By Ken Yates
bustayates@yahoo.com
It was one of those rare shows where the fight lived up to all the hype, X1 World Events presented HERO’S last night at the Blasidell Arena in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. In the main event it was UFC veteran and X-1 middle weight champion Falaniko Vitale taking on former 185lbs I.Con champion Kala “Kolohe” Hose in what was one of Hawaii’s most anticipated fights. Both Vitale and Hose are two of the best fighters in Hawaii and gave the 4,000 fans that were in attendance a fight that will be talked about for years to come.
In the first round both fighters came out feeling each other out until Niko got the take down and controlled the dominant position. For the majority of the first round it was Niko controlling Kala with his superior grappling technique. The paced picked up and so did the crowds cheers as Kala came out with a sense of urgency throwing combo after combo while Niko was trying in vein to work the clinch. Then out of nowhere Kala threw an over hand right that stunned Niko but Niko being a seasoned veteran kept his composure and finished out the round with some punches of his own. Going into the third round you could see the pace start to slow, both Kala and Niko threw some nice leg kicks and a few heavy punches. Then in the fourth and final round Niko took Kala to the mat with a double leg take down and gained side control, eventually working some ground and pound. With Niko on top and in control Kala tried to work his way out and into a stronger position but Niko worked his forearm across Kala’s throat and the ref called it, with Niko wining by submission.
When Kala got to his feet he looked at the Referee in disbelief and questioned his decision. Despite the questionable conclusion both fighters put everything into this fight. After the fight Kala was asked about a possible rematch, Kala replied “I’m not sure because of the mutual friendships that we share.” Niko who was also asked the same question replied ” I would rather train with Kala then fight him again.”
In the co-main event X-1 held the semi finals for their light heavyweight title. It was Roy Boughton of California taking on Sang Soo Lee of South Korea and Poai Suganuma from Hawaii taking on Vitaly Shemetov of Russia. First up was Broughton and Sang Soo Lee in which proved to be a long hard fight. Lee dominated with his superior grappling and ground control most of all three rounds to win via unanimous decision and securing a spot in the X-1 finals.
In what looked to be the K.O of the night, 6’2 205lb Poai Suganuma from Hawaii knocked out Vitaly Shemetov of Russia in 1:08 of the first round. Suganuma now improves his record to 12-3 and secures his spot in the X-1 finals in November. After the fight I had a chance to talk with Suganuma and asked what he thinks about his upcoming fight with Sang Soo Lee, he replied “I know he is a pride veteran and a seasoned fighter but I’m looking forward to this fight.”
In the X-1 145 title match it was Ricky Wallace taking on Alvin Cacdac. In the first round Alvin took control of the fight with his devastating wrestling and ground control, but by the second round Wallace with UFC veteran Chris Leben in his corner made the necessary adjustments to get back in control of the fight. By the third round Wallace looked like a UFC veteran himself sticking with what worked and eventually securing the submission 4:40 in the third round by rear naked choke taking home the X-1 145lbs. title.
Bryson Hansen also put his X-1 135lbs. title on the line last night when he fought Russel Doane, both Hansen and Doane showed tremendous strength as the fight went to the ground but it was Doane who caught Hansen with a triangle and becoming the new X-1 135lbs. champion.
To start off the night Max “Lil Evil” Holloway took on Duke Saragosa as Holloway showed tremendous poise being that this was his professional debut and fighting such a game opponent. In the first round Holloway put together some beautiful combination’s and showed that he is no stranger to the ground game as he nearly got an early submission with a rear naked choke attempt. It was more of the same in the second round but by the third round Saragosa showed he too has heart, taking Halloway to the ground and controlling him the much of the third round. In the end it was Halloway who took the the unanimous decision and extremely obvious that the kid has enormous potential and a bright future ahead of him.
In other bouts:
Timothy Meeks def Van Shiroma via unanimous decision
Collin Mansanas def Caled Price via split decision
Dustin Kimura def Chris Willems via triangle/kimura
Sarah D’Alelio def Raquel Paaluhi via arm bar
Mark Tajon def Eddie Perrells via arm bar
Danilo Zanolino def Kaleo Kwan via unanimous decision
