The Sprawl And Brawl Video Review - SuperBrawl: ICON
Posted by Randy Harrison on 02.12.2008
SuperBrawl becomes ICON Sport as Robbie Lawler and Niko Vitale almost cause a riot, and "Mayhem" Miller looks to settle a score. Who comes out on top in these fights, and much more is just a click away in this week's Sprawl and Brawl Video Review.
Howdy ho folks, and welcome in to another edition of The Sprawl and Brawl. In light of the recent developments that saw Robbie Lawler vacate his ICON Sport Middleweight Title due to injury, it's time to look back to how he won that title to begin with as we review the SuperBrawl event ICON. This event was held on July 23, 2005 and was the first event where SuperBrawl began the change to become ICON Sport. This show was a bit of a passing of the torch from the old promotion to the new promotion, even though the only thing changing at this point really was the name. The main event is the ICON Sport Middleweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Falaniko Vitale, and there's going to be some Mayhem on the card as well, as Jason "Mayhem" Miller takes on Mark Moreno in something of a grudge match. There's eight big fights on the card and tons of action to get to, so let's get this show on the road!
We'll skip over the amateur kickboxing fights that are sprinkled throughout the first hour of the DVD and instead just focus on the eight MMA bouts on the card.
Match One: Light Heavyweights
Kala Kolohe Hose (0-1) vs. Corey Daniels (0-0)
Inexperience looks to be the order of the day in the opening fight, as there is literally nothing that I could find for information in regards to Daniels, and this is his only professional fight. Hose is the new rising star of the ShoXC series, as well as the fighter scheduled to face Phil Baroni for the ICON Sport Middleweight title after the Lawler injury situation. Hose is going to stand and bang while I have no earthy idea what Daniels is going to do. Let's get to the action, shall we? Holy shit, Yuji Shimada is the referee in this one, that is so awesome!! One of the best things about PRIDE was good old Yuji. This fight is set for three, three minute rounds.
Round One
Daniels snaps a leg kick to start out and just misses with a high kick. He lands a mid kick to the body but Hose fires back with a right hand over the top, just missing with a left hook as well. Lots of circling tentatively to start out with and Daniels lands another solid leg kick. Daniels rushes forward with a combination that misses and they start just firing away with punches as Hose pushes Daniels into the corner. They're swinging back and forth, and the fists are just flying like a bar brawl. They both land some decent shots and Daniels JUST misses a high kick but follows it up with a double-leg into a takedown, almost putting Hose through the ropes and out of the ring. The referee resets them in the center with Daniels on top, and Daniels tries to move himself to side control when he was clearly in half-guard at the stoppage and Yuji don't play dat. He resets them properly and restarts the fight again. Hose works some really good head control and tries a sweep before they scramble back to their feet. Hose looks a little tired as the round is getting close to the end and Daniels attacks with a combination and the Thai clinch with some HARD knees to the head and body, peppering Hose with a good dozen of them before the round comes to an end.
Daniels takes the first round with the takedown and the knees, and on the replay Daniels actually landed the better strikes in the flurry in the corner as well. Hose is bleeding from the nose, most likely from the knees at the end of the round and we're ready for round two.
Round Two
A bit of a tentative start to round two after the furious finish to the first and Daniels moves forward with a combination, landing a good left and right hand to Hose while keeping his distance. Hose lands a leg kick and Daniels throws another combination that lands before they end up into the clinch. Hose tries for a leg trip that misses and Daniels starts landing knees from the clinch again before digging a hard shot into the body. Shimada breaks them out of the clinch and restarts them in the middle of the ring. They circle a little and Daniels throws a body kick that misses before they exchange with neither guy landing anything. Daniels tries a Superman punch that misses and Hose slips Daniels' combination and lands a solid left of his own. Hose snaps in a leg kick and another as Daniels lands an overhand shot. Hose fakes a jumping knee and they exchange with Hose landing a left hook that stops Daniels and a right hook that FINISHES him. Holy crap, that was one hell of a punch.
