A mix of veterans and newcomers will square off tonight at the Baguio Convention Center for the first Kombat Taekwondo Philippines Open.
The nine bout fight card is the first professional taekwondo competition aimed to nurture and develop global taekwondo superstars who will be recognized and admired by the public, while simultaneously revolutionizing the entire sport.
Headlining the event is Philbert Juanito of La Trinidad, Benguet, who will go up against Low Hong Jac of Malaysia in the flyweight division while the co-main event will feature Johnwell Agalpao of Buguias will test the mettle of Raja Zulfadli of Singapore in the featherweight division.
Also in the co-main event is Dr. Joanne Bognadon taking on Brazil’s Nathalia Dinis in a lightweight contest.
Bognadon, a general practitioner in medicine and a registered nurse, started her taekwondo career since she was 10 and eventually shifted to mixed martial arts.
However, her love for taekwondo never waned despite her busy schedule as a doctor and won numerous contests including the 2013 and 2014 Taekwondo Championships.
It will be one of the most anticipated match – up of the evening as Bognadon’s opponent Dinis is also one of the top taekwondo fighters she will encounter, having won bronze medals in the Pan Am Open and Spain Open, ad was a two-time member of the Brazilian National Team and Amateur Athletic Union in the United States.
In other bouts, Filipino jin Teodoro Botis is set to take on Daniel Bin Jumari of Indonesia in a heavyweight contest while South Korean Go Sung Won will be going up against Yeil San Cancejo of the Philippines in the welterweight division.
Filipino Angelo Requillo and Kasbani Bin Kasmon of Malaysia will also be competing in the welterweight class while in the bantamweight division, Filipino Neil Gaerlan squares off with fellow Filipino jin Bench Villafuerte.
Enrile Amangao takes on Allan Dave Lana, also in the bantamweight division with Juztine Facsay tangles with Jhanna Lee Rosena in the finweight. Roderick Osis
