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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From April 3, 2008 By Billy Hull
Quick results from last night’s UFC Ultimate Fight Night card on Spike TV from Colorado:
Kenny Florian def. Joe Lauzon by TKO (3:28 Round 2)
Thiago Alves def. Karo Parisyan by TKO (0:34 Round 2)
Matt Hamill def. Tim Boetsch by TKO (1:25 Round 2)
Nate Diaz def. Kurt Pellegrino by submission ( 3:06 Round 2, Triangle Choke)
James Irwin def. Houston Alexander by KO (0:08 Round 1)
Gray Maynard def. Frankie Edgar by UD
Josh Neer def. Din Thomas by UD
Marcus Aurelio def. Ryan Roberts by submission (0:16 Round 1, Armbar)
Manny Gamburyan def. Jeff Cox by submission (1:41 Round 1, Guillotine Choke)
Clay Guida def. Samy Schiavo by TKO (4:13 Round 1)
George Sotiropoulos def. Roman Mitichyan by TKO (2:24 Round 2)
Anthony Johnson def. Tommy Speer by KO (0:51 Round 1)
I saw a few of the fights and was very impressed with Anthony Johnson’s KO of Tommy Speer. Kid looked fast, strong and threw some serious punches with bad intentions. Remember his name in the future. Main event fight was a great first round. I thought Florian’s elbows were dirty and am of the opinion that if Brock Lesnar got deducted a point for hitting the back of the head against Frank Mir, Florian should have gotten the same penalty. I know BJ Penn wants to test the welterweight division again if he gets past Sean Sherk in May, but if that happens, I’d love to see him fight one more time at lightweight against Florian to avenge the loss suffered by Lauzon, BJ’s training partner.
Be sure to catch a replay of the Ultimate Fighter reality show if you missed it. Instead of having the normal 16 guys to start the show, they brought in 32 and had 16 fights with the winners getting to stay in the house. More fights make for better TV and you get the added bonus of hearing Rampage and Forrest comment on each fight as it happens. Good stuff.
Hawaii had one representative on the show, but Steve Byrnes, fighting out of Kailua, lost by armbar in the second round. He’s fought once for Icon and was 6-1 going in, but wasn’t ready physically for a 10-minute fight and got real tired in the second round which led to his demise. One of the better fights of the first show however.
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From April 1, 2008 By Billy Hull
Big Island boy Poai Suganuma is back in action for the first time in 2008 when he headlines the ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series card on Showtime Saturday night against undefeated Jared Hamman (9-0) of San Bernardino, Calif.
The 26-year-old Suganuma (8-1) has already fought in Pancrase and K-1 and has had a fight in both Icon Sport and HFC. His only loss came as a result of a cut and six of his eight wins have been by either TKO or submission. He has spent the last two years training in Hilo under BJ Penn after beginning his MMA career in Japan while working as a singer, ukulele player and English teacher.
I don’t know much about Hamman other than he hasn’t gone the distance in any of his nine fights. From what I’ve been told, there’s more than one or two people within EliteXC that think he’s a future star at 205 pounds. It’s a main event fight on Showtime and will be a great opportunity for Suganuma to notch a big win on the national stage.
For those in Hawaii interested in watching, the event begins on a tape delayed basis at 8:30 p.m. on Showtime.
If you can’t wait that long to satisfy your MMA appetite, the UFC returns to Spike TV Wednesday for UFC Fight Night Live at 4 p.m. In a main event featuring lightweights, Kenny Florian takes on Joe Lauzon in a fight that COULD earn the winner a lightweight title shot. Lauzon is another guy that spent time training for this fight in Hilo with BJ, who ironically enough, could be the guy Lauzon fights next if he wins. Of course, Penn has to get by Sean Sherk first in May which will be one of the biggest fights of 2008 hands down.
The three-hour event will be followed by the debut of the next season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show featuring coaches Forrest Griffin and light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
For anyone that’s ever talked to Jackson, he’s one of the all-time great quotes I’ve ever come across and Grffin isn’t one to shy away from the camera either. Taping for the show has already been done and while everything is supposed to stay a secret, I’ve heard there’s more than a share of run-ins between the two coaches.
