The latest Just Scrap featured more than the three local mixed martial arts legends (Ross Ebanez, Mike Aina and Toby Misech) and three promising amateurs (Levi Agcalan, Adam Collarile and Russell Mizuguchi).
There were two other Just Scrap amateur title fights, a pair of female bouts, and nine other fights on Friday at the Edith Kanakaole Multipurpose Stadium, where a flurry of action carried over to the next day’s early morning.
Among the 13 remaining bouts, the next best was the Just Scrap amateur 170-pound welterweight title fight between Scotty Hao, Average Joe’s (Kona), and Kaeo Meyers, Kiah BJJ (Honokaa).
Hao (5-0) continued his unbeaten streak with a second-round arm-bar kimura, 1 minute and 21 seconds into the three-minute round.
In the first round, Meyers (6-5) got a takedown and lived up his “Machine gun” nickname, firing punches to Hao’s face. Meyers clearly earned the first of the three rounds. Hao needed to take the next two rounds if he wanted to retain his belt.
In the second round, every time Hao threw a roundhouse punch, Meyers ducked and scored a takedown. Though Hao is a forceful left-handed striker, he’s got jiu-jitsu skills. He had powerful wrist control, vise-gripped Meyers’ arm, and bent it backward for the submission.
Raymond Lopez, HIBC (Hilo), won a three-round decision over Andrew Sanchis, Pagan MMA (Hilo), to take the Just Scrap 205-pound light heavyweight title.
Lopez did his best work in the third and defining round when he grabbed Sanchis’ leg, got a takedown, and unleashed a parade of punches.
In the only other pro bout, Maki Pitolo, Womma (Honolulu) scored a technical knockout against Paul Norman, Boss MMA, with 4:21 into the five-minute round.
It was a contrast in height and strategy. Norman is 6 feet 5 with long arms and legs. His obvious advantage is his length.
Pitolo is about 5-10. If he didn’t get in Norman’s face, the Oahu fighter would have gotten punched on the top of his head, and been a candidate for getting cleaned out.
But Pitolo showed two useful MMA qualities: He’s fearless and blessed with solid takedown skills.
He scored three takedowns, pinned Norman against the fence, and fired away with punches and sharp elbows. At one point, there was a loud thumping sound from Pitolo tenderizing Norman’s ribs.
Pitolo reinforced that old motto: “The bigger they are the harder they fall.”
Girl power
In a women’s 125-bout MMA bout, Laura Meija, Boss MMA, defeated Monica Franco, Jesus is Lord (Honolulu), with a first-round rear-naked choke, at the 2:59 mark.
Franco was bigger and taller than Meija, who countered with her finely tuned jiu-jitsu moves, got her Oahu opponent’s back and sunk in the submission.
“She’s got very good movement and is very technical on the ground,” Boss MMA coach Chad Hao said. “She’s from Florida and came to Hilo out of nowhere to train with us for a little over a year. Then she left and came back permanently now. She did some MMA in Florida and for her to come back is a big compliment for us because she was on a well-known team, American Top Team.
“She’s training and works part-time at the gym (BJ Penn Training and Fitness Center) as a massage therapist. She’s good at jiu-jitsu and has a purple belt.”
In a women’s 150-pound kickboxing match, Kawehi Granito Wallace, AP Boxing (Hilo), defeated Maggie Grindatti, Freestyle (Honolulu), with a first-round TKO at the 1:05 mark.
Every time Grindatti stepped forward, she dropped her guard (left hand) and Granito Wallace followed with a straight right flush to the face.
When Grindatti was wobbled, the former Hilo High volleyball standout took her to the woodshed and pummeled away with an avalanche of punches.
Best of the rest
Chad Armatage, Freestyle (Hilo), def. Chuck Johnson, Freestyle (NC), 220, first-round TKO, :09. The referee instructs both fighters to be on-guard at all times as soon as the bell rings. Touching gloves is a courtesy. When Johnson went to touch gloves, Armatage clocked him with an unexpected uppercut.
Thor Soldner, Freestyle (Hilo), def. Yashua Mims, Freestyle (Hilo), 205, second-round TKO, 1:27. In the second round, Thor swung his might hammer and caught Mims with a short, right hook to the chin.
Kien Aveiro, BIB MMA (Honokaa), def. Pat Enos, Fuel Academy (Hilo), 185, first-round TKO, 1:09 Aveiro is a former Honokaa High basketball player and 6-1 while Enos is a former Waiakea wrestler and about five inches shorter. Enos thought he got kicked in the groin, and was in pain. That was ruled a legal strike to the stomach, and Aveiro piled on for the TKO.
Austin Bloch, Freestyle (Maui), def. Jeffery Oher, Vital MMA, 135, two-round decision. In the first round, Bloch had top control and fired one-two combinations to Oher’s head. The next three minutes went Bloch’s way when he took down Oher and landed more shots.
Leroy Padilla, Havoc MMA, def. Kainoa Santiago, Young Bloods (Hilo), 135, three-round decision. Padilla got a takedown and dished out punishment with punches and elbows. It was Groundhog Day for the next two rounds and all nine minutes.
Federico Vento, Havoc MMA (Puna), def. Koa Menza, Freestyle (Hilo), 135, first-round rear-naked choke, 2:07. Vento slipped and found himself on his back and in a bit of trouble. But the former Hilo High wrestler got a reversal, rolled Menza and applied a submission.
Junyah Bacdad, Havoc MMA, def. Justin Soares, Young Bloods, 145, forfeit. In the first round, both traded punches and Bacdad got a late takedown and did some damage. In the second round, Soares got a takedown and Bacdad played defense for most of the three minutes. The judges called it a tie after six minutes, and a third round never happened because Soares, who looked out of gas, declined to continue.
Jeremy Soares, Young Bloods, def. Zach Winters, Havoc MMA, 130, two-round split-decision. In the card’s first bout, Winters spent most of the first round with his head trapped in a guillotine. The second round was pretty much uneventful and from there the action only got better.