Sablan falls, Jesse wins in Trench Warz 14

Saipan’s Giovanni “Palaxi” Sablan of Trench Tech Purebred submitted to Mark “Mugen” Striegl of Tokyo Japan’s Wajutsu Keishukai Gods at 3:50 of the opening round in the main event bout of Trench Warz 14: Ground Zero held Friday night at Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Ballroom.

Sablan dropped Streigl with a big punch in the opening exchanges, but Streigl recovered and pinned Sablan against the side of the cage. From there he worked a takedown and swiftly took Sablan’s back. Streigl went for the rear-naked choke twice and locked it in securely on his second try.

After the fight, Sablan said he was trying to anticipate Streigl’s next move, but made a bad decision. Streigl said he did not know what hit him out of the gate, but he regained his composure and stuck to his ground game.

The win improved Streigl’s flawless card to 4-0, while Sablan (17-7) has dropped four fights since July last year.

On a brighter note, Trench Tech Fasi “Quickdraw” Jesse ran a grappling clinic on Guam’s Tyrone Jones of Underworld Extreme, winning via unanimous decision over his greenhorn opponent. Jones managed to remain in one piece but was forced to lay immobilized on his back for the majority of the match. After three five minute rounds, the judges scored it 29-28; 30-27; and 30-27 in favor of Jesse. After the fight, the home-crowd favorite raised his opponent’s hand in a gesture of good sportsmanship.

The win was Jesse’s eighth in 11 bouts.

Perhaps the most exciting fight of the night featured the rematch between Trench Tech’s “Badd” Brad Palacios and Marianas Elite’s Mai Tai “The Charger” Charley. It went the distance and Palacios had his hand raised for the second time via split decision.

Palacios opened with a spinning back kick at the bell, but Charley evaded it and jumped on his back. Charley tried to choke Palacios out, but the latter held strong, popped his head out, and managed to stand up.

Once up, Palacios connected with a flurry of strikes that opened up a couple gashes on Charley’s face. Charley had a big cut on each side of his right eye, however the doctor allowed him to continue. From that point, it was a bloody mess,

Palacios’ strength played a key role in the decision as his strikes had more power behind them. Aside from giving up his back right off the bat, he also controlled the first two rounds and remained patient in the payoff period. To his account, Charley showed a true warrior spirit and made him earn it, especially in the third round. The judges scored it 30-27; 30-27; and 27-27.

The win improved Palacios’ record to 10-3, while Charley fell to a 3-8 slate,

Guam’s Mike “The Flash” Taitano, of Spike 22, defeated Saipan’s Simon Sebuu, of Team Pwang, at 2:53 of the first round of their pro bout via TKO due to strikes.

Sebuu played good defense at the start and managed a takedown and a headlock. Taitano got up, but was still caught in a clinch against the fence. He managed a takedown, but Sebuu popped back up and shot for a takedown of his own. Sebuu found himself held up in a clinch, which turned into a Kimura arm lock. Sebuu did not tap out, but gave up his back and Taitano pounded him from there until the referee stepped in.

Meanwhile, Trench Warz 14: Ground Zero was dedicated to the late Raymond F. Alvarez, founder of Trench Tech and pillar of the Alvarez family, which has long been a supporter of Mixed Martial Arts and other extreme sports on Saipan. Organizers played a slideshow of old family pictures just before the main event.

The new Pacific Xtreme Combat heavyweight champion Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial was also in attendance and received perhaps the biggest applause of the evening when called to center stage to address the crowd.

Three other pro bouts and six amateur fights also took place Friday night. Results will be released tomorrow.

Pepsi, Miller-Lite, Monster Energy, Konflikt MMA, Budget Rent-A-Car, Century Hotel, Hagu Next, and Docomo Pacific sponsored the event in conjunction with the Department of Public Health.