HONOLULU, Jan. 24 -- Fighters and media gathered Thursday in downtown Honolulu to discuss X-1 World Events' "Champions," set to take place Jan. 26 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.
The event, which features five title bouts, will host a four-man tournament with middleweight fighters Falaniko Vitale (Pictures), Joey Guel (Pictures), Ricky Shivers and Kenny Ento (Pictures).
Vitale is fresh off a disappointing tournament loss against Trevor Prangley (Pictures) in a Strikeforce event last November. He hopes to win the tournament and capture the X-1 World middleweight title in front of a hometown crowd.
"This time I'm bringing the title belt home," said the former ICON Sport middleweight champ. "I should have won that fight" against Prangley, said Vitale, who was on the receiving end of an accidental eye poke in the bout. "I was able to fight the next round; I don't understand why they stopped the fight. They should have given me five minutes" to recover.
Also on the card, Maui fighter Analu Brash will defend his heavyweight title against Ron Waterman (Pictures).
"It's such a good opportunity," said Brash, who comes into the bout with only two professional fights under his belt. "They asked me if I wanted to fight Ron. … I used to watch him fight when I was young. It's an honor to step in the ring with this dude."
"Analu is a big, strong kid," Waterman said of his opponent. "He's a very good athlete, you can just tell, but you know, he does have a lack of experience. I don't expect it to get out of the first round."
Chad Reiner (Pictures) will take on Mark Moreno (Pictures) in a much-anticipated rematch, this time for the welterweight title.
In their first meeting, a non-title affair last November in X1, titleholder Moreno had a good showing in the opening round before injuring his hand and slowing enough in the second round for the UFC veteran Reiner to secure a submission.
Women's boxing standout Mia St. John will also be on the card, making her mixed martial arts debut against Rhonda Gallegoes.
"The good thing is we're both coming from boxing," St. John commented. "She has no ground experience. I don't have any ground experience, so we'll see who learned the most in the shortest amount of time. We're both starting from ground zero, so we'll see."
Rounding out the main card, Shane Nelson (Pictures) will defend his lightweight title against Kaleo Kwan (Pictures); Eddie Yagin (Pictures) returns to defend the 145-pound title against Dave Moreno; Anthony Torres (Pictures) takes on one of the local scene's most promising newcomers in Michael Brightmon (Pictures); and Wesley "Cabbage" Correira returns to the ring to battle Jake Faagai.
The evening's undercard will showcase a mix of both pro and amateur talent from around the Islands.
Full Card:
X-1 World Middleweight Title Tournament (185 pounds)
Falaniko Vitale (Pictures), Joey Guel (Pictures), Ricky Shivers, Kenny Ento (Pictures)
X-1 World Heavyweight Title
Analu Brash vs. Ron Waterman (Pictures)
X-1 World Welterweight Title (170)
Mark Moreno (Pictures) vs. Chad Reiner (Pictures)
Women's Match
Mia St. John vs. Rhonda Gallegoes
X-1 World Lightweight Title (155)
"Sugar" Shane Nelson (Pictures) vs. Kaleo Kwan (Pictures)
X-1 World Super Lightweight Title (145)
Eddie Yagin (Pictures) vs. "Dirty" Dave MorenoMichael Brightmon (Pictures) vs. Anthony Torres (Pictures) (170)
Jake Faagai vs. Wesley Correira (Pictures) (Heavyweight)
Doug Hiu vs. Eric Edwards (Heavyweight)
Cheyenne Padeken vs. Rich Anderson (190) Lolohea Mahe vs. Des Miner (Heavyweight)
Brennan Kamaka (Pictures) vs. Luke Cadina (175)
Walter Hao vs. Kona Ke (165)
Amateur Matches
Sean Sakata vs. Steve Farmer (170)
Keola Silva vs. Gary Rebalisza (140)
Jared Iha vs. Alan Hashimoto (140)
Ikaika Moreno vs. Aaron Steele (155)
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