2 Saipan fighters in PXC 32

  Trench Tech Purebred’s Mark “The Dark” Nuique and Derek “El-Peligro” Rangamar of Marianas Elite will be competing in Pacific Xtreme Combat 32 this Saturday night at the University of Guam Fieldhouse in Mangilao.

Nuique is undefeated in eight fights, but this will be his first taste of PXC’s level of competition. He will be paired against Counter Shot MMA’s Josh “The Hedgehog” Alvarez (10-5) in a bantamweight bout set at 135-lbs.

This weekend marks Rangamar’s (3-11) third PXC appearance and despite his not so impressive win-loss record, he could move a step closer to a possible title shot if he can beat current bantamweight contender Kyle Aguon (2-3) of fight team Spike 22.

The current bantamweight champion is the Philippine’s Crisanto “The Slugger” Pitpitunge (4-1) of Lakay MMA, who knocked out former title belt holder Justin “The Shocker” Cruz (18-5) also of Spike 22 earlier this month in PXC 31 held in the Philippines.

Rangamar appeared in PXC 13: Back From The Dead in November 2007 and lost to Spike 22’s Joe Taimanglo (16-4) via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round of what was the second official professional bout of his career. He then came up short again about two years later in PXC 17: Fearless, bowing to Japan’s Yasuhiro Motomura (3-4) of Abe Ani Combat Club via triangle submission in the opening round.

Rangamar’s opponent, Aguon, earned a unanimous decision over Josh Alvarez back in July 2010.

The local warriors learned about their opportunities earlier this month. Nuique has been training for the past three months and assures his supporters he is well and ready for the challenge.

“I know that I’m facing a good opponent, but I’m confident and really excited about the opportunity,” said Nuique during a training session at the Trench Tech gym last Monday.

“Mark has worked really hard in regards to cutting weight. We even ran him through the pit a couple days ago and he did very well,” Trench Tech’s Cuki Alvarez said

The pit drill is done with a fighter, who is already tired, grinding through five consecutive full out sparring rounds against a fresh opponent during each round.

Alvarez also believed “The Hedgehog” will be Nuique’s toughest opponent to date.

As for Rangamar, he has been training independently for over a month and joined Trench Tech’s training camp last Monday to sharpen his skills before being put to the test.

Rangamar’s record only tells a fraction of his tale as he has upheld a fearless reputation over the years, stepping to many talented opponents even as a 5’4” featherweight (145-lbs) at times.

In fact, Rangamar has already been pitted against both Cruz and Josh Alvarez in 2009 on Saipan, but never had his hand risen.

He lost to Cruz in Trench Tech’s Rites of Passage 7: Fist of Fury via technical knock out due to strikes in the second round in May of 2009 and then fell to Josh Alvarez via straight arm-bar submission late in the first round of Trench Warz 11: Deception held in December.

Notably, both Rangamar and Aguon are looking to bounce back form a pair of recent defeats. Fight records were researched on Sherdog.com; Rangamar has two amateur wins in addition to his three pro victories.

Cuki Alvarez will be joining the Saipan fighters to Guam, while his son, Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez (7-1) will also be there, helping out as a cornerman.

By Walter J. Sutherland
Reporter