MMA Pipeline: ICON and ProElite Still Talking
James Meinhardt Aug 1, 2007
With Robbie Lawler
(Pictures) pulling out of his ICON
title defense last month and Rumble on the Rock seemingly halting
their promotion of fights on the islands since partnering up with
ProElite last year, Hawaiian fight fans have suffered from a bit of
a drought as of late.
But with Sherdog.com reporting earlier this month that ProElite is in negotiations with ICON Sport over a potential purchase, things appear to be heating up.
Though nothing has been finalized, Hawaii's longest running mixed
martial arts event remains in deep discussions with ProElite, the
company that brought MMA to Showtime viewers.
Should the deal close in time, the first event to showcase the combined talents of the two organizations, likely headlined by a bout between EliteXC middleweight titleholder Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Lawler, is scheduled to take place at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu on Sept. 15.
If the deal between ICON and ProElite does go through it's unlikely this match will be made again until November, if at all.
Penn defeats rival Pulver, 155-title challenge put on hold
B.J. Penn (Pictures) of Hilo, Hawaii closed a chapter in his fighting career last month at the Ultimate Fighter 5 finale when he defeated long time rival Jens Pulver (Pictures).
The two first met in a five-round fight for the UFC lightweight title in which the young Penn suffered his first defeat after the judges scored the bout in Pulver's favor.
After competing against each other as coaches on TUF 5, Penn and Pulver met again in the main event of the show's live finale, where Penn secured a rear-naked choke that forced Pulver to tap at 3:12 of the second round.
As one chapter closes, another begins.
It was originally reported that Penn, a former 170-pound UFC title holder, would get his third shot at lightweight gold this November -- this time against the seemingly unstoppable force that is Sean Sherk (Pictures).
However, an alleged failed drug test by Sherk following his first title defense earlier this month has put the Penn-Sherk title match in jeopardy. Sherk was fined $2,500 and suspended for 365 days from the date of the fight after nandrolone metabolites were discovered in a urine sample the fighter provided prior to the fight.
A statement released by Sherk indicated he has retained an attorney and plans to challenge the drug test and appeal the ruling to the commission.
"I was really looking forward to putting on a great, memorable fight," Penn said in an interview with CBS2/KCAL9 Studios in Los Angeles. "I don't know what's going to happen now."
It's unlikely anyone will know until after Sherk's appeal with the California State Athletic Commission, scheduled for Aug. 6, 2007 in Los Angeles.
Niko fights for charity
After a pair of near late-replacement fights for EliteXC, Hawaiian MMA star Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is headlining X-1 World Event's Aug. 4 show at the Blaisdell in Honolulu.
His opponent on that night is Steve Renaud (Pictures), but that's not the only fight Vitale is in, as he will donate his purse to Central Pacific Youth Inc., a non-profit organization that helps at-risk teens.
Vitale spends much of his free time volunteering to help local teenagers involved with the program. With the money he is raising, Niko hopes to set up a facility for Central Pacific Youth Inc. in his hometown on Oahu's west side.
X-1 World Events and South Pac Entertainment will also donate a portion of event proceeds to the organization.
In addition to the Vitale-Renaud bout, X-1 light heavyweight champ Marcelo Tigre fights Vernon "Tiger" White, and "Sugar" Shane Nelson defends his X-1 lightweight title against Harris Sarmiento (Pictures).
Also scheduled for the event is the anticipated rematch between Mark Moreno (Pictures) and Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez; a Hawaiian heavyweight battle pitting Wesley "Cabbage" Coreirra against Deutsch Pu'u; a showdown between Hawaii's Augie Padeken and TUF 3 contestant Tait Fletcher (Pictures); a twins vs. twins match as Hawaii's own Wolf brothers take on the Nahiwawa brothers; and Hawaii's first eight-man open-weight grand prix-style tournament, with each fight consisting of one five-minute round and a one-minute overtime period if needed.
Grove to face Cote at UFC 74
Maui's Kendall Grove (Pictures), winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 middleweight contract, is set to square off against fellow TUF-alumni Patrick Cote (Pictures) at the August 25 event headlined by the heavyweight title match between Randy Couture (Pictures) and Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures).
Grove has gone undefeated in the UFC in three fights since defeating Ed Herman (Pictures) to capture the TUF crown.
At 6' 6", Grove is a tall middleweight who will enjoy a seven-inch height advantage over the Canadian, who despite a less than stellar record in the UFC should prove to be a good challenge for the up-and-coming Hawaiian.
