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Tiebreaker Times

Kyle Aguon continues his ascent


Pacific Xtreme Bantamweight Championship [PXC] Bantamweight Champion Kyle Aguon (9-4) has, literally, grown inside the ‘terror dome.’ In his seven-year MMA career, he has only called one place home and that is the PXC cage.

Last Saturday night, the PXC Bantamweight Champion competed in his 13th bout and it was lucky number 13 for the young lion as he displayed his growth in the sport in grinding a split decision win over Davao City-raised Rolando Gabriel “The Incredible” Dy Navarette (5-4). Aguon showed his maturity in the bout as he was patient in getting his spots and taking Dy with ease.

Going into the grudge match, the Guamanian was oozing with confidence knowing that he had Dy’s number. “I was really confident fight by coming out fighting in a place other than home, I am actually more comfortable. Not so much pressure for me. I love the Philippines, you guys treat me so good,” Aguon told us after the match. And he credits all that to his intense training camp, “I came out here, I did what I could to train, I do what I can to fight and to become strong. I felt good coming out to the fight. I felt that the Filipinos were on my side, that’s why I wanted to give you guys a show and thank you guys for supporting me.”

As a prized fighter there should also be a sense of professionalism going into each fight. A strict regimen should be followed accordingly, including the process of cutting weight. Dy, however, did not make weight for the anticipated rematch resulting to the fight being relegated to just a three-round fight. “Super disappointed. We really had a good scrap in the beginning and I wanted to go out on a five round, five minute championship fight just to show that I am the true champion. That’s why I’m really disappointed,” the 135 scrapper said with disappointment.

“It’s disappointing man. I train as hard as I can to make 135. I busted my ass. I bled, I sweat, just to make that weight. I mean I suffered just to make weight. I gave up all the sweet foods, the beer, everything! To come out, I was expecting Dy to do the same. I guess that messed up with his diet that came up for him not to make weight. I hope everything with him is okay.”

But just like anything else, Aguon moved on. During the first fight between Dy and Aguon, both men exchanged in the stand-up, a stark contrast in the rematch. Aguon was more technical and displayed his all-around grappling game, a product of his hard work over at Spike 22’s gym. “I was worried about his striking because I knew he had good striking. I know my wrestling is way more superior than his, I have awesome wrestling partners. I come from a wrestling-based gym [Spike 22]. My coach, Melchor Manibusan, one of the most outstanding wrestlers in Guam. Then one of my best friends Joey Lopez, we go to war in the gym, he’s representing Guam as well. He has gone out in international tournaments. I’m here training with him, we’re training together and giving each other runs. His brother Mike is competing in college wrestling. We have so many wrestlers in our gym and I knew we could use that to our advantage in the fight.”

During the interval between the second and third round, the Guamanian and the Filipino touched gloves. Behind all the animosity these two showed during the events leading up to Saturday, it was a sight of fresh air and, according to Aguon, it was a sign of respect and farewell to the rivalry they developed. “I touched gloves as a sign of respect. We fought two rounds already. This was our last round. I felt that this was gonna be our last fight so we touched gloves. And it felt like ‘hey we both love the sport and we came out here to give the crowd a show. We both bleed, we both sweat.’ So I gave him that respect for what he deserves because we came out there banging.”

DSC_0486-837x1024 Kyle Aguon continues his ascent  - philippine sports news

Aguon going for a takedown on Dy

It was a great showing by Aguon as he dominated his opponent in three rounds of action. However, when the decision was announced one judge scored it in his favor (30-27) while the second judge had Dy winning 29-28. “That was really weird, I was like ‘how did he give him that’. I’m not sure how he took that, but I’m guessing we just can’t leave it to the judges’ hands. We should go out there and look for the finish. I put on a show and I don’t know what that judge was thinking but I thought that was unanimous. I was actually freaking out when I heard that number [29-28 Dy]. I was like ‘wow, what was going on’. It was making me scared.” Fortunately for the PXC Champion, the third judge had him as winning all three rounds as well. “In the end it was okay, I knew I did everything I could to win and, in the end, I went home with the win.”

Finally, having compiled a record of 9-4 and having faced fighters who are now in the big leagues, Aguon wishes that he could also join them in the UFC. “I’ll just try to move up in my career and get into the UFC. That’s just basically what my main goal is to try to make it up there.”

But he knows there’s still a lot to improve on in his game. “I’m still growing and still learning. I’m not at the peak yet. There’s room for improvement, more technical skills. I’m looking forward to improving my game, improving my wrestling, improving my boxing, and improving my media coverage just to try to move forward in my career.”

Kyle Aguon is one of the biggest prospects in the game today. The future is bright for the Guamanian but just like what he said, learning never stops.

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