The four fights in addition to Lauzon/Florian that will be televised are:
Houston Alexander (8-1) vs. James Irwin (13-4-1); Kurt Pellegrino (17-3) vs. Nate Diaz (8-2); Matt Hamill (5-1) vs. Tim Boetsch (7-1); Thiago Alves (18-4) vs. Karo Parisyan (25-4)
The main event is probably the fight I’m most amped for, but don’t forget about Parisyan. He would have had a welterweight title shot if it wasn’t for an injury and is known for producing some of the sickest throws you’ll see in a cage. His fights are always a treat to watch.
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From March 29, 2008 By Billy Hull
Former Big Island resident KJ Noons will headline the June 14th EliteXC event at the Blaisdell Arena when he defends his world lightweight title against Yves Edwards.
The fight was officially announced during tonight’s EliteXC/StrikeForce co-promoted event in San Jose, Calif. The Hawaii show will be broadcast on Showtime and also features the crowning of the promotion’s first welterweight champion as Drew Fickett and Jake Shields will fight for the title. That fight was supposed to take place tonight, but Shields suffered a back injury in training and had to pull out.
It’ll be the second show for EliteXC in Hawaii. Robbie Lawler knocked out Murilo “Ninja” Rua in the main event of the first one last September. EliteXC is the same organization that recently signed a deal with the CBS network. Saturday Night Fights will debut May 31 with Lawler defending his middleweight title against Scott Smith, a heavyweight fight featuring internet legend turned MMA superstar Kimbo Slice and Phil Baroni against Rua.
In a memorable main event last night on Showtime, Cung Le stopped Frank Shamrock in three rounds to become the new Strikeforce middleweight champion in front of a packed house at the HP Pavilion. The fight was billed as a battle for San Jose and is an early candidate for fight of the year as Shamrock stayed true to his word and engaged in a striking contest with a world renowned kickboxer in Le. Le controlled the first two rounds, but a series of hard right hands had Le in trouble near the end of round 3. After the bell rang, Shamrock slumped to his knees in his corner and couldn’t continue as one of Le’s powerful kicks broke Shamrock’s right arm.
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From March 25, 2008 By Billy Hull
In an interesting twist, I was able to confirm that Phil Baroni, who just lost to Kala Kolohe Hose at Icon Sport: To Hell and Back, will fight on the CBS EliteXC event May 31st against Murilo “Ninja” Rua. Rua hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Robbie Lawler at EliteXC: Uprising last September at the Blaisdell Arena.
What’s interesting to note about the Baroni fight is that Hose, who is also under contract to EliteXC, beat Baroni rather convincingly, but won’t be fighting on the card. For those of you that caught Monday’s Fighters Club Radio Show, Patrick Freitas and I discussed the question is MMA mainstream yet? What you have with the Baroni fight is that even though he sports a career 10-9 record, he has fought in all the big shows, is a name most fans know, and has entertainment value with his ability to talk trash prior to fights.
However, if MMA is really going to become a respected, understood, legit sport in the mainstream world, shouldn’t guys like Kala Kolohe Hose be rewarded for beating a guy like Phil Baroni? Yeah, he might not be the most outspoken fighter out there, but when you take Baroni’s best shot in the first round and then beat the guy up for the next 15+ minutes, shouldn’t you be the one getting rewarded?
It’s clear EliteXC is going with the more known and marketable fighter on a national scale, but what are you thinking if you’re Hose? You just beat a guy who is 10-9. You’re 6-1. Yet, the 10-9 guy gets the bigger fight on the first card on national television in front of an audience MMA hasn’t reached yet? Maybe as the sport finds its place on the national scene, it’ll change, but sooner or later, guys that get the big fights are going to have to be the ones that earn it in the cage, not the ones that are more marketable outside of it.
>> Big card on Maui this weekend as promoter Mike Malone puts on a Hawaii Fighting Championship event at War Memorial Stadium Saturday night. Kaleo Kwan fights in Tyson Coloma-Nahooikaika in the main event. Other good fights include Kiana Hyatt against Tony Bergamo and Albert Manners against William Armstrong. Manners, who trains with BJ Penn in Hilo, has been followed around by the Tapout crew in preparation for the fight. For those that don’t know, the Tapout has its own reality show on the Versus network where three guys go around the world to find the best fighters as they get ready for upcoming fights. The Tapout crew has been filming Manners leading up to Saturday night and will be at the event along with Penn and Icon Fitness trainer Chris Leben of the UFC. Looks like a good event for those of you on Maui to check out.
