The Tool Review 07.29.08: Rumble On The Rock 6
Posted by Adam Tool on 07.29.2008
We return to the island of Hawaii for another big night of fights featuring Gilbert Melendez, Cabbage Correira, Antoni Hardonk, Dennis Hallman, and the mixed-martial arts debut of former WWE superstar Sean O’Haire! The night is topped off with a huge main event featuring BJ Penn moving up to middleweight to take on Rodrigo Gracie!
I recently picked up the Rumble On The Rock 5-Event Set, a two disc collection containing the full cards from Rumble On The Rock 4-8. I’ll be reviewing each show in the weeks to come. You can find my review of Rumble On The Rock 4 here, and my review of Rumble On The Rock 5 is here. If you’re interested in picking this one up, you can find it at Amazon for $9.47. I got it at my local Best Buy for just $9.99, and I can honestly say it’s well worth the money.
RUMBLE ON THE ROCK 6
-November 20th, 2004
-From The Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii
A familiar voice gets us started, and it belongs to Bruce Buffer who gets the crowd ready. Little Miss Hawaii sings the National Anthem. Following her stirring rendition we are treated to a Hawaiian musical blessing thing. I know it has a proper name, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is. This whole production goes on for several minutes with dancers both male and female. Bruce Buffer then introduces the competitors for this evening, and they each make their way onto the stage and stand in a line. He gets to the main event introductions and we see Rodrigo Gracie and BJ Penn rise up from behind the stage while staring each other down. Not surprisingly BJ gets the loudest ovation when he’s introduced.
MATCH ONE: LIGHTWEIGHTS - Gilbert Melendez (6-0) vs. Kaynan Kaku (5-0)
Oddly enough the tale of the tape lists Melendez’s record as 4-0, which is the same as it was when he competed at Rumble On The Rock 4. Kaku is a homegrown Hawaiian star, as he’s pretty much only been fighting on ROTR cards. Both fighters are undefeated here, so somebody’s ‘0’ must go.
Round 1
The blond version of Larry Landless is our referee. Melendez comes out swinging, and presses forward. He goes for a single leg and Kaku defends well. Melendez gets him down and Kaku gets right back up. Melendez takes him down again and Kaku gets up again. Melendez picks up him and SLAMS him down on his head. He starts unloading some shots in the half guard. Kaku tries for a triangle but Melendez quickly pulls out. Melendez throws some shots from the top, and Kaku lands a nice straight left from the bottom. Melendez lands a few more shots and Kaku gets back up. Melendez keeps a hold of his leg but Kaku breaks free and throws up a knee, followed by some big punches. He lands a left hook and Melendez backs up, so Kaku presses forward. He lands another knee and they exchange. Melendez drops down for the single against the cage and he gets Kaku down. Melendez throws some big right hands but Kaku holds the head to keep him close. Melendez stands and lands a nice knee to Kaku’s chin. Melendez gets down into Kaku’s guard and lands some more shots. Kaku tries to use the cage to spin out, and he goes for an armbar. Melendez pulls out and throws some more punches. Melendez starts to unload as the round ends. Awesome fight so far. Melendez got Kaku down several times and seemed to do more damage, so 411mania scores round one 10-9 for him.
Round 2
Kaku throws a leg kick to start, and Melendez presses forward and lands a right hook. They tie up against the fence and Melendez takes him down. He gets to side control and throws some big shots, but Kaku gets back to half guard. Melendez lands a HUGE right hand and Kaku looks hurt. Melendez lifts his body up to deliver a vicious knee to the head (keep in mind, knees to a downed opponent are legal in Hawaii). Melendez is in side control and hits another knee to the head. Kaku tries to walk up the cage and get out, but Melendez is keeping him down. Melendez hits another big knee, followed by some more punches. He goes for the mount but is stuck in half guard. Melendez rains down a few hammer fists, and attempts to get the mount again. Kaku keeps him in guard, but he’s taking a lot of punishment. Kaku presses him off with the legs, but Melendez jumps right back on top of him. Kaku tries to roll and eats another knee to the face. Melendez continues to rain down punches and Landless finally steps in to stop it.
