Suganuma headlines ShoXC; UFC Fight Night on Wed.

April 1, 2008

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.

Posted in Fights