The mixed martial arts mega-fight card that pitted superstars B.J. Penn (9-1-1) and Rodrigo Gracie (5-1) against one another at Honolulu, Hawaii`s Blaisdell Arena will premiere on iNDemand and TVN Pay Per View television on Saturday, February 19th at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time (6 PM Pacific Standard Time.) ROTRI had the best time in Hawaii at Rumble on the Rock. It was my first time there and I was really looking forward to the trip. All the boys had already been to ROTR before and said it was an awesome event. Plus a trip to Hawaii and man Hawaii is great.
As usual we were set up on the living arrangement Mikey “Kong Dong” has a nice pad right in Waikiki and his girl friend was nice enough to let us stay. We of course set right out to check the north shore. The waves were big but blown out and it was raining so we didn`t even Patel out. In stead we picked up some Brazilian and Australian hitch hikers and cruzed the island. That night we ran in to the Penn Brothers and Hilo Boyz crew out at Pipeline, the club that is. Regan was buying shots so things got scary. There were some hotty dancers at the club. However Snoop Doggie Dogs DJ was not packing them in that night.
The next day it rained and so we worked on the new 101 Submissions DVD and went to the beach when it cleared up. One great thing about Ouho is that there are tons of Japanese tourists running around. So many that I felt like this must be like Japan. A lot of these tourists were girls and a lot of them are hot girls. The bad thing is that we don`t know how to say much in Japanese and their English wasn`t any better. Unlike Brazil sign language conversations didn`t lead to anything exciting.
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That night we went out the Hard Rock Café. Once again Snoop Doggie Dog`s DJ was headlining the rig. This time he was really pulling. The place was packed and we were loving it. Donothing had pull at the back bar so the night was flowing. We met up with one OTM fan Barett there and he was hooking us up with plenty of free drinks too. Thanks Barrett!! We also met some sweet heart girls there that later in the night we found in need of a designated driver. Donothing being the qualified driver that he is took the wheel to the Mustang with ease. We left the ladies at the dorm with the fire alarm going off and split home to rest up.
The day of the fights we finally made it out to the north shore. It was big, pretty, almost glassy. One thing about surfing is that you can`t believe the power of the waves and Pipeline at 15 to 20 feet is no joke. I was feeling frail but wanted to go for it anyway. The line up was thick and crowed. I finally charged on a smaller wave. I flailed and got sucked over the falls hard. I have no idea how but my leash wrapped around my ankles so I could hardly swim. I started to panic a little and I was able to mermaid swim to the surface. Once there I took a huge breathe and tried to untangle my leash. I looked up and wave number two was right over my head and much larger than the wave I tired to catch. I got slammed on the reef, which was much smoother than I imagined it would be. I thought I might end up a hole and drown at Pipeline but after the third wave and untangling I made to shore caught my breath.
I paddled back out and stayed way to the left of the break in an area I was latter told was known as the safety bowl. Saftey sounded good. I just wanted to ride some waves. Donothing was still out surfing with the big boys in the mix. The waves were getting bigger and at one point the lifeguards went nuts on the bullhorn screaming for people to clear the beach. On huge set rolled in looked like 25 to 30 foot. I couldn`t believe there were guys paddling in to them. It was awesome to see. People were going nuts as the huge waves crashed on the reef as loud as thunder. Later I found out that those same huge waves were crashing on Donthing`s head! He had caught the last set wave in turned off the back and saw the mountains coming at him. Unable to paddle to safety fast enough he was crushed by them pined to the reef. He said he was praying he would just be killed and not maimed. Drowning is not supposed to be a bad way to die but getting slammed on the reef sucks. Donothing made it out a live with only a very very deep slash on his foot. I got two waves that day so that was good for me. We filmed a little and met some nice surfer betties on the beach.
Danny called in the girls from Hard Rock and set us up some dates for the fights. It wasn`t hard to get them to come. Everyone on the island people were talking about the fights. Our TapouT hats always had people asking us if we were there for the fights. There were advertisements everywhere we went and we circled the whole island twice. One thing about going an event in Hawaii over Vegas is that there were tons more girls at the event. I mean a lot of girls at the fights. It was great.
The event was packed they had sold out and they had added more seats. I think it was 11,000 tickets sold. It was a great location and the venue was nice. They had a great Hawaii motif set up on the stage and tons of vendors. ROTR has some killer girly gear check out the Ring Girls. Speaking of Ring Girls I was very thankful of Jody when she asked me to set up the seats for the ring girls and asked me to keep an eye on them. This was not hard at all. They were some of the hottest ring girls ever! See the photo galleries.
Gilbert Melendez x Kaynan Kaku The first fight was a good one. Gilbert was on fire he was after Kaku like a rabid dog. I was really impressed with his ground and pound game. Kaku put him on the bottom a few times but Gilbert kept after him and got back on top. He landed some solid shots and good knees too. Kaku hung in there good for the first round. But, Gilbert`s persistence was overwhelming in the second landing some huge knees and good shots on the feet too. Landless stopped the fight at about 3 and 1/2 from GnP and both fighters were exhausted.
