Pitpitunge tops Somdet by split decision at PXC 46

MANILA, Philippines – Former Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) bantamweight champion Crisanto Pitpitunge edged out Rambaa Somdet via split decision in their 3-round flyweight encounter on the undercard of PXC 46 on Saturday night, November 15 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila.

Two of the 3 judges sided in favor of Pitpitunge with identical scores of 29-28, while the other cageside official gave a 29-28 mark for Somdet.

The 5-foot-6 Team Lakay representative did not risk for a stand-up exchange against Somdet, who is known for his moniker “M-16” due to his lightning-fast striking ability, as Pitpitunge resorted to a close-quartered trade and scored for a takedown in the first canto.

Pitpitunge’s ground control gave him the opening to twist Somdet’s foot with a heel hook, but the 40-year-old Thai kickboxer managed to flee and survive the round.

In the second stanza, Pitpitunge mixed up his attack, landing leg kicks while throwing left-right combinations to destroy Somdet’s defense.

As Somdet slipped to the floor while backpedalling away from the shots, Pitpitunge capitalized by positioning himself in side control, but his opponent was able to scramble his way out and fasten his version of a heel hook.

Pitpitunge battered Somdet with vindicating blows to release the hold, eventually returning to his feet before attaining a double-leg takedown.

Somdet quickly got back to his feet as well, but Pitpitunge delivered a head kick to conclude round two.

With Pitpitunge sporting a bloody nose in the third and last round, Somdet dictated the pace by initiating a toe-to-toe swap before taking his opponent down to the mat.

Somdet pacified Pitpitunge for staying on top of him, but the latter reversed his adversary’s mount and stood to unsuccessfully haunt for takedowns until the final bell.

With the remarkable outing against Somdet, Pitpitunge is now riding high on a two-fight winning streak and improves prizefighting record to 7-3.

In addition, “The Slugger” concluded his 2014 campaign with two-straight wins after dropping the bantamweight belt to Michinori Tanaka in May 2013 and then succumbing to Han Bin Park’s come-from-behind submission victory 6 months later.

On the other hand, Somdet (12-3) tastes his first setback since June 2002 and winning 11-consecutive contests.

Despite the victory of Pitpitunge, female colleague Gina Iniong (3-2) succumbed to the rear-naked choke of American atomweight Cortney Casey (3-1) with 10 seconds left in the first round.

Although Iniong peppered her long-limbed foe with quick punches at the start of the aforementioned period, Casey mollified her pesky counterpart, clobbering a wild right hook to the head that slumped Iniong to the floor.

Casey trapped Iniong along the fence and placed herself behind the highly-touted highlander from Baguio City for a rear-naked choke.

Iniong tried to defend and remove the dangerous submission hold, but Casey did not give up the rear view and found a way to grip her opponent’s neck to get the tap at the 4:50 mark.

In other matches, Roy Doliguez (6-1) outclassed Dennis Salazar (4-1) in 3 rounds to get the 3 judges’ unanimous vote of 30-27, 30-37 and 29-28.

Fil-Kiwi Mark Abelardo (8-3) made a quick work on Iloilo-native Ernie Braca (1-1) via first-round stoppage, while Jenel Lausa (4-2) submitted Dean Bermudez (2-1) with a guillotine choke in the first round.

Grappling prodigy Josh Sapinoso (1-1) overwhelmed Guamanian featherweight Robin Eclavea (1-1) with takedowns and submission attempts en route to a unanimous decision with 30-27 counts across the panel.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Wesley Perriera (4-1) pulverized Arex Montalban (3-2) with leg kicks before finishing off the Filipino stalwart on the ground with a slick armbar submission at 4:11 of the round one. – Rappler.com