Julaton sets sights on MMA

If you were to ask Nacho Beristain, trainer of Juan Manuel Marquez, to predict the outcome of the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch on April 12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he’d tell you outright, without batting an eyelash, that Pacquiao would easily beat Bradley.

But in the same breath, he’d quickly follow up this statement with: “But the question is, will the judges make Pacquiao win?”

Beristain said Bradley didn’t really win over Pacquiao in their initial match in 2012, nor in his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last year, and even against Russian Ruslan Provodnikov.

Beristain said the judges will make Bradley win, “the same way they made Pacquiao win in his first three fights with Marquez.”

Which is short of saying that to beat the undefeated Bradley, Pacquiao will have to knock him out this April 12, the same way Marquez knocked out Pacquiao in their fourth encounter.

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Former WBO and IBA super bantamweight world champion Ana Julaton has been training in martial arts since she was 10 years old, but it wasn’t until lately that she took a very serious interest in the discipline.

So serious that she signed up with OneFC (Fighting Championship), which has scheduled her debut right here in the Philippines on May 2.

Raised in San Francisco, the Fil-Am who currently resides in Las Vegas, goes into her second sport of mixed martial arts armed with a black belt in taekwondo and in kenpo karate and the two titles in world boxing.

Ana told media she is “beyond thrilled” with her forthcoming debut in her new sport.

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“I have the background in traditional martial arts and I’ve always had an interest in UFC,” said the 33-year-old Julaton, who related that while training in Las Vegas, she got the chance to watch the MMA fights more closely and regularly.

“I saw many different options. In boxing you are limited to just your right and left hands. In MMA, I understand kicks; I understand the ground game. It was so intriguing being able to fight with all these tools, not just my hands.”

After her May 2 MMA debut here in Manila, Ana will return to boxing on May 29, “hopefully with a world title fight.”

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The PBA’s 2013 MVP Arwind Santos had been running a fever for three straight days, he almost begged off from playing in the All-Stars this weekend.

The fever was caused by inflamed tonsils.

“I was ready to give notice Saturday morning when I woke up. However, I noticed that my fever was gone and I could swallow without pain. I immediately put the phone down, soaked under the early morning sun for some energy, and ate a hearty breakfast. I decided I was well and strong enough to suit up for today’s game against Gilas,”  said Arwind, who teams up with James Yap, Greg Slaughter, Mac Baracael, Mark Barroca, Ian Sangalang, Calvin Abueva, Marcio Lassiter, Joe Devance, Niño Canaleta, Chris Ellis and Sonny Thoss in the All-Star squad.