Winner: Gilbert Melendez, TKO (strikes), round 2, 3:58
This would be Melendez’s last fight for Rumble on the Rock, as afterwards he would head to Japan to compete in SHOOTO, followed by short stints in Strikeforce and PRIDE, then back to Strikeforce where he recently lost the lightweight championship. Kaku would continue in ROTR and PXC, although he hasn’t fought in over a year.
MATCH TWO: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Dennis Hallman (29-9) vs. Ross Ebanez (6-1)
Hallman is most famous for submitting Matt Hughes twice, with each of those fights lasting less than 20 seconds. Ebanez is very popular here, having spent most of his career in ROTR.
Round 1
Larry Landless is our referee again. Hallman swings and misses, and Ebanez answers back. Hallman shoots in and gets the double leg takedown. Ebanez works his way out and stands up. Hallman still has his arms wrapped around him though, and takes him back down with a BIG suplex. Hallman has his back, but Ebanez is holding the wrists. Hallman gets his arms free and locks in a rear naked choke. Ebanez fights for a few seconds before he has to tap.
Winner: Dennis Hallman, submission (rear naked choke), round 1, 1:13
Hallman would go on to compete all over the place, including a bout with Jorge Rivera at UFC 55. He then went on to the IFL and was last seen in Strikeforce. Ebanez continued in ROTR, although he did make an appearance on ShoXC earlier this year where he lost to Eddie Alvarez.
MATCH THREE: HEAVYWEIGHTS - Antoni Hardonk (2-2) vs. Wes Sims (7-5)
Hardonk had spent his career fighting in Europe and Japan, and was making his U.S. debut here. Sims was coming off his 0-3 stint in the UFC, which included his DQ loss to Frank Mir where he went batshit crazy with foot stomps to Mir’s head. He followed that up with a second loss to Mir and a KO loss to Mike Kyle.
Round 1
Our referee is Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz. Sims lands a left jab and tries for a weak takedown, but Hardonk quickly back out of it. Sims lands a leg kick and Hardonk presses forward and lands a left hook. Hardonk throws a leg kick and follows up with a combination, and Sims drops down looking for the takedown. Hardonk throws him down and almost throws a kick to the head. He looks like he’s going to go down into Sims’ guard, but then backs away and Sims gets up. Hardonk lands a left hook and again Sims looks like he’s going for a takedown, but he backs away. Sims shoots in and Hardonk sprawls to avoid. Sims finally gets him down but Hardonk is keeping him close to avoid any damage. Sims moves him to the cage, but he can’t really do anything from the top. Sims finally starts landing some shots. Hardonk moves his hips and tries to push Sims away. Hardonk sweeps and gets on top in the full mount. He throws some big punches to the head and Sims tries to bring his legs up to get him off. Hardonk rains down some more punches and grabs Sims’ left arm. He locks up a kimura and Sims taps.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk, submission (kimura), round 1, 4:23
Not long after this fight the UFC would come calling for Hardonk, where he currently has a 3-2 record. He most recently picked up a TKO win over Eddie Sanchez at UFC 85. Sims went on to Super Brawl where he lost to Tim Sylvia, and he has bounced around all over the place since then. In fact, he fought three times last month.
MATCH FOUR: HEAVYWEIGHTS - Kristof Midoux (3-4) vs. Mike Malone (1-2)
It should be noted that during the introductions both fighters are listed with undefeated records, but a quick look on Sherdog reveals that both had (and still have) losing records. Midoux was a veteran of IFC and K-1, while Malone had never fought outside Hawaii.
