In the span of four weeks, a third homegrown talent will don the signature Philippine tri-colors on the ONE Friday Fights stage.
Representing the Baguio City-based Fight Corps MMA, Dave “Kintas” Bangguigui is slated to lock horns with Uzbekistan’s Sanzhar Zakirov in a three-round strawweight encounter at ONE Friday Fights 28 on August 11.
Originally hailing from La Trinidad, Benguet, Bangguigui holds a professional record of 9-1 with four wins via knockout and two by way of submission.
Following a two-bout stint under Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series in 2019, the 26-year-old Filipino standout realized his dream of competing on the main roster of The Home of Martial Arts this past April when he took on Brazil’s Marcus Paulo Amaral.
Bangguigui defied expectations, turning to his wrestling-heavy offense for the majority of the regulation to soundly beat Amaral by unanimous decision.
“Kintas” faces another stern test in his next assignment as Zakirov possesses an unblemished standing of 5-0 with an 80-percent finishing rate.
Moreover, the Uzbek debutant has won his last four outings by either knockout or submission and will be looking to keep that streak intact when he squares off with Bangguigui.
Meanwhile, Bangguigui will seek to sustain the momentum established by Team Lakay members Carlos “The Limitless” Alvarez and Carlo “The Bull” Bumina-ang under the ONE Friday Fights banner.
Alvarez defeated Sadegh Ghasemi back in July to raise his ONE Friday Fights standing to 2-0, while Bumina-ang accomplished a scintillating 52-second knockout of Reza Saedi last August 4.
Fight Game Asia 