Winner: Kala Kolohe Hose, KO at 2:54 of Round Two
Hose showed his KO power that we've seen from him in Elite XC, but he was still really green at this point as he was getting tooled for the first round and most of the second. The referees talk about how the stoppage might have been a little early, but honestly Daniels looked a little more woozy than they thought he might have been.
Match Two: Middleweights
Trevor Garrett (2-4) vs. Reese Andy (1-0)
Garrett makes his way down to the ring with Rob Van Dam's WWE entrance music and some interesting lime green Muay Thai fight shorts. The announcers talk about him being a great athlete, which I'm not sure helps him out much, but we'll see. Garrett has fought some name guys like Brian Gassaway and Dave Menne, losing to both. Andy is out next and is a three-time Division I All-American wrestler so we know what to expect out of him, it's safe to say. He's a little green at this point with only one other professional fight under his belt, but he looks strong and ready and the announcers talk up that he has trained a lot in submissions as well. This fight is set for the customary three, five minute rounds, as are the rest of the fights on the card, minus the main event.
Round One
They circle to start and Garrett lands a leg kick before EATING a left hand that stuns him. Andy grabs a front-facelock and starts peppering in some knees to the head of Garrett and Andy pushes him away, with Garrett almost landing a hard right hook. Garrett already has a huge mouse under his eye from that hard shot he took early on. Garrett comes forward with a combination but Andy just grabs the clinch and takes Garrett down to the mat, moving into side control immediately. Andy looks for a kimura from the top and almost has it locked in, but Garrett rolls off of his back to avoid it and gets Andy back into his full guard. Garrett throws a couple of strikes from the bottom as Andy postures up, throwing Garrett's legs to the side and passing guard into side contol again. Andy is on the other side and trying to lock in that kimura again, but Garrett defends it well again and slips out of it, unfortunately giving up mount in the process. Andy postures up and lands some hard lefts and rights as Garrett tries to buck out of the bad position. Andy throws some more right hands that get through the guard of Garrett and land to the side of his head. Andy maintains the mount as Garrett tries to buck and roll to his side and Garrett finally rolls over to his stomach, but Andy tries to lock on the rear naked choke. Andy sinks the choke in against the ropes and he forces Garrett to tap out.
Winner: Reese Andy, submission (rear naked choke) at 4:15 of Round One
A very impressive win for Andy in his last fight for SuperBrawl. After this fight, he would move on to the IFL where he still fights today, amassing a 5-1 record in IFL competition. Andy showed decent stand-up in this fight, despite it being early in his career, and of course had the advantage on the mat with his wrestling. A fairly dominating performance by Andy, and it's easy to see why one of the bigger organizations came calling for his services based on this fight.
Match Three: Middleweights
Kimo Woelfel (1-1) vs. Nick Ring (3-0)
We hear Ring being introduced and he's billed as being a winner of a PRIDE Fighting Championship audition. He's originally from Calgary, Alberta and has ten years of Muay Thai experience and six years of jiu-jitsu experience so he should be very well-rounded coming into this fight. He leaps the ring ropes hands-free, drawing some "ooooohs" from the crowd. Woelfel makes his way down to the ring and he's going to stand and bang according to the announcers, with a shorter and stockier build than Ring. They talk that Kimo has a bit of a wrestling background as well so the fight could start out striking before going down to the mat. By the way, I'm calling him Kimo because it's easier to type while taking notes, but it should be noted that he's not THAT Kimo.
Round One
Ring with a couple of solid leg kicks to start out and Kimo follows with a STRAIGHT left hand off of one of those leg kicks to counter them. Ring just keeps working those leg kicks and Kimo misses the counter this time before rushing in on a sloppy shot that misses. Ring cuts Kimo off into the corner and keeps on with the leg kicks but Kimo fires back with another couple of lefts from close range that seem to stun Ring a little. Ring closes the distance completely, grabbing Kimo with the Thai clinch and landing some knees to the body before Kimo catches one of the knees and scores the takedown. Kimo tries to get past Ring's butterfly guard but he can't and Ring ends up scrambling to his feet and pushing Kimo down. Ring moves quickly while on top of Kimo, securing the mount and landing some hard shots, forcing Kimo to roll to his stomach. Ring sinks in his hooks and secures the rear naked choke out of that position, forcing Kimo into the tap.
