ONE FC MMA: Honorio Banario travels long road to title defense

Bob Guerrero

You might think that Honorio Banario's rugged, chiseled physique is merely a result of hours spent hoisting weights in the gym. But that's only part of the story.

The 23-year old ONE FC Featherweight champ hails from the sleepy town of Mankayan, in Benguet, four hours north of the provincial capital of Baguio.

He's the son of a farmer and local councilor, Dario, and Benita Banario. The family survived off a plot of land where potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and other vegetables are grown in the chilly mountain climate.

From about the age of fourteen to the age of eighteen Banario would gather up to 70 kilos of produce into a sack, load it on his back, and walk up to four kilometers on remote moutain roads on delivery runs for resellers.

For that work Banario would pick up a hundred Philippine pesos about US$2.50, which he would use for pocket money or school supplies.

No doubt those arduous treks steeled his resolve for his MMA career, where he has carved out an 8-1 record.

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The man nicknamed “The Rock” puts that slate on the line on May 31 when he squares off against Japan's Koji Oishi in ONE FC's second Philippine fight night at the SM Mall of Asia arena, dubbed “ONE FC: Rise to Power."

Oishi, 35, is a vastly experienced Pancrase champ with a 23-9-10 record.

Mention the word “Oishi” to any Filipino and he will think of the shrimp crackers that bear that name and are sold in neighborhood “sari-sari” stores all over the land.

Banario chuckles when I ask him if he'll devour his opponent just like he used to dig into a pack of shrimp crackers.

“Di naman siya makakain eh.” (He (Koji Oishi) isn't edible.)

But Banario knows it will be a torrid battle on the last day of May full of striking fireworks. Banario says that Oishi is, unlike man Japanese fighters, a striker and not a grappling specialist. That means their fight could be a matter of strength versus strength. Banario, like many fighters from the Team Lakay stable, has a Wushu background that emphasizes punching and kicking.

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Banario put his Wushu skills to good use when he won his ONE FC Featherweight title in Kuala Lumpur last February against a fellow Filipino and member of the Igorot ethnic tribe, Eric “The Natural” Kelly.

In the fourth round of their scheduled five-round bout Banario connected with a hard left on Kelly's face. The strike aggravated a previous injury to Kelly's eye and blinded him momentarily on that eye. The referee stopped the fight in Banario's favor, ending a cagey, attritional contest and handing Banario the belt.

It was a bittersweet win for Banario over a fellow Igorot. “Labag sa kalooban ko na lumaban ng kapwa-Igorot pero trabaho namin mag-entertain ng fans.” (It would (ordinarily) be against my will to fight another Igorot but it's our job to entertain the fans.)

Banario celebrated the win the traditional Igorot way; with Pinikpikan, an Igorot chicken dish.

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For his first defense, Banario isn't taking any chances with his training. Apart from grappling and wrestling work with his coach Mark Sangiao, he plunges into a fitness regime that isn't for the faint-hearted.

Banario squats up to 100 kilograms. When asked how many sets and reps, he says “five minutes.” It must be a five minutes that feels like an hour.

He also does a medieval exercise that involves him dragging a 50kg weight on the ground.

But Banario's most punishing workout, one that he says is his least favorite, is the sprinting. He wills himself to do no less than ten 400m sprints in the thin, oxygen-starved mountain air in Baguio's Teacher's Camp in every session. The runs leave him exhausted.

His family is no stranger to this life. Banario has two brothers, Dario Jr. and Harold, who both fight in the 135 lb weight class.

After Banario's fighting days are over he hopes to join the Police force. Like his stablemate Kevin Belingon, Banario has a degree in Criminology, his from the Cordillera Career Development College.

But before he chases criminals he'll chase glory in front of up to 16,000 rabid Pinoy fans. And four other Filipino fighters will share the spotlight with him in ONE FC “Rise To Power.”

Belingon will square off against Japan's Masakatsu Ueda in the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix tournament final. The winner will likely face interim Bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes.

Eduard Folayang, an Igorot of the Kankana-ey tribe like Banario, will hope to get his career back on track against Iranian Kamal Shalorus in a lightweight clash. Folayang's last fight was a referee-stopped-contest loss to American Lowen Tynanes in a Universal Reality Combat Challenge match up last December.

Flyweight Rey Docyogen, another Team Lakay stalwart, will duke it out with Yasuhiro Urushitan while Geje Eustaquiao takes on American Andrew Leone, also in the Flyweight class.

But the main event is Banario's fight with Oishi, and “The Rock” hopes to takes inspiration from his father, who won the Vice Mayoralty race in Mankayan in the general elections last May 13. Could those winning vibes last until the last day of May?

It will be a tough ask for Banario. And this time, it won't be a sack of potatoes on his back, but the weight of a nation's hopes.

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333. Follow ONE FC on @ONEFCMMA.

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