by Bryanna “Pink Ranger” Fissori
HONOLULU, HAWAII- August 12, 2017
Fans at the Neil S. Blaisdell Arena and watching at home on the pay per view broadcast were not disappointed with the action at X1 #48. The long-running Hawaii promotion knows how to put on a show. All eight fights on this card were entertaining. Fan favorites Ray “Braddah” Cooper III and Molokai’s Sale Sproat had fans on their feet at the mere mention of their names. A number of mainland competitors stepped up to take on hometown heroes, giving them a good run for their money as local competitors look to prove themselves beyond the physical limitations of the island. Stay tune for X1’s next event coming up on September 30th and if you missed the show, check out the results below:
170 Pro Main Event X1 World Title Match
Ray Cooper III defeated Charles Bennett via TKO 2:48 of round 2
Cooper closed the distance quickly coming in for the takedown and securing a reverse guillotine that could have ended the fight early. Bennett survived the sub attempt and worked to position himself in the guard of Cooper, landing a number of strikes. Cooper got to his feet and quickly landed multiple significant kicks before bringing the fight back to the ground and looking for a leg lock early in the ground exchange. Unsuccessful with the leg attempt, Cooper transitioned and was reversed again after a second attempt at the same reverse guillotine submission. Bennett set up camp in the guard once and threw shot to the body, but was unable to pass the guard or cause significant damage before the end of the round.
Cooper came out in round two like someone kicked his dog. He opened the round with a head kick followed by pressure against the cage and violent hooks to the body. Cooper took Bennett to the ground and set up for a head and arm choke. Bennett made space to survive the choke but Cooper mounted landing heavy hands. Rising from a tough situation, Bennett got to his feet readied for another exchange. A well placed left hand from Cooper put Bennett all the way back down and Cooper was able to get off a few extra shots in the time it took for the ref to stop the attack, awarding Cooper the TKO finish and the 170 X1 World Title.
185 Pro X1 World Title Match
Sale Sproat defeated Rafael Brewster via TKO 0:50 of round 1
Sproat got in and did work. Using heavy volume to back Brewster to the cage and forcing him to cover up, Sproat was able to put Brewster on his heels. Following up on the hard shot, Sproat made quick work of ground and pound from the mounted position taking less than a minute to get the TKO win.
125 Pro X1 State Title Match
Russell Mizuguchi defeated Michael Nakagawa Split Decision
Mizuguchi pressured hard for a solid takedown early in round one while continuing to stay within shooting range through the striking engagements. Nakagawa countered hard multiple times and managed to land in dominant position before the fighters worked back to their feet. Though Mizuguchi dominated the center of the cage, Nakagawa managed to shoot in for a successful takedown of his own finishing the round on top.
In the second round Nakagawa shot in for a double leg driving Mizuguchi to the cage, but this time it was Mizuguchi who hit the counted with his own takedown landing strikes from side control and half guard. Nakagawa was able to recompose guard for some of the ground battle but was unable to successfully set up any submission attempt through the continued flurries from Mizuguchi.
Both fighters had something to prove going into the third round. Nakagawa through a head kick that landed him off balance but he was bale t to recover fast enough to avoid any counter. Without time to hold back Nakagawa drove Mizuguchi across the cage for a takedown attempt, then repeated the drive once more following a striking flurry. Mizugushi countered with a dramatic judo style trip landing him and in a good spot for ground and pound. Rolls reversed from early in the fight, Nakagawa was the one chasing to keep Mizugushi against the cage and diving for takedowns.
This was a well-matched fight and a close call as Mizuguchi took home the split decision win and 125 lb X1 State Title.
135 Pro
Bill Takeuchi defeated Justin Hugo via TKO 3:53 of round 3
Takeuchi made it clear that he wanted to own the center of the cage and was able to keep Hugo’s back to the cage for the majority of the round. One of the highlights of the round was the multiple knees thrown by Takeuchi to the face of Hugo off of a takedown attempt by Hugo.
Despite a rough round one, Hugo came out looking more confident early in round two, throwing more volume and not backing up as easily. The obviously confident Takeuchi scored a takedown and threw heavy punches from the guard. Hugo survived the attack, and came back with gusto, though it was short lived after Takeuchi stuffed another takedown attempt and ended up right back in the guard of Hugo throwing bombs that left Takeuchi seeing the doctor in between rounds to address the blood gushing from multiple places on his face.
The heart of Hugo could not be questioned as he came out in round three swinging for the fences. Takeuchi put him on his back and let him back up to continue the striking game. Takeuchi countered a single leg attempt off the cage and mounted Hugo landing solid elbows and painting the canvas red. Takeuchi won via third round TKO.
Super Heavyweight Pro
Rudolph Schafforth v Tipo Lafaele via arm triangle at 3:02 of round 1
As soon as the referee gave the signal to go Schafforth stood, planted and threw. The high volume set up an early takedown that scored, but Schafforth did not follow up to take it to the ground. Lafaele did a good job of using head movement from taking serious damage in the early part of the round but the left hook that landed, landed hard, dropping him. Schafforth followed up this time with a barrage of hard short left hand shots to the head before taking mount and sinking in the arm triangle for the submission finish at 3:02 of round one.
Pro 155
Juan Gonzales defeated Kaeo Meyer via unanimous Decision
Both fighters came out landing straight technical punches in round one. Gonzales drove Meyer to cage early on with strikes, though Meyer gave little ground. Shortly after, Meyer caught a right body kick and threw an overhand right to back Gonzales to cage. Within the minute Gonzales landed same counter, pressuring Meyer to the cage. Meyer attempted to take the back off cage and in a scramble landed in dominant top position in half guard on the ground. Gonzales recomposed full guard and scrambled up off an attempted sweep, ending the round with both fighters on there feet.
Starting off following a fight for the center of the canvas, Meyer got body lock from close range and drove to the cage. The fight stayed standing and both threw multiple front kicks from the long range. Several scrambles against the cage ensued, with Gonzales looking for the single leg and unable to get Meyer off balance. The round ended with Meyer’s back to the cage as the fighters exchanged punches to the bell.
Potentially behind at the end of round two, Meyer came out swinging in round three. Gonzales was confident in his control of the center, content to counter for much of the round and keep Meyer on the outside. Meyer was finding his mark in the last minute with a series of clean shots to the head. Gonzales finally got that double leg he had been looking for but it was quickly reversed. A striking flurry ensued for the remaining seconds of the round, both pros looking worked, but like they were thoroughly conditioned for this. Gonzales earned the unanimous decision.
Amateur 170
Davy Malaythong defeated Daylan Cummings via 1st Rd TKO 0:15 of round 1
Amateur 145
Cyro Edayan defeated Julio Moreno via unanimous decision