Cali apologizes, wants rematch

Deposed Filipino champion Ale Cali quickly apologized to his fans after losing the Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) flyweight belt to challenger Louis Smolka in PXC 41 on Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The 22-year-old Davao-born fighter surrendered his 125-pound title to Smolka by referee stoppage contest (RSC) with one minute and 30 seconds gone in the second round.

Cali dropped to a 5-2 won-loss record snapping his five-match winning streak after losing his debut mixed martial arts debut against Salvador Larozza in 2009. Smolka remained undefeated after five bouts.

“Sorry sa mga fans at sa mga kababayan ko. Babalik tayo, babawi at babangon ulit,” said Cali, who added that his arms hurt after experiencing several take downs by Smolka.

Smolka used his four-inch height advantage to the hilt to keep a safe distance away from Cali, who is known for his punching power after winning four fights by way of technical knockout (TKO).

“It’s an unbelievable feeling winning the title here in the Philippines. I will take some time off and celebrate,” said Smolka, who came down from 135 lbs. to earn a shot at the flyweight title.
Smolka’s last takedown on Cali caught stunned the Filipino, which the Hawaii-born fighter capitalized by quickly mounting his opponent and punishing him with brutal ground-and-pound attacks forcing the referee to stop step in and stop the match.

Former PXC featherweight champion Mark Striegl and South Korean Tae Hyun Bang were supposed to compete in the undercard but both their opponents, New Zealand’s Ev Ting and Saipan’s Frank Camacho, were nine and seven pounds overweight.

Shane Alvarez, another Saipan bet, was lucky in his first fight in the Philippines when he defeated local bet Kid Orais by Kimura submission in one of four bantamweight matches.

Team Lakay went 2-2 as Harold Banario and Gina Iniong downed their respective foes while ex-PXC bantamweight title holder Cris Pitpitunge and Harold Bantiag lose both of their matches.

Banario needed a unanimous decision to win over Joseph Mercado in an all-Filipino bout with all three judges scoring the bout at 29-28 in favor of the Baguio-born fighter.

Iniong was equally impressive in a historic first female bout in the PXC beating Nathalie Heidel by TKO.

The former national wushu junior team member unleashed a vicious right that landed straight on Heidel’s jaw knocking down the Frenchwoman. The referee stepped in and stopped the fight to prevent further harm after seeing Heidel rocked by that power punch.

Pitpitunge was not lucky and suffered his second straight loss when he was forced by Han Bin Park of South Korea into submission by a rear-naked choke with 45 seconds gone in the second round.

Bantiag lost to Johnny Pecyna by arm triangle. Ernesto Montilla Jr. improved to 2-2 after beating Jinel Lausa by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26 and 30-26).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bishop Hagemoen challenges pilgrims to be Prophets of the New Millennium

Image
SASKATOON — As Catholic youth gear up for the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Bishop Mark Hagemoen urged those who participated in the Mount Carmel Pilgrimage Site to embrace their role as prophets of the new millennium. On the Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel feast, hundreds of pilgrims gathered at the Mount Carmel Pilgrimage site on Sunday, July 16, to participate in the annual liturgical services, and the day commenced with the recitation of the rosary and Marian hymns, culminating in a concelebrated mass led by Bishop Hagemoen. Bishop Mark Hagemoen During his homily, Bishop Hagemoen echoed the words of Pope Francis, calling on the pilgrims to embrace their prophetic calling and spread God's word to all. He emphasized that each individual, through baptism, has received the gift of Messianic prophecy, becoming a prophet themselves. "The pope says, ‘Each of us, brothers and sisters, is a prophet. In fact, with baptism, let us all receive the gift of the Messian
Read more

Papal visit hopes to repair relationship with Indigenous Peoples

Image
SASKATOON — The Vatican has released the official itinerary of Pope Francis with the pontiff heading straight to Edmonton to make his first visit to Canada to meet with Indigenous Peoples, especially residential school survivors. The Holy Father will leave Rome on July 24, Thursday, at 9:00 a.m. local time and will arrive at the Edmonton International Airport for the official welcome at 11:20 a.m. the same day. Rome is eight hours ahead of Alberta, which follows mountain daylight time. The theme of the papal visit is “Walking Together” which will focus on reconciliation and healing the strained relationship between the Catholic church and Indigenous Peoples, especially the survivors of the abuses caused by attending the Canadian residential school system. Pope Francis’ six-day trip is a combination of public and private events and meetings, especially with Indigenous Peoples. The visit comes after a few months when a historic meeting between First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegates in
Read more

A letter to Tatay

SASKATOON—My father died in February 2018, more than a month after our last vacation in the Philippines where we get to spend Christmas and New Year with our family and friends. I have no idea that would be the last time we would see Tatay alive, the last time he would see my family and spend time with two (Macky and Nathan) of his more than 10 grandchildren, and the last time I would speak to him in person and my last time to mano before heading to the airport the early morning of Jan. 9, 2018. He died while we were back on Saipan, thousands of kilometres away east of the Philippines; while I was busy covering House and Senate sessions at the CNMI Legislature or busy hounding the governor about a local or federal issue, and while I was working on an island surrounded by the ocean in the Western Pacific. I haven't mentioned this to anyone—and I'm not sure if Nanay or my sister who was then taking care of him remembers this—but I got furious at him when we talked on the ph
Read more