Live in:
MMA Pipeline: Octagon Unkind to Island Boys
With EliteXC's "The Uprising" looming heavy on the horizon, most
Hawaiian fight fans are enjoying visions of Robbie Lawler (Pictures) battling Murilo "Ninja" Rua.
And for good reason.
The Sept. 15 event at the Blaisdell Arena could be one of the best nights of MMA ever in Hawaii.
That's not to say the islands have been quiet otherwise. As always, MMA Pipeline has all the news on fights and fighters in the Aloha State.
Tough time in UFC for local boys
After defeating Ed Herman (Pictures) to win season three of "The Ultimate Fighter," Maui-native Kendall Grove (Pictures) continued his winning ways in the octagon, stopping both Chris Price and Alan Belcher (Pictures).
That winning streak ended Aug. 25 at UFC 74, however, after Patrick Cote (Pictures) stunned Grove (8-4) with a right hand to the side of the head that sent him stumbling to the mat.
Before the Hawaiian could recover, Cote followed up with a series of devastating strikes from the mount.
Kailua, Hawaii's Anthony "The Crush" Torres traveled to London, England, last Saturday, where he faced Jess "The Joker" Liaudin on the undercard of UFC 75.
Torres, who came into the bout with an unblemished professional record, suffered his first defeat when referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the bout, declaring Liaudin the winner by TKO at 4:10 of the first round.
The beginning of the end came for Torres, now 5-1, when he ate a two left hooks from Liaudin that knocked him to the floor.
The 29-year-old Hawaiian was able to get back to his feet, only to receive a pair of knees and some solid dirty boxing as the two clinched alongside the cage.
Despite still being visibly shaken, Torres continued to move forward and trade blows. But Liaudin was patient and confident as he landed a devastating right hand that again sent Torres to the mat.
The French-born fighter followed Torres and unleashed a series of right hands to the side of his opponent's head.
Torres returned to his feet again, but he was ultimately unable to avoid his opponent's pressure. Liaudin pushed Torres to the cage and unleashed a series of right and left hands that found their mark and forced the referee stoppage with Torres battered, bloody, and barely on his feet.
Moreno-Ebanez No Contest ruling stands
In a highly-anticipated rematch of their 2006 X-1 welterweight title match, local rivals Ross Ebanez (Pictures) and Mark Moreno (Pictures) put on a great show in the first of three scheduled rounds, only to have their Aug. 4 bout come to a crashing halt in the second.
"Mark had Ross in a guillotine and was falling through the ropes," referee George Adkins (Pictures) told to Sherdog.com after the bout. "I yelled stop and put my hands on both fighters. Ross started getting up and Mark hipped in and threw Ross to his back and landed at least one solid shot to Ebanez's left cheek bone."
Adkins had paused the fight to restart it away from the ropes. Ebanez stopped, but Moreno threw him to the ground and connected flush with a right hand to the face that left Ebanez unable to continue.
Moreno said he was unaware the ref had halted the fight.
Ebanez's management challenged the No Contest, saying Moreno should be disqualified. On a statement on X1Events.com, Adkins confirmed the ruling will stand.
"Although it appeared that Moreno ignored my instructions to break," Adkins said in his statement, "it appears after reviewing the fight tape from several angles that there was comments being shouted from [Ebanez's corner] that distracted Moreno from being able to hear my instructions."
Adkins also cited rules broken by both fighters' corners.
"Both blue and red corners had more than three cornermen … and after the foul was committed, both Moreno and the blue corner exchanged foul language, which is unsportsmanlike conduct," Adkins said.
Hilo boys defeated Down Under
Hawaii's Albert "Always Bad" Manners and David Moreno, both of B.J. Penn (Pictures)'s Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Hilo, traveled to Australia's Gold Coast on Aug. 11 to compete on the main card of Warrior's Realm 10: Hawaii vs. Australia.
Despite dropping his opponent in the first frame with a right uppercut, Manners lost a three-round unanimous decision to Brazilian-born Daniel Lima (Pictures).
Moreno gave a good showing against Australian Adrian Pang (Pictures). He scored early takedowns and landed the best strike of the match -- a right elbow that opened a cut over Pang's left eye and prompted ringside doctors to inspect the wound.
The fight continued, and Pang, needing to end the bout, secured an arm-triangle choke from the guard 2:38 into the third round.
Arevalo captures main event of first Fighter's Journey
Fighter's Journey, a new event promoted by local fighter and gym owner David "The Tan Superman" Padilla, held its inaugural event at the Manoa Grand Ballroom at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Aug. 31.
Gerald Arevalo, of 808 Fight Factory, submitted Tony Giraldi with a guillotine choke in the second round of the main event.
In other professional bouts, Peni Taufa'ao edged out Brandon Pieper to win a majority decision, and Ramon Franco drew with Daniel Devers. HMC's Dean Lista caught Joshua Coleon in a rear-naked choke that caused him to tap with one second left in the first round of their lightweight fight.
