Two Filipinos gun for vacant PXC belts

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fighters Rolando Gabriel Dy and Glen Ranillo will attempt to bring home two vacant Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) world titles at separate mixed martial arts (MMA) events of the Guam-based organization.

Dy will gun for the vacant PXC bantamweight belt against Kyle Aguon in the main event of PXC 45 on October 17 at the University of Guam field house, while Ranillo is slated to lock horns with Chuji Kato for the available lightweight strap in the PXC 46 headliner on November 15 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Although PXC officials have not announced the aforementioned title tilts at the moment, an insider confirmed the fight bookings to Rappler.

“It’s already a done deal. Dy is already working on his visa, while Ranillo is now in training camp for his bout versus Chuji Kato. Expect the organization to announce the title fights in the coming weeks,” the source revealed.

Dy (5-2), the son of former boxing world champion Rolando Navarrete, is riding high on a three-fight winning streak, trouncing the likes of Arex Montalban, Kyle Reyes and Han Bin Park. (RELATED: Rolando Dy, son of boxing legend Navarette, makes own path in MMA)

Meanwhile, his opponent Aguon (7-4) is coming off a first-round submission victory over Troy Bantiag this past June at PXC 44, where he tapped out the Team Lakay stalwart with a Kimura lock.

Prior to his meeting with Bantiag, the 5-foot-9 Guamanian challenged Michinori Tanaka for the top prize of the 135-pound weight class at PXC 40 in October 2013, but he failed in his championship campaign by bowing down to the Japanese combatant via unanimous decision.

Tanaka vacated the PXC bantamweight belt in February when he inked an exclusive contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On the other hand, Ranillo (4-2) has won three bouts in a row and earned the shot at the lightweight title in March when he stopped Reno Remigio by first-round technical knockout at PXC 43.

The 30-year-old Team Insider representative has long expressed his desire to compete for the 155-pound belt, but a tough test awaits him as he takes on Kato.

Kato (5-1-1), a former fighter of the Japanese organization Shooto, is unbeaten inside PXC’s Terror Dome, defeating Egon Racz and Tyrone Jones in first two assignments.

Harris Sarmiento was the previous PXC lightweight titleholder, but he relinquished his status as the division’s champion in December of last year when he transferred to ONE Fighting Championship.

PXC promoted its championship belts to world-title status last year. The first time that the PXC title was billed as world championship was when Crisanto Pitpitunge defended the bantamweight crown versus Tanaka at PXC 38 in May 2013.

Head honcho EJ Calvo explained that the change in the belt branding is due to the company’s growth in the international limelight and the inclusion of prizefighters from different countries.

“You can’t call it as a regional, Asian or Philippine championship. Fighters from different parts of the globe compete for these belts. That is the major reason why we call it now as world titles,” the PXC chief said.

Since the PXC belts are now considered as world titles, the promotion reconstructed its belts, coming out with silver-plated straps etched with the words “World Champion.” – Rappler.com