Round 1
Troy Mandaloniz gets us started. They circle to start. Malone lands a weak leg kick and Midoux presses forward with a left-right combo that misses. Midoux misses a high kick and Malone lands a good straight right. Malone throws an inside leg kick, followed by another on the outside. Midoux presses forward with a big right, but Malone backs away. Malone comes in with the jab and lands a few shots. Midoux answers back with a HUGE overhand right and Malone is OUT. Midoux jumps on top and throws a few more punches before Mandaloniz can pull him off. Midoux tags him with a little kick to the head as he’s being pulled away.
Winner: Kristof Midoux, KO (punch), round 1, 1:54
Midoux would go back to K-1, and would also get a one night stint in the UFC where he lost to Jake O’Brien at Fight Night 6. He was last seen in Korea in the X-Impact organization. Malone continued to fight close to home, and still has yet to compete outside of Hawaii. We’ll be seeing him again in a few weeks when I get to ROTR 8.
MATCH FIVE: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS - Spencer Canup (2-0) vs. Juda A’Alona (9-1)
It’s worth noting that this fight is announced as a light heavyweight bout, but A’Alona weighs in at 236 lbs. Canup is taking his second fight in 2004, after taking four years off from the sport. A’Alona is, well…according to Sherdog he’s coming off a win over himself. Don’t believe me? Here’s a screen grab:
Round 1
Troy Mandaloniz is the third man in the cage. Canup lands a few leg kicks and presses forward. He grabs A’Alona’s back and takes him down, working for the choke. A’Alona starts to stand with Canup still locked up on his back and Canup drops off. A’Alona lands a few shots before Canup gets back up. Canup grabs the clinch and delivers a few knees to the head. He lands four or five good knees then starts with some dirty boxing. A’Alona presses him towards the cage but Canup is still delivering the high knees. Canup keeps a hold of the muay thai clinch and delivers several more knees to the head. A’Alona backs out but Canup quickly rushes forward and gets the clinch again. He unloads with some inside uppercuts, then grabs a hold of the neck. He locks in a guillotine choke while standing, and A’Alona has to tap.
This would be A’Alona’s last MMA fight. Canup wouldn’t be too far behind in retirement, as he suffered his first loss to Jeremy Horn called it quits afterwards.
MATCH SIX: HEAVYWEIGHTS - Shungo Oyama (2-6) vs. Sean O’Haire (0-0)
O’Haire is a former professional wrestler who competed in WCW and the WWE. He is making his MMA debut here.
Round 1
Once again our referee is Troy Mandaloniz. Oyama lands a left hand to start, then drops down for a takedown. He gives that up and eats a right hook on the way up. O’Haire presses forward and lands a couple of big right hands. Oyama goes down and O’Haire jumps on him landing another big right. Oyama gets back up and O’Haire tries to toss him down. He lands a few more right hands and Oyama is trying to get away, but keeps pressing and lands a big left hook. Oyama goes down and that is it.
Winner: Sean O’Haire, TKO (strikes), round 1, :31
Following his win here O’Haire would go on to compete in K-1 Hero’s, and he would also make an appearance in PRIDE where he was knocked out by Butterbean in less than 30 seconds. He competed twice last year for Champions Quest. I couldn’t find anything about Oyama, so let’s just move on.
MATCH SEVEN: HEAVYWEIGHTS - Yoshiro Nakao (1-0) vs. Wesley “Cabbage” Correira (13-6)
Cabbage was one of the bigger stars on the show, having had a high-profile run in the UFC. Nakao had been in K-1, where his last fight against Don Frye ended in a no contest due to an accidental headbutt.
