From May 6, 2008 By Billy Hull
Plenty of news regarding the June 14th EliteXC: Return of the King card at Blaisdell Arena broadcast on Showtime.
Drew Fickett has been forced to pull out of the welterweight title fight against Jake Shields, marking the second time the fight has been pushed back. The fight was originally scheduled for the Frank Shamrock/Cung Le card in March, but Shields had to pull out with a back injury. Now comes word that Fickett suffered a knee injury, forcing the fight to be canceled yet again.
It’s unsure whether Shields will fight another opponent on the card, but other fights have been made official.
In addition to the main event lightweight title fight between former Big Island resident KJ Noons and Yves Edwards, Nick Diaz will return to the islands to take on Muhsin Corbbery. Also returning to fight in Hawaii is former middleweight champion Murilo “Ninja” Rua, who will square off with Tony Bonello, and X-1 heavyweight champion Ron Waterman will fight EliteXC up-and-coming heavyweight Dave “Peewee” Herman. Rounding out the televised portion of the card is Rafael Feijao vs. Wayne Cole.
As for the non-televised portion of the card, I can tell you that Kala Kolohe Hose will fight Geoff Bumstead, a former professional hockey player with a MMA record of 2-1. Since this is an EliteXC card, Hose’s Icon Sport middleweight title will not be on the line, but Bumstead isn’t a guy to be taken lightly.
Also Lolohea Mahe vs. Chris Bernard and PJ Dean vs. Dean Lista (not Dean Lister) have been made official.
What isn’t official but has been heavily rumored is fights involving Koa Ramos, Mike Aina, Kaleo Kwan and Mark Oshiro. It sounds like all of them will be fighting on the card, but opponents have not been decided on. I know Kwan and Aina are a couple of 160-pound fighters that have faced each other twice in the past, with each winning one. I’m just speculating on this, but maybe a rubber match between the two?? Who knows.
Of course, before we get to June, X-1 is having its Legends card in two weeks. Unfortunately, the X-1 flyweight title fight between champion Kana Hyatt and Tyson Nam has been changed after Nam suffered a sprained MCL in training. Hyatt will now defend his title against Hilo’s Albert Manners. The card will be available on PPV and is priced at $29.99 in standard definition and $39.99 in high definition for those unable to attend the show live.
And one final note, K-1 will be in Hawaii for a show at the Stan Sheriff Center on August 9, just seven days after Icon’s August event at the Blaisdell Arena. That makes four big shows in Hawaii in the span of three months. Should be a fun summer.
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From April 30, 2008 By Billy Hull
Another indication of the growth of MMA in Hawaii is the launch of what I believe is the first monthly magazine related to mixed martial arts in Hawaii. The debut edition of MMA Hawaii - The Magazine will be available May 1st at the following locations:
Honolulu: Fighters Corner and OTM Fight Shop.
Kaneohe: WatchChaBack Gear
Schofield PX: Fight Stop
Pearl Harbor NEX: Scrap Yard
Egan Inoue, who fights for X-1 on May 16, and Icon Sport middleweight champion Kala Kolohe Hose will be on hand for a magazine signing Saturday, May 3, at Barnes & Noble at Ala Moana Center from Noon-1 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the magazine sales will be donated to the Moanalua/Aiea Community School for Adults.
And if that’s not enough, Miss Aloha Tower 2007, Jewelyn Tamsing, who is featured in the debut issue of the magazine, will also be on hand. Can’t miss that.
>> On a side note, for the hardcore MMA fans lucky enough to have HDNet, the popular high definition channel will be showing the recent DREAM 1 and 2 events from Japan. DREAM 1, which featured the controversial fight between JZ Calvan and Shinya Aoki, will be shown on Friday and DREAM 2, which took place just this Monday, will be played on Saturday. I haven’t seen any of the DREAM fights yet, but it’s supposed to be very similar to a PRIDE event. DREAM 1 features fights as part of a 16-man lightweight grand prix the promotion is putting on while DREAM 2 focused on a middleweight grand prix. Plus, you’ll be able to see what caused the first Calvan/Aoki fight to end in controversy as well as the much-anticipated rematch. From what I’ve heard, two very good shows to check out.
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From April 25, 2008 By Billy Hull
The upcoming X-1 card marking the return of Egan Inoue will be available live on Oceanic PPV (Ch. 260/1260), in both standard and high definition, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Hawaii time May 16. EliteXC and Icon shows have been broadcast on Showtime and on the Internet, but I believe this is the first local MMA card available on special Oceanic PPV. Not only that, but it will be shot in high definition. Good news for those that can’t make it. I know a lot of people that go to these events live sometimes complain at all the camera and cameramen that get in the way so the setup that night should be interesting to see.
