MMA Pipeline: Hawaii Sees Sport Grow
James Meinhardt May 23, 2007
It's hard to imagine, but mixed martial arts is not regulated in
the state of Hawaii. Despite that -- and it looks like regulation
is just a signature away -- MMA has thrived on the Islands.
Sherdog.com dissects the latest fightsport news coming out of the
tropical paradise.
MMA legislation needs governor's signature
It appears that all House Bill No. 1866 needs to be put into law is
the signature of Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.
The bill, which defines both amateur and professional mixed martial arts competition, will give the director of commerce and consumer affairs, the current overseer of MMA in the state, additional powers including "licensing authority over mixed martial arts contests and permitting of mixed martial arts events."
Later drafts of the bill included the formation of a more restrictive regulatory board that promoters felt would endanger their business. The current version of the bill appears to be a compromise, giving more authoritative powers to regulate to the director of commerce and consumer affairs, rather than forming a new athletic commission.
Additional changes from prior bills include mandatory licensing of fighters, promoters, referees, judges, managers, seconds, etc.; a percentage of the gross profits from each event will be paid to the state; and optional drug testing.
Mark Moreno (Pictures) on his way to the UFC
Hawaiian welterweight fighter Mark Moreno (Pictures) is expected to make his UFC debut sometime in the near future.
"I guess someone important saw my last couple fights and thought I had what I took to step into the Octagon and win," Moreno told Sherdog.com. "And that's exactly what I plan to do."
Moreno, who is a veteran of Hawaii's ICON and X-1 promotions, has amassed a 12-7-1 overall record, with the majority of his wins coming by way of knockout.
The Bull's Pen fighter has proven to be a powerful striker, but has found himself in trouble against strong grapplers, losing via submission to fighters such as Jason Miller and Chris Brennan (Pictures).
In his last outing, however, Moreno was able to hold onto his X-1 170-pound title by repeatedly stuffing the takedowns of tough mid-western wrestler Nik Lentz and pounding his way to a TKO victory after Lentz was unable to answer the bell at the start of the second round.
"This could be my only chance and I ain't gonna let it go to waste," Moreno professed. "I feel it's and honor for me, and my family, that I have this chance to go and represent Hawaii in the UFC."
ICON veterans make WEC debut
Former ICON Sport middleweight title holder Jason "Mayhem" Miller and current ICON Sport welterweight champion Sidney Silva (Pictures) made their World Extreme Cagefighting debuts on May 12 in Las Vegas.
"Mayhem" took on K-1 and Pancrase fighter Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures), who proved to be a tough test for the former champion.
After failing to secure a rear-naked choke in the first round, the fight wore into the second and finally the third round, where Miller was again unable to secure a submission, though there were a few close calls with another rear-naked choke and a deep banana split.
At the end of the third round, the judges scored a unanimous 29-28 decision victory for Hawaii's favorite red-striped stepchild.
Brazilian transplant Sidney Silva (Pictures), the reigning ICON Sport 170-pound state champion, found himself on the receiving end of a devastating KO at the hands of Minnesotan Tom Speer (Pictures).
Silva, who won the ICON state title when he submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jay Jack (Pictures), was able to score the first takedown. However, it was the second takedown -- a powerful slam from Speer -- that proved to be the deciding factor when the Minnesotan worked from half-guard then stood up to deliver the fight-ending right hand that left Silva unconscious on the mat for a minute or two.
Also on the card, Hilo's Johnny Sampaio (Pictures) was the unfortunate victim of fight-ending knee injury when he attempted to hip toss his opponent, Ed Ratcliff (Pictures). The official decision was a verbal submission win via injury at 1:31 of the first round for Ratcliff.
Chris Leben (Pictures) to coach at new ICON Sport gym
UFC veteran and reality TV star Chris Leben (Pictures) has been hired on as head MMA coach at Hawaii's newest gym, the ICON Sport Martial Arts and Fitness Center. The 9,000 square foot gym located on Oahu's east end is being opened by Icon Sport promoter, T.Jay Thompson.
"Since I stopped coaching at Team Quest I felt that something has been missing in my fighting as well as my life," Leben told Sherdog.com.
"I wanted to work coaching as well as training full time," the 26-year-old said. "Helping others to reach their goals is a training motivation for me."
"[Thompson] is focused on bringing in world class talent for training partners so I can focus on my fighting career as well as coaching," said Leben, who is scheduled to face Kalib Starnes (Pictures) at UFC 71 on May 26.
The Portland, Ore. native is expected to make the move to the islands after the conclusion of his upcoming fight in Las Vegas.
When asked if there was a possibility of seeing ‘The Crippler" in the ICON Sport ring, Leben simply stated that he "is a UFC fighter" but in a later interview Leben admitted that with less than a year left on his UFC contract, fighting in Hawaii was indeed an option he was weighing.
"There's going to be people that want to pay me a lot more money and hopefully the UFC will realize how great I've been for them and step up to the plate," Leben stated during an interview on MMAWeekly Radio. "And if they do, I'll stay with the UFC, obviously. But if they don't, I'll go fight in ICON Sport and make some money and bring some attention to that show."
