Combat Archives

UFC Fight Night 106 — Fumbling in Fortaleza

Mixed Martial Arts | 13 March 2017

This is an interesting card, filled with some recognizable names. Many of them have past glories, while some were seemingly destined for glory but had gotten into slumps. Being in this Fight Night card means they’re still hanging on as UFC fighters, but most of them have been backed to a corner as far as their careers are concerned. Some may be questioning why they’re still doing it, while some may even be contemplating retirement. However, most of them are just trying to get back on the winning side of things, and winning in UFC Fight Night 106 could turn things around. (more…)

UFC 209 — Dark Cloud with a Silver Lining

by: Sonny Go

Mixed Martial Arts | 08 March 2017

Well, this one was weird. There could’ve been a lot of things done right here, but it just unraveled. UFC 209 was so unlucky, I thought that bad luck would pass onto me, so I didn’t immediately watch this event live. Actually, my net was being poop during that time. But there was no way I couldn’t write about this because the pre-fight developments were more interesting than much of the event itself. That’s just too bad; if only this were a Fight Night instead. (more…)

Haye-Bellew and Thurman-Garcia Double-header

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 07 March 2017

David Haye vs. Tony Bellew, Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia

It’s quite the weekend with two good boxing cards and one slightly disappointing UFC card. That just shows that boxing isn’t dead and the UFC isn’t always the bee’s knees, even when the casuals can’t agree. (But what do they know?) The first one ended weirdly, while the second one lived up to my expectations, so I guess it was a mixed bag of sorts. While neither were superfights like Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, they were definitely more exciting to watch. (more…)

Pacquiao vs. Khan Preview — A Flash of Lightning

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Opinion | 26 February 2017

With apparent confirmation of the deal for a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates, which can happen as soon as April of this year, I thought the whole thing was interesting and had started writing notes about the match-up while the news was still just rumors in the periphery. What particularly intrigues me with Pacquiao vs. Khan is their similarities and differences coming in as it’s not the usual young vs. old match-up like Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman. (more…)

Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bobby Gunn and Other Dumpster Fires

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Opinion | 25 February 2017

A week ago, I saw my Facebook news feed filled with posts about this boxing match I didn’t hear about. Roy Jones Jr., who is pushing 50, fought someone I’ve heard of in recent times—Bobby Gunn. He has been running around as the “sanctioned” modern-day bare-knuckle boxing champion with a supposedly flawless record. As always, I raised a proverbial eyebrow at this since “bare-knuckle boxing” has been tossed around as a tough guy thing since forever. (more…)

UFC Fight Night 105 — Struggle for Relevance

by: Sonny Go

Mixed Martial Arts | 21 February 2017

The main story in this UFC Fight Night Halifax card is of two bearded and balding former top contenders who used to be the scariest fighters in the UFC but are now languishing and potentially in danger of being released from the UFC. Their falls from grace had been mostly due to what fans perceive as personal failings and ill-advised decisions taken during their period of relevance. They now have to fight for survival in a UFC Fight Night card. (more…)

UFC 208 — The Bell is Supposed to Save You

by: Sonny Go

Mixed Martial Arts | 13 February 2017

In what seems to be the very first official post I’ve published here on the blog that’s related to combat sports, I might as well talk about the last two UFC events as of this writing—UFC Fight Night 104 and UFC 208. While most of the focus of this post is on the latter, I thought I should still talk about the former since it was actually pretty good. Hopefully, this becomes a regular thing and I write a post after every MMA, boxing, kickboxing, or whatever event I get to watch. (more…)

7 Great Documentaries About Muhammad Ali

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Lists | 10 July 2016

It has been over a month since his passing and I felt the need to share some of the material that helped me know more about Muhammad Ali as a person. Being someone who was born when he was already well past his boxing days, the only thing I could really do was watch his matches, interviews, and documentaries about his life during my formative years in the 2000s. I was able to do so with the power of the Internet, and it helped me appreciate and learn from such a remarkable man, both in and out of the ring. (more…)

Muhammad Ali and How Manila Ain’t Vanilla

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Philippines, Vlogs | 09 June 2016

Muhammad Ali and How Manila Ain't Vanilla [Vlog] | Avoiderdragon

On the very day of Muhammad Ali’s passing, I knew I had to come out with a vlog on his legacy and his influence on me. However, what came out wasn’t just a straight-up video of me talking about him. I connected the dots between him, The Thrilla in Manila, and local politics then and now since it involved Ferdinand Marcos. I figured that since Muhammad Ali wasn’t shy with talking about socio-political issues in his day, then I give it a bash myself. (more…)

5 Boxing Matches Better than Mayweather vs Pacquiao

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Lists | 03 June 2015

This is the first proper post in this website on combat sports (the only sports I’ll ever write about here), which is something I have immense passion for. In this occasion, let’s talk about something that temporarily made the Philippines the top producer of salt in the world. It has been a month since the so-called “Fight of the Century”—Mayweather vs. Pacquiao—an over-hyped pay-per-view that should have happened 5 years before that has already proven to be forgettable. The reason why it happened is because it just had to happen and for the money. But that doesn’t mean boxing is a dead sport; not by a long shot. (To hell with those who do think so.) (more…)

Playing “Lame”: On Hitting and Not Getting Hit

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Esports, Essays, History, Video Games | 08 May 2015

Since the fallout of the so-called “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather due to how the latter won, which drew minimal amount of excitement in the actual match compared to how much hype it created, I had to finish writing this post sooner than planned. I had planned to talk about cheese and unpredictable play first, but it seems that lame play is more in vogue at this moment, so here’s a look into it from different angles. (more…)

Criticals and No Scopes: Breaking Down the Lucky Shot

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Esports, Opinion, Video Games | 03 May 2015

This has been on my checklist for a long time now, even before I posted “The Apparent Dichotomy of Skill and Luck in Games” that tackles the topic of how different games are affected by different levels of skill and luck. This time, it’s all about luck, or more of the false perception of luck in various instances when victory comes from a seemingly unlikely instance. Most people would call them “lucky shots” — many of which are not as lucky as they would like to think. This may be a new flash to some people, but they can be practiced. (more…)