Aiken, Laniyo rule PXC four-man bouts

Gracie Barra fighters Charleston Aiken and Manny Laniyo wowed the jam-pack crowd at the Saipan World Resort Royal Taga Hall as Pacific Xtreme Combat Preba Hao proved to be a big hit Saturday night.

Unlike his first appearance in PXC Preba Hao last September, Aiken was up against a tougher challenge as he had to win two fights in order to reign supreme.

Despite the odds against him, and tough opponents as well, Aiken was able to get the job done and do his dojo proud. He opened the second edition of PXC Preba Hao on Saipan by submitting Juan Iguel of TK9 in the first round.

He then waited so see who he would face in the finals, and it turned out to be Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial of CHOKECHAIN as the strong striker was able to get “Kill” Bill Saures of Dragon Tribe to tap out in the first round.

After opening the evening, the two fighters had the honors of closing the night as well. With each having a fair share of supporters, both fighters came out aggressive, with neither willing to back down. In the end, though, it was Aiken that won via unanimous decision.

Fitial immediately tried to make it a stand up fight, but Aiken’s strength enabled him to work the fight to the ground, just as he had hoped for.

Fitial was able to land a strong punch to Aiken’s head that seemed to have rocked him a bit, but Aiken quickly recovered and used his strength to lift his opponent for a slam at the corner of the ring.

Referee Brant McCreadie then brought the fighters back to the middle of the ring, and soon after, Aiken tried to take Fitial down. The fight went to the ground again, but Fitial was able to break loose and get out of Aiken’s strength position.

Fitial managed to take Aiken down courtesy of a guillotine hold before the firs round came to an end.

In the second round, Aiken went back to pushing for a ground fight, but Fitial did not make it easy as he again put on a guillotine hold on Aiken. The hold was not executed perfectly, and after the two returned to their feet, Aiken was able to land a strong knee to Fitial’s face. Fitial responded with a strong punch, and soon after, Aiken grabbed a hold of his opponent and slammed him down again near the ropes.

The two were brought back to the middle with Aiken on the top position. The Gracie Barra fighter then threw some punches, but Fitial had a tight grip to his opponents body, preventing power punches from Aiken before the second round ended.

After getting instructions from their corner men, the two fighters returned for more action, and Aiken started things off by landing a punch. Fitial was able to land a couple of punches as well in a striking duel before Aiken took drove him to the corner for a take down. Aiken grabbed top position and landed three knees to his opponent’s head. His fourth knee blow landed on Fitial’s rib area. Aiken landed another knee blow to the head and followed with elbows to the body before the round ended.

Meanwhile, Laniyo was just as entertaining as he showcased his mix martial arts skills with a bang.

Laniyo first won by technical knockout over Steve Suzuki, earning the right to face Leroy Sablan of CHOKECHAIN in the finals of the lightweight four-man challenge.

Sablan had earlier defeated Shabb Sablan in the first round via submission.

In the finals, Laniyo was able to force the fight to the ground and took top position. Sablan work his way up and tried to put on a guillotine hold on Laniyo.

Laniyo, however, had other ideas as he picked his opponent up and calmly carried him to the corner before slamming him down. The fight remained in the corner of the ring until McCreadie stopped the action and brought the two back in middle with Laniyo still maintaining top position.

Laniyo began throwing a couple of elbow blows, but Sablan was not rattled and defended well from the bottom to prevent Laniyo from executing a submission hold. Laniyo, however, landed a couple of elbows before the round went in the books.

Laniyo started the second round with a kick to Sablan’s leg. He tried to take Sablan down, but his opponent prevented the take down by throwing a couple of punches. Laniyo again tried for a take down, the move turned against him as Sablan was able to take the top position.

Sablan then began throwing punches and after the two had strong holds on each other, McCreadie decided to stop the fight and bring the two back in the middle.

Sablan still had a full mount on his opponent, but it didn’t last long as Laniyo turned things around and mounted his opponent.

With a dominant position over his opponent, Laniyo was able to land several punches to earn the win.

With the victories, Aiken earned a title shot against PXC champion Manny “The Enforcer” Chong in January, while Laniyo earned a slot in a four-man battle on Guam.