Junk wins title in Canada
Hawaiian heavyweight Scott Junk (Pictures) added another win to his record and earned his first championship title when he defeated Jimmy Ambriz (Pictures) in the main event of MFC 12 held on June 22.
Junk, who has gone undefeated in six fights since a losing effort in his professional debut against Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures), won via TKO when Ambriz was unable to answer the bell at the beginning of the second round.
The premature ending may have been in part due to the accidental knee Junk landed to Ambriz's groin halfway through the opening period. Ambriz took the full five minutes to recover before finishing the round, but was ultimately unable to continue.
Local talent showcased at HFC: Stand Your Ground IV
Hawaii Fighting Championships put on the fourth event in its "Stand Your Ground" series at the Dole Cannery Ballroom on July 13.
The event was headlined by a lightweight title match, which saw Kaleo Kwan defeat Dominic Ah Nee via split decision.
In other title action, B.J. Penn (Pictures)'s MMA Academy fighter Donald "Boy" Gonzalez submitted Brandon Pieper with a rear-naked choke in the first round to win the 145-pound title.
Rounding out the event's main card was a welterweight bout between Keoni Bryant and Koa Ramos. Bryant showed his slick submission skills when he forced Ramos to tap after securing a kneebar in the first round.
In addition to the pro MMA bouts, the card also featured a slew of amateur and kickboxing bouts showcasing local young fighters.
Kauai hosts Garden Island Cage Match 6: Caged Fury
On July 21 fighters and fans braved the rainy weather to witness GICM's latest event at Hanapepe Stadium on the Garden Island of Kauai.
In the evening's main event, ICON and X-1 veteran Kimo Wolfel earned a unanimous decision victory by putting the pressure on Landon Showalter (Pictures), working shots to the head and body for three rounds.
Even though no belt was on the line, GICM featherweight titleholder Buck Bisbey performed like a champ in stopping former ICON 145-pound champ Chico Cantiberos in the first round. The referee called a stop to the fight after Bisbey secured mount and rained down punches.
Keoni Bryant notched his second first-round submission victory this month when he caught Kauai's Andrew Solis in a rear-naked choke at the 1:50 mark of the opening frame.
Also on the card, Ron Verdadero and Casey Daniels put on a show. The two went blow-for-blow the entire fight, but it was Verdadero who got the judges' nod as he landed the cleaner, harder hitting shots of the fight.
But with Sherdog.com reporting earlier this month that ProElite is in negotiations with ICON Sport over a potential purchase, things appear to be heating up.
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Should the deal close in time, the first event to showcase the combined talents of the two organizations, likely headlined by a bout between EliteXC middleweight titleholder Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Lawler, is scheduled to take place at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu on Sept. 15.
Lawler was originally scheduled to defend his ICON title against
Waianae, Hawaii's Kala Kolohe
Hose (Pictures) on June 30, but was forced to
pull out of the fight when he separated his shoulder during
training.
If the deal between ICON and ProElite does go through it's unlikely this match will be made again until November, if at all.
Penn defeats rival Pulver, 155-title challenge put on hold
B.J. Penn (Pictures) of Hilo, Hawaii closed a chapter in his fighting career last month at the Ultimate Fighter 5 finale when he defeated long time rival Jens Pulver (Pictures).
The two first met in a five-round fight for the UFC lightweight title in which the young Penn suffered his first defeat after the judges scored the bout in Pulver's favor.
After competing against each other as coaches on TUF 5, Penn and Pulver met again in the main event of the show's live finale, where Penn secured a rear-naked choke that forced Pulver to tap at 3:12 of the second round.
As one chapter closes, another begins.
It was originally reported that Penn, a former 170-pound UFC title holder, would get his third shot at lightweight gold this November -- this time against the seemingly unstoppable force that is Sean Sherk (Pictures).
However, an alleged failed drug test by Sherk following his first title defense earlier this month has put the Penn-Sherk title match in jeopardy. Sherk was fined $2,500 and suspended for 365 days from the date of the fight after nandrolone metabolites were discovered in a urine sample the fighter provided prior to the fight.
A statement released by Sherk indicated he has retained an attorney and plans to challenge the drug test and appeal the ruling to the commission.
"I was really looking forward to putting on a great, memorable fight," Penn said in an interview with CBS2/KCAL9 Studios in Los Angeles. "I don't know what's going to happen now."
It's unlikely anyone will know until after Sherk's appeal with the California State Athletic Commission, scheduled for Aug. 6, 2007 in Los Angeles.
