Saturday, March 14, 2015

Kapangan Native April Osenio Loses In Her Mixed Martial Arts Debut In Malaysia

April Osenio came up short last night when she made her mixed martial arts debut at the Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 20-year-old fighter who hails from Gadang in Kapangan, Benguet was submitted in the second round by her opponent, Kirstie Gannaway of Singapore. The two female combatants fought in the undercard of ONE Championship's Age of Champions event. With the win, Gannaway moves her record up to two wins and no loss.

Osenio took the fight on two weeks notice after Gannaway's original opponent Jujeath Nagaowa pulled out due to an injury. Going into fight night, Osenio was a considerable underdog because she has less experience and she's the smaller fighter. That is not to mention the fact that she took the fight as a replacement opponent.

Osenio opened the first round with guns blazing. She went for the attack, swinging wildly. Showing composure, Gannaway got hold of Osenio and pressed her to the cage. The fight went to the ground and turned into a grappling and wrestling match.

Gannaway controlled majority of the first round while they were on the ground. Osenio was able to reverse the position at least twice but Gannaway got the better of her with her submission attempts and occasional ground and pound. Gannaway was locking in an arm bar when the bell rang. You could say that Osenio was saved by the bell.

Unlike in the first stanza, the two fighters battled it out standing in the second. Osenio had her moments landing with her wild and looping shots but Gannaway took control of the fight as Osenio faded. When the bout went to the ground, Gannaway immediately worked for a rear-naked choke. Osenio had no choice but to tap out.

No doubt, it's a rocky start for the Team Lakay fighter. But she's young at only 20 years old and she still has a promising career ahead of her if she gets to get rid of the kinks in her striking and grappling game.
Kirstie Gannaway (left) and April Osenio (right) grapple on the first round of their fight. Photo by ONE Championship.
Talking of Team Lakay, two other fighters from the gym are fighting this coming May in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Roldan Sangcha-an will be fighting Jon delos Reyes while Mark Eddiva will be facing Alex White. The bouts are part of the UFC Fight Night Manila which will be held on May 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.