Striegl’s rear-naked choke quickly ended the main event at three minutes and 15 seconds into the first round. He remains undefeated at four wins.
“Giovanni’s a warrior, and I knew going into this fight that for a guy like him, he’d have a huge edge in experience,” Striegl told Variety after the match. “He’s fought with some really tough guys.”
Sticking to tactics was the Fil-American fighter’s key to victory that night.
“As far as experience, I knew I was at a disadvantage. But I know that if I just stuck to the game plan and kept pressuring and going after him, I knew that I’d eventually get a win,” he said.
Striegl almost bid adieu to his undefeated streak when Sablan caught him off-guard with a flurry of blows. The crowd roared as the downed Striegl staggered to get up, but it wasn’t over yet.
Sablan, a little exhausted, charged for a take down while Striegl came from behind. With his legs locked and arms bound for a choke, Striegl left the veteran powerless. Submission was inevitable.
Striegl didn’t recall what happened after his early fall, but was thankful for his swift recovery.
“When he threw his first overhand and I dodged it, I knew that he had really heavy hands. It’s an honor to be here and fight a quality guy like Gio,” he added.
Sablan’s third straight loss now puts him at a 15-8 win-loss record. He also lost to Guam’s Cody Cruz during Trench Warz 13 and Matt Manibusan in Rites of Passage 9.
Meanwhile, Fasi “Quickdraw” Jesse defeated Guam’s Under World Xtreme fighter Tyrone Jones via unanimous decision.
Even with Jones specializing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Jesse spent no time standing up. The Trench Tech warrior started with a leg lock in round one and proceeded to a kimura.
Jones negated both attempts but yielded to several punches.
Jesse – still focused on his ground game in rounds two and three – resorted to a crucifix but couldn’t land his final hold.
“Badd” Brad Palacios won by split decision (30-27, 30-27, 27-27) in a bloody rematch against Maitai “The Charger” Charley.
Charley had the upper hand with a rear-naked choke in round one. Palacios however, slipped out and drew first blood with several strikes to Maitai’s face.
Despite concerns with Charley’s wounds, rounds two and three continued as Palacios dealt constant head and body shots.
This is the second time Charley lost to Palacios via decision, with their first encounter in Rites of Passage 4 in 2008. Palacios now has five wins and two losses.
In other pro bouts, Martin “Ning” Cepeda ended Robert “Pit Bull” Palacios in the first round via key lock.
Guam’s Mike “Flash” Taitano won against Simon “Bad Boy” Sebuu by referee stoppage and Jordan “Jungle Boy” Ogo used a rear-naked choke hold to finish “Tabi” Jay Muna.
Trench Tech’s Shane “Pike Boo” Alvarez remained unbeaten and scored his sixth straight win over Kev “The Rev” Esteves by referee stoppage.
Victors in Friday’s amateur bouts were: Rob Alvarez (ref. stoppage), Joe Duenas (guillotine choke), Lyle Deleon Guerrero (default) and Josh Duenas (rear-naked choke).
In two kickboxing bouts, Regino Munda defeated Glenn Gardee by verbal submission Jacob Ilo downed Marlon Gardee via technical knock out.
