Police officer inside the cage: Inspiring story of Crisanto Pitpitunge
Philippines will be represented for the first time in Jordan soil in the tenth edition of Brave Combat Federation. Crisanto Pitpitunge will become the first fighter from the Philippines to fight in Jordan as he faces Jalal Al Daaja at “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises.” The news about a decorated police officer who fights mixed martial arts had captivated the Jordanian fans by surprise. The legend of Crisanto grows each day among the fans of the sport as the rise of the former PXC Champion from humble beginnings had been spread among the fans.
Fighting out of Team Lakay which is one of the finest mixed martial art gyms in Asia, the 27 years old holds a record of nine wins out of his fourteen appearances. The native of Kapangan, Benguet who is serving as a police officer had graduated in Criminology from the University of Cordilleras. Born in December 28, 1986, Crisanto comes from a poor family surviving on one meal a day. Eventually Coach Mark Sangiao, from Team Lakay introduced him to MMA, it developed a high level of discipline and changed the life of Crisanto once and for all.
Serving as a police officer, he is on the right side of the law catching criminals and have declared that he is proud to be an MMA fighter and a policeman. He comes from the same university as Bantamweight Champion Stephen Loman and Jeremy Pacatiw. “At first, balancing MMA with police check duty was a bit challenging, but with wise time management, I got used to it now.” says Pitpitunge.
Crisanto feels that it is challenging for him to put up a great fight against Jalal in Jordan and it makes things more interesting since Jalal beat his team mate. If not for revenge, he will put up a great fight to put up a great show. He says Jalal has a bigger body frame than him, but all that matters in a fight is landing kicks and punches. Jalal is a worthy opponent and that pushes him to train harder. Like Crisanto, Jalal is a striker – something that he likes in an opponent. He intends to focus more on his ground game to counter Jalal’s strength in striking.
“You’re a tough fighter. I’ll do my very best in this fight, so good luck. Let’s give the fans what they want! I appreciate Brave Combat Federation giving me this opportunity and the chance to represent Philippines”, added Crisanto.
Interestingly, he was the first Filipino fighter who was approached by Brave Combat Federation, but couldn’t fight because of an injury during training. “Our days of hardship are the biggest motivation to keep on fighting”, said Crisanto Pitpitunge when asked about his message for the fans of the sport in Jordan.
