MANILA, Philippines – Three Filipino fighters will don the country’s colors on the undercard of PXC 44 on Friday, June 27 at the University of Guam field house.
Crisanto Pitpitunge (5-3) returns to action at Pacific Xtreme Combat’s (PXC) second event on its home-turf this year and looks to put himself back on the winning track.
The 5-foot-6 “Slugger” is coming off a dismal 2013 campaign, dropping the PXC bantamweight belt to Michinori Tanaka in May before yielding to Han Bin Park via third-round rear-naked choke in November.
Prior to his two-fight losing skid, the Team Lakay standout was riding high on a four-match winning streak, defeating the likes of Alex Castro, Jerry Cimeni, Victor Galdon and Justin “The Shocker” Cruz.
The priceless moment of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career happened at PXC 31 in July 2012 when he knocked out Cruz to claim the top prize of the 135-pound weight class.
The man standing in the way of Pitpitunge’s re-entry to the winner’s column is Josh Duenas (4-4), who is fresh from his submission triumph over Jordan Manglona at Trench Warz 17: Night of Champions this past December.
All of Duenas’s four victories inside the cage have been won by stoppage, with three coming by way of submission.
Aside from Pitpitunge, Troy Bantiag and Josh Sapinoso will also face foreign opposition at PXC 44.
Bantiag (5-3) squares off with former title challenger Kyle Aguon (6-4), while Josh Sapinoso makes his professional MMA debut against Kyle Reyes (4-2).
Like Pitpitunge, Bantiag also had a disappointing output last year, suffering defeats in the hands of Trevin Jones and Johnny Pecyna.
On the other hand, Aguon seeks to insert his name in the championship picture once again after failing to capture the PXC bantamweight trinket versus Tanaka at PXC 40 in October 2013.
Meanwhile, a tough test awaits Sapinoso as he locks horns with a top Guamanian prospect in Reyes, whom his teammate Rolando Gabriel Dy thumped by unanimous decision at PXC 39 last September.
PXC 44, which will be aired for free on the promotion’s Livestream channel, is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between Josh Calvo and Zebaztian Kadestam. – Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.