Round 1
Our referee is Larry Landless. Nakao shoots in right away but comes up empty. He shoots in again and grabs a single leg but Cabbage circles for a bit before they finally go down against the cage. Nakao lands a few shots in guard but Cabbage works hard to control the posture. Nakao quickly passes to side control and throws a few more shots. Nakao starts unloading and opens a cut under Cabbage’s left eye. Nakao passes over to side control on the other side. He throws some more shots and Cabbage starts to roll, but Nakao lands some knees to the head. Cabbage finally powers up and Landless immediately calls for a timeout to check Cabbage’s eye. There’s quite a bit of blood and the eye looks pretty swollen. They decide to let him keep fighting and Landless restarts them on the feet. Cabbage throws a straight left and Nakao ducks under and shoots in. Cabbage circles and scrambles but eventually they go down. Cabbage has Nakao in his full guard and is doing a good job of controlling the wrists. Landless doesn’t like the action so he stands them up. Nakao lands a straight left and Cabbage smiles. Cabbage misses with a right hand and then a high kick as the round ends. Nakao was in complete control for the entire time and so 411mania awards him the round 10-8.
Round 2
Cabbage fakes a left and Nakao lands a left of his own. Nakao follows up with a double leg takedown and will once again work in Cabbage’s guard. Nakao re-opens the cut under the eye, as he seems to be targeting that spot with his strikes. Landless stands them up, and Nakao is visibly upset. Cabbage misses the inside leg kick, then lands a second. He misses with the third kick and Nakao comes in with an overhand right. Cabbage lands a few shots to the head and body, and Nakao backs away. Nakao tags him with an overhand right, and both guys are clearly exhausted. Nakao shoots in and grabs a single, but Cabbage bounces back towards the cage and holds on to block the takedown. Cabbage grabs the head and drops down for a guillotine, but he doesn’t have it tight enough. He lets go and both guys get up, but Nakao eats a knee to the head on the way up. Cabbage lands a few punches and then another knee. Cabbage misses a high kick, then comes forward with some big swings and another knee. Nakao answer with the jab, but Cabbage grabs the clinch and delivers another knee right as the round ends. Nakao did get a takedown but he wasn’t able to do anything with it, and once they got back to the feet Cabbage finally started to connect with his striking. I could see the judge’s scoring it either way, but 411mania will go 10-9 for Cabbage.
Round 3
They circle and Nakao immediately shoots in for a single. Cabbage defends well then spins around and drops down to pull guard. Cabbage quickly tries for a triangle, but Nakao gets right out. Nakao passes to side control and drops some punches and elbows. Cabbage starts to roll to his side and Nakao goes for an armbar, but Cabbage quickly pulls out and gets back to his feet. Cabbage lands a few punches and Nakao swings big, but misses. They exchange left hands and Nakao is beyond gassed. Cabbage isn’t exactly fresh either, but he does land a knee followed by a nice combination. Cabbage throws a few more punches, followed by some weak shots by Nakao. Cabbage grabs the clinch and hits another big knee. They circle some more and exchange some more weak shots. Cabbage lands another knee and Nakao holds his arms straight out as if to say, “Is that it?” Nakao his keeping his hands at his waist and Cabbage lands another knee. They exchange some more shots. Once again Cabbage lands some punches followed by a knee and again Nakao holds his arms out. Cabbage lumbers forward with some more punches, and he lands one more knee as the round ends. Cabbage got the better of the stand-up once again, so 411mania awards him the round 10-9, and score the fight as a 28-28 draw.
Cabbage would have one fight in the WEC, and would then come back for Rumble On The Rock 7, so we’ll be seeing him again next week. Nakao would go back to K-1 and get a win over Don Frye. He eventually made his way to PRIDE where he went 2-1. He competed earlier this year at World Victory Road’s Sengoku II.
MATCH EIGHT: LIGHTWEIGHTS - Kazuyuki Miyata (0-0) vs. Royler Gracie (3-2-1)
Gracie is, obviously, a member of the famed first family of MMA. He is the younger brother of Royce. He has competed mostly in Japan, fighting in PRIDE, K-1, and DEEP. Miyata is making his MMA debut.
