X1#56 Ing vs Mondala – What a turnout. X1 MMA delivered a night of UNEXPECTED RESULTS.
Waipahu, Filcom Center once again hosted a memorable night of fights from Hawaii’s Brave Warriors locally, and some all the way from Colorado and Japan to participate in this spectacular event.
Started the night with Joshua Garcia vs. Scott Higashi
These two fighters were a match made in Heaven. Joshua Garcia is a new to the MMA scene, no team, no cornerman, didn’t know anybody, and training from his garage vs. Scott Higashi, a local Hawaii who is not new to the Hawaii MMA Scene. Started round 1 with Garcia showing off a tremendous amount of power, ended up cutting Higashi’s upper brow. Higashi more on the defensive
Being Garcia’s debut, he hit a “LOW BLOW” which resulted in a small pause on Higashi’s side. Back to the fight, the two exchanges a fiery blow, a Beautiful takedown from Garcia is not applauded by the crowd because nobody knew him yet. After the match being dominated by a new upcoming fighter new in town, Hawaii will know his name.
Joshua Garcia defeated Scott Higashi -Decision 3 Rounds.
Makoa Cooper vs. Nathan McKenzie
Makoa Cooper exceeded what is expected from #thelionofjuddah BLOODLINE. From the famous Cooper Family in MMA Scene. Makoa Cooper did not disappoint. Kudos to Nathan McKenzie who MANNED UP and STOOD UP after Undecided Isaac Josiah pulled out few days before the fight (due to Medical condition)
The crowd knows Cooper will deliver greatness, but didn’t know how. The Beautiful Mystery of the MMA, you never know. First Round Cooper started with an “Armalite COOPER Blow” Just left and right non-stop punches landing straight to McKenzie’s face and body. Anywhere McKenzie went, Cooper follows with a non-stop blow.
McKenzie lasted the first Round, but the Team McKenzie tapped out before the second round starts. It was a great decision. Otherwise, it will be just like “FEEDING HIM TO THE LION.” McKenzie was not knocked down, because of his height, and his ability to block Coopers Armalite Blow with his longhand. McKenzie hit Cooper on the right eye that Referee had to give him a pause for a quick check.
Braydon Akeo vs. Jonah Estrella
We love Braydon for his super confident personality and real “gangsta” style. Some may hate him due to his ability to make you feel intimidated, but for Xclusive MMA, he brings the Spice in the MMA Scene. Akeo is an excellent Wrestler, a 3x State Wrestling Champion before transitioning to MMA. MMA is like a vacation for him because when he was in Wrestling Competition, he used to fight every week, and that keeps him on his toes. Unlike MMA, it’s lucky if you get fight 3-4 a year. Would not be an issue for Akeo. After this fight with Estrella, he is a HOT item.
Akeo is the “Anaconda” inside the cage; he patiently waits for the right moment to BITE you. Once this bad boy gets a hold of you, he will never let you go unharmed. This is precisely what happened in this fight, Akeo kept him on the fence for quite a long time, until Akeo throws an elbow that cut him wide open. The doctors called it, and Akeo won TKO by Doctor Stoppage.
The Undefeated PRO MMA 3-0
Blake Cooper vs. Zarek Jackson
Zarek Jackson flew all the way from Colorado to Hawaii to give an excellent performance and wrestle with Hawaii’s one of MMA Beast. It was an unexpected turn out of events!
Scott Junk mentioned during the introduction “Don’t Blink, and “Fight of the Night” which implied it could be a short fight. Since all Blake Cooper’s fight are knockouts with 38sec and 6sec. This one was not. It lasted 3 Full Rounds.
Zarek was fast, with good composure, good movements, with an advantage of long reach since he is considerably taller than Cooper. Cooper had challenging time taking him down. Zarek was able to get right back up and use his knee, head kick, threw hooks and number of clinches.
Cooper threw some powerful heavy punches on the air, out of range, or a complete miss. Jackson was able to either block or change position before punch lands.
The crowd was on fire when Cooper got his takedown via sweeping, but when he finally locked a guillotine, the Bell rang.
On the final round, Cooper displayed a significant amount of dominating power. Zarek kept an excellent composure and used his knee to attack. Jackson’s flying knee was interrupted by a full-body takedown by Cooper. The crowd was on fire. The fight went to the Judges granting Cooper his 3-0 amateur record.
Zarek was good but not enough to dominate Cooper’s unlimited power resource. X1# 56 was by far the best fight of Blake Cooper; he displayed tons of his strength, power, and MMA skills. Also notable it was good to see Rashad Evans in Zarek’s Corner. This young fighter is one to watch, he made a fan out of us!!
Brysen Bolahao vs Koki Shimokawa – Kickboxing Title
Brysen Bolahao and Koki Shimokawa left a memorable three rounds of fight. Koki landed several clean straight kicks, one time to the liver which made Bolahao weak. Bolahao was giving out combinations of punches, but Koki somehow managed to block or divert them. Him being taller was a considerable advantage in deflecting Bolahao’s attack.
Koki is noticeably focused on giving Kicks while Bolahao is a combination of both.
Bolahao made a comeback in the third round but it wasn’t quite enough to take home the belt. Congratulations to Koki he is also a fighter to follow as he continues his career as a strap collector.
Main Event: Ricky Ing vs Rodney Mondala Result
This was one mean fight. Ricky Ing and Rodney Mondala were both well-loved fighters in Hawaii. It’s tough to pick a side.
Ing came out strong in the first round, landing great kicks and punches, he was able to neutralize Mondala on top for a long time and finally with a rear-naked choke. Only held for a few seconds, Mondala was able to get away. Mondala came back super strong and attack Ing with high powered punches and kicks. He gave away combos like a mad person.
It was evident that Ing gave it all to submit Mondala on the first round. He has no power left on the second and third rounds even to defend himself. Ing was receiving solid blows from Mondala though he was not able to submit Ing. Ing clang to his last hope which is to hold on to Mondala till the rounds finish.
Heartbreaking for all to see how Ricky Ing got beaten up. He showed an enormous amount of courage to last until three rounds long but came short in winning the two rounds. One tough fighter.
This reminded us about the fight of Ing’s teammate – Angela Lee when she fought Xiong Jing Nan. She gave it all out on the armbar on the fourth round. When the last round came, she got no energy left to defend herself.
ALOHA. Watch The Full Fight here
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X1-56 Fight LIVE !!!
Rodney Mondala vs. Ricky Ing,
Brysen Bolahao vs. Koki Shimokawa,
Braydon Akeo vs. Jonah Estrella,
Blake Cooper vs. Zarek Jackson,
Makoa Cooper vs. Nathan McKenzie,
Joshua Garcia vs. Scott Higashi,