PXC 41 Results: Photos, Videos and some thoughts

Aside from the fact that PXC 41 results came in quite heart pounding for MMA and PXC fans in the Philippines and in Asia in the bigger scale, it cannot be denied that there are some notable observations worthy of being taken as great reminders.
Debuting Rodel 'Kid' Orais came in strong and conditioned well but in a sudden turn of event, he was succumbed to endure a Kimura attempt. We were very much keen to seeing him excel with his sambo arsenals but Shane 'Pikaboo' Alvarez came very imposing with his ground game. Orais went out of the cage on a stretcher, with dislocated shoulder.

Harold Banario vs. Joseph Mercado was a fight that was quite interesting in the early rounds. Time elapsed and the performance of the two, died out a bit. As we saw it, Mercado appeared sluggish, seemingly just waiting for anything to happen. Banario took the win by decision.

We were expecting explosive showmanship from Team Lakay's Troy Bantiag but that night was not on his side. He was fresh and ready for the match but Johnny Pecyna's Jiu-Jitsu concluded the negotiation in the very first round.

To us, Ernesto Montilla Jr. improved based on his performance in PXC 39, where he submitted to Roldon Sangcha'an's rear naked choke. As usual, Montilla came elusive and was able to utilize great circle movements to avoid the punches of Jenel Lausa. The latter's cardio seem to have worn off, giving perfect windows for Montilla to execute his ground game weapons.

The perfect salute must go to the debutant lady MMA fighter from the Philippines, Gina Iniong. The fierce looking kick boxer Nathalie Heidel got caught with the punches, sending her down to the canvass in the very first round, which eventually ended up into a perfect TKO win for Gina.


Gina Iniong vs Nathalie Heidel fight video replay - Gina's winning punches:
Comes the fight between Korean young bet Han Bin Park and Crisanto Pitpitunge, we all had a lot of chills during the intense exchanges of hits across the rounds. Pitpitunge was dominating with his duck + fake upper cut then hook strategy in the stand up. When the game went on the mat, sudden rush of energy came upon Park, some scrambles to the ground took place and boom, a rare naked choke to force Pitpitunge to tap.

For the main event, a lot of people say, Louis Smolka has got so many advantages over the then flyweight champion Ale Cali;Technique / skills, reach and height were among such. Some even said, the fight was a complete mismatch. It was undeniable that "Da Last Samurai" Smolka's Jiu-Jitsu was the main key in what took place that night. Ale Cali was still capable of escaping the choke attempts from his opponent in the first round, until maybe in the early part of the second round. The "Young Gun" Cali was even ramming Smolka with hard punches to the body, sending the latter to arch due to pain. But the former champ was already tired from the ground tests. Smolka took him down, unloaded punches and the next was the referee's stoppage. The new champion emerged. It was Louis Smolka.

Take a moment to watch the replay video featuring the winning hits of Smolka:


The tired and very disappointed Cali was so sorry for his fans that night. He said, he did his best but still, things were not enough. He then called for a rematch and promised to come back improved and stronger. Things to consider for Cali? Strengthen wrestling and improve take down defense, plus get some kicks and leg-based attacks.