{"id":373249,"date":"2022-07-29T06:04:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T20:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=373249"},"modified":"2022-07-29T06:04:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T20:04:01","slug":"kelvin-to-take-on-aussie-foe-in-hex-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/kelvin-to-take-on-aussie-foe-in-hex-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelvin to take on Aussie foe in Hex 23"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>
Fitial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kelvin \u201cThe Big Hit\u201d Fitial will try to get back into the win column when he takes on Aussie newcomer Junior Tafa in Hex Fight Series 23 set for Aug. 5 in Melbourne, Australia.<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old Fitial has the advantage in terms of experience as he comes into the 265-lb heavyweight fight with a 15-12-2 win-loss-draw card.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old Tafa, meanwhile, only has a match under his belt, which he won. Like Fitial, the Queensland native is also 6\u20193\u201d in height.<\/p>\n

Fitial, who is fighting out of Trench Tech Gym, Marianas Elite, and Four Seasons Martial Arts & Fitness, has lost his last four mixed martial arts fights.<\/p>\n

Last April, Aaron Bush beat Fitial via submission in B2 Fighting Series 157 in Lexington, Kentucky.<\/p>\n

A month before that in March, \u200b\u200bthe CNMI\u2019s pride lost to Dominique Steele via unanimous decision in B2 Fighting Series 152 in West Virginia.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, Fitial was knocked out cold by Rakim Cleveland in B2 Fighting Series 132 in Kentucky.\u00a0
\n

<\/a>
Faja<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Curiously, Fitial\u2019s losing streak started in the Land Down Under when he succumbed to Ben Sosoli in Hex Fight Series 18 in March 2019.<\/p>\n

Fitial\u2019s last win in the octagon was when the former CNMI national basketball player defeated Peter Miyasaki in Rites of Passage 21 \u201cThrowdown\u201d on Saipan in May 2017.<\/p>\n

A little over a week before his matchup against Faja, Fitial said he will treat the upcoming match like his previous 27 other fights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me. I\u2019ve learned to win, and I\u2019ve learned to lose. This is neither a last chance nor a redemption fight. To me, this is fight No. 28, another swim in the ocean to see how far I can go this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 38 years old, Fitial said he still has a lot left in the tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always reminded by my friends and family about my age and I\u2019m aware. Mentally and physically, I know how far I can push my body and my mind is also aware of what can happen if I don\u2019t adapt or have a plan. All my fights, these contests against another human, mean so much to me. I love to compete and I\u2019m feeling really good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fitial is also inviting his family, friends, and fight fans to watch him fight next week in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cTo all my friends and family, you can watch me on HEX 23 on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. I\u2019ll be in Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington Victoria, Australia or on FITE.TV,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shake \u201cPikaboo\u201d Alvarez will serve as Fitial\u2019s cornerman against Faja in Hex Fight Series 23.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kelvin \u201cThe Big Hit\u201d Fitial will try to get back into the win column when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":373244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}