Asian MMA: PXC 28 Recap and Results - Jon Tuck Knocks Out Tristan Arenal In MMA Return

Guam's premier MMA organization, Pacific X-Treme Combat, hosted their third show in the Philippines last Saturday, with PXC 28. BloodyElbow.com was on deck at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, as Filipino fight fans were treated to 11 exciting fights, including the headlining bout between Filipino-American, Tristan Arenal, and Abu Dhabi grappling champ, Jon 'Super Saiyan' Tuck.

Tuck, who is known for handing the Filipino MMA star, Eduard Folayang, the only loss of his career, made a successful return to MMA after being away from the sport for more than two years. During that time off, he worked diligently on his grappling and eventually became an Abu Dhabi Grappling Champion, before signing up with the PXC.

This improvement with his ground game was evident during the fight. The Filipino-American, Arenal, hurt him with a combination early, but Tuck quickly gathered his wits, got it to the mat, and took over from there. After a few moments of controlling him on the ground, Tuck was able to posture up and land one of those heavy bombs he's known for, leaving Arenal out cold and stiff as a board. He followed up with two more big shots right to the chin, before the referee was able to stop the fight.

The fighter from Guam got a spectacular finish on his PXC debut, and also earned the respect of the Filipino crowd.

"I know I fight Filipinos, but I have lots of Filipino friends and family," Tuck said post-fight as he drew cheers and won over the crowd, "I have the Cruz name, and I consider myself Filipino"

During the post-fight interview, it was revealed that Tuck will be the next challenger for the PXC Lightweight crown, which belongs to another Filipino-American, in Harris Sarmiento.

"I know they’re trying to set me up with Harris, but he’s my kuya (older brother) from another nanay (mother)," said Tuck. "Every time he goes to Guam, I take care of him as much as I can. I trained with him and even went as far as cutting coconuts and letting him drink that buko juice to recover. There’s some brotherly love there."

After the jump, a recap of the other bouts, and a few exclusive photos from the main event.

Quick hits:

• Ali Cali stole the show with his showmanship. The former boxer kept Dylan Pablo guessing with his fancy unorthodox strikes, feints, and footwork. He 'danced', skipped, and punched his way en route to a very entertaining albeit one-sided decision victory.
• Team Lakay Wushu, one of the best teams in the Asian region, went 2-1 at the event. Denver Labrador and Crisanto Pitpitunge picked up quick and impressive stoppages against their opponents.
  
• Geje Eustaquio, on the other hand, dropped a split decision loss to Korean Top Team's David Cho in an absolute war that got both fighters battered and bloody. Cho had a large hematoma on his forehead, and Eustaquio had a black eye, a bloody lip, and probably had a broken nose after both men took their opponent's best shots without going down. In the end though, the Korean won a razor thin decision despite taking a point deduction for throwing a punch after the 1st round ended. 
• As always, stay tuned for a full photo gallery from the event, but for a teaser, here's a few photos from the main event:

Full Results:

Jon Tuck def. Tristan Arenal by KO (Punch), 1st
Crisanto Pitpitunge def. Jerry Cimeni by Submission (Strikes), 1st
Denver Labrador def. Orlimer Celeste by KO (Head Kick and Punches), 1st
Ali Cali def. Dylan Pablo by Decision (Unanimous)
Elliot Untalan def. Rolando Dy by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), 1st
David Cho def. Geje Eustaquio by Decision (Split)
Jon De Los Reyes def. Virgil Ortigas by TKO
Joseph Mercado def. Benjie Lumacad by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), 1st 
Moses Baca def. Jerry Legaspi by Submission (Armbar), 1st
Alvin Cacdac def. Josh Alvarez by TKO, 1st
Carlo Astudillo def. Chris Cabredo by Submission (Armbar), 1st