by Dave Delgado
Guam - Alex Castro is set to take on Hawaii fighter Shane Nelson in PXC 22. Castro is coming off 2 impressive wins by submission and is now comfortable at 145-pounds. His opponent is from BJ Penn's camp and was on the Ultimate Fighter Show and will be his most experienced opponent to date.
"Training has been good," Castro told KUAM Sports. "I haven't really been doing anything different just been doing the same things I have been doing that helped me get my last 2 wins in my last 2 fights. Just been working a lot of jiu-jitsu, wrestling and picking up my cardio. My opponent is pretty tough he's coming out of Hilo, his name is Shane Nelson and he's BJ Penn's student and he was also on the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 so I'm just grateful for the opportunity to fight someone on the level like that and get to represent my island again."
Alex fought Baby Joe twice and put on a great performance in the 2nd fight showing fans he is a well-rounded fighter. Castro added wins to his record against Saipans Fassi Jesse and a Korean Top Team Fighter in PXC 18. Alex has fought and beat several off island opponents and could have won fights that didn't go in his favor if he mixed it up a little more.
"There are fights that I probably should have won, but I went out there and just tried to knock my opponent out and tried to be the exciting fighter that I am. This time around basically just working my all around game and if I see an opening to take my opponent down or submit him I'm going to do it," he said.
On Friday, January 21, Castro will put all his years in the fight game to use when he represents Guam in PXC 22. He will be the shorter fighter as Shane Nelson is listed at 5' 9" tall but will drop from 155 to 145 when he takes on Alex.
"You know," he commented, "it's MMA so it's not a boxing match it's Mixed Martial Arts so I just have to utilize all my tools and take my opponent down if I see an opportunity just using my all around game just to get that 'W'."