Round 1
Troy Mandaloniz gets us underway as both fighters touch gloves in the center. Gracie lands a nice leg kick. Miyata presses forward with a combination that misses, and Gracie answers with a high kick that hits air. Miyata shoots in for a double-leg and he gets down in Gracie’s guard. Gracie brings his legs up and tries to set up a triangle but Miyata picks him up and slams him down. He steps over Gracie’s leg to block the triangle. Back on the ground and Gracie brings the legs up again trying for the triangle again. He transitions to an armbar and Miyata picks him up and SLAMS him right on his head! Gracie looks stunned so Miyata jumps in and starts unloading some punches. Gracie does a good job of covering up and he manages to pull Miyata into his guard. He brings the legs up again and seems to be taking his time to set it up. Miyata stands up and Gracie lands a big up kick to the head. Miyata backs up so Mandaloniz tells Gracie to get back up. Miyata presses forward with some punches but Gracie backs up before shooting in for a single leg. He pulls guard and once again starts bringing his legs up. Miyata is doing a great job defending these submission attempts, but he’s not really doing much damage either. Gracie nearly gets the triangle but Miyata picks him and brings him down quickly. Gracie readjusts and gets the triangle fully locked in, but Miyata picks him up again and slams him down. Gracie keeps it locked as the round ends. Really good action so far. Miyata got the takedowns but other than the slams he wasn’t able to do much. Gracie was working constantly for submissions so 411mania awards him the round 10-9.
Round 2
Gracie misses with a leg kick and then a high kick as well. Miyata misses a kick of his own. Gracie lands a few outside leg kicks and Miyata just misses with a spinning back fist. Gracie tags him with a high kick. Gracie lands an outside leg kick and Miyata shoots in for the takedown. He starts working in Gracie’s guard and Royler is doing a good job of controlling the posture as he tries to bring his legs up. Gracie gets the legs up and gets the triangle locked up. Miyata tries to bring him up for the slam but can’t do it. Gracie pulls the head down and gets the tap! Great fight.
Gracie would go back to K-1, where he would fight three more times. He has not competed in MMA since a loss to Hideo Tokoro in December of 2006. Miyata would go on to fight for K-1 Hero’s, and was last seen earlier this year in the first round of the DREAM lightweight grand prix where he lost to Luiz Firmino.
MATCH NINE: HEAVYWEIGHTS - Tom Howard (0-2) vs. Carter Williams (2-1)
Howard previously competed in K-1, while Williams had spent time in the IFC and Gladiator Challenge.
Round 1
Larry Landless gets us started. They circle to start. Howard rushes forward and eats a left hook. Williams delivers a big leg kick and Howard falls down. Howard gets up and ties him up looking for the takedown. He finally does get him down and quickly gets the mount. Williams rolls and reverses it to land on top in Howard’s guard against the cage. Williams tries to posture up but Howard does a nice job keeping him close. Williams gets free and unloads some big punches. He lands a vicious right hand followed by another and that is it.
Winner: Carter Williams, TKO (strikes), round 1, 2:16
Williams would spend the next two and a half years away from the sport, and came back only to get knocked out by Paul Buentello in Strikeforce last year. Afterwards he tested positive for cocaine, and is still serving his suspension. Howard is still looking for his first professional win after six fights.
MAIN EVENT: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - BJ Penn (8-1-1) vs. Rodrigo Gracie (5-0)
The BJ Penn Weight Gain World Tour continues. After winning, and subsequently being stripped of, the UFC welterweight championship, Penn would go on to fight in a variety of different organizations in several different weight classes. Here he is fighting at middleweight for the first time.
Rodrigo is the second member of the Gracie family on the card. He trained under his cousin, Renzo Gracie. Most of his MMA career has been spent in PRIDE, where he holds wins over Daiju Takase and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai.
It’s important to note that while the show up until this point had been shot in a traditional method with cameras all around the cage, for some reason they decide to cover the main event with a single camera on a crane. This becomes important later on.
