Duenas eager to bounce back after setbacks

Trench Tech Gym’s Josh “Chaos” Duenas is hoping that all his hard work would pay off when he makes his return inside the cage in the Pacific Xtreme Combat 50 on Dec. 4 at the University of Guam Calvo Fieldhouse in Mangilao.

Josh “Chaos” Duenas is aiming to regain his winning form as he faces New Zealand’s Cai Kara-France in next month’s Pacific Xtreme Combat 50 in Guam. (Jon Perez)

Duenas (4-5 with 1 KO) did not fight for more than a year and will be facing a tall order when he goes up against New Zealand’s Kai Cara-France (10-5, 5 KOs) of Tiger Muay Thai in one of the undercard fights.

The last two years wasn’t that good for Duenas as he lost two of his last three fights and was stripped of the flyweight belt after failing to make weight in his scheduled title defense against High Blood Pressure’s Ernie Santos (2-1) of Guam in last year’s Trench Warz 18: Rock & Rumble.

Duenas said all of his past heartaches is his motivation to become one of the contenders for the 125-lb title.

“I did not fight for one year and I was stripped of the Trench Warz flyweight belt for not making weight. These are my motivation in my bid to claim the PXC belt. I am more motivated to get back,” Duenas told Saipan Tribune during a break at his training camp at the Trench Tech Gym.

Duenas lost to Guam’s McKlane Alfred (3-3) of Guahan Top Team in PXC 40 on Oct. 25, 2013, and Filipino Crisanto Pitpitunge (8-3) of Lakay MMA in PXC 44 in June last year that sandwiched his victory by armbar submission against stablemate Jordan Manglona (3-1).

“The PXC is a bigger stage since it also has Japanese, Korean, and Filipino fighters competing. It is rally competitive so you really need to be at your best and I want to stay confident,” he added.

Duenas said he prepared hard and is focused in winning against Kara-France. “I watched some of his fights and I studied his every move. He is a stand up fighter, so I will just stick to my technique and my game plan.”

Cara-France is on a three-fight winning streak after dropping two straight matches against Filipino superstar Mark “Mugen” Striegl (14-1) and Australian Gustavo Falciroli (15-4, with 3 KOs) in separate fights last year.

His last win was by way of technical knockout over Shantaram Maharaj of Australia in K-Oz Entertainment’s Bragging Rights 7: Resurrection on Sept. 27.

Duenas is not Cara-France’s original opponent and will just be replacing fellow Trench Tech warrior Vince “The Clinch” Masga (6-1).

Masga was supposed to face Cara-France in the scheduled flyweight bout but the Saipan fighter suffered a concussion while in training.