1) DAISUKE NAKAMURA vs. FERRID KHEDER: One thing about old King of the Cage shows is that they would have these wild claims about any Japanese fighter that came over as part of their talent trade with PRIDE (one that worked, unlike the UFC's- go figure). Like, that Daijiro Matsui and Alexander Otsuka had to be good because, hey, the Japanese would never send over a representative that wasn't. Matsui is now forgotten and Otsuka is remembered as having the worst records in MMA history for a guy who fought almost entirely in major promotions.
I say this to preface Nakamura because he is hyped entering here as being good. To be fair, he is not bad, which is better than Matsui or Otsuka. Following his loss to Vitor Ribero in Cage Rage, he actually rattled off 8 consecutive wins; a shocking amount given that prior to that he was effectively a .500 fighter. The opposition was less than stellar, however. Hideo Tokoro was the high point - the low is tough to determine. Racist Stereotype Andy Ologun? The 0-7 Carlos Valeri? Who knows. His opponent on this night is Ferrid Kheder, who comes in 10 lbs over the lightweight limit and loses some cash as a result. He's fought everywhere from Brazil to Belgium, and Costa Rica to Canada. Truly, a journeyman for our times.
Tenative stand up opens the bout, and after a clinch, its Nakamura leading Kheder to the corner and....that's most of the round. Its slow going. When there's separation, Nakamura seems to land more shots like jabs and low kicks because he throws at all. Nakamura lands a few right hands late in the round and he's not even pretending to defend anymore. Kheder leads a comeback early in the 2nd as he starts throwing the left hook, and Nakamura responds with a flying armbar attempts. Kheder defends it well and stands. Nakamura still won't hold his hands up, and a combination of punches and kicks sweeps him off his feet. He scrambles up, gets tagged, tries for another flying armbar (which is like going for nothing but fake field goals when you're out of range for the kicker anyways), and isn't successful. Nakamura lands a right hand, but probably loses this round.
Third and final round: Nakamura is landing much more solidly as the bout turns into a boxing match. A right hand-low kick combo forces Nakamura to turn and give his back. He's suplexed but scrambles up again. The ref gives him a reprieve to fix tape on the glove, and we restart standing with separation. Shots ate traded, Nakamura goes for, yes, another flying armbar, and Khedar tries to lock in an arm triangle in a fast sequence near the final bell. All too little, too late for Khedar. Nakamura by unanimous decision. (1)
2) MICHAEL KITA vs. LLOYD MARSHBANKS: Marshbanks is a tank of a man. He probably weighs as much as a German Panzer. He is also 5'8''. Kita is also a big, big man. Both like the wrasslin' too.
Marshbanks catches a kick, clinches, throws a belly-to-belly, and mounts Kita. Not a good start for Kita. Kita bucks Marshbanks out and stands. Kita defends a shot and punches Marshbanks. And then he punches some more and more. Marshbanks taps for seemingly ever before the ref bothers to do anything about it. Don't hate the guy though; he just won a one night tourney in Russia. Yes! A one night tourney! He KOed Alexiy Olenik and Baga Agaev (and a Sanda fighter with a losing record) to claim the title. (1)
3) ROB BROUGHTON vs. JESSIE GIBBS: For the unofficial title of #1 super heavyweight in the world, IMO. Yeah, its a dead division. So what? In case you don't know, Broughton is a very large wrestler from the UK, a place not known for wrestlers. Gibbs is a very large kickboxer/grappler from the Netherlands.
Broughton clinches early, pushes Gibbs to corner, and Sumo has broken out. Eventually, they are separated. Gibbs trips after a low kick, and Broughton ends up on top in half guard. Gibbs isn't bad though; he sweeps with a kimura into side control, though he's eventually dragged back to half guard for the rest of the round. The second opens with Broughton again going to bring it to the mat. He shoots, there's a bodylock, drops for a single, and Gibbs removes himself from that as well. This is slow. Standup is all one shot at a time. Broughton gets a body lock, and the crowd is boing as he drags this further into the muck. This continues in the third, except that Gibbs is on top some when it does hit the mat. Terrible fight, Gibbs wins, division is still, thankfully, deceased. (1)
4) MIKHAIL ZAYATS vs. LUCIO LINHARES: Middleweight contest between M-1 regulars. Linhares recently signed by UFC; does that spoil this?
Wild punches thrown, Zayats is dropped by a punch, as he tries to rise, he's choked out. (2)
5) JOHN DOYLE vs. KARL AMOUSSOU: Amoussou has been getting lots of creme puffs lately. Here is another.
Doyle gets the takedown and is in full guard. He's throwing blows but totally ineffective when it comes to making them count. Amoussou sweeps him, full mount, punches, Doyle gives his back, and its a rear naked choke. That's a KOTC standard minus needing to sweep to get on top to start with. (1)
At this point, the big selling point for the show, a Judo/Sambo exhibition with Mousasi and Fedor, commences. Its mildly interesting for rolling around.
6) "KING" MUHAMMAD LAWAL vs. MARK KERR: So many things to say. Lawal is a rising star. Furthermore, here is something for you to chew on (since the source is not likely to see me writing this, much less anyone else): Kerr is a late replacement for Don Frye, as a lot of people know. Frye was originally booked but actually cancelled over money issues. Lawal was offered actual opponents to take Frye's place, but responded saying he was taking the fight because he wanted to fight a tomato can. Enter Mark Kerr. The one time surest of sure things was briefly kept out of fighting in this recent comeback attempt when an apparently heart issue showed itself during an EKG during licensing for a fight in Connecticut. The card there was scuttled as a result, and Kerr was even more damaged than before. He's still trucking along here though.
Mo shoots a single, slams Kerr, and then punches his lights out. Pathetic. Kerr then admits its probably time for a new profession. Really? (2)
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Nakamura/Kheder
KO OF THE NIGHT: Kerr/Lawal
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Doyle/Amoussou
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 2.5 out of 10. As far as actual fights go, pretty lousy. The exhibition was nice, but irrelevant. Mark Kerr fighting on a card in this decade guarantees it a low score.
D&R Rating: 27%
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