>> UPDATE: Thanks to an email, I did some research and the EliteXC PPV Saturday night is on Showtime as well as Showtime PPV. Those people that already pay for Showtime won’t have to fork out the $24.95 it costs to order the PPV. In addition to Jake Shields having to withdraw from his fight, Nick Diaz also won’t be competing on the card. For those that are interested in watching, obviously the Frank Shamrock/Cung Le main event will be huge, but I’m excited to see Gilbert Melendez back fighting in the states. Melendez, 13-1, is coming off the first lost of his career in Japan and holds a win over local boys Harris Sarmiento and Stephen Palling. The Palling fight happened in Hawaii in 2004.
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From March 24, 2008 By Billy Hull
Big congratulations to Pearl City’s Mark Oshiro, who earned a first round KO victory over Chris Cariaso to open Friday night’s ShoXC card on Showtime.
Oshiro came into the fight with an injured back he hurt during training and was in trouble during the early minutes. Cariaso scored a takedown and went right into the mount position before eventually getting Oshiro’s back. Oshiro took a few shots to the head and a couple of knees to the back of the leg, but was able to block a rear naked choke attempt and eventually worked his way back to his feet. As the fighters turned to separate, Oshiro clocked Cariaso with a clean right hook that put him on the canvas. Oshiro pounced on his fallen opponent to force the referee to stop the fight as Cariaso could not defend himself.
With the win, Oshiro is now 10-1 and is expected to fight on the next Icon card June 14. Maui’s Analu Brash also fought on the same card, but was stopped in the first round by Shane Del Rosario of California. Rosario took advantage of Brash’s inexperience on the ground and pounded out a TKO victory.
Be sure to check out 1500-AM at 9 a.m. Monday morning when I’ll co-host the Fighters Club Radio Show with Icon Sport promoter Patrick Freitas. We’ll talk about MMA and if it really has hit mainstream yet as well as preview this weekend’s HFC event on Maui. We’ll also discuss the EliteXC card on Showtime this Saturday featuring Frank Shamrock against Cung Le and the battle for the EliteXC welterweight title between Jake Shields and Drew Fickett.
For those that remember, Shields won the Rumble on the Rock welterweight tournament at the Blaisdell Arena a couple pf years ago in what has turned out to be a stacked event. The 8-man field included current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former Icon Sport champion Frank Trigg, current WEC champion Carlos Condit and Yushin Okami, who could be Silva’s next opponent in the UFC.
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From March 20, 2008 By Billy Hull
Just got the official press release about the first EliteXC show broadcast on CBS:
LOS ANGELES, March 20 — CBS and ProElite, Inc. today announced that the first live primetime mixed martial arts event will be broadcast Saturday, May 31 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be broadcast live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
“We’re excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America’s fastest growing sport with this prime time event,” said Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. “EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique personalities, world-class athleticism, and raw power and emotion that characterizes mixed martial arts.”
Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will put his title on the line against Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith in a middleweight championship bout. EliteXC heavyweight phenom, Kimbo Slice, will also participate in the May 31 event along with other stars from mixed martial arts. Additional matchups will be announced at a later date.
“I am very happy for the highly trained fighters, who will finally get the kind of exposure they deserve, and, of course, the viewers, who will get the opportunity to learn that MMA is truly a sport that requires an abundance of skills, both mentally and physically,” said Gary Shaw, EliteXC Live Events President.
CBS and ProElite, Inc., a Los Angeles-based leading entertainment and media company that produces world class mixed martial arts (MMA) events, announced last month they were teaming up to bring MMA to a major broadcast television network for the first time. CBS will broadcast four MMA events per year, produced by ProElite’s EliteXC fight division, as two-hour live primetime specials.
Mixed martial arts is a sport evolved from a number of ancient combat disciplines including judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling and kickboxing. World-class athletes engage in hand-to-hand combat in a ring — both caged and traditional — and must adapt their fighting style to fit their opponent. The wide variety of styles and techniques make every event an unpredictable spectacle.
CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be produced by SHOWTIME Sports. The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
For additional information visit www.proelite.com
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Now we know why Lawler wasn’t ready to commit to fighting Kala Kolohe Hose on March 15. It’s interesting to note that Lawler was also part of the first UFC fight shown on cable when he beat Steve Berger. It was shown on FSN’s Best Damn Sports Show Period.
Also don’t forget tomorrow night’s ShoXC event broadcast tape delayed in Hawaii at 8 p.m. on Showtime. Local boy Mark Oshiro will fight in the televised opener against Chris Cariaso and Maui’s Analu Brash takes on Shane Del Rosario in a heavyweight fight.
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