Rage beats Xcalibur in sudden death

It was worth the long wait, and Slade “Rage” Adelbai and Tony “Xcalibur” Nekafies will definitely never forget each other.

The two relentlessly pounded away on each other for two rounds and went into sudden death before Adelbai won in the main event of “Trench Warz IV: Enter the Octagon” Saturday night at a jam-packed and wild Royal Taga Hall of the Saipan World Resort.

The crowd of over a thousand definitely got their money’s worth as the fourth edition of Trench Warz entertained with 17 no-holds barred fights and a boxing contest that was just as action-packed.

After striking under card fights, the mix martial arts fans were ready for the main events.

The crowd went nuts as coordinator Cuki Alvarez took the microphone and introduced the 268-lb. Nekaifes, who was making his debut, and the 251-lb. Adelbai for their long-awaited fight.

The two did not disappoint.

Nekaifes was first to grab the upper hand as he got a good grip on his opponent and used his strength to muscle Adelbai against the fence.

Nekaifes was able to work in a headlock as the fight went to the ground, where it stayed for a while. Adelbai tried to maneuver his way out of the headlock, but Nekaifes kept a firm hold, but neither was able to really cause damage to the other before the first round went into the books.

Both fighters came out storming in the second round, throwing and landing several punches. Nekaifes was able to stun Adelbai with a big hit, resulting in Slade dropping to his knees.

Xcalibur then took the top position, and while on the ground again, was able to land strong punches and knees to his opponent.

Adelbai, however, was not ready to let the fight end. After signaling referee Terrence Aflague that he was okay, Adelbai was able to work back to his feet. He forced Nekaifes against the fence and put on a headlock. Nekaifes was not giving in, though, and the round came to an end.

Both fighters were extremely exhausted, and after going back to their corners, awaited the decision by the judges.

The crowd was itching for more, and got it as judges Roman Dela Cruz and Steve Shimizu both scored the fight 19-19, resulting in a sudden death third round.

By that time, Nekaifes was too tired, and remained at his corner as Adelbai moved toward him. With his hands holding the top of the cage and his body relaxed against the fence, Nekaifes was not able to defend himself and Adelbai quickly landed a hard right punch to his opponent’s body. Nekaifes fell to the mat, and Adelbai came in with another big blow to his head before Aflague stepped in and stopped the fight. Adelbai improved to 4-1.

A warrior with class, Adelbai kept his attention on Nekaifes, and this time, was checking if his opponent was okay. While the fans were exiting the venue, the two fighters laid on the mat and were attended to by supporters.

Just a bit earlier, Saipan’s Frank “The Crank” Camacho and Troy Munoz of Guam put their undefeated records on a line as they squared off in the semi main event.

Camacho entered the bout with a 4-0 record after winning his fights in the first three editions of Trench Warz, as well as at the “Spike 22 Fight Night” on Guam earlier this year, while Munoz held a 3-0 record, with all his wins coming against Spike 22 Guam fighters.

Camacho was quick to attack Munoz’s back. He leaped and hung on from Munoz’s back, with his forearms wrapped around his opponent’s throat area.

Munoz countered by slamming his backside on the mat, with Camacho in between, but Camacho would not let go of the grip.

The two continued to work in the highly technical fight, and Camacho was able to mount his opponent. Munoz, however, wrapped his arm around Camacho’s neck, keeping his opponent from having a better striking position.

But Camacho would not be denied as the young gun managed to land a couple of punches to Munoz’s head. He immediately followed with forearm blows to Munoz’s face before unleashing elbow strikes to his opponents’ shoulders.

Camacho rode his mount high on Munoz and was able to land a couple of left and rights to keep his dominant ways and win in 1:32 into the first round. With that, Camacho was able to keep his perfect record intact, improving to 5-0.

Filled with satisfaction, Camacho leaped and positioned himself atop the octagon cage in celebration.

“Trench Warz IV” was sponsored by Budweiser, Pacific Telecoms Inc., Jonny’s Bar & Grill, Furusato Restaurant, The Rock 97.9 FM, and Power 99.