>> Some quick UFC news: Coming off his KO victory over Alessio Sakara in March, Icon Fitness trainer Chris Leben is jumping back into the Octagon June 7 in London against Michael Bisping. That fight will be on the main card of the show that will also include the return of Matt Hughes against Thiago Alves and Rashad Evans vs. James Irwin. The card has been in turmoil ever since the original main event scheduled between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua was cancelled after Rua pulled out due to injury. Liddell was then set to face Evans before pulling out with an injury himself. The event is available live on PPV beginning at 10 a.m. Hawaii time.
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From April 22, 2008 By Billy Hull
A lot of MMA-related stuff went down this weekend.
First, sounds like Niko Vitale got a packed house at the Dole Cannery Ballroom Friday night for his Local Pride event. Two MMAD fighters, Brad Tavares and Kyle Miyahana, pulled out dominating first-round submission victories. Lolohea Mahe took the main event fight with a TKO victory over Vilatonu Fonokalafi and Doug Hiu earned a tough decision victory over Kaeo Linkee. Hopefully once summer arrives, I’ll be able to check out more of these shows because I heard there were some very good fights.
On the national scene, Georges St. Pierre dominated Matt Serra to become the undisputed UFC welterweight champion Saturday night in front of a wild Canadian crowd of more than 21,000 people. I wasn’t surprised too much with the main event. I thought Rich Franklin would have a tougher time with Travis Lutter, but once again, it looked like Lutter didn’t bring his A-game to a big-time fight. Lutter seemed tired in round 2 and that was all Franklin needed to pull out the win. I wasn’t too excited about the card, but I think it has more to do with the big May 24 UFC event coming up.
And if you didn’t hear, Maui’s Kendall Grove will fight former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner on June 21st on the Ultimate Fighter finale show. The complete release for the card, which also features Diego Sanchez against Luigi Fioravanti, is below:
Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Former UFC® middleweight champion and one of the sport’s pioneers, Evan Tanner, takes on rising star and The Ultimate Fighter® Season 3 victor Kendall Grove as the main event of the live The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale fight card on Saturday, June 21 live from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The fight card will be the first ever presented in high definition on Spike TV, beginning at 9pm ET/PT (tape delayed). Doors will open at 2:30pm PT; first bout will begin at 3:30pm PT.
Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® 7 Finale are $350, $250 and $150, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Saturday, April 19 at 12 Noon PT. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.
Before his debut at UFC 18 in January, 1999, Tanner (34-7) lived quite an adventurous and often nomadic existence, doing everything from installing cable TV in South Dakota to building beach houses in North Carolina, to laying concrete in Montana. Tanner found his calling in the Octagon™ and after three straight victories earned a shot at the UFC crown. However, then light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz knocked out Tanner less than a minute to retain his title. The determined Tanner won seven of his next eight bouts including a first round TKO over David Terrell in February 2005 at UFC 51, to claim the vacant UFC middleweight title. However, his reign was short-lived as he lost to Rich Franklin in June 2005 at UFC 53 via TKO (stoppage due to cuts). Most recently, he lost to heralded Japanese contender Yushin Okami at UFC 82 this past March.
The 6’6” Grove (10-5) is a Hawaiian native who honed his skills as a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 3. Two recent defeats at the hands of veterans Patrick Cote (UFC 74 in August of 2007) and Jorge Rivera (UFC 80 in January of 2008) after an auspicious 3-0 start in the UFC makes this battle with Tanner a must-win for the 25-year old Grove.
As the night’s special feature, Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez takes on hard-hitting Luigi Fioravanti.
Sanchez (20-2), fighting out of Albuquerque, NM, burst onto the UFC scene with incredible fanfare after winning The Ultimate Fighter 1 crown against Kenny Florian After six consecutive wins over such notable opponents as Karo Parisyan, John Alessio, and Nick Diaz, it seemed Sanchez was clearly destined to wear the UFC welterweight crown. However, Sanchez’s lofty title hopes were derailed by two consecutive losses including a three-round decision to bitter foe and The Ultimate Fighter 1 castmate, Josh Koschek, at UFC 69 last April and a split decision loss to Jon Fitch last September at UFC 76. Now, the Gaidojuijitsu black belt is back on the winning track after submitting Brazilian native David Bielkheden in March at UFC 82.
