Cali, Striegl show stuff they’re made of

ALE “The Young Gun” Cali convincingly retained his flyweight title when Erwin Tagle gave up at the start of the fourth round of the main Pacific Xtreme Combat 34 fight Saturday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 21-year-old champ from Davao City punished his 34-year-old foe with exceptional hand speed and heavy blows, forcing Tagle, a seasoned Filipino MMA practitioner, to quit.

“I saw his weakness. Those blows to the body might have hurt him so badly that he lost the strength to continue the fight,” said Cali after claiming his fifth straight win in six fights.

Cali, a former amateur boxer, bloodied Tagle’s mouth in the second round and defended well against the submission specialist, who was obviously lacking in stamina due to a two-year layoff.

“You’re not going to last long if you don’t have skill on the ground,” said Cali, who trained in wrestling for two months.

Tagle was on defense mode throughout the third as Cali connected from all angles to the head and body. Referee Big John McCarthy, who had seen enough, stopped the fight.

Fast-rising PXC star Mark Striegl subdued lightweight champion Harris “The Hitman” Sarmiento with an arm lock in the first round of their 145 lb encounter, the quickest fight of the night in the event backed by Sports5.

Now unbeaten in 12 fights, the Baguio City-based Striegl said he now wants a crack at featherweight champ Baby Joe Tamainglo.

“I was able to finish it with an [arm lock],” said Striegl, whose mother is from Mindoro. “Give me a shot, show me that belt please.”

In another featherweight battle, Dustin Kimura of Hawaii sneaked in an uppercut in the closing seconds of the third round to knock out Guy Delumeau of Japan.

Eugene Toquero stopped Jerome Wanawan in their flyweight bout while lightweight Isiah Ordiz chalked up his second win with a split decision over Fil-Am Tristan Arenal.