Thursday, 04 November 2004.
Written by Monty DiPietro, Pictures Courtesy of K-1
TOKYO, November 4, 2004 -- Heavenly Hawaii will
play host later this month to the "Rumble on the Rock," a major mixed martial
arts event. In a press conference today at the Shin Takanawa Prince Hotel, K-1
officials joined participating Japanese fighter Kazuyuki Miyata to introduce the
competition, one of the largest of its kind anywhere.
Said K-1 Event Planner Sadaharu Tanikawa: "The Rumble on the Rock will be held
at the biggest arena in the Honolulu area, and is being produced by well-known
mixed martial arts fighter BJ Penn's brother, JD Penn. We want K-1 to continue
to grow overseas and so we have established the K-1 Fighting Network and are
supporting the Rumble on the Rock. The rules will be similar to those found in
ROMANEX, with three, five minute rounds per bout. As for the fights, well, I am
a big fan of mixed martial arts, and I think all fans will agree that this is a
great card!"
The main event will feature BJ Penn, the first and only
non-Brazilian to ever win the Jiu-jitsu World Championships as a black belt and
a rising star in the world of mixed martial arts. Penn dispatched challenger
Duane Ludwig at last May's K-1 ROMANEX event. The 26 year-old fighter hails from
Hilo, Hawaii and so should enjoy tremendous support from the hometown crowd. He
will need all the help he can get against opponent Rodrigo Gracie, who will
bring a daunting pedigree to the ring.
The Gracies of Brazil are fightsport's most revered
family, so rich is their fighting heritage that their name is synonymous with
Jiu-jitsu in Brazil. The legacy of the brothers Carlos, Osvaldo, Gastao, Jorge
and Helio, who opened their first training center in 1925, has spread to the
four corners of the earth.
Is BJ intimidated?
"BJ trains harder
than any other mixed martial artist in the world," says a man who would know,
his brother JD. "He has been bringing in sparring partners from all over, and
has also been working a lot on his conditioning. He is doing core strength,
explosive training, and volume training because he is expecting this fight to be
a war. He is ready to fight Rodrigo from any position, on the ground, in the
clinch, or standing!"
Also on the card is another Gracie -- Royler, son of Helio,
who started fighting when he was three, holds a sixth dan Black Belt, is a
five-time ADCC champion and a five-time Brazilian Jiu-jitsu champion. Royler
holds more medals than any other Gracie brother and here the veteran will step
in against Kazuyuki Miyata, a 28 tear-old wrestler who represented Japan at the
Sydney Olympics.
Miyata is a handsome, soft-spoken young man from rural
Ibaraki Prefecture. At the press conference, Tanikawa introduced him as "a
grappler with great hands," and said he expects Miyata to join the elite of
Japanese fighters now working the under 70kg weight mixed martial Arts class --
fighters such as Genki Sudo and Kid Yamamoto. Miyata say is ready to step up in
Hawaii, where he will be making his pro debut.
"I like what Kid Yamamoto
brings to the ring," said Miyata, "and in my professional career I want to fight
with that sort of energy. It is an exciting opportunity, to be meeting Royler
Gracie, and I am training very hard for it."
Another much-anticipated bout on this card will
feature a couple of Californians. Carter Williams will be returning to the mixed
martial arts ring for a fight against Wrestler Tom "The Green Beret" Howard.
Williams is just 24 years of age, a finesse fighter who won the K-1 USA 2003
Champion in Las Vegas. After a less-than-perfect year, this could be William's
opportunity to turn things around. But Howard, who fights out of the respected
Shark Tank Gym, is no slouch. Should be exciting. There will be plenty of
top local fighters on the card -- Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, a Hawaiian slugger
known for his quick KOs and an iron chin, will go up against Wrestler Yoshihiro
Nakao of Japan (Cabbage wants a KO here, he says); while Hawaiian football star
Falaniko Vitale, a UFC veteran who holds an impressive record of 18 wins and 3
losses and has beaten the likes of Dave Menne and Matt Lindland, will meet
Jiu-jitsu fighter Kristof "The Phoenix" Midoux of France. Midoux fights for
Jerome LeBanner's Extreme Team, and K-1 superstar LeBanner himself will work his
fighter's corner for the bout.
Also on the card: Muscleman Sean O'Hare
of South Connecticut, whose record is 17-0, will step in against Judo
fighter-turned-grappler Shungo Oyama of Japan; Aitor Canup of North Carolina
will take on Hawaiian Kurt Kipapa, who fights for former Sumo Grand Champion
Akebono's Team Yokozuna (Akebono will also be coming to Hawaii); Behemoth Wes
"The Project" Sims of Ohio will meet Antoni Hardonk of the Vos Gym in Holland
(home to Four-time K-1 World GP Champion Ernesto Hoost); and Harris "Hit Man"
Sarmiento of Hawaii will dance with Brazilian Luciano Nogueira of Team Inoki in
an under 70kg matchup.
Organizer JD Penn sent this statement to Japan:
"Rumble on the Rock is very excited to be working with K1 Fighting Network. This
is the biggest mixed martial arts event to ever come to the US. Never before
have two Gracie brothers fought in the United States, and Rodrigo will take on
three-time World Champion BJ Penn. This is history in the making and fans from
all over the world are flying to Hawaii to be a part of it!."
The
Rumble on the Rock is set for Saturday, November 20, 2004 at the Neal S
Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. Doors open at 6:00 pm, and the event kicks off at
7:00. Tickets are priced from US$ 25 - 200, and available through Ticketmaster.
The event will be pay-per-view broadcast in Japan on SkyPerfect TV.
TOKYO, November 4, 2004 -- Heavenly Hawaii will
play host later this month to the "Rumble on the Rock," a major mixed martial
arts event. In a press conference today at the Shin Takanawa Prince Hotel, K-1
officials joined participating Japanese fighter Kazuyuki Miyata to introduce the
competition, one of the largest of its kind anywhere.