Winner: Nick Ring, submission (rear naked choke) at 2:06 of Round One
Well, Ring definitely looked like the hot prospect in this one as he showed decent stand-up skills, a good chin and proficiency on the ground, scoring the quick submission. He used his size to his advantage and worked really well with keeping Wolfel at the end of his punches. A good win for Ring and I would guess that the whole PRIDE deal didn't work out too well for him.
Match Four: Lightweights
KJ Noons (2-1) vs. Bryson Kamaka (2-3)
It's kind of funny to see the announcers no-selling Noons a little bit to talk up the main event fights. He's still a ways off from being the star he is now in Elite XC, instead being more of an up-and-coming prospect at this point. We know that Noons' game is going to be stand-up so at least there's a little something. Noons is introduced as another PRIDE audition winner and they finally get around to talking about him but it's a little late as they're already introducing Kamaka. They talk about how Kamaka is the next big thing in the lighter weight classes in Hawaii, which leads me to believe that Noons might have been brought in to lose. Now they're saying that Noons is the slight favorite so I'm confused. I guess it's just time to get to the fight.
Round One
Noons flashes out a weak leg kick that misses and Kamaka snaps one back with purpose, landing it with a solid smack. They exchange punches with Kamaka actually landing the cleaner shot, scoring with a straight right hand over the top. Noons lands a HARD leg kick and another and they circle again. Kamaka misses with a left hook and Noons keeps on with the leg kicks. Kamaka lands a front kick to try to keep Noons at bay and swings and misses with a big left hand. Noons scores a knockdown off of a leg kick and that's pretty goddamn impressive in my book. They both throw front kicks that miss and Noons goes up with a huge high kick that lands FLUSH to the side of Kamaka's head, putting him down in the corner and knocking him out fucking COLD. Noons pounces with a couple more shots and the referee pulls him off to stop the fight.
Winner: KJ Noons, KO at 1:20 of Round One
WOW. Noons showed some great power in his kicks and his stand-up, even at this early stage in his career, was the SHIT. That was a great head kick KO that would have made the guys who do it regularly proud. There's not a lot to be said besides that really as the fight wasn't long enough to need any opinionating. In the post-fight they bring the stretcher in for Kamaka as he's still out cold in the corner.
We're backstage with Robbie Lawler and he says that he's thinking about going out there to fight his best and take home Niko's belt. The fight is going to be high-paced and he wants the win more than anything else, the belt is just extra. Niko Vitale responds saying that he's not thinking much about Lawler and he's just relaxing. He feels more comfortable defending the belt rather than chasing after it and he thanks the fans for coming out to the event. Vitale hopes the fight ends with something spectacular but since it's MMA, who knows.
Match Five: Flyweights
Mark Oshiro (4-0) vs. Ed Newalu (9-9)
This is for the Hawaii State Flyweight Championship according to the pre-fight graphic and actually the records shown by the ICON people are almost perfect, with Newalu being shown as 9-8 instead of 9-9, but that's a small quibble really. They talk about the expansion from SuperBrawl to ICON Sport and how it's allowed for there to be smaller level titles in each weight class. They also talk about how this could be the fight of the night and that Oshirio is well-rounded and that he has skills on the ground as well as standing up. Newalu is talked up as having the same well-rounded skills and I wonder for a moment if I'm watching Joe Rogan and a UFC show with all of the well-rounded talk.
