AT the Trench Tech Mats on Fire Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Garapan Round House, Saipan Submission’s head honcho Bryan Deleon Guerrero ruled the lightweight and heavyweight divisions.
Among the 151-to-160-pound fighters in the lightweight division, Deleon Guerrero bested four other competitors. He had a bye in the preliminary round, and eventually reached the championship round against Giovani Taitingfong. In their match, Deleon Guerrero applied a lightning quick triangle to take home his first medal in the Trench Tech grappling tourney.
Baelen Song was the bronze medalist.
Later, Deleon Guerrero had his work cut out for him, facing bigger competition among the heavyweights.
His first match was against Baelen Song, whom he defeated.
He then went up against a gold medal wrestler at the recently concluded Micronesian Games, Ryan Babauta.
Babauta, who enjoyed a sizeable weight advantage, locked up with Deleon Guerrero in the clinch and patiently waited for takedowns or other opportunities to trip up Deleon Guerrero. They made it to the mat, but with three minutes into their grappling exchange neither man had scored a point or threatened with a submission of any substance.
Late in the match, Babauta tried to pull guard and Deleon Guerrero saw his opening. In the ensuing scramble, Deleon Guerrero got a takedown and then transitioned out of Babauta’s guard, giving Deleon Guerrero a 5-0 lead against Babauta.
Desperate for points, Babauta kicked it into overdrive, landing a late head and arm throw that sent Deleon Guerrero crashing onto the mat. The effort gave Babauta 2 points, but it was too little too late. Deleon Guerrero moved onto the gold medal round where he found himself against MMA veteran and Latte Built head MMA coach Kier Agda.
In the preliminary round, Agda, a silver medalist at Guam’s Copa De Marianas jiujitsu tournament, faced Kyle Park.
Agda and Park scrambled on the mat before Park found himself on the bottom half of Agda’s north-south position. Agda threatened Park with an arm lock as a way to distract his opponent. As Park defended against an attack, Agda slipped in a sneaky mounted triangle that made his foe tap out.
Deleon Guerrero and Agda met for all the marbles in the championship match, where both men displayed composure.
There was a slight stalemate in the round’s opening moments with Deleon Guerrero trapping Agda in his full guard.
Agda tried to use his weight throughout the match, but Deleon Guerrero, “the giant killer,” would have none of that.
With 1:30 left on the clock, Agda led the match by earning three points during a transition. Deleon Guerero was down by only a point thanks to a takedown.
He took Agda’s back with one minute left, and then downright refused to let Agda score again, eventually becoming a two-division gold medalist with a score of 6-3 at the match’s conclusion.
Pirate vs Pikaboo
Among light heavyweights, merchant marine Mahon “Pirate” Gandy made the rest of the competitors to walk the plank as he bagged the division’s gold medal.
There were three other light heavyweights, with Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez the favorite to beat all challengers.
Gandy faced Pikaboo in the final match.
Gandy had the size, reach, and height advantage, but Pikaboo displayed his years of grappling and MMA acumen. At the match’s commencement, Shane initially locked up in the clinch then shot in, grabbing a single leg and pushing through to land in Gandy’s half-guard.
During the ensuing scramble on the mat, Gandy fought hard and looked for a sweep, but Shane capitalized to get side control.
More scrambling followed, and as Gandy turtled on the mat Shane managed to take his back.
In the dominant position, Shane tried for submissions, notably going for an arm lock from back, but was denied, and Gandy swept to wind up in Shane’s full guard.
Shane earned himself more points on the board by swiftly sweeping Gandy and landing in his full guard. There, Shane threatened with a kimura with 1:20 left on the clock. But Gandy refused to go down with the ship and scrambled. Soon, he was in Pikaboo’s half guard with one minute left on the clock and was able to land a keylock, which forced the Trench Tech fighter to tap, giving Gandy the upset, clutch victory.
Noah Quitugua was the bronze medalist.
Saipan Submission’s Bryan Deleon Guerrero and MMA veteran Kier Agda battle it out in the final match of the Mats on Fire heavyweight division.
Bryan Deleon Guerrero had his work cut out of him as he faced the much larger Ryan Babauta.
Bryan Deleon Guerrero 1st place; Kier Agda 2nd place; Ryan Babauta 3rd place.
Moments after he threatened his opponent with an arm lock, Kier Agda punches his ticket to the medal round with a slick mounted triangle from north-south.
Mahon “Pirate” Gandy 1st place; Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez 2nd place; Noah Quitugua 3rd place.
Mahon “Pirate” Gandy showed how clutch he could be with a come-from-behind, late submission win over Shane “Pikaboo” Alvarez.
Bryan Deleon Guerrero had his work cut out of him as he faced the much larger Ryan Babauta
Bryan Deleon Guerrero had his work cut out of him as he faced the much larger Ryan Babauta
