44-yeard-old leads TKO winners in ROP 21

ACE Korea’s Sang Hyun Park, left, kicks Mark “The Dark” Niuque of Charanka Brawlers during Round 1 of their MMA bout in last Friday’s Rites of Passage 21: Throwdown held at the Marianas Business Plaza. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Five TKO wins were recorded in the last Friday’s Rites of Passage 21: Throwdown at the Marianas Business Plaza and one of them came from 44-year-old Sang Hyun Park.

He may be no spring chicken, but Park still had power in his hands and legs that were enough to stop the younger and one of the most aggressive MMA fighters in the CNMI, Mark “ The Dark” Niuque, of Charanka Brawlers. The Korean posted the TKO victory over Niuque at the 2:25 mark of Round 1 after unloading a flurry of punches on the latter who went down the canvas after Park hit him with a strong kick.

Before peppering Niuque with solid strikes on the body and head, Park spent the first two minutes of their bout exchanging blows with his foe. The ACE Korea fighter used his longer arms and legs to score several points against Niuque and when Park pinned the Charanka Brawlers standout down, the former continued to punish his opponent, prompting referee Jason Tarkong to step in and stop the fight.

After his impressive victory, Park got the admiration of Trench Tech and ROP 21 organizer Cuki Alvarez, adding that others should be inspired by the Korean’s determination and willpower to show he still has what it takes to win.

According to sherdog.com, Park’s bout last Friday was his first in over a decade. His last recorded fight was in 2005, as he won via unanimous decision against Jong Ryul Park during their middleweight match in Spirit MC 6 in Seoul, South Korea. Before that victory, Park had a 1-4 record, dropping four straight bouts after winning his MMA debut in 2003.

Meanwhile, Luta Top Team’s Brendon Manglona, Tinian MCA MMA’s Austin John King, and Steel Athletics’ Juan Lizama and Torsten Rosser were the other fighters who earned TKO victories in ROP 21.

Manglona won his debut in the octagon cage after beating George “Game Over” Grover of IZ MMA at the 2:41 mark of Round 1 of their 130-lb bout, while King also prevailed in his first MMA fight when he stopped Luta Top Team’s John Mendiola at 2:25 of the opening round.

Lizama got his TKO victory in the first round, too, but earlier, with Tarkong stopping the former’s duel against Badass Beach Boys’ K.J. “Man Down” Villagomez at the 1:19 mark. Lizama has yet to lose in three matches, while Villagomez got his second straight defeat.

After the Lizama-Villagomez collision, Luta Top Team’s L.D. Ogo and Rosser took center stage with the latter finishing off his foe at the 2:29 mark of Round 2.

In other results, Marianas Elite’s Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial missed a TKO win, but posted the fastest victory in ROP 21 as he needed only 23 seconds to beat GuamFightClub’s Pete “Big Mac” Miyasaki.

Fitial used a guillotine choke to force Miyasaki to tap out in their heavyweight bout. Before holding down Miyasaki, Fitial floored his Guam foe with a solid cross and Miyasaki ended up with a big bump on his nose bridge.