Round One
Yuji Shimada gets us underway and they circle to start the round with Newalu lifting Oshiro up with a double-leg and slamming him down to the mat. Oshiro grabs a guillotine out of that pick-up actually and is cranking it really hard, locking in a full body triangle as well. Newalu has managed to survive it for this long and I have to wonder if Oshiro is just burning out his arms. He keeps holding onto the guillotine for a good thirty or forty seconds and Newalu survives it, finally popping his head out and pounding away at Oshiro from the closed guard. Oshiro moves to rubber guard and Newalu tries to break it with a bunch of short slams in the middle of the ring. Newalu stands up out of the guard and falls back into it with a BIG right hand and Newalu starts raining in rights and lefts and forces Oshiro to roll over to his stomach.
Newalu sinks in both hooks and takes full back control, throwing another couple of right hands before rolling with Oshiro and trying to flatten him out to hold the position. Newalu lands a ton of right hands to the head and body and tries to slip his arm underneath for the rear naked choke. Oshirio defends it well, avoiding the choke by pressing his chin to his chest, but Newalu manages to slide his forearm across the throat, squeezing and choking at Oshirio with a modified rear naked. Oshiro holds on and actually manages to get his chin back under the forearm, gaining some space to slip out of the choke. Newalu starts landing another couple of rights and lefts and tries again for the rear naked choke but he's too far to the side with the back control and Oshiro is able to scoot out the back door and scramble to his feet just as the round comes to a close.
That was a tale of two rounds as Oshiro had the advantage in the early going, but as the round went on Newalu took over. Newalu was closer to finishing the fight in my opinion and he had the advantage for a longer period of time in the round so I give it to him, but just barely.
Round Two
Round two starts off with some feinting and Oshiro tries for a knee that Newalu catches, turning Oshiro into the corner in the clinch. Oshiro pushes off and lands some HARD knees to the head of Newalu, rushing forward and starting to pummel Newalu as Newalu runs away. Newalu shoots for a single-leg to try to recover after eating a ton of punches and kicks and Oshiro sprawls out of it well, scoring some more knees to the body and face with a front facelock on. The referee stops the fight to take a look at Newalu's nose as it is just GUSHING blood. They stop the bleeding and it's back to the action as the doctor gives him the ok to continue the fight. Oshiro just misses a big high kick and Newalu tries for a slam and can't get it set as Oshiro sprawls again. A cool visual as some of Newalu's blood spatters on the ringside camera, giving it a bit of a grittier look than some of the more post-produced MMA shows. Oshiro keeps sprawling and gets back to his feet as Newalu just pulls guard to try get the fight to the mat.
Newalu finally gets the slam but again ends up caught in the guillotine like he was in the first round. Newalu pulls out of it and starts to land some right hands as Oshiro sinks in a triangle choke. Oshiro lands some right hands and Newalu rolls out of the triangle as they scramble back to their feet. Newalu working the clinch in the corner and they just rest against each other as Shimada stops the action and resets them in the middle. Oshiro's white fight shorts are stained pink with Newalu's blood as Oshiro starts to land some right hands and JUST misses a high kick. Oshiro lands a right hand again and Newalu shoots in for another takedown as both guys seem a little gassed. Newalu gets the takedown and ends up on top in side control, moving to the north/south position as the crowd screams for knees, but Oshiro defends well against them. Newalu takes Oshiro's back and gets the hooks in but can't do anything with it as the round comes to an end.
That one was Oshiro's round as he busted up Newalu and completely dominated the round, minus a couple of short takedowns and bursts of offense from Newalu. They're one round apiece heading into the third and final round here.
Round Three
They touch gloves to start the round and Oshiro tries a hook to the body that misses and just clips Newalu with a high kick. Oshiro with a kick to the body and Newalu catches Oshiro with a good right hand. Oshiro with another body kick and an exchange that both fighters miss on. The pace has slowed considerably even from the second round to the third as they circle and feint with Oshiro landing a weak front kick. Oshiro keeps throwing kicks that miss, but at least he's throwing something as Newalu just kind of stalks and paces down Oshiro. Newalu lands a HARD shot that stuns Oshiro and he shoots in for a takedown under a combination, getting Oshiro down to the mat and starting to work from his full guard. Newalu works a little ground and pound, gaining some seperation and landing some right hands to the head and body before Oshiro starts to control the body.
