This time however, he left the octagon with no belt on his waist as the crowd looked on in disbelief.
Guam’s Robert “The Real Deal” Wusstig surprised him by split decision and put an end to his winning streak to clinch the featherweight title in Trench Warz 15: Supremacy at Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Hall.
“I trained really hard for this fight. I saw it coming,” said Wusstig, who improved to a 3-5 record.
Having lost his two recent bouts by unanimous decision, Wusstig capitalized on a strong second round to gain the edge.
Alvarez went off to his usual explosive start, nearly sweeping his opponent with a kick in round one. Wusstig resorted to the ground and applied a guillotine, which eventually wore off. Alvarez turned to an armbar and lost control before getting up and exchanging strikes.
Wusstig’s clean right hook to his chin nearly ended the bout in the second round.
The strike was so hard it knocked Alvarez off his feet and sent his mouthguard flying off to the side of the cage.
“(In the second round) I threw that punch and I saw him fall down. I was trying to pound him but I felt drained and after the third round I came out feeling better,” said Wusstig.
Alvarez warded off repeated rear naked choke attempts but was too exhausted to connect a knock out by the fourth round. He slipped on top of Wusstig and went for a choke hold but failed.
Wusstig escaped his kimura lock and entered the fifth round with a guillotine choke before forcing Alvarez to the cage with punches.
The dissatisfied crowed booed after hearing the judges’ verdict.
Alvarez now holds a 7-1 record. He won his last bout versus Derrick Rangamar to claim the featherweight title during Rites of Passage 11: Onra, and became a contender for the belt after beating Kevin Esteves last June.
Wusstig said he’s taking a two-week rest before heading back to training.
“I’ll defend it whenever they want it,” he added.
Lassiter wins main event
Meanwhile, main event didn’t last as long when heavyweight Mylo “Bam Bam” Lassiter defeated Guam’s Manny “The Enforcer” Chong via technical knock out 2:37 in the first round.
The 6’ Alabama native recovered from his recent loss in Pacific Xtreme Combat 27 and served Chong a flurry of punches after forcing him in a crucifix.
“Like I said, it was gonna be fun and exciting and I was gonna win,” said Lassiter, who now has four wins under his belt.
“Once I took him down, I got him in a side control and I worked my game. I felt a little more comfortable when I secured his right arm with my right arm and I was able to crucifix him in and do my thing.”
Lassiter absorbed a knee to the stomach before taking the former PXC and Fury heavyweight champion to the ground.
“Whenever you go in a fight you gotta realize a few things. He might be better than you in one way and you might be better in another. Either one of you has to exploit each other’s weaknesses,” he said.
“I just happened to get the upper hand on Manny.”
Jesse taps Charley
In the semi main event, Trench Tech veteran Fasi Jesse posted his eighth win after tapping out Marianas Elite’s Maitai Charley via rear naked choke.
Jesse missed on a right kick in the opening seconds before ending the bout 1:07 in the first round.
Like Lassiter, Jesse also lost in PXC 27 against Jang Yong Kim of Korea before making his come back.
Charley recorded his eighth loss since falling to Brad Palacios by split decision. He won over Kyle Pablo by TKO in ROP 11.
The night featured 11 other bouts, including boxing and kickboxing matches.
