By Joel Pinaroc
DAVAO CITY, DAVAO DEL SUR - Davao-based mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Ale “The Young Gun” Cali won the Pacific Extreme Combat (PXC) flyweight championship by beating Guam fighter Jesse “Spiderman” Taitano last Saturday.
The flashy Cali used his superior footwork and boxing skills to stop the heavily-muscled Taitano on the third round of the five-round championship match fought at the PXC flyweight limit of 125 pounds.
Cali, a former boxer, is the first Filipino fighter to win the PXC flyweight title. The fight was the main event of PXC 29 held at the Ynares Center in Pasig.
Coming in as the underdog, Cali was able to neutralize Taitano’s superior grappling and submission experience by firing off combinations and using ground defense.
Before the third-round stoppage, Taitano was able to take Cali on the ground and almost submitted the Filipino fighter with an arm bar. But Cali was able to withstand the submission attempt and take the fight standing up where he is more comfortable.
As the home crowd cheered, Cali fired off successive right hand punches in the closing minutes of the third round stunning and backing up Taitano into a corner.
The referee eventually stepped in to save Taitano from further punishment.
With the win, Cali improved his MMA record to 4 wins, 1 loss and 2 knockouts.
***
loQal.ph (http://loqal.ph/) is a website owned and operated by Filquest Media Concepts, Inc. It works under the principle of giving voice to the voiceless, empowering Filipinos and uplifting the image of the Philippines by highlighting its unique culture. To do this, the loQal.ph team produces stories, video, photos and other multimedia content types to inspire and celebrate Filipino achievements, ideas, products and places.
