Humble beginnings for Team Tinian

A Team Tinian member, bottom, goes for a rear-naked choke as he tries to force his foe to yield in one of their sparring sessions at the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs-Tinian facility. (Contributed Photo)

Allen Manglona was among the coaches who helped train Austin John King for his bout against 22-year-old John Mendiola of Luta Top Team in last May’s Rites of Passage 21: Throwdown. Little did Manglona know that would pave the way for the establishment of a mixed martial arts gym on Tinian.

“I was one of the coaches for the fight camp held for Tinian’s young fighter. Austin was the lone competitor from Tinian in that event and he won the fight by first round [technical] knockout,” Manglona told Saipan Tribune. King stopped Mendiola at the 2:25 mark of the opening round.

He said that after the fight and helping King train, some parents approached him early July, asking him to supervise Tinian fighters who are getting ready for ROP 22: Rampage set for Sept. 15 at the Marianas Business Plaza.

“Several of Tinian’s youngsters had interest in competing in ROP 22. They had no MMA coaches and had limited equipment. I saw this as an opportunity to serve my island and teach the youth and community the beautiful art of MMA, so I accepted the challenge and helped put together Team Tinian,’” added Manglona.

He said that Team Tinian, when they began, had no permanent training facility and proper equipment.

“There were no proper MMA facilities or gyms to train in and we would only do our training sessions outdoors, either by the beach or on the grass,” Manglona said. “Training outdoors and the bad weather also limit us on what we can train. It is also unrealistic for it had no boundaries, such as the cage in which these fighters will be competing in.”

Manglona, who now trains over 20 members, added they also started with only a handful of training equipment.

“The team started off with nearly nothing. Equipment wise, we have two pairs of my personal boxing gloves, a pair of focus mitts donated by Tinian’s veteran MMA fighter George Manglona, and a pair of MMA gloves, which belonged to Austin,” the coach said.

But despite all the challenges they encountered, Manglona and his wards persisted, and slowly gained the attention of the Tinian community.

“As the team continued training, we gained more members and support from the community of Tinian. We received donated equipment and gear from friends and families,” said Manglona.

Donated to Team Tinian by various members of the community were a secondhand wrestling mat, headgears, and hand wraps, while Tinian Municipal Council secretary Philip Mendiola-Long gave them brand new MMA gear.

“With the new gear [given by Mendiola-Long], the team can train and practice MMA more efficiently and in a much safer manner,” Manglona said.

The team also found, cleaned, and spruced up an old and abandoned ring that was previously used in boxing matches held on Tinian years ago. Tinian’s Department of Cultural and Community Affairs also granted them permission to use one of their facilities as a training venue.

The Marianas Visitors Authority and other members of the Tinian community then gave them the opportunity to raise funds through beach cleanups and yard work. Some of the money collected will be used for personal competition gear and to pay for their airfare to Saipan for next week’s ROP 22.

“We also received support and assistance for the fighters and their chaperones from Tinian community leaders, like Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas and Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider,” said Manglona.

Team Tinian will have six fighters on ROP 22’s more than 10 undercard bouts with William “Pretty Boy” King facing Trench Tech’s Luis “Two Trick” Litulumar in a kids exhibition kickboxing match and Kimo Adriano taking on Bad Ass Beach Boys’ Andres “The Tanapag Beach Bad Boy” Camacho. Audrien Cruz goes up against George “Game Over” Grover of Zombie MMA, while Austin King will try to test A.J. Barcinas in another fight that will have Team Tinian’s bets trade punches against Luta Top Team. Perry Mundo against L.D. Ogo and Juschery Castro versus John Mendiola are the other two Tinian versus Rota bouts.