Loman pays homage to Mt. Province
BONTOC, Mt. Province – After his successful first title defense, Stephen Loman paid homage to his roots in Mountain Province hoping to inspire his fellow Igorots in becoming a champion in their own right.
The 22 year old recently defended his bantamweight title in Brave Combat Federation after a unanimous decision victory against his challenger, Frans Mlambo of Dublin, Ireland during the “Brave 13: Europe Evolution” in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 9.
Loman traces his roots from Bauko and Barlig of Mountain Province and Banaue, Ifugao.
Loman, who is part of Team Lakay of Baguio City earlier earned his title shot at the Middle East-based Mix Martial Arts (MMA) - Brave Combat Federation after stopping the Canadian Gurdashan Mangat via Technical Knockout during the first round of their bout in Bahrain.
The mixed martial artist now holds the record as the youngest MMA champion in the Middle East and Europe.
On Tuesday, the MMA champion, together with his parents, visited Mountain Province and paid a courtesy call to Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. at the Provincial Capitol in the capital town.
Lacwasan was elated to meet the champion while thanking him for displaying the heart and courage of an Igorot to the rest of the world during his fights.
“Your victories are good news, we, especially your parents are very proud of your accomplishments. You are now among the elite fighters who came from the highlands to hold a world championship title,” the governor said.
Lacwasan also expressed his intent to invite the champion to grace the opening of the sports complex of Mountain Province as it is nearing its completion.
Loman, a Criminology graduate at the University of the Cordilleras recently passed the board examination.
According to Loman, he was introduced to MMA by his older brother and since then fell in love with the sport and became a wushu scholar in college and later joined the famed Lakay Team.
Loman advised aspiring fighters who wished to enter the MMA and other sports to focus on their training and avoid vices.
“One must hone their skills through hard work, dedication and discipline and most importantly, training,” he remarked.
Loman is the 5th among the six children of Roldan Luis of Mountain Province and Naty of Ifugao.
“At first I didn’t want him to enter the MMA because of the nature of the sport, but upon seeing his dedication and love of the sport, we gave up and we supported him in all his fights,” his mother said.