Fioravanti (12-2), from Orlando, Fl, is coming off an impressive victory in March over Luke Cummo at UFC 82. As tough as his opponent Sanchez will be, the 27 year-old has most certainly been in more perilous situations. Fioravanti is a decorated Marine who was part of the first wave of troops to arrive in the Middle East for the ongoing Iraq War. After seeing dangerous action during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fioravanti returned to the U.S. in 2004 to begin training for a professional MMA career.
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From April 17, 2008 By Billy Hull
Just got emailed the final fight card for Niko Vitale’s event tomorrow at the Dole Cannery Ballroom, which as always, can change. I’ll be covering the UH baseball game, but would love to hear from anybody who goes how it went.
All fights are two, 3-minute rounds unless otherwise noted.
135 pounds: Jhared Gamez (Fight Stop) vs. Kaniela Ahnee (No Remorse)
145: Kwan Lee (Freelance) vs. Randy Kamaiopili (No Remorse)
160: James Mata (Fight Stop) vs. Derek Au (Grappling Unlimited)
160: Landin Davis (Freelance) vs. Larry Ladao (Freelance)
165: Nelson Owen (Freelance) vs. John Visante (Sit U Down)
HW: Otto Hoopii (Stand Alone) vs. Brandon Correa (Freelance) *XMA rules
150: Joseph Ena Ena (Freelance) vs. Jared Iha (Grappling Unlimited)
170: Steve Farmer (Universal Combat) vs. Eddie Ohia (No Remorse)
210: Makana Vertido (Gods Army) vs. Abraham “Kumu” Cambra (Grappling Unlimited)
145: Ian Dela Cuesta (Jesus Is Lord) vs. Alan Hashimoto (HMC)
185: John Ferrel (JAB) vs. Brad Tavarres (MMAD) *three, 3-minute rounds
170: Micah Ige (JAB) vs. Kyle Miyahana (MMAD) *three, 3-minute rounds
HW: Kaeo Linkee (Bang Inc.) vs. Doug Hiu (MMAD) *three, 5-minute rounds
HW: Lolohea Mahe (Maui Mulisha) vs. Villi Fonokalfi (No Remorse) *three, 5-minute rounds
Don’t know what to expect from most of these fights. Mahe and Villi will probably be a stand-up war and Ige and Miyahana should be exciting. I’m not too familiar with most of the undercard. Is there anyone on there I should look out for?
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From April 15, 2008 By Billy Hull
…Hans Marrero (15-5) of Scottsdale, Ariz. The 23-year-old fighter, who trains under Mark Kerr, said he saw Egan in a documentary that inspired him to fight. When contacted by X-1, he asked for Inoue and will get his wish when the two tangle in the main event of May 16th’s X-1: Legends card at the Blaisdell Arena.
Marrero, 19 years younger than Inoue, has ended every fight he’s won with an armbar which makes for an exciting fight with the 42-year-old Inoue. Marrero calls his fighting style “Kobushi Sessan Jitsu”, which he claims was invented by his father who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
X-1’s Legends event is beginning to shape as most of the card was announced yesterday. In addition to the previously mentioned fights, Michael Brightmon, the X-1 Grand Prix winner from a year ago, will face well-known local sensation Kolo Koka. Ron Jhun also returns after a one-year hiatus against Dylan Clay. Sean Sakata, Nicolai Curry, Tony Giraldi, Doug Hiu, and Danny Steele will also be fighting on the card.
Special thanks to Laurie K. for the photos!
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From April 14, 2008 By Billy Hull
Kind of a slow week the last seven days, but that all changes this weekend.
Got an email from X-1 middleweight champion Niko Vitale, who is going to test his skills as a promoter. Niko Vitale Promotions is putting on an event Friday night at the Dole Cannery Ballroom called Local Pride. Should be good so if you have some free time, go check it out. If I can get my hands on a fight card, I will put it up.
The UFC is also back with the big Georges St. Pierre/Matt Serra rematch on Saturday. Can Serra shock the world again or will GSP get his revenge and put his name back in the running with Anderson Silva as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. According to the UFC, over 21,000 tickets have been sold for the event being held in Montreal. I believe it’s the UFC’s first show in Canada. Also, Rich Franklin makes his return following his second loss to Silva against Travis Lutter.
Here at home, X-1 is having a huge Legends show in May where Egan Inoue will fight for the first time in nearly five years. His opponent will be announced tomorrow at a press conference so check back in the late afternoon to find out who he is. Already confirmed for the card is Ray Cooper vs. Shane Nelson for the X-1 lightweight title, Kana Hyatt vs. Tyson Nam for the featherweight belt and Brendon Wolf vs. Chad Reiner for Reiner’s welterweight title.