MMA legislation needs governor's signature
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The bill, which defines both amateur and professional mixed martial arts competition, will give the director of commerce and consumer affairs, the current overseer of MMA in the state, additional powers including "licensing authority over mixed martial arts contests and permitting of mixed martial arts events."
Hawaii's active MMA community has been cooperating with and
educating state officials since legislation that would have banned
the sport was first proposed in 2000.
Later drafts of the bill included the formation of a more restrictive regulatory board that promoters felt would endanger their business. The current version of the bill appears to be a compromise, giving more authoritative powers to regulate to the director of commerce and consumer affairs, rather than forming a new athletic commission.
Additional changes from prior bills include mandatory licensing of fighters, promoters, referees, judges, managers, seconds, etc.; a percentage of the gross profits from each event will be paid to the state; and optional drug testing.
Mark Moreno (Pictures) on his way to the UFC
Hawaiian welterweight fighter Mark Moreno (Pictures) is expected to make his UFC debut sometime in the near future.
"I guess someone important saw my last couple fights and thought I had what I took to step into the Octagon and win," Moreno told Sherdog.com. "And that's exactly what I plan to do."
Moreno, who is a veteran of Hawaii's ICON and X-1 promotions, has amassed a 12-7-1 overall record, with the majority of his wins coming by way of knockout.
The Bull's Pen fighter has proven to be a powerful striker, but has found himself in trouble against strong grapplers, losing via submission to fighters such as Jason Miller and Chris Brennan (Pictures).
In his last outing, however, Moreno was able to hold onto his X-1 170-pound title by repeatedly stuffing the takedowns of tough mid-western wrestler Nik Lentz and pounding his way to a TKO victory after Lentz was unable to answer the bell at the start of the second round.
"This could be my only chance and I ain't gonna let it go to waste," Moreno professed. "I feel it's and honor for me, and my family, that I have this chance to go and represent Hawaii in the UFC."
ICON veterans make WEC debut
Former ICON Sport middleweight title holder Jason "Mayhem" Miller and current ICON Sport welterweight champion Sidney Silva (Pictures) made their World Extreme Cagefighting debuts on May 12 in Las Vegas.
"Mayhem" took on K-1 and Pancrase fighter Hiromitsu Miura (Pictures), who proved to be a tough test for the former champion.
After failing to secure a rear-naked choke in the first round, the fight wore into the second and finally the third round, where Miller was again unable to secure a submission, though there were a few close calls with another rear-naked choke and a deep banana split.
At the end of the third round, the judges scored a unanimous 29-28 decision victory for Hawaii's favorite red-striped stepchild.
Brazilian transplant Sidney Silva (Pictures), the reigning ICON Sport 170-pound state champion, found himself on the receiving end of a devastating KO at the hands of Minnesotan Tom Speer (Pictures).
Silva, who won the ICON state title when he submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jay Jack (Pictures), was able to score the first takedown. However, it was the second takedown -- a powerful slam from Speer -- that proved to be the deciding factor when the Minnesotan worked from half-guard then stood up to deliver the fight-ending right hand that left Silva unconscious on the mat for a minute or two.
Also on the card, Hilo's Johnny Sampaio (Pictures) was the unfortunate victim of fight-ending knee injury when he attempted to hip toss his opponent, Ed Ratcliff (Pictures). The official decision was a verbal submission win via injury at 1:31 of the first round for Ratcliff.
Chris Leben (Pictures) to coach at new ICON Sport gym
UFC veteran and reality TV star Chris Leben (Pictures) has been hired on as head MMA coach at Hawaii's newest gym, the ICON Sport Martial Arts and Fitness Center. The 9,000 square foot gym located on Oahu's east end is being opened by Icon Sport promoter, T.Jay Thompson.
"Since I stopped coaching at Team Quest I felt that something has been missing in my fighting as well as my life," Leben told Sherdog.com.
"I wanted to work coaching as well as training full time," the 26-year-old said. "Helping others to reach their goals is a training motivation for me."
"[Thompson] is focused on bringing in world class talent for training partners so I can focus on my fighting career as well as coaching," said Leben, who is scheduled to face Kalib Starnes (Pictures) at UFC 71 on May 26.
The Portland, Ore. native is expected to make the move to the islands after the conclusion of his upcoming fight in Las Vegas.
When asked if there was a possibility of seeing ‘The Crippler" in the ICON Sport ring, Leben simply stated that he "is a UFC fighter" but in a later interview Leben admitted that with less than a year left on his UFC contract, fighting in Hawaii was indeed an option he was weighing.
"There's going to be people that want to pay me a lot more money and hopefully the UFC will realize how great I've been for them and step up to the plate," Leben stated during an interview on MMAWeekly Radio. "And if they do, I'll stay with the UFC, obviously. But if they don't, I'll go fight in ICON Sport and make some money and bring some attention to that show."
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