Knockout Artist Jimmy Yabo Ready For BJJ World Champion Bruno Pucci

Jimmy “The Silencer” Yabo is a martial artist in the truest sense. At 36, the Filipino pugilist has long cultivated a life of self-discipline and integrity. In addition to being quiet and resilient, he is also quite humble.

All of that might be a little easier, especially since Yabo has a life-saving dream job.

“Martial arts is my life,” he says. “If I was not in this field, then maybe I would be in prison and involved with drugs.”

Yabo was first introduced to martial arts by way of taekwondo. In addition to keeping him out of trouble, the black belt he earned in the discipline also provided a way to put food on the table as an adult.

For a brief time, he was a freelance taekwondo instructor, and earned enough to support his wife and three children. With family and career in tow, he was enjoying the trappings of a simple life.

In spite of his regular taekwondo practice, Yabo gained some unwanted kilograms over the years. But when he discovered mixed martial arts, he lost the excess weight and fell in love with a new sport.

“I got involved in mixed martial arts because of my wife,” he begins. “I was a bit curious when she started coming home late. Then one day, I went with her [to the gym], and the rest is history. I easily gained weight, because most of us Filipinos love eating. So basically, mixed martial arts gave me a healthy lifestyle, aside from learning self-defense.”

After dropping from 90 kilograms to 70 kilograms from regular training, the Lapu-Lapu native decided to test himself against real competition. He made his professional cage debut in 2009, and wasted no time making a statement.

Yabo’s nickname of “The Silencer” proved well-earned. A quiet man outside the cage, his name also pays homage to his resume inside of it. He racked up four knockout wins in his first five contests, with one bout ending in a no contest.

“It was overwhelming,” he remembers. “There are a lot of talented Filipino competitors. Maybe, I was just very close to God, because my fate was incredible during those days.”

The Filipino’s prior success has not fully translated to the ONE Championship cage, but Yabo is not quitter. Having joined the promotion in 2015, “The Silencer” has notched just one victory in his last five outings, a knockout win over Bashir Ahmad at ONE: TRIBE OF WARRIORS in February 2016.

In his last appearance, at ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD last August, China’s Ma Jia Wen finished him by way of strikes in the third round. Yabo kept it competitive, but got the victory swept out from under him.

“That was a close fight,” he recollects. “If I did not slip during the last round because of the back kick, then maybe I could have had a big chance of getting [the win] that fight.”

In the ten months that followed, Yabo (5-4 1 NC) has gone back to the drawing board. He has been teaching taekwondo classes to the less fortunate, enjoying time with family, and sharpening his skills.  

He will put those skills to the test Friday, 30 June when the Lapu-Lapu native faces off against Evolve MMA’s Bruno Pucci (4-2), another martial artist looking to get back into the win column. The featherweight bout takes place at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar at ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION.

Pucci, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi World Champion, is looking to rebound from his last defeat — an eight-second knockout he suffered in September 2016.

Although his opponent went down rather quickly in his most recent appearance, “The Silencer” does not believe that was an accurate representation of Pucci’s skill set, and most certainly thinks this will be a difficult match-up.

“He is one of my most dangerous opponents in ONE Championship. I do not see any weaknesses in him, because he comes from a big training camp, not to mention many good fighters come from that team. Maybe my advantage is my knockout punch,” he ponders.

Whatever the outcome, Yabo will continue sharing with others the two things that changed his life forever: mixed martial arts and taekwondo.

“Mixed martial arts is my passion,” he states. “This is my life, and I will continue to train and share my knowledge with other people.”