It didn’t take long in a mixed martial arts cage for Wesley “Cabbage” Correira to find redemption and make a statement.
Correira scored a technical knockout against Alaska’s Matt Kovacs just 52 seconds into the first round at Just Scrap on Friday night at the Edith Kanakaole Multipurpose Stadium.
It was supposed to be three five-minute rounds, but Cabbage make quick work of Kovacs, who got clipped on the chin with a left hook and fell to the floor.
Cabbage, all 272 pounds, showed surprising agility, swimming from side control to mount Kovcas’ back. From there, the guy from the cold was in dire trouble. Correira windmilled punches and all Kovcas could do was cover up and wait for the referee stoppage.
Of course, Cabbage (25-12) knows how it feels to be on the other end.
In January 2013, Correira returned to the octagon for the first time in five years against Deutsch Pu’u at Just Scrap and suffered a first-round TKO loss.
While his redemption victory was quick over Kovacs (13-11), Cabbage took a long training journey, heading to Las Vegas to work under Tony Torres-Aponte, who was a disciple under Royce and Rickson Gracie in the mid-1980s.
“I trained hard for this fight,” Correira said. “I did most of my camp in Las Vegas under Tony Aponte. Everybody underestimates my ground game. I didn’t want to fool around for this fight and I wanted to make a statement.
“The last fight (against Pu’u) I didn’t do too good. I had to make a statement on this one.”
Even though Cabbage is 37 years old, the one statement that stood out is he’s far from finished. He didn’t get to test his cardio; that happens when a fight lasts under a minute. But he looked really light on his feet, compared to his battle against Pu’u, when he was stationary.
Cabbage wants to tackle pro boxing, where the paydays are much bigger. He figures to draw a crowd because of his UFC history and Torres-Aponte can hook him up with promotions in Las Vegas. Also he’s built his reputation in MMA for being able to take a punch or two or a dozen to the head, so that’ll help in boxing when he wants to trade haymakers.
“I’m going into pro boxing,” Correira said. “The money is better. I’d rather fight once a year instead of five or six times (in MMA.)”
The hometown fans gave him a loud applause after his TKO and then he smiled, like a guy with big dreams, and took photos with the fans. He soaked it in and later dashed off. Some statements don’t need a lot of talk because a smile will say enough.
Just Scrap results
Friday
• Heavyweight: Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, Aponte Training (Hilo) def. Matt Kovacs, Catalyst Fight House, (Alaska), first-round TKO.
• 135 pounds: Maurice Mitchell, Team Alaska (Alaska) def. Daniel Friend, Boss MMA (Hilo), first-round submission, arm-triangle choke.
• 135: Keenin Cohen, Puna Boys (Puna) def. Justin Yamauchi, Freestyle (Hilo), first-round submission, rear-naked choke.
• 155: Joey Gomez, Boss MMA (Hilo), def. Billy Zimmerman, Team Alaska (Alaska), first-round submission, rear-naked choke.
• 205: Mike Fannon, Team Alaska (Alaska) def. Delbert Grace, HIBC (Hilo), first-round submission, guillotine.
• 205: Raymond Lopez, HIBC (Hilo), def. Paul Norman, Boss MMA (Hilo), first-round knockout.
• 130: Riquo Abadilla, HIBC (Hilo), def. Tyler Leopoldino, Freelance (Hilo), first-round submission, guillotine.
• 205 amateur title: Punahele Soriano, MMAD (Honolulu) def. Thor Soder AP Boxing (Ka’u), first-round TKO.
• 185 amateur title: Kien Aveiro, Freestyle (Honokaa) def. Yahshua Mims, HIBC (Hilo), first-round TKO.
• 155 amateur title: Kaeo Meyers, KP Jiu-Jitsu (Honokaa) def. Matt Majamay, HIBC (Hilo), three-round unanimous decision.
• 145 interim title: Austin Bloch, Boss MMA (Hilo), def. Keoni Rodrigues, Team Puna (Hilo), first-round submission, rear-naked choke.
• 115 amateur title: Jeremy Pereira, Killabeez (Hilo) def. Chris Emeliano, HIBC (Hilo), second-round submission, guillotine.
• 145: Federico Vento, Pagan MMA (Hilo) def. Nate Rowland, M.U.D. (Hilo), first-round submission, rear-naked choke.
• 155: Avery Sanchis, Pagan MMA (Hilo) def. Isaac Soares, Team Puna (Puna), second-round submission, guillotine.