Bob Ostovich was also victorious, winning via disqualification after Tyson Primm stunned him with a pair of illegal elbow strikes to the head.
Relson Gracie promotion hits Hawaiian shores
Gracie Proving Grounds, a feeder show for the Gracie Fighting Championships, journeys to promoter Relson Gracie's home of Hawaii on Oct. 6.
Headlining the show at the Blaisdell Arena will be Relson's son, Rhalan Gracie (Pictures).
Rhalan, who lost his MMA debut via split decision last year against Dustin Hazelett (Pictures), returns to action against Hawaii's Keoni Bryant.
In addition to his son, Relson will bring a slew of his jiu-jitsu students from around the globe, including three black belts, to face Hawaiian fighters.
Former ICON Sport middleweight champ and local fan-favorite Jason "Mayhem" Miller will also bring two Team Quest fighters to compete on the card.
Tentative card:
175 lbs - Rhalan Gracie (Pictures) (Relson Gracie) vs. Keoni Bryant (Jus Rush)
155 lbs - Kaleo Kwan (Eastsidaz & O2 Martial Arts Academy) vs. Duke Sarigosa (808 Fight Factory)
155 lbs - Fabricio Morango (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Shane Nelson (Nova Uniao)
170 lbs - Jorge Drito (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Brandon Wolff (Pictures) (Team MMAD)
170 lbs - Daniel Nova (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Kimo Wolfel (Eastsidaz)
185 lbs - Fabio Prata (Relson Gracie Brown Belt) vs. Billy Hall (HMC)
170 lbs - Jeremiah O'Neal (Relson Gracie) vs. David Padilla (Pictures) (Jesus is Lord)
170 lbs - Kamal (Relson Gracie) vs. Kolo Koka (Pictures) (Team MMAD)
155 lbs - Randy Vera (Relson Gracie) vs. Dean Lista (HMC)
170 lbs - Pono Pananganan (Relson Gracie) vs. Ferrid Kheder (Team Quest)
170 lbs - Ryan Larson (Relson Gracie) vs. Koa Ramos (Eastsidaz)
205 lbs - David Chew (Relson Gracie) vs. Kevin Grace (HMC)
185 lbs - Jason Carr (Relson Gracie) vs. Ron Verdadero (Jesus is Lord)
185 lbs - Justin Dyer (Relson Gracie) vs. Jodi Messiona (808 Fight Factory)
135 lbs - Ramon Howard (Relson Gracie) vs. Ivan Jennings (Pictures) (808 Fight Factory)
205 lbs - Maui Wolfgram (Team MMAD) vs. Brian Harper(Team Quest)
And for good reason.
The Sept. 15 event at the Blaisdell Arena could be one of the best nights of MMA ever in Hawaii.
That's not to say the islands have been quiet otherwise. As always, MMA Pipeline has all the news on fights and fighters in the Aloha State.
Tough time in UFC for local boys
After defeating Ed Herman (Pictures) to win season three of "The Ultimate Fighter," Maui-native Kendall Grove (Pictures) continued his winning ways in the octagon, stopping both Chris Price and Alan Belcher (Pictures).
That winning streak ended Aug. 25 at UFC 74, however, after Patrick Cote (Pictures) stunned Grove (8-4) with a right hand to the side of the head that sent him stumbling to the mat.
Before the Hawaiian could recover, Cote followed up with a series of devastating strikes from the mount.
Kailua, Hawaii's Anthony "The Crush" Torres traveled to London, England, last Saturday, where he faced Jess "The Joker" Liaudin on the undercard of UFC 75.
Torres, who came into the bout with an unblemished professional record, suffered his first defeat when referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the bout, declaring Liaudin the winner by TKO at 4:10 of the first round.
The beginning of the end came for Torres, now 5-1, when he ate a two left hooks from Liaudin that knocked him to the floor.
The 29-year-old Hawaiian was able to get back to his feet, only to receive a pair of knees and some solid dirty boxing as the two clinched alongside the cage.
Despite still being visibly shaken, Torres continued to move forward and trade blows. But Liaudin was patient and confident as he landed a devastating right hand that again sent Torres to the mat.
The French-born fighter followed Torres and unleashed a series of right hands to the side of his opponent's head.
Torres returned to his feet again, but he was ultimately unable to avoid his opponent's pressure. Liaudin pushed Torres to the cage and unleashed a series of right and left hands that found their mark and forced the referee stoppage with Torres battered, bloody, and barely on his feet.
Moreno-Ebanez No Contest ruling stands
In a highly-anticipated rematch of their 2006 X-1 welterweight title match, local rivals Ross Ebanez (Pictures) and Mark Moreno (Pictures) put on a great show in the first of three scheduled rounds, only to have their Aug. 4 bout come to a crashing halt in the second.
"Mark had Ross in a guillotine and was falling through the ropes," referee George Adkins (Pictures) told to Sherdog.com after the bout. "I yelled stop and put my hands on both fighters. Ross started getting up and Mark hipped in and threw Ross to his back and landed at least one solid shot to Ebanez's left cheek bone."
