When they were young and all had hair, Wesley Correira would always take the worst beating from his pals: JD and BJ Penn and Ross Ebanez.
It wasn’t dirty lickings in mixed martial arts. Rather, it was good-natured verbal jousting, and Correira always took it like a champ. He would grin and laugh it off.
And that’s how his nickname “Cabbage” came about.
“He had frizzy hair and humongous cheeks, and he looked so much like the Cabbage Patch Doll,” JD Penn said. “It was one of us at the gym who called him that. I can’t remember if it was me, BJ or Ross, and someone said he looks like the Cabbage Patch Doll.”
Well, Cabbage has been bolo head for a long time, and he’s always tipped the scales at the top end of the MMA’s heavyweight (265 pounds) division.
Not anymore.
He’s been training at the Jackson Wink MMA Academy in New Mexico, and Cabbage looks like the finished product of a weight-loss TV commercial program.
“He went up with BJ and has been training with Greg Jackson, Jon Jones, and Andre Arlovski,” Penn said. “He’s been training hard. He almost has bricks, almost a six-pack. I’ve never seen his stomach like that before, and I’ve known him since high school.”
The new-look Cabbage or ASP (almost six-pack) will headline the Just Scrap main event against Seattle’s Daniel Spitz, who’s from the club Sikjitsu in Spokane.
It’s a contrasting matchup in every way.
Cabbage (25-12) is 37 years old and is looking to get back into the UFC. He’s 6 feet 3 and known for his durable chin and goofy grin poster shots.
“He’s always making a funny face or has a funny stance,” said JD Penn, the Just Scrap promoter. “He’ll grin and have the biggest smile.”
Spitz (8-0) is 25 years old, and some MMA websites list him at 6 feet 7. He’s looking to break into the UFC, and a win over Cabbage would be a huge gold star.
Apparently, he’s not related to Mark Spitz, the nine-time Olympic swimming champion. He has two sons, and neither is named Daniel.
“Cabbage knows he’s not a young man, and he has one last chance to get a couple wins, and he has to fight tough guys to get back in the UFC,” Penn said. “On the other end, Spitz can make a name for himself if he beats a guy like Cabbage.”
Here’s a quick quiz: Name a UFC heavyweight and his nickname.
At the time, Wesley Correira didn’t know it, but his buddies gave him an enduring nickname.
MMA promotion people, including UFC honcho Dana White, may not recognize Cabbage now with his ASP new body, but they won’t forget his name or at least his nickname or his fighting style.
In a strategy not recommended for anyone else, Cabbage will take four punches to throw one.
Against Tim Sylvia in his UFC debut in September, 2002, Cabbage absorbed the highest number of power strikes recorded in UFC history. Cabbage suffered a second-round TKO loss.
But the fight lasted seven minutes, and Cabbage earned his iron-chin-and-head reputation the hard way at the hands of the hard-punching Sylvia.
“I think the UFC needs Cabbage. There are not too many marketable heavyweights,” Penn said. “They keep using the same guys, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and Fabricio Werdum (the 38-year-old champion). They have less than 10 good heavyweights out there, and maybe five have names.
“Cabbage will go in there and throw down. Other guys will be running away or holding legs. The UFC needs marketable fighters, especially in the heavyweight division.”
One title fight
Shojin Miki, from HMC Hawaii (Honolulu), defends his Just Scrap amateur flyweight (125 pounds) belt against Jeremy Pereira, from Freelance (Hilo), in the only title bout.
“Shojin beat Maui Acantilado for the interim belt, and we wanted to do a unification between Shojin and Russell Mizuguchi (the champion),” Penn said. “But Russell went to the National Guard. He’s back and will make his pro debut (against Ryan Mondala, from HMC).”
Penn believes the fight will either go really fast to Pereira’s favor or last a while and benefit Miki. Either way, Penn figures it should be a good one.
“Jeremy is a fast starter, and he comes to fight. Most of his finishes have been in the first round,” Penn said. “Shojin got Maui’s back in the second round. If Shojin can weather the storm, he could get Jeremy’s back and go for a finish.”
Welcome back, Carter
Jay Carter, a 1999 Waiakea graduate, returns to the octagon after last fighting in 2007 at Rumble on the Rock with a second-round knockout against Jonathan Joao.
Carter (7-5) is battling Spitz’ buddy, Dan Bolen, who’s making his pro debut and is from the same Sikjitsu camp.
The bout will be at light heavyweight (205 pounds) and one of a dozen on the Friday night fight card.
