Baron Geisler and Kiko Matos are at it again.
Last year, the two actors had a much-publicized bar encounter that, through the intercession of the mixed martial arts promotion Universal Reality Combat Championship, led to an MMA match that ended in a draw.
This year, Baron and Kiko met again, this time at a URCC press conference on Monday announcing its upcoming events and newly signed fighters that now included Kiko. At the tailend of the event, a long-haired Baron wearing sunglasses, a black T-shirt with the word “Bastard” printed on it, and flip-flops entered the ballroom of the Winford Hotel and Casino.
Baron then sat beside Kiko and started taunting the latter.
“I challenge Kiko for part 2 of our fight. That is if he has the balls,” Baron declared.
Kiko shot back, “Anytime, anywhere, I’ll be there.”
Annoyed with Kiko’s clichéd response, Baron then said, “That is so 2016. Seriously, is that all you got? That’s so lame.”
The word “lame” triggered something in Kiko as he suddenly attacked Baron and screamed, “Who’s lame? Who’s lame?” Down but not out, Baron replied, “You!”
As cooler heads intervened and separated the two, Kiko yelled at Baron on his way out of the ballroom, “I’ll see you on August 12. No backing out!”
During the press conference, the URCC announced two upcoming events to be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. In what seems like an appropriate venue for a Baron-Kiko rematch, the August 12 event is called “URCC 31: Vendetta.”
The latest encounter between Baron and Kiko is being debated by netizens on social media, many of whom are wondering if the whole thing is staged or for real. Kiko and URCC matchmaker Ron Catunao both said they did not know who had invited Geisler to the event and while Kiko is scheduled to fight on August 12, the promotion still has not decided on an opponent.
Explaining his attack on Baron, Kiko said he just responded to the latter’s provocation.
“It’s my reaction towards his action, so let’s make this fight happen,” a visibly agitated Kiko later told InterAksyon and other media.
People’s skepticism is understandable. Their fight last year, dubbed as “Bigwasan,” was later revealed to be part of a documentary film about Baron called “Beastmode” as the makers later admitted in a Facebook post that “certain actions were planned and enacted.”
“Yes, there is a bigger picture: the release of a documentary film. We have meticulously planned the preparation, execution, and reveal of every stage of this project,” posted Beastmode Productions on Facebook last December.
After the fight, Baron and Kiko paid tribute to each other on interviews and social media posts and appeared to be good friends again.
Kiko buffed up and started serious MMA training, while Baron went on to have another controversial altercation with another actor, Ping Medina, during the shoot of Arlyn dela Cruz’s movie “Bubog.”
This ultimately led to his suspension by Professional Artists Managers, Inc. or PAMI, and he has not had any acting gigs since.
Beastmode Productions denied any involvement in the incident involving Baron and Ping Medina.
Watch the latest encounter between Baron Geisler and Kiko Matos in this video taken by News5’s MJ Marfori:
