbas in the blockbuster ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY extravaganza at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.

It will be Julaton’s second MMA fight in Manila and she promises a performance that will upstage her third round stoppage of another Egyptian Saeid Saber here last May. Julaton, nicknamed the Hurricane, intends to bounce back strong after losing a disputed split decision to Malaysia’s Ann Osman in Dubai last August.

Julaton, 34, has temporarily put on hold her campaign in professional boxing to focus on MMA. But she’s not closing the door on a return particularly if plans push through to fight for a world title in a future Top Rank event. Julaton has repeatedly called out WBA titlist Yesica Marcos for a rematch but the Argentinian continues to play deaf. In 2012, Julaton fought under hostile conditions in Mendoza, Argentina, and lost her crown to Marcos on points. Julaton remains the only fighter to knock down the unbeaten Marcos.

To prepare for Abbas, Julaton contracted the services of MMA coach Ricky Lundell, a 28-year-old second degree Gracie jiujitsu black belter and a former US national team wrestler. She’s determined to wipe out the nightmarish memory of her loss to Osman.

“I felt I won that fight (against Osman) and many people agree,” said Julaton. “Honestly, my mentality was more within the boxing rules set and focused more in damaging my opponent rather than the technical scoring aspects of MMA. One judge definitely agreed that I won that fight and many around the world who saw it agrees because I nearly knocked her out and she just held on to run the clock out. I just need to learn a little bit more about the MMA game.”

Julaton said the setback won’t deter her campaign to capture a world title under the ONE FC banner. “After reassessing what happened, I now understand what I need to improve in this sport, that I need to surround myself with the right team experienced in MMA which led me and my head boxing and striking coach Angelo Reyes, Freddie Roach’s wing man for all my professional fights, to Ricky Lundell, the youngest American to ever receive a Brazilian black belt through the Helio Gracie lineage, a multiple grappling world champion, a Division I collegiate wrestler mentored by Cael Sanderson, the greatest American wrestler of all time. Ricky is the best MMA coach in the sport. Angelo has now become his trusted striking coach, proving further that everything happens for a reason.”

Julaton said Lundell and Reyes devised a gameplan where she can utilize her skills to the max against Abbas. “In such a short amount of time, I’ve learned so much and I have more to learn and I’m confident with what I’ve learned so far, it’s going to be fun on Friday,” she said.

Julaton said she hopes WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will be at ringside for her bout. She was one of the few experts who predicted a tactical fight in Pacquiao’s recent win over Chris Algieri in Macau and a victory by unanimous decision. “I hope Manny will be in the front row at my fight since he now owns a part of ONE FC,” said Julaton. “To all my kababayan across the world, you all give me the strength to lift me up when I’m down and you’ve always stood by my side throughout my journey in fighting as a Filipina in a male-dominated sport such as boxing and MMA. Thank you very much for your support. I promise to fight with all my heart both in boxing and MMA.”

Julaton said in a rematch with Marcos, she’ll make sure of the outcome. “Many people want to see me fight both Marcos and (WBC champion) Jackie (Nava),” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m not a promoter so I feel Marcos will never give me the rematch I rightfully deserve. To this day, I’m the only person to ever seriously hurt Marcos and I honestly believe I would knock her out if we ever had a rematch. I’m sure they know this also.”

Marcos, 28, has a 25-0-2 record, with nine KOs. Since facing Julaton, she has logged seven fights, winning six and drawing one. Last month, Marcos stopped challenger Estrella Valverde of Mexico in a single round in Argentina where she has fought all her bouts.

Another target for Julaton is Nava, a 34-year-old Mexican with a 30-4-3 record, including 13 KOs. “I have the highest respect for Jackie as a boxer because I know how difficult it is to stay No. 1 and she’s been able to do that for a long time,” said Julaton. “I would love to have that match and hopefully, 2015 will be the year when it happens.” Still another target is Lisa Brown who outpointed and bloodied Julaton in an Ontario brawl in 2010. Brown, 43, is coming off a win over Amanda Beaudin. In 2012, Nava stopped Brown in the third round to retain her world crown.

Julaton’s record as a professional boxer is 13-4-1, with 2 KOs. In November last year, she decisioned Mexican Perla Hernandez in the Yucatan peninsula. She hasn’t since figured in a professional boxing match. Julaton launched her MMA career with ONE FC last May and is now 1-1 in her “other” sport.

But first things first. Julaton has to take care of Abbas on Friday. The Egyptian is out to avenge her compatriot Saber’s loss to Julaton. Abbas is an Egyptian kickboxing champion and known for her striking skills. She is fresh from notching two straight wins and will provide a big test for Julaton.