Oshiro looks like he's trying for an armbar and almost has it but Newalu passes the guard and takes Oshiro's back with both hooks in. Newalu is trying to sink in the choke and lands some right hands from the back control, trying to smother Oshiro into making a mistake but Oshiro is defending it well so far. Oshiro even lands a punch behind his head to the face of Newalu and another as Newalu keeps trying to roll Oshiro over to flatten him out but he can't get him over. Newalu keeps trying for the choke and holds onto back control as the third round and the fight finishes out.
Huh. I have no idea how to score that last round, although I would lean towards Newalu because he had the better position for longer in that round, but he didn't do a ton once he had the position. I'd give it to Newalu based on position but at this point I wouldn't be surprised to see either man win this fight. The judges have added up the cards and we have a decision. One judge has it at a 28-28 draw, and the two other judges have it as 29-28 for Ed Newalu.
Winner: Ed Newalu, Unanimous Decision
That was a great fight, and honestly they said that it was going to be the fight of the night and I agree with that. It's going to be a tough act to follow for anyone to top this fight for the rest of the card. Sadly, neither man has really been able to capitalize on this performance as neither has been able to take that next step up in terms of fighting on a little bit bigger show for MMA.
Match Six: Lightweights
Kolo Koka (10-7) vs. Ryan Diaz (9-8)
Diaz is out of Vancouver and is actually the third in line for the fight as the first two opponents for Koka had to pull out of the fight. Most of Diaz's previous fights have been in TKO where he showed a penchant for submissions and he was featured in the SuperBrawl's Greatest Hits edition of The Sprawl and Brawl, getting knocked out by Eddie Yagin in a crazy fight. Koka is a local fighter who has been in with some of the best, coming out on top of Bart Palaszewski in a decision a year before this fight, and losing to Shonie Carter a couple of years before that at a SuperBrawl show. He also appears to favor the submissions, so it will be interesting to see how this fight plays out on the mat. Koka gets rapped down to the ring by a local rap artist who the crowd seems to be a little mixed about. Poor guy gets a microphone that doesn't work and ends up having to trade out with his homeboy walking with him halfway through.
Round One
They touch em up to start out and Diaz lands a good mid-kick to the body before Koka lands a HUGE overhand right. Koka throws a huge combination that pushes Diaz back into the corner and shoots in for a double-leg, taking Diaz down to the mat. Diaz works well to scramble out from underneath, standing up out of a sprawl and clinching Koka against the ropes. A good body shot from Koka lands and he tries for the takedown again but Diaz again sprawls out of it very well. Koka finally bulls Diaz over as Diaz throws up a high guard from his back, trying to catch a triangle choke out of it. Koka lands a couple of hard right hands and Diaz looks to be cut under his left eye as Koka keeps on with the ground and pound, landing some more hard lefts and rights to Diaz's head.
Diaz pushes Koka away with his feet and Koka tries to do a jumping pass into a punch but Diaz shuts it down really well. The action slows and the referee steps in to check the cut on Diaz, and the doctor takes a look and deems Diaz alright to continue. The crowd boos a little at the length of time it took and Diaz comes out firing with a flying knee attempt that just misses. Koka with a good leg kick before they clinch against the ropes with Koka getting another takedown into the left hands. Diaz throws the high guard up again, missing an armbar attempt as Koka stands out of it before letting Diaz back up to his feet. Koka lands a couple of big overhand right hands and just misses a left hook as someone in the crowd is shrieking like they've just cut off their own hand. The circle and trade with Koka trying for another takedown but Diaz fights it and ends up in top position, passing into side control and landing some hard shots to end the round.