Adkins had paused the fight to restart it away from the ropes. Ebanez stopped, but Moreno threw him to the ground and connected flush with a right hand to the face that left Ebanez unable to continue.
Moreno said he was unaware the ref had halted the fight.
Ebanez's management challenged the No Contest, saying Moreno should be disqualified. On a statement on X1Events.com, Adkins confirmed the ruling will stand.
"Although it appeared that Moreno ignored my instructions to break," Adkins said in his statement, "it appears after reviewing the fight tape from several angles that there was comments being shouted from [Ebanez's corner] that distracted Moreno from being able to hear my instructions."
Adkins also cited rules broken by both fighters' corners.
"Both blue and red corners had more than three cornermen … and after the foul was committed, both Moreno and the blue corner exchanged foul language, which is unsportsmanlike conduct," Adkins said.
Hilo boys defeated Down Under
Hawaii's Albert "Always Bad" Manners and David Moreno, both of B.J. Penn (Pictures)'s Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Hilo, traveled to Australia's Gold Coast on Aug. 11 to compete on the main card of Warrior's Realm 10: Hawaii vs. Australia.
Despite dropping his opponent in the first frame with a right uppercut, Manners lost a three-round unanimous decision to Brazilian-born Daniel Lima (Pictures).
Moreno gave a good showing against Australian Adrian Pang (Pictures). He scored early takedowns and landed the best strike of the match -- a right elbow that opened a cut over Pang's left eye and prompted ringside doctors to inspect the wound.
The fight continued, and Pang, needing to end the bout, secured an arm-triangle choke from the guard 2:38 into the third round.
Arevalo captures main event of first Fighter's Journey
Fighter's Journey, a new event promoted by local fighter and gym owner David "The Tan Superman" Padilla, held its inaugural event at the Manoa Grand Ballroom at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Aug. 31.
Gerald Arevalo, of 808 Fight Factory, submitted Tony Giraldi with a guillotine choke in the second round of the main event.
In other professional bouts, Peni Taufa'ao edged out Brandon Pieper to win a majority decision, and Ramon Franco drew with Daniel Devers. HMC's Dean Lista caught Joshua Coleon in a rear-naked choke that caused him to tap with one second left in the first round of their lightweight fight.
Bob Ostovich was also victorious, winning via disqualification after Tyson Primm stunned him with a pair of illegal elbow strikes to the head.
Relson Gracie promotion hits Hawaiian shores
Gracie Proving Grounds, a feeder show for the Gracie Fighting Championships, journeys to promoter Relson Gracie's home of Hawaii on Oct. 6.
Headlining the show at the Blaisdell Arena will be Relson's son, Rhalan Gracie (Pictures).
Rhalan, who lost his MMA debut via split decision last year against Dustin Hazelett (Pictures), returns to action against Hawaii's Keoni Bryant.
In addition to his son, Relson will bring a slew of his jiu-jitsu students from around the globe, including three black belts, to face Hawaiian fighters.
Former ICON Sport middleweight champ and local fan-favorite Jason "Mayhem" Miller will also bring two Team Quest fighters to compete on the card.
Tentative card:
175 lbs - Rhalan Gracie (Pictures) (Relson Gracie) vs. Keoni Bryant (Jus Rush)
155 lbs - Kaleo Kwan (Eastsidaz & O2 Martial Arts Academy) vs. Duke Sarigosa (808 Fight Factory)
155 lbs - Fabricio Morango (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Shane Nelson (Nova Uniao)
170 lbs - Jorge Drito (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Brandon Wolff (Pictures) (Team MMAD)
170 lbs - Daniel Nova (Relson Gracie Black Belt) vs. Kimo Wolfel (Eastsidaz)
185 lbs - Fabio Prata (Relson Gracie Brown Belt) vs. Billy Hall (HMC)
170 lbs - Jeremiah O'Neal (Relson Gracie) vs. David Padilla (Pictures) (Jesus is Lord)
170 lbs - Kamal (Relson Gracie) vs. Kolo Koka (Pictures) (Team MMAD)
155 lbs - Randy Vera (Relson Gracie) vs. Dean Lista (HMC)
170 lbs - Pono Pananganan (Relson Gracie) vs. Ferrid Kheder (Team Quest)
170 lbs - Ryan Larson (Relson Gracie) vs. Koa Ramos (Eastsidaz)
205 lbs - David Chew (Relson Gracie) vs. Kevin Grace (HMC)
185 lbs - Jason Carr (Relson Gracie) vs. Ron Verdadero (Jesus is Lord)
185 lbs - Justin Dyer (Relson Gracie) vs. Jodi Messiona (808 Fight Factory)
135 lbs - Ramon Howard (Relson Gracie) vs. Ivan Jennings (Pictures) (808 Fight Factory)
205 lbs - Maui Wolfgram (Team MMAD) vs. Brian Harper(Team Quest)
Related Articles