TRENCH Tech’s Ring of Fire 3 drew a strong turnout at the Garapan Round House despite competing with other events on Saturday, according to Trench Tech’s Cuki Alvarez.
“What a slamming success — the crowd was super stoked,” he said. “Everyone delivered, there was not one boring fight with the majority going all three rounds and it goes to show that the fighters are really evolving and getting a lot better.”
He also expressed appreciation to the sponsors of Ring of Fire 3: Miller Lite, Monster Energy, IT&E, Century Hotel, and DC Pro Rental.
Among the fight cards, several bouts stood out besides the semi-main and main events.
The list included the big brawl between heavyweight fighters Richard “Big Dawg” Salas of Latte Built/Trench Tech and Junn San Nicolas (independent).
It was a stand-and-bang type of bout with both fighters exchanging blows throughout all three rounds.
San Nicolas performed well with timely hooks and kicks, searching for the knockout blow to put his opponent on the canvas. However, Salas grew more aggressive with each shot landed. What gave him the slight edge was his ability to keep his cool and follow his corner’s instructions on when to strike and when to retreat.
In the final round, Salas maintained forward pressure with a series of combinations. Although San Nicolas withstood each attack and countered with several punches, fatigue became the biggest factor, leaving more openings for Salas to exploit and score points until the final bell.
It was a close match based on the judges’ scorecards, but Salas outpointed San Nicolas via unanimous decision, 29-28.
No less thrilling
Another exciting match was the middleweight bout between Alvin “Sweeps” Ok and Austin “Quickdraw” Arriola. Ok won via referee stoppage at 1:32 of the third and final round.
The rest of the fight card results are as follows:
• Gren Cepeda defeated Kaehe Barcinas via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
• Maderen Perman bested Kody “Cage” Palacios via unanimous decision, 30-27.
• Miah Dela Cruz defeated Tyrone “The Terror” Babauta via referee stoppage at 40 seconds of Round 2.
• Art Aquinde defeated Keith “Rowdy Rebel” Aldan via TKO at 2:48 of Round 1.
• Jimmy “Crazy Ray” Polk defeated Aldric Valera via unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-29, 29-28.
• Saips They defeated Willdon Camacho via split decision, 29-27, 28-29, 30-27.
• Clarence Cabrera defeated Rickson Menchor via split decision, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28.
• Jeziah Camacho defeated Gable DeChavez via split decision, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28.
• Froilan Wabol bested Zian “The Sandman” Parada via unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.
• Jommy “Hot Tamale” Tubale defeated Marc Pizuelo via split decision, 30-28, 28-29, 29-28.
• “Blessed” Stanley Camacho defeated Ben “Marvelous” Manglona via majority decision, 29-29, 29-28, 29-28.
• Clancy Ramangmou defeated “Ferocious” Joseph Saltin via unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-27, 29-28.
MMA bouts
Alvarez attributed the absence of mixed martial arts fights to the abrupt shift toward K-1 and boxing caused by Covid-19 restrictions.
“MMA has been gone for almost five years,” he said. “People never really have that much time to train and work on their ground game so there was a little bit of a shift in the fight scene — people gravitated more towards boxing and [K-1] kickboxing because they didn’t have to be in the gym.”
But not to worry. Alvarez said MMA will make a comeback at the Cage of Fire event in November.
A ring girl signals the start of the third round during Ring of Fire 3 at the Garapan Round House on Saturday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Richard Salas’ leg kick is checked by Junn San Nicolas during the heavyweight big brawl bout at Ring of Fire 3 at the Garapan Round House on Saturday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Richard Salas celebrates his victory with a split.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
