CONDUCTED BY JAY IGNACIO, SONG PRODUCER AND WRITER FOR CHEMICAL MAGAZINE AND ALIA VARGAS, PRODUCER OF THE SHOW GAMEPLAN. INTERVIEW WAS CARRIED OUT IN THE FIRST URCC – UNIVERSAL REALITY COMBAT CHALLENGE 2002.
(after freshening himself up in the showers, we can smell the manly cologne that cn make a woman follow him home)
Ignacio: hi Daniel, hope you have the time for a few questions.
Dandy: are you the NBI? I didn’t kill my opponent did I? (laugh)
I: no, he’s on his way to Manila Doctors. He’s having chills daw according to the medical team. We just want to ask you something about the fight, pwede ho ba?
D: Shoot!
I: can you pls. explain what happened in the ring?
D: which part?
I: both of you are lying down and holding each others legs, then suddenly you stood up leaving your opponent lying down in the canvas, and in pain. The next thing we know is that you won the fight. And the referee…
D: oh that one! I caught him in a heel hook. I caught him twice. The first time I got his ankle. I knew right away that it’s over because I felt and heard it popped out of the socket.
I: that was the time we noticed you were talking to the referee and…
D: exactly! I was telling the referee that “it popped out, it popped out, stop the fight!”
I: but your opponent did not tap out.
D: that was the most stupid thing to do. I know he felt the pain but decided not to give up. But as you saw earlier, I let go of the ankle after I dislocated it, did u see that?
I: yes, but the referee said continue fighting because he didn’t see what’s going on.
D: that’s right. So after I let go, my opponent kicked me right here (holding his rib cage). So I assured my hold once again so he can’t kick me.
I: so that explains why you grabbed his foot again. Now, I noticed that the referee does not want to stop the fight yet.
D: that is because my opponent is crazy not to tap out. When I heard that the knee popped out as well, I immediately stood u even without referee’s signal. Then I guess that was the time the ref understood what was going on.
I: can u blame the referee?
D: honestly, at first I did. But then again, I think the referee cannot perform his job well if the fighters are not coordinating. In fairness to the ref, he is also under pressure during that critical moment.
I: so, who’s fault was it?
D: my opponent’s! period!
I: going back to the beginning of the fight, you can’t seem to take him down…
D: because he has good background in Judo.
I: but it didn’t take you long and you finally put him on the ground. We were just amazed when you jumped on his shoulder, clipped his head, and… what the hell was that?
D: that was suppose to be flying arm bar. But I did that not to take his arm out. That’s the only way I thought would bring him to the ground with me.
I: I see… you tried a lot of holds but it didn’t work on him. You tried to choke him, get his arm…
D: he is intelligent and well versed. He defended himself very well and he fucking knows what I am about to do next. Every time I make a move, he seems to know what’s coming and he can block it even before I complete it. You were right, I tried to choke him, lock his head with my legs, get his arm, and I even tried to reverse the position. But that son-of-a-bitch just won’t let me do my thing.
I: then how did you manage to get his leg? It seems like a surprise to him.
D: the first few seconds of the fight, he tried to play his game (Dumog – is a Filipino wrestling style of fighting) on me, so I played Dumog with him. Then he switched to judo because I was trying to take him to the ground. I cannot play judo with him because if I do, he can surely throw me in the air.
I: and so, what was that you did when we saw you flew in the air and clipped his head? Acrobat?
D: (laughed a lot) that was a simple Japanese wrestling move (laughs again)
I: ok then, you were both in the ground now. But he was the one in control.
D: that’s ok with me. Because in the ground is where I want him to be.
I: and then you tried several submission holds that didn’t seem to work on him. Why so?
D: that was my mistake. I played his game for the first 2 minutes of the fight. Then when I can’t seem to apply my submission holds, I decided to switch my game. It’s a good thing I have with me a bag of tricks that I can use against him.
I: and how did you manage to get his leg? (I am curios as to how it really happened)
D: I switched to catch wrestling. It was a classic catch wrestling. I waited for the right moment and positioned myself in a way that I can reach for his leg. I continued making my moves just to make him believe that I’m still playing his game. And then… BOOM! Got his leg and started trapping that stinking foot.
I: from the time you got the leg… It took you only 2 seconds to break the foot. Can you say that he has weak ankle? And when you re-applied the hold, it took you only 1 second to break the knee. Can you say that he has weak knees?
D: you know, it takes only a split second to break any part of our body. If you know how to kill or silently assassinate someone, you will notice that a split second is all it takes. This is what we are sharing with the Philippine Marines. If you want to finish the job, finish it quick. Or else you won’t be able to wash your clothes at home and no time to cook dinner. So get you ass in the field, make a quick kill, then come home.
I: is it true that you practice breaking joints through a cow’s carcass?
D: I use to do that in my friend’s market in baguio. But I end up having a hard time cleaning my shirt. And most people stopped buying their meat because they find it too yucky, hearing it crack and then sell it to them, hahahaha!
I: yuck! Kadiri ka! Anyways, we noticed the presence of the Philippine Marines in the stadium. Do you have any plans of training these soldiers to fight in the ring next year?
D: definitely! As what every battalion knows, the good leader is the one who shows and lead his men to do the right things the right way. So this evening, I know they’ve see how freestyle fighting is done. Expect them to be present next year. I will give my full assistance to the marines in terms of training and conditioning. And of course knowledge.
I: now that you have once again showed the effectiveness of your system, what’s next for Mumbakki?
D: same as yesterday, and the days that passed. I need to concentrate more on the business because this season is the busiest time. As for fighting again… well… I enjoyed it. I might fight one more time (wide grin on his face).
I: any parting words?
D: be nice to strangers. You’ll never know who the real martial artists are.
UPDATE AFTER THE FIGHT: GERARDO CALAYCAY, MUMBAKKI’S OPPONENT WAS RUSHED TO MANILA DOCTORS HOSPITAL DUE TO “CHILLS” THAT WAS CAUSED BY INTERNAL DAMAGES AFTER TE DISLOCATION OF KNEE AND ANKLE JOINTS. MEDICAL TEAM SAID THAT THERE MIGHT BE OTHER DAMAGES THAT WERE NOT SEEN DURING THE POST FIGHT MEDICAL CHECK-UP. WHEN WE TRIED TO GET THE GAROTE CALAYCAY’S VIEW OF THE FIGHT, HE ONLY UTTERED A FEW WORDS:
(in his native dialect) I wish Mumbakki to train me for my future fights. Nakakatakot siya!