I'd have to give that round to Koka based on his aggression and his quick and deadly striking game. Diaz fought just as well, but he did a little less damage and didn't manage to even remotely stun Koka in the first so we'll give that round to Koka.
Round Two
The bell rings and we're off with round two as they circle tentatively before Diaz lands a front kick and an inside leg kick. Koka throws a big right that just misses and Diaz grabs a front facelock as Koka tries for the takedown. They work over to the corner with Diaz looking like he attempted a jumping submission that missed and Koka makes him pay for it with a couple of solid punches. The ref stops the fight and resets them in the middle of the ring out from under the ropes. Diaz turns his hips and throws up another armbar attempt but it misses before he lands a good up kick. They exchange and Koka lands a couple of solid combinations and they just stand there trading one and two punch combinations back and forth with nothing really landing flush.
Koka misses with a punch and Diaz lands a hard knee to the chin up the middle, prompting Koka to showboat a little to show how much it didn't hurt before he fires back with a good hard punch. Diaz sticks a few solid leg kicks in on Koka and they go back to their slow trading of single punches and short combos. Koka lands a couple of REALLY hard body shots from the inside and misses a big right hook. Diaz lands a couple of good right hands of his own and shoots in for the takedown with Koka pushing him over to steal top position. Koka postures up and tries to land some shots but Diaz defends well from the butterfly guard, controlling both of Koka's arms before he isolates one and snaps on a super-quick armbar that forces Koka to tap out instantly.
Winner: Ryan Diaz, submission (armbar) at 4:01 of Round Two
That's the great thing about MMA, is that no fighter is ever out of a fight as long as he's still conscious. Diaz was getting schooled for the first nine minutes of the fight for the most part until he shifted his hips and locked in that armbar. Koka looks devastated at the loss and how quickly it came out of that.
Match Seven: Welterweights
Jason Miller (12-4) vs. Mark Moreno (7-6-2, 1 NC)
Moreno makes his way down to the ring first and the announcers don't make a peep as he makes his way to the ring. Miller actually gets a nice response for being someone from out-of-town that is fighting a local and he comes down to the ring with a full facemask on and wielding a sword that he waves around and everything he does on his way down to the ring times out with his music. Gotta love Mayhem for that. The announcers touch on this fight being personal, telling that after Miller's previous fight in SuperBrawl there was a post-fight skirmish in the ring with Moreno working the opponent's corner and admitting to punching Miller in the back of the head during the melee. This one is for Miller's SuperBrawl Welterweight Championship and is his first fight after his humbling loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 52 a few months earlier.
Round One
The announcers talk about how tough it was for Miller to make the weight for this fight as the round begins and Miller starts out faking some kicks as they circle. Miller rushes in and clinches Moreno against the ropes in the corner, taking the Thai clinch and working some knees to the body. Miller scores the takedown and lands some HARD knees to the rips from side control, honestly scoring with about a dozen of them, if not more. Moreno tries a knee from the bottom that almost lands and Miller works a north/south choke for a moment before trying to mount Moreno, landing strikes and hammerfists from the top. Miller back in side control and lands a few more hard hammerfists before landing a vicious knee to the head from north/south.
Moreno finally starts to defend the knees, holding onto Miller's leg when he rears back with it, but that only delays the inevitable. Miller tries for a crucifix and gets it, landing a ton of hard right hands from that position as Moreno tries to buck him off. Miller lets go of the crucifix and puts his knee on Moreno's belly, landing hammerfists to the head and HARD punches to the body, pummeling Moreno from the top. Miller takes the mount and rains in a TON of left and right hands before grabbing an armbar. Miller gives a shaka to the crowd with it almost locked in and pulls it back to secure it, forcing Moreno to tap out.
Winner: Jason Miller, submission (armbar) at 4:54 of Round One
Well, that just goes to show that you don't cheapshot Mayhem Miller. That was an absolute beatdown and you could tell that Miller wanted to prove a point in this fight. He owned Moreno on the mat and really punished him with those knees and punches to the body. Miller was motivated for this fight and it showed in his dominating performance. In the post-fight interview Miller enjoys getting his belt put on by the hula girls and they move to talk to Moreno first, I would assume to give Miller a chance to calm down from the Island women.
