Happy International Women's Month: Pinay MMA to Feature Prominenty This March

Hot on the heels of Filipina-American mixed martial artist Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton making a successful return to boxing with a dominant performance over Yolanda Segura, a victory of which possibly sets her up for a future bout with IBF super bantamweight women's champion Yulihan Alejandra Luna Ávila, Filipina competitors look to further their success during this year's International Women's Month.

April Osenio Makes Professional MMA Debut

© ONE Championship

First up is the professional mixed martial arts debut of April Osenio at ONE Championship: Age of Champions. Osenio, an accomplished Wushu and grappling champion, will face Kirstie Gannaway in a three-round atomweight bout. While Osenio has yet to gain experience in the professional ranks, and Gannaway has only one pro-fight and victory under her belt, the bout proves interesting for a number of reasons.

First are the training teams the two fight out of. Osenio has been training for years under Team Lakay, considered by many to be the best MMA team in the Philippines. Notable team members include the long-time face of Philippine MMA Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang, first ever ONE Championship Featherweight Champion Honorio "The Rock" Banario, and rising Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Mark Eddiva.

Gannaway on the other hand, trains at Evolve MMA. Based in Singapore, it is one of Asia's most recognized gyms, and has been the sight of training camps for MMA luminaries like DREAM and ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki, ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, and former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. Evolve is also the current home Filipino-American fighter and new ONE Championship bantamweight Mark "Mugen" Striegl.

The other intriguing aspect is how Osenio came in as a replacement for Jujeath "Bad Girl" Nagaowa. The latter was Gannaway's original opponent but had to bow out due to injury. With Nagaowa an accomplished boxer turned MMA-pro, it will be interesting how Gannaway adjusted preparing for Nagaowa to Osenio. It will be similarly intriguing how much Osenio has learned from her highly touted coaches and teammates.

For more on April Osenio's pro debut and how to watch, visit ONEFC.com.


The Veloxity Movement Hosts Veloxity FC 1: Stigma

© Veloxity Movement

The Veloxity Movement, or VMove, a women empowerment organization using sports as a catalyst for social change, hosts its first MMA-centered event with Veloxity FC 1: Stigma.

Happening on March 15th at the Fishermall Activity Center in Quezon City, Stigma is an all-female MMA event. It will have participants from many of the Philippines top training facilities, including Team Lakay, Hybrid Yaw-Yan, Team Goatlocker, and Submission Sports Philippines, just to name a few.

The day before the all-female MMA event will be the Velocity Fit Fest. Also held at the Fishermall Activity Center, it will feature a self-defense demonstration and the official weigh-ins for the competitors in Stigma.

© Veloxity Movement

Veloxity Movement describes itself as an organization whose "core advocacy is to encourage active community participation and engagement towards ending violence against women and girls while creating positive changes to existing harmful athletic gender stereotypes and fostering safe athletic environments." They look to take the first steps towards that advocacy in Veloxity FC 1: Stigma, their first of what hopes to be many successful events.

To learn more about the Veloxity Movement, visit VeloxityWoman.com.