‘The Crank’ survives bloody brawl

Frank “The Crank” Camacho, left, celebrates after beating Extreme Combat Korea’s Gun Han Park during the second round of their main event bout in Rites of Passage 21: Throwdown held last Friday at the Marianas Business Plaza. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The main event in the Rites of Passage 21: Throwdown did not disappoint as Frank “The Crank” Camacho and Extreme Combat Korea’s Gun Han Park engaged in a bloody brawl won by the Marianas pride.

Camacho and Park had a give-and-take exchange the majority of the five-minute first round before the two fighters went to grapple midway in Round 2 with the former using the anaconda choke to put an end to the thrilling duel last Friday night at the parking lot of the Marianas Business Plaza.

The 28-year-old got the win via tapout at the 2:52 mark of the second round despite having the disadvantage in position twice. The Korean, after a brief exchange with Camacho, used his much longer reach to catch the latter and bring him down. Park then managed to gain the top position and peppered Camacho with shots on the body and head.

Camacho was able to survive Park’s flurry of punches and got out of trouble. However, the Korean again held on to Camacho and this time, the latter tried going for a rear-naked choke against the home crowd bet. But Camacho was able to maneuver himself out of Park’s hold and then employed the anaconda choke (the winning fighter threads his or her arm under the opponent’s neck and through the armpit, and grasps the biceps of the opposing arm), forcing the Korean to tap out.

A bloodied Camacho roared after the victory, while referee Cuki Alvarez checked on Park, who was still down and also covered with blood. The two fighters later hugged each other and received a loud cheer from the crowd for putting up a good show.

Right at the opening bell of their five-round bout, Camacho and Park were at it, opting for a standup fight. The 6’1” Korean used his height and reach advantage over Camacho to connect several punches and kicks and a couple of knees. The 5’9” Camacho, on the other hand, capitalized on his quickness to land solid combinations on Park and also hit his foe with so much body shots that the former cornered the Korean.

When the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the eventful first round, both fighters had blood on their faces and appeared to be gassed out because of their continued exchanges. However, after the brief break, Camacho and Park picked up where they left off as they kept trading punches for a minute and change in Round 2 before heading down to the canvas where the former used his much improved grappling skills to survive his Korean foe.

With the victory, Camacho improved his record to 20-1 and went 3-1 against Koreans. Camacho defeated Hyun Joo Kim in ROP 20: Conquer in August last year and Jae Woong Kim in Trench Warz 18: Rock and Rumble in 2014, while his lone loss came at the hands of Han Seul Kim during the Pacific Xtreme Combat 50 in July 2016.

Park absorbed only his second loss in five fights and first after winning his two previous fights in Korea.

Meanwhile, the results of other bouts in ROP 21 will be reported later this week.