Mixed martial arts shows do well here
IF THERE was ever any doubt over Hawaii's status as a top breeding ground for mixed martial arts, promoter
T. Jay Thompson erased it Saturday during "ICON: Epic" at the Blaisdell Arena.
At one point during the evening, ICON's Patrick Freitas had five of the top athletes in the sport standing together in the ring. Current UFC heavyweight champ Randy "The Natural" Couture was flanked by Dan Henderson (who recently knocked out Pride FC superstar Wanderlei Silva) and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, while Jens Pulver and Hilo's BJ Penn made no secret about their dislike for one another.
"The best fans on the planet are here in Hawaii," Couture said at one point, as the Blaisdell crowd roared its approval. Hopefully UFC president Dana White is paying attention -- wouldn't it be great to see a pay-per-view broadcast from Honolulu?
You've got one more chance to meet-and-greet with Penn today, when he makes an appearance at GNC Ala Moana from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 941-5079 ...
BAMP Project presents 30 Seconds to Mars with local openers Explore on May 13, followed by Emery on June 2. Both concerts will be at Pipeline Cafe ... Following a gig on Maui last year, PM Dawn arrives on Oahu April 14 to perform at Don Ho's ...
RYAN'S GRILL presents a special edition of its free "Island Music Wednesdays" concert series this week, starting at 9 p.m. Inoa'ole is the featured musical act, but Latina comedienne Anjelah Johnson will also be on hand for a guest set around 10 p.m. Johnson is the cousin of Ryan's manager Letitia Castaneda ...
CONGRATS TO local recording artist Ryan Pugal, who was recently named one of five national finalists in an online talent competition hosted by FameCast.com. He'll fly to Texas next week to participate in an live webcast that will decide the winner -- click over April 11 at 3 p.m. or visit MySpace.com/RyanVPugal for more info ...
CONGRATS ALSO to Pimpbot lead singer (and former Go Jimmy Go member) Fernando Pacheco and Sarah Fisher. They got engaged March 24 during Pimpbot's sixth anniversary show after Pacheco popped the question right on stage ... Tattoo artist Mike Ledger celebrated his birthday and the launch of his new clothing line during the weekly "Monkey Bar" party at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki ... The cast of "Beyond the Break 2" partied last Thursday at the O Lounge to the tunes of John Cruz ...
E KALA MAI: It was Creed Chameleon who opened for Scarub at NextDoor last Thursday, with DJ Kavet the Catalyst also in the house ...
AND YOU heard it here first: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is getting ready to unleash this columnist on the Internet in a big way. I'm really excited about this, and will have more details for you on Friday ...