Superbrawl 39: Destiny (4/9/05)

Having finally wiped out the last few KOTCs in the boxed set that so troubled me, its onto the Hawaiians again. I've got a bunch of ROTR and Icon/Superbrawl shows to watch thanks to well timed trips to Big Lots, of all places. This event was one of the last ever promoted under the Superbrawl title before the switch to the ICON Sport name later in 2005. Like many of the Hawaiian shows, its from Blaisdell Arena in front of a 3/4 capacity crowd and has a lot of interesting names on the bill.

Added note: extra short descriptions because I watched this in December 2008 at the cottage and wrote my notes on a small memo pad. Just got around to typing it!

1) TYSON NAM vs. JUMAR DUMALAO: Kickboxing bout between dudes from the islands.

Nam wins by low kicks. Doesn't even count. 

2) REESE ANDY vs. KALA KOLOHE HOSE: Hose has had some bigger fights scheduled for himself that never came through, whereas Andy ended up in the IFL and eventually UFC.

The first round sees Hose doing something I didn't really expect: He hangs in there and is competitive. Mind you, this is not high level striking, but basically definitive robo-kickboxing, but whatever. Andy wins the round off a slam and guillotine attempt though. He gets another big takedown during the second and ends up spending the whole round on his back being punched in the face. Somehow, he comes out for the third and does no better. About the only thing you can give Hose for rounds 2 and 3 is that he didn't get german suplexed. Andy by a wide decision. (1)

3) ALBERT MANNERS vs. RYAN LEE: Who? Manners has a rash guard on.

Manners and Lee engage in a grappling bout for 3 rounds that is decently technical, but often resembles anything but a modern MMA match with the abject lack of striking. Manners wins the unanimous decision and, well, let's just say he's not UFC bound. (0)

4) KJ NOONS vs. MALIK WILLIAMS: Noons was the winner of PRIDE's talent search! Remember that? Oh, you don't. Okay.

Williams is overwhelmed early and ends up being KOed brutally with a series of right hands and stomps. What you expect. (3) 

5) HARVEY NAKAMURA vs. MARK OSHIRO: Oshiro's size makes it exceedingly likely he'll end up in the WEC at some point.

Dana White Special for three rounds. Oshiro is better at everything than Nakamura, landing more often with straighter, harder shots. Problem? At 135, neither has much pop. Oshiro wins 30-26 on two of the three cards. (2)

6) ALLAN ULIP vs. BRYSON KAMAKA: Kickboxing again.

Kamaka wins a UD with his abjectly better striking. A) This isn't MMA. B) Kamaka sucks in MMA. 

7) MARK MORENO vs. KEVIN BARBER: Welterweight fun! Both are from the outliers of the US, with Barber successful in the always popular Alaskan MMA circuit (seriously! There's almost monthly shows in Fairbanks) and Moreno a local to Hawaii.

Moreno outguns Barber standing: better technique, more powerful. He drops Barber with a two punch combination and makes sure there's no more fight to be fought when he kicks a downed Barber in the face. Oh, pre-commission Hawaii. (0)

8) TRISTON PREBIA vs. KAI "BOY" KAMAKA III: Children's MMA.

Absolutely beyond reviewable. Actually somewhat offensive. I didn't even bother to write down who won. (0)

9) JIM KIKUCHI vs. JUSTIN MERCADO: Hawaiian Superfight 145lb title! MMA has no problem with belts.

Kikuchi hurts his shoulder early on and so we get a boring fight of inactive standup and laying/clinching. I'm kinda glad I didn't record more about this show. (0)

10) KULTAR GILL vs. HARRIS SARMIENTO: Gill was an interesting name for, what, the better part of 5-6 minutes? Sarmiento is a career journeyman.

Gill has a big advantage in the standup, but fears Sarmiento's takedowns, so they circle with occasional leg kicks and shit. Horrid. Gill gets the fight down in the 3rd and Sarmiento basically rolls over and taps to a RNC. Gill has fought on big shows, but he's 1-5 in his last 6. Tough to reward that. (0)

11) FALANIKO VITALE vs. MASANORI SUDA: Suda was once Shooto's middleweight champ. With posted wins over Ryo Chonan, Yuki Sasaki, Ronald Jhun, Egan Inoue, and Ryuta Sakurai, Suda was certainly no push over. He was also in his 11th year as a full time pro MMA fighter. Vitale had lost once in 3 years, beating Yushin Okami, Dave Menne, Matt Lindland (by "reversing" a slam), and a bunch of nobodies over the same span. He had been successful in the UFC, but returned to Hawaii realizing that he might actually make more money there. 

Suda is hurt with a punch early in the fight and is judo thrown through the ropes of the ring. The ref obviously has to let this one continue, and Suda returns to his feet. He absorbs a superman punch to the dome, and with that, Vitale's highlight reel has its anchor. Practically everyone on the big island cheers, but Vitale's career took a pretty major turn after this bout. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Oshiro/Nakamura

KO OF THE NIGHT: Vitale/Suda

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Sarmiento/Gill

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. This would be higher, but watching young (I'm talking like 8) kids fight in the ring drops the event appreciably. Too many bad mismatches too. Who'd have thought the opening MMA bout would be the most competitive in retrospect?

D&R Rating: 18% (8/45)