Rings Usa “rising Stars Tournament” Hawaii”b” Bracket

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Saturday, Jul 22, 2000

Rings Usa “rising Stars Tournament” Hawaii”b” Bracket

Rings USA "Rising Stars Tournament" Hawaii
"B" Bracket
July 22, 2000 – Neal S. Blaisdell Arena
Story and Photos By Chris Onzuka

Tom Sauer/Valintijn Overeem

The sparks were flying at Rings’ second event in the U.S. and Hawaiian NHB fans were lucky enough that Rings chose Hawaii as the place for their "B" bracket tournament of the Rings USA "Rising Stars Tournament." I don’t know about the "Rising Stars" title because there were some establish fighters and the "rising stars," did not look like they were rising at all. Every mixed martial arts event has slightly different rules, but Rings’ events have been known to favor the striker, by standing up the fighters quickly if there is no progression towards a superior position, keeping the action at a non-stop pace. However, grapplers "enjoy" a no striking to the head rule, when the fight goes to the ground, encouraging submissions. Rings events also favor the fighters who have fought in Rings’ events previously, which was apparent in Utah and here in Hawaii, where both Rings Japan fighters advanced along with an extremely, heavy-handed, Tom Sauer and John Lewis protègè, Eric Pele. Rings’ exciting fights are sure to please the rest of the U.S., just like it did Hawaii’s fans on this night.

Middleweight Tournament #1 Quarter-Finals
Josh Hall (Shark Tank) def. Kawika Pahalui (Jesus Is Lord)
Kawika Pahalui withdrew due to personal reasons

Hiromitsu Kanehara (Rings Japan) def. Adrian Serrano
Submission via key lock at 2:07 minutes in Round 1

Chris Munsen/Dave Menne
Middleweight Tournament #2 Quarter-Finals
Yasuhito Namekawa (Rings Japan) def. Falaniko Vitale (S.W.A.T.)
Submission via guillotine at 0:26 seconds in Round 2

Chris Munsen (AMC Pankration) def. Dave Menne

Unanimous decision after 2 rounds

Heavyweight Tournament #1 Quarter-Finals
Valintijn Overeem (Rings Holland) def. Tali Kuliha’apai (Grappling Unlimited)
Submission via arm lock at 2:05 minutes in Round 1

Tom Sauer def. Mike Dresch
Knock out at 0:13 seconds in Round 1

Heavyweight Tournament #2 Quarter-Finals
Eric Pele (Nova Uniao) def. Wesley "Cabbage" Cabrerra (Grappling Unlimited)
Submission via arm lock at 2:30 minutes in Round 1

Roger Neff def. Rocky Batastini
Submission via side choke (neck crank) at 2:13 minutes in Round 1

Yasuhito Namekawa/Chris Munsen
Middleweight Tournament #1 Semi-Finals
Hiromitsu Kanehara (Rings Japan) def. Josh Hall (Shark Tank)
Split decision after 2 rounds

Middleweight Tournament #2 Semi-Finals
Yasuhito Namekawa (Rings Japan) def. Chris Munsen (AMC)
Split decision (draw, 2 for Namekawa) after 2 rounds

Heavyweight Tournament #1 Semi-Finals
Tom Sauer def. Valintijn Overeem (Rings Holland)
Knock out at 0:35 seconds in Round 1

Eric Pele/Roger Neff
Heavyweight Tournament #2 Semi-Finals
Eric Pele (Nova Uniao) def. Roger Neff
Unanimous decision after 2 rounds

Full fight coverage, pictures and post-fight interviews will appear in the next issue of Full Contact Fighter. Have you subscribed yet? It’s the next best thing to being at the event.

From the event’s promoter:

You may be BIG enough…
You may be STRONG enough…
But are you MAN enough…
to compete in the DOME?

BATTLE DOME CHALLENGER TRY-OUTS
Saturday, July 29, 2000 * 10am-5pm
* At Sony Studios Stage 15 *
GRAND PRIZE worth more than $85,000
FOR MORE INFO CALL: (323)467-5177
Ask for "Challenger Recruitment"