1) Trevor Mellen vs. Gerald Lovato: Mellen is a young flyweight and Lovato a long time gatekeeper bested by the Mike Easton and Takeshi Inoue's of the world.
FIGHT: Mellen Unanimous Decision (2)
Mellen: Against a guy who's a survivor, Mellen comes in and fights quite well, regularly getting Lovato down and only finding himself in trouble when he makes physical miscues like stumbling after a kick rather than making mental miscues that lead to him getting hit in the head. On the mat, not much can be discerned about his ability to defend himself against a superior wrestler who puts him on his back, but he has a good transitional game and is able to pass and go for submissions. Unfortunately, against Lovato (a man with two submission losses), he didn't display much for finishing capability. Interesting fact: A guy fighting at 125 beat a former KO victim of Edson Draggo. True story.
Lovato: Survivor; perfect as a gatekeeper/journeyman talent needed for this level of the sport. Enough ability to go rounds and provide resistance, not really good enough to beat anyone who isn't a fraud or terrible.
2) Tyler East vs. Estevez Jones: Heavyweights. East was in a great fight on a previous KOTC event shown on HDNet where he nearly defeated Tony Lopez, only to get submitted in the rematch. Jones has a win over longtime journeyman Andy Montana and pretty much no one else.
FIGHT: East KO Rnd 1. Wild striking affair - Both were just exploding with energy and would have gassed if it didn't end in the first 3 minutes. East answers a crazy front kick/spinning back fist combo by feinting and then throwing a spinning back fist of his own that stuns Jones. Jones then takes all sorts of clubbing and slapping blows against the cage before finally falling down. East could have a future as a journeyman. (1)
3) Quinn Mulhern vs. Levi Stout: Mulhern had an incredible performance beating the shit out of Rich Clementi about 6 months ago. Stout I have never heard of, but has beaten trial horses like Adam Madrid. This is for KOTC's welterweight title.
FIGHT: Mulhern Submission Rnd 1. After some feeling out standing, they clinch and Stout goes for this wild flying kimura attempt. Mulhern anticipates it and ends up taking Stout's back. Its just a matter of time until the rear naked choke. Another good performance for Mulhern - would love to see him fight the Joker again to see if he can get that series even. (2)
4) Bobby Green vs. Daron Cruickshank: Green is the junior welterweight champion, it seems. He lost to the mediocre Dan Lauzon back at Affliction's second event but now in KOTC he's been trucking along with some decent performances. His opposition here comes in the form of an undefeated wrestler.
FIGHT: Green Submission Rnd 2. Entertaining fight. (1)
Cruickshank: did everything he could to get this fight down, constantly seeking the shot. It never came. On his feet he couldn't compete with Green's sometimes wild and unorthodox technique, and he was forced to keep at it. It proved his undoing, as he fell into a guillotine while shooting for a single.
Green: Showed a good scramble here, though it was in part assisted by his holding of the cage. Standing he threw a crazy front kick that landed right on Cruickshank's face, along with an array of punches and stuff like that. Eventually he catches Cruickshank with a sort of modified guillotine where it looks like only one arm is really in choking on top in half guard as he uses his body to close off the other half of the carotid with his body. Cruickshank just can't hang on or break out on the bottom with Green in a dominant position.
5) Daniel Cormier vs. Tony Johnson Jr.: Johnson beat Tony Lopez for the title, and Cormier as challenger has been pro less than a year, but has incredible wrestling chops. Johnson's not bad there either. They even look similar physically.
FIGHT: Cormier Submission Rnd 1. Cormier really works well on the mat spinning around and changing positions. When he gets Johnson stunned with punches, and Johnson starts looking for a shot, Cormier scrambles to the back and really starts to put it down, eventually putting in the hooks, flattening Johnson, and then choking him out. (3) Cormier looks like a good heavyweight prospect, and Johnson might actually bounce back.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Green/Cruickshank
KO OF THE NIGHT: East/Jones
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Green/Cruickshank
OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 7.5 out of 10. Man, this was really fun to watch. Good fighters, good fights, announcing that didn't hurt to listen to - I couldn't ask for more. I haven't reviewed an event I gave more than a 5 out of 10 since April (Art of Fighting 6). Since then, I've watched and reviewed 19 events for this blog. That's a lot of crapola.
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