HONOLULU, Nov. 9, 2007 -- X-1 World Events teamed up with local radio station 102.7 Da Bomb to bring a night of local music and mixed martial arts to fight fans at Honolulu's Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.
Moreno, nicknamed "The Knockout Artist" and known for his predilection toward ending fights on the feet, found himself in top position for most of the first frame after reversing a pair of takedown attempts from Reiner. The Bull's Pen fighter worked an effective ground-and-pound game from Reiner's half-guard, doing damage with his viscous right hand.
"He was hitting me hard," Reiner told Sherdog.com after the bout. "I can tell you for a fact he hits harder than Josh Burkman (Pictures)."
But as effective as it was, Moreno paid for his heavy usage of his right hand.
"I definitely broke it in that first round," a disappointed Moreno said.
The second round started, and the two fighters took turns clinching along the ropes, with Moreno landing the better shots on the inside and when they took to the center of the ring.
"I knew I had to get him down," Reiner said.
Reiner finally got what he was looking for, picking up a single-leg takedown and putting Moreno on his back.
He gave Moreno no breathing room as he smothered the Hawaiian fighter and gained full mount. From there Reiner kept the pressure on, using a high mounted position to strike to the sides of Moreno's head and patiently work on a kimura that forced Moreno to tap at 3:33 of the second round.
"I think I'll be back in Hawaii on January 26," Reiner said after his win. "They want me to rematch Moreno for the belt."
In 135-pound title action, Kana Hyatt (Pictures) upset champion Ed Newalu (Pictures) to become the new X-1 titleholder.
Newalu came out blazing and quickly scored a double-leg takedown. He then employed a powerful ground-and-pound arsenal of punches and elbows.
"I've got plenty heart," Hyatt told Sherdog.com. "I ain't going down to just punches. You gonna have to knock me out to take me out."
Hyatt, who is coming off a stunning knockout victory of Duke Sarigosa (Pictures) just last month, did the best he could to avoid damage as the referee looked on carefully. As Newalu kept up his elbow assault, Hyatt saw his chance to turn the tides.
"He was coming high with the elbow, so I slipped under and took his back," Hyatt explained.
With both hooks in, Hyatt worked endlessly for the choke. He was finally rewarded for his efforts when he slipped his left forearm deep under Newalu's chin and squeezed until the former champion tapped at 3:23.
The highly hyped "grudge match" between Brennan Kamaka (Pictures) and Curtis "Dirty Curty" Pedro couldn't have ended more anticlimactically.
The two fighters, who leading up to the bout had built interest in the fight with an Internet feud, threw limited strikes early while circling the center of the ring. Finally Kamaka, who had vowed to keep the fight standing, shot in for a takedown and eventually dragged his opponent to the mat, where he quickly secured the mount.
The fighter known as "Dirty Curty" attempted to escape and ended up with his head partially caught under the ropes. Kamaka, still in mount, began raining down punches through the ropes that found their mark on his Pedro's face.
Referee Chris West halted the action to restart the fighters away from the ropes, but when Kamaka stood up, Pedro grabbed at his face in pain and stated that he could not continue. The referee was forced to stop the bout just 1:17 into the first.
Up-and-coming local heavyweights Analu Brash and Doug Hiu went to war in hopes of capturing the vacant heavyweight strap.
In the opening round, Hiu set the pace by scoring takedowns and punishing Brash with strikes and an attempted choke. But Brash evened it up when he reversed the MMA Development fighter and began to attack from the top, scoring with knees to the head before the round expired.
The second frame was all Brash. The fighter from Maui stuffed a takedown attempt from Hiu to gain top position and eventually the mount. Then Brash worked a solid ground-and-pound game and secured the tap-inducing Americana at 1:41 of the second round.
The night also featured a slew of exciting amateur matches, including an eight-man 145-pound Grand Prix style tournament that Keola Silva captured.
Amateur Matches (2 x 3-min. rounds)
Sean Sakata def. Ben Santiago via submission (RNC) 0:53 R1
Kawika Paul def. Jordan Patterson via TKO (injury) 0:40 R1
Herman Santiago def. Shaison Laupola via submission (guillotine choke) 0:44 R1
Collin Mansanas def. Kris Knight via TKO (punches) 1:58 R1
Steve Farmer def. Kyle Kaahanui via submission (neck crank/choke) 2:52 R1
Kaniela Ahnee def. John Bernard via split decision
Cisco Bringas def. Micah Ige via submission (armbar) 1:47 R1
Eight-man 140-pound Amateur Grand Prix Tournament (1 x 3-min. round)
Opening Round
Willie DelaCerna def. Colin Mackenzie via decision
Keola Silva def. Chris Kutzen via decision
Jared Iha def. Jay Bolos via Submission (RNC) 1:00 R1
William Armstrong def. Nui Wheeler (Pictures) via split decision
Semifinals
Silva def. Delacerna via decision
Iha def. Mackenzie via submission (modified Americana) 1:26 R1
(Armstrong could not continue; Mackenzie took his place)
Finals
Silva def. Iha via decision