Dennis Hallman (179) x Ross EdanezWhen I heard this fight was going down I was pumped for it. I though it would be one of the best fights on the card. Ross the Boss has a big reputation and Dennis is one of the best fighters around. Dennis has just won the Grapplers Quest West advanced division in impressive fashion do I knew at least his grappling was on point. And, tonight it was on point for sure! Dennis shot in and took Ross down with a double leg takedown. After that Dennis just controlled the back and eventually put on the anaconda and coked Ross out with a rear naked. Great win for Dennis Hallman.
Antoni Hardonk x Wes Sims Hardonk was supposed to be a kick boxer and a very good one from Holland but his training at Rickson`s really showed in this fight. Hardonk socked up Sims really good on his feet. Sims`s looping punches just opened him up for Hardock to punch him. Sims finally got Hardonk on the ground but really was not effective there. If Sims knew any Jiu Jitsu it would have helped. He has the Darce choke all day but never even saw it. Instead he pushed to the cage and tried to GnP but Hardonk`s defense was good. Hardonk eventually used a text book butter fly sweep to come on top and tap Sims out with a paint brush kimura. Hardonk looked like a good all around fighter. One of these two guys was a smelly bastard though. We could smell them outside the cage and it was nasty!
Kristof Midoux x Micheal BuntenbahAnother Hawaiian local Buntenbah,, came out with the right attitude a funky dance, a bottle of Cristal and booty dancing ho. Decked out in his TapouT gear he looked ready to fight and he was. Midoux was another top kick boxer and he was rightfully confident on his fight. Buntenbah was being the aggressor on the feet, right off bat chasing Midoux around the ring with all he had. However, Midoux just waited patiently for and opening and then took it he knocked out Bruntebah with one solid right and that was the fight. Short and sweet.
Aitor Canup x Juda A`alonaJuda was a much bigger man in this fight at the weigh-ins he was only 36 pounds bigger than Canup but on the mat he seemed much bigger. A`alona seemed a bit overwhelmed by Canup and was able to defend some ground attacks of Canup but not able to capitalize on it. On the feet Canup dominated and A`alona just absorbed blow after blow until Canup took him out with a standing giulotine. A`alona was just worn out and tired. Great fight to watch.
Shungo Oyama x Sean O` HareThis was the only fight I didn`t like. O`Hare was a giant compared to Oyama. I respect Oyama for taking this fight he is a tough guy but O`Hare just was too much for him and pounded on him. O`Hare might have a future in MMA but I think he better do some training before he takes on anyone his same size with some skills. He knocked out Oyama quickly and hard in the first round. O`Hare did show some great showmanship and break dancing after the fight.
Cabbage x Yoshihiro NakaoI though that Cabbage was going to rip this poor little Japanese`s head off. Nakao was just taunting Cabbage the whole weigh-ins and press conference. It was borderline disrespectful. But, I don`t know what was going on with Cabbage? He was not the Cabbage that we all know and love. Something must have been going on with him cause he just didn`t seem like he was there to fight. Cabbage was getting hit with wild punches and taken down a lot. It was depressing as a huge Cabbage fan. He got a huge cut in the first round from Nakao`s ground and pound. Nakao dominateed the fight. The second and third rounds were more of the same. Nakao won the fifth by unanimous decision.
Kazuyuki Miyata x Royler GracieCan you imagine having to fight the MMA legend Royler Gracie in your first MMA appearance? Well Miyata the Japanese wrestler did just that and considering he did a pretty good job. Royler has been at this game forever and he did a great job again. Miyata had a shot of winning this fight when in the first round he slammed the hell out of Royler. Royler was for sure dazed from the slam and if Miyata had the skills or experience he might have won the fight. However Royler recovered well and in the second round despite being taken down he triangle Miyata from the guard for the win.
Tom Howard x Carter WilliamsCarter Williams had a lot of hype coming in to this match. While I was in the line up waiting for waves at pipeline people were talking about him and his skills. And, Carter did not let his fans down. Cater dodged some takedowns but Howard finally got him on his back but not for long. Williams showed he has some wrestling skills reversed Howard and went in for a ground and pound kill knocking out Howard on his back and in the guard in the first round.
Rodrigo Gracie x BJ PennThis was the main even the reason we all came. I really had no idea how this fight was going to go. I just knew that I really didn`t want to see a BJ x Matt Serra again and it sure wasn`t. There was some disappointment in this fight from the get go. At the rules meeting we were informed that the Gracie camp has requested that the fight be shortened to a 3 round fight from 5 rounds. This was quite a shock since traditionally the Gracie`s have always preferred longer no time limit style fights. Rodrigo looked to be in great shape so I an not sure what the change in the fight. Maybe they saw that BJ did not seem to be in great shape, and in fact seemed to be fat. However under that thick layer BJ`s game was on.