EliteXC is still on for June and now comes word that K-1 will hold its USA Grand Prix card in Hawaii some time in late July or early August. Mighty Mo, who won the tournament in Hawaii last year, just lost a unanimous decision to Keijiro Maeda on Sunday.
Hopefully those tax returns come just in time for the summer where there will be at least four big shows in a span of three months.
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From April 8, 2008 By Billy Hull
I know a lot of MMA fans in Hawaii are heading up to Las Vegas on Memorial Day weekend for the fight between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk for the UFC lightweight championship.
I just checked out the UFC website and they have put up the full 11-fight card. It is as follows:
BJ Penn (13-4-1) vs. Sean Sherk (35-2-1)
Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
Wilson Gouveia (10-4) vs. Goran Reljic (7-0)
Lyoto Machida (12-0) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-5-1)
Thiago Silva (11-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (14-2)
Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar Palhares (0-0)
Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7)
Terry Etim (10-1) vs. Rob Emerson (9-6-1)
Jon Koppenhaver (6-1) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-1)
Jason Tan (5-1) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (9-1-1)
Christian Wellisch (9-2) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0)
Interesting to note that the Sokoudjou vs. Nakamura fight may not be televised. Both of these guys made their names in PRIDE and Sokoudjou was one of the top fighters in 2007 with wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (twin brother of UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) and Ricardo Arona. Nakamura’s 11-7 record isn’t anything to brag about, but when you realize his seven loses are against Rogerio Nogueira (twice), Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett, Shogun Rua and Machida, the guy has been in there with the best.
It’s also worth noting that Christian Wellisch is fighting for the first time since his submission victory over Scott Junk of Kailua last year.
I know I’m a little bias but this is probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a fight card. If you asked me to name two guys I’d want to see fight live the most, it’d be Penn and Silva, no questions asked. Throw in Tito’s possible last fight in the UFC with some solid matchups on the undercard and this should be one heck of a show. Anyone fortunate enough to get to see this live is in for a real treat.
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From April 7, 2008 By Billy Hull
ShoXC’s second straight event on Showtime ended in controversy after Hilo’s Poai Suganuma stopped undefeated Jared Hamman in just 15 seconds after landing a monster overhand right (seen above), followed by a vicious right knee to the head.
Before Suganuma was given a chance to finish his foe, the referee stopped the fight, believing Hamman was knocked out. I didn’t get a chance to see the fight (got the replay shown tonight on DVR), but while Hamman may still have been able to defend himself, a lot of people are saying it was just a matter of seconds before Poai pounced on Hamman and finished him on the ground. Ether way, it’s a monster win for Suganuma, now 9-1, and proves he is a legitimate light heavyweight contender in EliteXC. EliteXC hasn’t showcased light heavyweight’s too much, but when they do, I would think Poai will be one of their featured fighters.
Also, the International Fight League held a big event on Friday. All three champions in action successfully defended their belts. Results are below:
IFL East Rutherford, N.J.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Non-Title Bouts
205 lbs.: Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) def. Brendan Barrett (Tuckerton, N.J.) via decision (split) after three rounds
155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) def. Nate Lamotte (New Hampshire) via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems
145 lbs.: LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) def. Rafael Dias (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) via KO (strikes), 3:56, 3rd
170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) def. Jesse Lennox (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) via submission (kneebar) 1:25, 2nd
205 lbs.: Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) vs. Carmelo Marrero (Douglasville, Pa.), no contest
Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy
155 lbs.: Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.) def. Bart Palaszewski (Wonder Lake, Ill.) via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
170 lbs.: Brad Blackburn (Olympia, Wash.) def. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) via KO (strikes), 1:50, 3rd
Championship Bouts
205 lbs.: Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus) def. Jamal Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.) via TKO (strikes), 3:35, 2nd
145 lbs.: Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) def. Shad Lierley (Seattle) via KO (punch), 0:37, 1st
170 lbs.: Jay Hieron (Freeport, N.Y.) def. Mark Miller (Chicago) via TKO (strikes), 2:10, 1st
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From April 4, 2008 By Billy Hull
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is in Hawaii this weekend and will be hanging out at the OTM Fight Shop on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. Jackson will be signing posters courtesy of Throwdown and the OTM Fight Shop. The shop is located at 1255 S. Beretania St.
Also, I just a call from Christine over at X-1 that many of their fighters will be at Center Stage in Windward Mall from 3-9 p.m. on Saturday sighting autographs and hanging out. X-1’s Legends card in May is scheduled to include Niko Vitale, Egan Inoue, Ray Cooper and more. Expect the entire card to be released some time in the next few days.
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