Niko fights for charity
After a pair of near late-replacement fights for EliteXC, Hawaiian MMA star Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is headlining X-1 World Event's Aug. 4 show at the Blaisdell in Honolulu.
His opponent on that night is Steve Renaud (Pictures), but that's not the only fight Vitale is in, as he will donate his purse to Central Pacific Youth Inc., a non-profit organization that helps at-risk teens.
Vitale spends much of his free time volunteering to help local teenagers involved with the program. With the money he is raising, Niko hopes to set up a facility for Central Pacific Youth Inc. in his hometown on Oahu's west side.
X-1 World Events and South Pac Entertainment will also donate a portion of event proceeds to the organization.
In addition to the Vitale-Renaud bout, X-1 light heavyweight champ Marcelo Tigre fights Vernon "Tiger" White, and "Sugar" Shane Nelson defends his X-1 lightweight title against Harris Sarmiento (Pictures).
Also scheduled for the event is the anticipated rematch between Mark Moreno (Pictures) and Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez; a Hawaiian heavyweight battle pitting Wesley "Cabbage" Coreirra against Deutsch Pu'u; a showdown between Hawaii's Augie Padeken and TUF 3 contestant Tait Fletcher (Pictures); a twins vs. twins match as Hawaii's own Wolf brothers take on the Nahiwawa brothers; and Hawaii's first eight-man open-weight grand prix-style tournament, with each fight consisting of one five-minute round and a one-minute overtime period if needed.
Grove to face Cote at UFC 74
Maui's Kendall Grove (Pictures), winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 middleweight contract, is set to square off against fellow TUF-alumni Patrick Cote (Pictures) at the August 25 event headlined by the heavyweight title match between Randy Couture (Pictures) and Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures).
Grove has gone undefeated in the UFC in three fights since defeating Ed Herman (Pictures) to capture the TUF crown.
At 6' 6", Grove is a tall middleweight who will enjoy a seven-inch height advantage over the Canadian, who despite a less than stellar record in the UFC should prove to be a good challenge for the up-and-coming Hawaiian.
Junk wins title in Canada
Hawaiian heavyweight Scott Junk (Pictures) added another win to his record and earned his first championship title when he defeated Jimmy Ambriz (Pictures) in the main event of MFC 12 held on June 22.
Junk, who has gone undefeated in six fights since a losing effort in his professional debut against Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures), won via TKO when Ambriz was unable to answer the bell at the beginning of the second round.
The premature ending may have been in part due to the accidental knee Junk landed to Ambriz's groin halfway through the opening period. Ambriz took the full five minutes to recover before finishing the round, but was ultimately unable to continue.
Local talent showcased at HFC: Stand Your Ground IV
Hawaii Fighting Championships put on the fourth event in its "Stand Your Ground" series at the Dole Cannery Ballroom on July 13.
The event was headlined by a lightweight title match, which saw Kaleo Kwan defeat Dominic Ah Nee via split decision.
In other title action, B.J. Penn (Pictures)'s MMA Academy fighter Donald "Boy" Gonzalez submitted Brandon Pieper with a rear-naked choke in the first round to win the 145-pound title.
Rounding out the event's main card was a welterweight bout between Keoni Bryant and Koa Ramos. Bryant showed his slick submission skills when he forced Ramos to tap after securing a kneebar in the first round.
In addition to the pro MMA bouts, the card also featured a slew of amateur and kickboxing bouts showcasing local young fighters.
Kauai hosts Garden Island Cage Match 6: Caged Fury
On July 21 fighters and fans braved the rainy weather to witness GICM's latest event at Hanapepe Stadium on the Garden Island of Kauai.
In the evening's main event, ICON and X-1 veteran Kimo Wolfel earned a unanimous decision victory by putting the pressure on Landon Showalter (Pictures), working shots to the head and body for three rounds.
Even though no belt was on the line, GICM featherweight titleholder Buck Bisbey performed like a champ in stopping former ICON 145-pound champ Chico Cantiberos in the first round. The referee called a stop to the fight after Bisbey secured mount and rained down punches.
Keoni Bryant notched his second first-round submission victory this month when he caught Kauai's Andrew Solis in a rear-naked choke at the 1:50 mark of the opening frame.
Also on the card, Ron Verdadero and Casey Daniels put on a show. The two went blow-for-blow the entire fight, but it was Verdadero who got the judges' nod as he landed the cleaner, harder hitting shots of the fight.
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