The fight started out with Rodrigo being very aggressive and quickly pushing BJ to the fence and working to keep him there. Both fighters chipped away at each other with punches and knees. At one point it looked like Rodrigo was going to get BJ on his back but BJ somehow was able to stay on his feet and keep working. Rodrigo kept the pressure and kept BJ with his back on the fence. Reminisce of the Serra fight BJ started watching him self on the big screen. And he must have seen something because BJ slipped out of the fence and took the fight to the center of the ring. Rodrigo had a failed shot attempt and went to his guard from there the fight was all BJ. He passed the guard and worked till the end of the round.
The second round both fighters worked from their feet and maybe were resting a little. Rodrigo again went for a shot but retreated to his guard and the fight was all BJ again. On the ground really it seemed like Rodrigo had nothing for BJ. He tried to up kick from his guard but this resulted him BJ either coming in strong with some ground and pound or BJ passing his guard. Rodrigo was content the whole round to lying on his back often putting his hands behind his head as if he was resting. BJ worked in and out of Rodrigo`s guard passing and almost mounting landing a mirage of punches and elbows. The home town crowd was going nuts for BJ and at one point a huge fight broke out in the audience between local fans and New Yorkers.
Round three looked a lot like round two. Rodrigo went to his back off a big looping punch that missed. He remained there the whole fight not even trying to return. BJ passed his guard numerous times and at one point it looked like he had Rodrigo`s back. But, Rodrigo defended it well and returned to his guard. BJ continued to come in and out of Rodrigo`s guard passing and trying to mount landing blows and elbows. The fight ended with BJ calling Rodrigo to stand up and fight but Rodrigo stayed on his back so BJ tried to jump over his guard and stomp on his face. BJ took this on e on unanimous decision.
It was obvious that the partnership of ROTR and K1 was very successful and we hope that this continues in the future. One of my favorite parts of the event was the ring girls! They were some of the hottest girls I have ever seen anywhere and there were 6 of them! They were also very nice and talked with us for once. LOL They were also very in to the fights yelling and cheering on the fighters. Thanks ladies we had a great time visiting with you and thanks for the drinks too!
Speaking of drinks the after party at Zanzabar was awesome. Most all the fighters win or loose were there. Dennis Hallman was big pimping as was his opponent Ross the Boss. There was again a lot of hot women there! Hawaii seems to be full of them. It was hard to get to BJ there to congratulate him but all the other Penn brothers and Hilo boyz were there. It was a great time till Larry Landless started trying to get our girls phone numbers! That guy is relentless!! I can`t wait till the next ROTR don`t miss it!!!!
The mixed martial arts mega-fight card that pitted superstars B.J. Penn (9-1-1) and Rodrigo Gracie (5-1) against one another at Honolulu, Hawaii`s Blaisdell Arena will premiere on iNDemand and TVN Pay Per View television on Saturday, February 19th at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time (6 PM Pacific Standard Time.) Presented by the newly formed K-1 Fighting Network, the event also saw a return to mixed martial arts action by 2003 K-1 USA champion Carter Williams (37-9) as well as Royler Gracie (4-2-1).
Arguably the top pound for pound competitor in the sport of mixed martial arts, Penn achieved what most dismissed as the impossible by climbing from The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)`s 154 pound limit weight division to its 168 pound limit class and easily defeating reigning champion Matt Hughes by way of rear naked choke to claim the latter`s 168-pound limit title on January 31st. Following the magnificent win over Hughes in the octagon, the 25-year-old Hawaiian successfully showcased his skills in Japan where he secured a victory over world Muay Thai champion and mixed martial arts contender, Duane Ludwig, by way of arm triangle choke during K-1`s inaugural mixed martial arts event on May 22, 2004.
One of seven brothers who boast the heritage of martial arts fighting`s most decorated family name, Rodrigo has continued a tradition of excellence pioneered by his elder siblings during his first five mixed martial arts starts. A winner of four consecutive matchups in Japan, the 29-year-old earned his greatest victory to date on February 15th of last year when he gained a unanimous judges decision over heralded contender, Hayato Sakurai.
In other Rumble on The Rock 6 action that will air during the Pay Per View broadcast, Williams made his fourth career start under mixed martial arts rules opposite Tom “Green Beret” Howard (0-3) while another esteemed member of the famed Gracie clan, Royler, faced Kazuyuki Miyata (7-2-4). Fans will also be able to see the returns of UFC heavyweight veterans Wesley “Cabbage” Correira (13-7) and 6 foot 9 inch Wes “The Project” Sims (5-6).
Rumble on the Rock 6 can be purchased on iNDemand and TVN for a price of $19.95.
Rumble on the Rock is a Hawaii-based mixed martial arts fight promotion that was launched by Prodigy Productions two years ago. Recently, Prodigy Productions partnered with K-1 Fighting Network, a division of the Japan-based K-1 Corporation, to bring mixed martial arts sporting events to a growing fanbase.