PXC 24: Filipino cage fighters falter; Fitial claims heavyweight title

MANILA—Filipino cage fighters Rogelito Plomeda and Carlos Tiongson both wilted against their respective foes before a sizeable crowd Saturday in the Guam-based Pacific X-Treme Combat (PXC 24) at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.

Plomeda, a former professional boxer of the renowned ALA boxing stable, succumbed to Guam’s Josh Alvarez via submission at the 2:55 mark of the opening round.

Tiongson meanwhile, got surprisingly outmatched by a debuting but skillful Guamanian Ricky Camp of Spike 22 in a second round stoppage due to strikes.

The 31-year-old Plomeda had his moments as he even landed a thunderous right that shook Alvarez.

However, Plomeda failed to fire a follow-up punch that allowed the Jiu-jitsu expert Alvarez to gather and take him down that eventually set up the rear-naked choke.

Homegrown talents may have suffered tough-luck, but Harris Sarmiento—a Filipino born, US raised fighter— prevailed over Guam’s Alex Castro via unanimous decision.

Sarmiento, a kickboxing champion, took the stocked Castro out of his comfort zone by taking him to the mat.

“I really want to fight in the ground, been working a lot in my wrestling and Jiu-jitsu,” said Sarmiento, who was born in Ilocos Norte. “Proud to be Filipino.”

Castro attempted a kimura but the resilient Sarmiento was able to get his left arm out harm’s way to end the second round.

In the main event, Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial of Saipan stopped erstwhile champion Roque Martinez of Guam in the waning seconds of the fourth round to claim the PXC Heavyweight title and settled the  controversial draw in their first encounter.

The taller Fitial lived up to his moniker as he pounded Martinez with a flurry of right hands that prompted the referee to put an end to the fight and leave the former champion in a bloody mess.

“I trained so hard, I’ve been dreaming of this belt (for so long),” said the six-foot-three Fitial, who knelt down on both knees and passionately raised his hands along with the title belt.

Fighting out of Marianas Elite, the 27-year-old behemoth was the aggressor and utilized his visibly huge reach advantage by fighting in the outside.

Martinez actually looked like the champion he was early on and had his fair share of the fight as he landed a couple of power shots of his own, including a solid right that staggered Filial in the second round.

But the three-time champion Martinez lost steam as the fight went on while the fresher fighter Filial capitalized in the latter rounds.

The night’s shortest bout saw Guam’s Baby Joe Taiminglo of Spike 22 and American Top Team make use of a rear-naked choke as Young Jun Kim of Korean Top Team tapped out at the 1:23 mark of the first round of their Bantamweight fight.

Taiminglo, who hiked his record to 15-4 with 1 draw, jumped out the gates and swept his Korean foe to the ground on a clinch before easily deploying the choke.

On the other hand, Fil-American UFC star Brandon Vera was also a big winner in the eight-card event as his two American fighters, Rolando Perez and Diego Garijo of Alliance MMA, each displayed impressive victories.

Perez had to survive a vicious right straight and a tight triangle hold to gut out a unanimous decision victory over the lanky Tony Reyes in what was the most exciting fight of the night while Garijo earned a unanimous decision win over Korean Tae Kyun Kim.

Meanwhile, Jang Yong Kim would have been Korean Top Team’s lone bright spot if not for a costly one-point deduction in the first round for constantly holding on to the cage that had his fight against Brazil’s Rafael Diaz result to a draw.

PXC 24, the first event held outside of Guam, was presented by San Mig Strong Ice and Smart, along with Beer Below Zero and Healthway.