ARTESUAVE MANILA is all set for its third year! Happening on October 21-22, 2017 in Commercenter Alabang, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition and lifestyle expo is expected to draw in fighters and martial arts enthusiasts from all over the Philippines for high-level gi and no gi jiu-jitsu action over the two-day event.
“Given the success of the past two years of Artesuave Manila, which we owe of course to the support from the local BJJ and MMA community, making the decision to stage this event for 2017 was easy,” shares Leslie Tagle-Dinglasan, Vice President for Marketing of Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation, holding company of Commercenter Alabang.
“As the sport continues to grow locally, we’re looking forward to hosting a good number of new competitors,” she adds.
The Gi competition on October 21 is open to all White, Blue, and Purple Belt competitors, while the No Gi event on October 22 accepts Beginner and Advanced level grapplers from various BJJ and MMA gyms. Artesuave Manila follows the competition rules of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) except for one key tweak: advantage points were removed to reduce stalling and urge competitors to fight more aggressively.
Artesuave Manila is the first local event to introduce Superfights — ten-minute submission-only bouts — were headlined by notable names in local BJJ including Stephen Salazar (KMA-Fabricio), Myron Mangubat (DEFTAC-Ribeiro), Gian Dee (Atos), Oliver Domingo (KMA-Fabricio), and James Uy (DEFTAC-Ribeiro).
In 2016, Jam Cantos (DEFTAC-Ribeiro) and Kaila Napolis (Checkmat Philippines) battled it out in the event’s first female superfight, while next-generation fighters Uychoco Brothers (KMA-Fabricio) and Ceriola Brothers (DEFTAC-Ribeiro) made their mark by headlining the juvenile Superfights.
A number of elite names in Philippine MMA, alums of Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) and Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC), also graced Artesuave Manila mats: Drex “The T-Rex” Zamboanga, Andrew Benibe, Red Romero, Bernard “The Hitman” Soriano, Hideo “Death from Tokyo” Morikawa, Isaiah Ordiz, CJ “Golden Boy” De Tomas, and Gab “Dy Incredible” Dy. De Tomas and Dy both made their UFC debut this year in Singapore.
“We started Artesuave Manila to help grow the sport in the country by offering fighters a quality competition,” says Franco Rulloda, co-founder of event producer Triumvirate Fighting and himself a Brown Belt under DEFTAC-Ribeiro. “It gives us great pride that some of the athletes who fought on our mats have already made it to the international scene.”
Completing the unique event package is the lifestyle expo, which featured apparel and gear as well as nutrition brands that catered to combat sports practitioners.
Registration to Artesuave Manila 2017 runs from July 15 to October 14, 2017. Individual registration fee is PhP1,700.00 for both gi and no gi events, and a Group 4+1 Promo (PhP6,800.00 for five participants from a single team) is also offered within the same period. Information on the registration process, weight divisions, and competition rules are available on the Artesuave Manila Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/artesuavemanila).
About Artesuave Manila
Artesuave Manila is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu competition and lifestyle expo. Presented by Commercenter Alabang, in partnership with Triumvirate Fighting and Stratminds. The event is supported by Samsung (Official Technology Partner), Functional Fitness Performance Center, Supima Fitness, Ikiro Jiu-Jitsu, Noughts and Crosses, and Gatorade, and Media Partners WhenInManila.com and DojoDrifter.com.
About Commercenter Alabang
Commercenter Alabang is a community mall located in Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa owned and operated by Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation (PAEC). The lifestyle hub features a unique mix of shops and restaurants that cater to the distinct tastes of the South. Like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/commercenter) and follow them on Instagram (@commercenter) for more information.
