By Ken Yates
bustayates@yahoo.com
What an action packed night it was here in Hilo, Hawaii as BJ Penn presents Just Scrap, put on another spectacular event at the Hilo Civic Auditorium. In the main event it was Ross “Da Boss” Ebanez fighting out of BJ Penn’s academy taking on Kona Ke who trains out of Gods Army based out of Makaha on the island of Oahu.
At the opening bell Ke came out strong, throwing some heavy kicks with one of those catching Ebanez flush on the mid section. Ebanez stayed composed and secured the take down courtesy of a missed combination attempt by Ke. Ebanez then controlled Ke on the ground, dropped a few heavy handed punches then worked to get Ke’s back and quickly sunk in what looked to be a side guillotine choke, thus ending the fight 1:51 into the first round. With this win Ebanez improves his record to 21-7-3
In the co-main event it was “Iron” Mike Aina taking on Dominic Ahnee from Las Vegas, in what was the most technical fight of the night. In the first round both Ahnee and Aina exchanged a flurry of fluid combination’s. Ahnee then scored a take down courtesy of a swift left kick, though at that point nothing materialized because of Aina’s skillful defensive work. In the second round it was Aina who scored the take down and never let Ahnee get back up. Aina showed impressive ground and pound work from Ahnee’s open guard. I must say I was extremely impressed with Ahnee’s determination. He never gave up even when Aina caught him with numerous elbow strikes resulting in a number of lacerations. Although Ahnee showed tremendous heart Aina left no doubt that he secured the victory.
In other action heavyweights Chad “Da Brahma Bull” Thomas took on Dylan Rush in what was a good old fashion slug fest. From the opening bell you could see the adrenaline rush through both combatants as they came out strong throwing some serious hay makers. Everything but the kitchen sink was thrown by both Thomas and Rush leaving both fighters battered and bruised not to mention some what winded. Then in the second round the pace slowed down a bit but Thomas was catching Rush with some nice hand work that looked to stun his opponent. Rush was able to stay calm through the slew of punches and backed Thomas into the cage as both fighters threw what looked like an over hand right. Rush having the reach advantage caught Thomas square on the chin instantly sending Thomas to the canvas. Rush won the fight due to knock out 2:28 in the second round. After the fight I had a chance to talk Rush and he explained that he will be going back to college at Stanford University in September to finish his schooling.
Kawika “Tips” Martin took on the X-1 155lbs. amateur title holder Kevin “Da Monsoon” Soong for the vacant 155lbs. Just Scrap amateur title. From the beginning it was Martin looking for the take down, while Soong showed tremendous strength and basically stuffed every attempt that Martin tried. For what looked like the whole fight Martin tried in vain to take Soong down then at 2:00 minutes in Martin shot in for a single leg take down and paid for it with a rear-naked choke by Soong claiming the Just Scrap 155lbs. title improving his record to an impressive 6-0.
In other fights:
Ashton Castro vs. Keala Fuerte: Ashton Castro took the win via unanimous decision.
Reed Akashi vs. Isamu Lopez: Reed Akashi won by T.K.O ref stoppage 2:45 in the first round
Christopher Moniz vs. Jon Estabillio: Christopher Moniz wins by T.K.O ref stoppage 2:38 in the first round.
Prince Pilgrim vs. AJ Veriato: Prince Pilgrim wins by guillotine choke 1:12 in the first round.
The next Just Scrap Event will be held on August 16 at the Hilo Civic Auditorium. To check these fights you can go to B.J Penn.com Special Thanks to Shane Pung and Chad Hao for all the help.