Moreno says that Miller is a bad motherfucker and that he gives credit where credit is due before calling Miller a fag. He goes over to hug Miller after that and Miller talks about how he respects Moreno and that now they can go and party after they settled their beef. He gloats a little over the shaka before the armbar at the end of the fight and they talk about how he might be coming up in weight for his next fight. He thinks that the Middleweight title sounds sexy and Ronald Jhun comes into the ring, whomMiller beat previously, wanting a rematch. Miller responds by saying that he notices the Hawaiians talk tough when they got a lot of their boys with them for backup. The crowd doesn't like that one at ALL. He says he appreciates the fans and all of his trainers in the Island area.
We get an ad for Steinlager beer DURING the DVD, which I've never seen happen before. Shaka for Steinlager folks.
Match Eight: ICON Sport Middleweight Championship
Falaniko Vitale (20-3) vs. Robbie Lawler (9-3)
Lawler makes his way down to the ring with some Slipknot cranking on the PA system and Pat Miletich in his corner. They talk about how Lawler loves the sprawl and brawl style and I would agree with that. Vitale is next to come down to the ring and he has the Island dancers in the ring doing their little routine, facing right at Robbie Lawler. They get the super-special ring introductions and the crowd boos Lawler pretty well when he gets introduced. Vitale, of course, gets the huge response from the hometown crowd as he's introduced. Again, I'm impressed at the stats people for ICON as they get both men's records almost perfect, nailing Vitale's spot on, and missing Lawler's by one win, announcing him at 8-3. This one looks like it could be a long stand-up war so let's get right to the action.
Round One
Shimada goes over the rules with both of them and we're underway with Lawler throwing a couple of high kicks to start out that just miss. Vitale catches one of Lawler's legs and tries for the takedown but can't get it and they clinch against the ropes in the corner with Lawler landing some strikes as Vitale bulls him into the corner. Vitale lands a couple of shoulder strikes and Lawler reverses into the corner but Yuji's seen enough and seperates them back to the middle. Vitale lands a kick to the legs that lands and Lawler tries another high kick that misses, but he scores with a jumping knee that lands and puts Vitale down and they scramble back up into a clinch in the corner. Lawler pushes Vitale into the corner again and lands a right hand to the side of the head as they have over/under hooks on each other.
The action slows again and the referee seperates them again. Vitale swings wildly and misses as Lawler ducks under the strikes and they're back to the clinch in the corner with Lawler pressing Vitale's back to the corner. Vitale starts landing knees to the body now and another couple of shoulder shrugs as a HUGE "Niko" chant fires up and Vitale responds by slamming Lawler to the mat. Vitale scores a knee during the scramble as Lawler gets back to his feet and another "Niko" chant comes from the crowd. They get seperated again to the middle and Vitale just misses with a kick to the body before eating a straight right hand. They slow down a little as they circle and Vitale throws a combination that Lawler ducks under and shoots in for the takedown. Vitale sprawls out and they end up clinched against the ropes to end the round.
That was a close round, but I would give it to Vitale for that slam takedown that he scored about halfway through the round. Lawler landed some solid strikes but he wasn't able to put any combinations together so that takedown was big in determining the round.
Round Two
The second starts and they circle a little with Vitale dropping his hands for a moment before he throws a huge combination. Lawler covers up as Vitale is throwing the heavy leather trying to end the fight, with Lawler avoiding taking too much damage and firing back with some power shots of his own. Lawler lands a BIG left hook and turns the tide, starting to put together multiple combinations of his own on Vitale, pressing him up against the ropes. Another HARD left hand lands for Lawler as Vitale tries to land some knees from the clinch but can't do it. Lawler pushes Vitale into the corner and they clinch with Vitale reversing and pushing Lawler into the corner. Another "Niko" chant comes as Lawler grabs a standing guillotine and Vitale turns it into a HUGE slam, sending Lawler ass over teakettle and ending up on top in side control.
