EliteXC: Hawaiians Dominate Off-TV Bouts
HONOLULU, Sept. 15 -- Elias Delos Reyes
(Pictures) went to work early in the
opening bout of the evening, scoring a double leg takedown on
Chico Cantiberos
(Pictures). Working from the guard,
Cantiberos positioned his legs for a lazy submission attempt that
failed and resulted in Delos Reyes taking his back.
Cantiberos, however, was able to pick up his opponent and slam him to the canvas. Not only did Delos Reyes survive the slam, he slapped on an armbar as the fighters fell to the mat. The submission ended the bout 52 seconds into the first round and improved Delos Reyes to 2-0.
After narrowly dodging a high kick from Jesus is Lord's Ikaika Choy-Fu (Pictures), Justin Buchholz (Pictures) was dropped early with a right
hand. He endured the onslaught of ground-and-pound from Choy-Fu,
though, and escaped to his feet.
Once there, Buchholz turned it on, putting Choy-Fu up against the fence and scoring with knees from the clinch. The Bull's Pen fighter ate another right hand, but he kept the pressure on Choy-Fu and landed a combination of punches that made referee Steve Mazzagatti move to stop the fight. Before Mazzagatti could call it, Buchholz chased his foe to the floor and quickly applied a rear-naked choke 1:35 into round one.
"I was supposed to go right back to work after this fight," said Buchholz, who works as an oil refinery laborer in Alaska. "Now I am not sure how I am going to handle everything, but I am definitely fighting on Oct. 26."
Internet Bouts
In the ICON vs. Rumble on the Rock rivalry match, ICON representative Tyson Nam (Pictures) held on through a tight rear-naked choke to earn a unanimous decision over Albert Manners (Pictures). Nam, 4-1, won all rounds on all scorecards.
Kala Kolohe Hose (Pictures), who was originally scheduled to face Robbie Lawler (Pictures) for the ICON middleweight belt in June, continued his march toward the title with an impressive first round stoppage over Jeff Cox.
Hose shrugged off an early guillotine attempt and went to work with right hands to the head and body before landing a left hook that dropped his opponent just 20 seconds in.
Local martial artist and television host Mark Kurano (Pictures) was successful in his MMA debut, submitting Jose Diaz (Pictures) via rear-naked choke at 1:13 of round one.
Kurano, who is a Judo black belt and Gracie jiu-jitsu brown belt, weathered the early storm of strikes from Diaz before scoring a takedown to half guard. He worked steadily to free himself from a guillotine choke and eventually got to Diaz's back, where he landed punches to the head while working in both hooks. From there it was only a matter of time until Kurano sunk in the tap-inducing choke.
Reigning ICON 135-pound champ Mark Oshiro (Pictures) made quick work of opponent Nui Wheeler (Pictures), catching the kickboxer in a rear-naked choke 1:19 into the fight.
Oshiro, normally known for his heavy hands, took Wheeler's back from a standing position and quickly locked in a figure-four body lock. From there he punched Wheeler's head and legs before securing the submission.
Concluding the Internet-only bouts was Hawaii's Brandon Wolff (Pictures) and Colorado's Chad Klingensmith (Pictures). The two went back and forth, trading strikes and takedowns, with Wolff winning the unanimous decision.
Cantiberos, however, was able to pick up his opponent and slam him to the canvas. Not only did Delos Reyes survive the slam, he slapped on an armbar as the fighters fell to the mat. The submission ended the bout 52 seconds into the first round and improved Delos Reyes to 2-0.
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Once there, Buchholz turned it on, putting Choy-Fu up against the fence and scoring with knees from the clinch. The Bull's Pen fighter ate another right hand, but he kept the pressure on Choy-Fu and landed a combination of punches that made referee Steve Mazzagatti move to stop the fight. Before Mazzagatti could call it, Buchholz chased his foe to the floor and quickly applied a rear-naked choke 1:35 into round one.
The win was a gutsy performance by Buchholz, the current ICON Sport
lightweight champ. He showed the ability to rally back from early
trouble, and his perseverance earned him a spot on the Oct. 26
ShoXC event on Showtime.
"I was supposed to go right back to work after this fight," said Buchholz, who works as an oil refinery laborer in Alaska. "Now I am not sure how I am going to handle everything, but I am definitely fighting on Oct. 26."
Internet Bouts
In the ICON vs. Rumble on the Rock rivalry match, ICON representative Tyson Nam (Pictures) held on through a tight rear-naked choke to earn a unanimous decision over Albert Manners (Pictures). Nam, 4-1, won all rounds on all scorecards.
Kala Kolohe Hose (Pictures), who was originally scheduled to face Robbie Lawler (Pictures) for the ICON middleweight belt in June, continued his march toward the title with an impressive first round stoppage over Jeff Cox.
Hose shrugged off an early guillotine attempt and went to work with right hands to the head and body before landing a left hook that dropped his opponent just 20 seconds in.
Local martial artist and television host Mark Kurano (Pictures) was successful in his MMA debut, submitting Jose Diaz (Pictures) via rear-naked choke at 1:13 of round one.
Kurano, who is a Judo black belt and Gracie jiu-jitsu brown belt, weathered the early storm of strikes from Diaz before scoring a takedown to half guard. He worked steadily to free himself from a guillotine choke and eventually got to Diaz's back, where he landed punches to the head while working in both hooks. From there it was only a matter of time until Kurano sunk in the tap-inducing choke.
Reigning ICON 135-pound champ Mark Oshiro (Pictures) made quick work of opponent Nui Wheeler (Pictures), catching the kickboxer in a rear-naked choke 1:19 into the fight.
Oshiro, normally known for his heavy hands, took Wheeler's back from a standing position and quickly locked in a figure-four body lock. From there he punched Wheeler's head and legs before securing the submission.
Concluding the Internet-only bouts was Hawaii's Brandon Wolff (Pictures) and Colorado's Chad Klingensmith (Pictures). The two went back and forth, trading strikes and takedowns, with Wolff winning the unanimous decision.
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