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BACOLOD City – Mixed martial artist Rocky “The Outlaw” Batolbatol, who was set to fight in ONE Championship’s inaugural event in Malaysia, died after getting hit by a taxi in Cagayan de Oro on Sunday.
The bantamweight fighter – a native of this city – and cousin Geinar Ponce were declared “dead on arrival” at the J.R. Borja General Hospital.
Batolbatol was supposed to fight in Surabaya, Indonesia on July 29, but the event got postponed due to logistical issues.
The 32-year-old was last seen in a ONE Championship cage in May last year, when he faced Singaporean prospect Christian Lee and lost.
Batolbatol and Ponce were walking along Gusa Highway around 12:30 a.m. when they were “accidentally bumped” by a taxi driven by Jerson Bersabal, according to the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office.
The incident happened right in front of the Capitol University Medical Hospital, a private hospital, but the cousins were instead taken to the J.R. Borja General Hospital, more than 5 kilometers away.
A former professional boxer, Batolbatol amassed a 5-3 professional record – with two spectacular knockout wins and one impressive submission victory – over his six-year MMA career.
Prior to ONE Championship, Batolbatol won five straight MMA fights – against Elmer Tortogo, Erving Mosico and Darl Laurel, and twice against Johnjier Edu Torbiso.
In his boxing days from 2004 to 2007, he had three career matches – a victory over Alvin Gonzales and defeats to Agapito Bulima and Darryl Pucdol.
Also known as “The Outlaw,” Batolbatol was supposed to face Indonesian combatant “The Terminator” Sunoto on the undercard of ONE: Conquest of Kings at the GOR Kertajaya Arena in the Indonesian capital of East Java.
ONE Championship victory was elusive for Batolbatol. In his November 2014 promotional debut, he suffered a second-round submission loss at the hands of Australian standout Martin Nguyen.
He encountered the same fate in his second ONE Championship outing, tasting a first-round submission defeat to Dutch-Indonesian journeyman Anthony “Archangel” Engelen in February 2016. And then came the loss to Lee.
But Batolbatol was determined to break his three-match losing skid.
“I am back! I am so excited to be back in action for ONE Championship, the Asian leader of martial arts and the premier MMA promotion in the region,” he was earlier quoted as saying. “Ever since my last fight, I did not stop training.
It is truly an honor to showcase my talent and skills on a global stage.” (With a report from ABS-CBN Sports/PN)
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