Story By: King Eddie- MMA Hawaii Staff Reporter

Without wasting any time, I will jump right into the action. There were 24 fights on the card at Man Up Stand Up Friday night, and almost all delivered absolute war. As I look at the fight card I hold in my hand, I notice that it is stained with blood. That is because as I sat ringside with my fight card in hand, I was sprayed with some blood from the face of Xavier Bell. Ricky Plunkett absolutely took the fight to Xavier, however, Xavier was more than game. He showed so much heart and chin that it was truly amazing. He never quit. Not even as he bled. His defenses even seemed to get better as the fight wore on. Great Job to both fighters in that exhilarating fight.

Kaleo Nash came into the ring as the obviously outsized fighter. His opponent, George Felix looked big and scary but Kaleo had the answer. The two swung it out until they were both gassed and tired. Then they swung it out some more. Both landed hard shots straight to the chin of the other, but neither would fall. In the end Kaleo left with his hand raised. I was left wanting more of this fight.

Fresh off of an MMA win over Robert Eaton, Jose Perez decided to try his hand at some kickboxing action. His opponent, Joseph Enaena, opened the first round by throwing a hard punch that played a part in dropping Jose right off the bat. However, Perez came back with absolute skill and power. His combos are deadly. Once he landed a few combos, it became one after the other until the fight was stopped in the 3rd round. At that particular moment in the fight card, this was my vote for fight of the night.

Unfortunately for Jose and Joseph, my fight of the night vote shot straight to Jan Quimoyog and Kanaloa Cook who blew the roof off of the place. As soon as the fight started, the two were swinging away with hard shots. Being the smaller sized guys, the pace was high and it stayed that way the entire fight. Jan showed once again why he is a kickboxing titan as he seamlessly strung together shots on cook that seemed to hurt more each time they landed. But Cook was there to fight. He never fell to the canvas. He kept coming forward no matter what the cost. When most do the same , they are dropped like a fly but Cook looked like a man on a mission. A man with a big chin and an even bigger heart. If they gave out awards for this event, I nominate Cook for " Most resilient man alive award". I nominate Jan for " How the heck does he do that" award. And in my opinion this took fight of the night hands down.

The grudge match belts towards the end of the card seemed to be the big story, but the limelight was stolen by an upset that shocked the crowd and wowed them all at the same time. Nick Rivera and Ikaika Kupukaa slugged it out until neither man could barely stand. Though it seemed as if Ikaika was taking control, Nick would force his way forward with kicks and punches. As the fight drew forward, both fighters looked gassed and tired, but a second wind gave Ikaika what seemed to be the advantage. But because he did not meet the kick requirements in the close fight, Nick Rivera took the decision victory. Truly and awesome fight.

In the final fight of the night, the mighty Nui Wheeler was finally stripped of his crown. Nui has been on a tear in the world of kickboxing. He has accumulated numerous titles and defended them all several times. But this time he met a foe who was game to take his belt away. Jonah Vistante charged in and knocked Nui through the ropes on one of the first punches of the fight. It just didn't seem like the same Nui after that. Jonah showed his power and stuck to his game plan. Though Nui had flashes that seemed like he was coming back, he had already lost so much steam as Jonah gained momentum. At one point Jonah had Nui trapped in a corner and he delivered serious punishment. Jonah walked away decisively the new champ.