Round 1
Larry Landless is the man in charge. Penn charges forward and tries for a single, but Gracie ties up and presses him against the cage. Penn lands some knees inside and Gracie misses with a big overhand right. Penn lands a short left and pulls away. The circle in the center and Gracie misses a big overhand right. Penn charges forward and Gracie ties up and presses him against the cage. Gracie tries to drag him down but Penn keeps it standing. Penn lands some knees inside followed by a short uppercut. Penn lands a few short right hands but Gracie keeps him pressed against the fence. BJ tries to pull away and lands a knee to the body, but Gracie is still keeping him tied up. Gracie pulls away and they exchange. Penn presses forward with a combination and lands a left. Penn lands a left hook and Gracie goes down onto his back. Penn jumps in and throws a few shots. He lands in Gracie’s half guard and throws a few short rights before the round comes to a close. Not a whole lot of action as Gracie spent most of the round pressing BJ against the fence. Penn definitely had the edge in the exchanges so 411mania awards the round 10-9 for him.
Round 2
Penn throws a left hook and Gracie ducks under. Gracie lands an inside leg kick and tries to shoot in. Penn stuffs it and Gracie lands on his back. Penn is standing up and trying to measure him but Gracie is swinging his legs wildly. Penn finally gets an opening and comes in with a big right hand. He lands on top in side control and drops some short elbows. He lands a knee to the head followed by some more punches. BJ starts throwing more short elbows with his right and shots to the body with his left. Penn tries to pass to the mount and lands a nice hammer fist as he stands up. At this point the camera swings AWAY FROM THE FIGHT to try and catch something going on in the crowd. From the looks of things there was a fight breaking out in the stands, but why they would choose to shoot that instead of, oh I don’t know, THE PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS IN THE CENTER OF THE ARENA, I don’t know. Anyways after about a minute the camera swings back to the action as Gracie is still on his back and BJ is standing, looking for his shot. BJ drops down and lands in side control. He tries to pass and gets stuck in half guard. Penn throws some punches and elbows to the head, but he still can’t pass from the half guard. BJ is still working as the camera SWINGS AWAY AGAIN to a fight in the crowd. This is incredibly frustrating. The camera is still in the crowd as the round ends. Horrible camera work aside, this was a great round. BJ was able to maintain control for pretty much the entire time, and 411mania awards him round two 10-9.
Round 3
Gracie presses forward with a combination, but Penn catches him with a nice right uppercut. Gracie goes down on his back, and Penn works on controlling the legs to try and land a big shot. Penn jumps in and lands a BIG right, and Gracie rolls over and gives up his back. Penn tries for a choke but Gracie rolls back over and gets half-guard. Penn can’t pass and Gracie pushes him off with his legs. Penn stands up and again looks to come in with a big shot. He lands a right and gets side control. He connects with a few knees to the head, and Gracie is breathing heavy. Penn lands an elbow followed by some shoulder shrugs, and there’s a small cut on the corner of Gracie’s right eye. Penn starts to stand and lands a few hammer fists. Penn comes back down and lands in half-guard. He hits a big left and throws some shots to the body. BJ keeps alternating between punches and elbows to the head and body. Penn starts to posture up and lands a kick to the head. Penn stands up and motions for Gracie to get up as well, but then he charges forward and jumps in looking for a big stomp. He doesn’t quite connect and that’s the end of the fight. Once again, total control by BJ and 411mania awards him the round 10-9, and the fight 30-27.
Winner: BJ Penn, Unanimous Decision (30-27 across the cards)
Following his win here Penn would go on to K-1 Hero’s and try his hand at light heavyweight against Lyoto Machida. After that he would face another member of the Gracie clan, getting a decision win over Renzo. He would eventually make his way back to the UFC where he currently holds the lightweight championship. Rodrigo last competed in K-1 Hero’s, and has not fought in almost two years.
The 411: There was some great action up and down the card, with the only real lull being the Cabbage/Nakao fight. However the Melendez/Kaku fight, the Miyata/Gracie bout, and the main event all delivered big time. The rest of the event is highlighted by several nice submissions and a highlight reel KO by Kristof Midoux, so this show is pretty easy to recommend.