Vitale tries for a knee and misses it as they move to a north/south position with the crowd pleading for knees. Vitale moves around and tries for the mount but he ends up being put back into Lawler's guard before Shimada stops them to move them back to the middle of the ring. Vitale starts trying to work some ground and pound as Lawler lands an upkick to the chin of Vitale. Vitale responds with a couple of big power shots while standing above Lawler and then he drops back for a leg lock that Lawler quickly pulls out of. Lawler stands up and tells Vitale to get back to his feet, prompting Shimada to allow him back up. Vitale misses a hook to the body and Lawler begins stalking Vitale, pushing him into the corner. Lawler misses a straight left and Vitale gets the clinch, eating an uppercut from Lawler but holding onto it.
Vitale tries for a kneebar as he drops to the mat and Lawler spins out of it and falls out of the ring, prompting the boos from the crowd as they think it was intentional. Vitale lands a right hand lead and Lawler pushes Vitale back into the corner, grabbing the Thai clinch and scoring with a HARD knee up the middle that stuns Vitale. Lawler lands a big right hand and another and a HUGE left hook and Vitale drops to the mat. Lawler stops, thinking the fight is over but it's not and so he drops a couple of HARD hammerfists and finally that's it, Shimada calls for the bell as Vitale is out cold and HERE COMES SOME CRAZY ISLAND GIRL!!! She looks like she's from the crowd and she starts taking swings at Robbie as the fans start throwing stuff into the ring. The security rushes the ring and gets the crazy Hawaiian chick out of there, and it's sheer chaos in the ring at this point. Vitale is up and hugs Lawler, giving him props for the win and it looks like the crowd is calmed down now.
Winner: Robbie Lawler, KO at 4:36 of Round Two
Well, Lawler did what he usually does, punished his opponent standing up and got the KO out of it, but he really looked out of shape for this fight and Vitale almost had him at a couple of points throughout the bout. The crowd boos the announcement of Lawler's victory but he still looks overcome by emotion at the win. He thanks security and shakes their hands for saving him from the crowd that seemed to want his blood.
Vitale gives an interview in the post-fight and talks about how he wishes that the local fighters on the island could have some of the same sponsorships that guys like Lawler have, because he was working a full-time job up until a week before the fight and training in between, before getting the last week off. I get the point he's making, but unfortunately it comes off as a bit of sour grapes, which is very much unlike Vitale. He offers to put the belt on Robbie Lawler and then does so, with Lawler again looking very emotional about the entire situation.
Lawler comes to his interview time and Lawler says that he didn't have a plan on what to do during the fight until right before the fight and that he doesn't hold what the crazy girl did to him against her because it was just the emotion of them wanting Niko to win so badly. He respects that kind of emotion and he loves Hawaii. That does it for this show as we get some replays of the finish of the fight and the crowd files their way out of the Blaisdell. That also does it for the DVD as we're done without any credits, but not before we get another glorious Steinlager commercial.
That's it for this week's Sprawl and Brawl, and I thank you all for stopping into my little slice of 411mania to check it out. I'll be back next week with another review, most likely something from King Of The Cage, as it's been a few weeks since I've done one of their shows and I think I'm getting withdrawals. Until then, in the mean time and in between time, I'll see you all back here next time for an all-new, all-fight, all-action Sprawl and Brawl Video Review. Good night everybody!!
The 411: A great show to usher out the era of SuperBrawl and ring in the age of ICON Sport. A great main event, a supreme beatdown in the co-main, and a wonderful three-round war between Newalu and Oshiro are all huge positives when it comes to the final score on this card. There aren't really any bad fights on it, and the only thing that I would remove would be the kickboxing portions, but even those were moderately entertaining. I'll highly recommend this DVD to anyone that's a fight fan.
