KOTC: Arch Rivals (10/27/2007)

Show #4 from Combat Collection Vol. 2. This is gonna be a short one - they literally throw on two previously aired fights with name fighters onto this show in order to make it more worth your time. What is here is pretty amazing.

Classic fights that start the PPV presentation (Inman and Cal Worsham are announcing):

Jorge Santiago vs. Diego Sanchez: First of the two classic bouts. Never reviewed it, but will skip doing so until I decide to go back to that specific show (KOTC 36, Unfinished Business)

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Sean Gray: Another classic. This was from KOTC 13 Revolution.

1) Tim Bradley vs. Aaron Buck: Guys for a weight class I didn't pay attention to.

FIGHT: Buck Submission Rnd 1. Bradley goes for the takedown and gets it. Thing is, Buck is apparently cool with working off his back and ends up working the hips most of the round until locking the arm and extending an armbar to force the tap. Buck has no subsequent pro fights that I am aware of. (0)

2) Jack Montgomery vs. Adam Torres: Welterweights Don't know either.

FIGHT: Montgomery Submission Rnd 2. Reasonably competitive fight between a couple guys who really aren't that relevant. Both guys had some good throws and takedowns and did decent ground work, but Montgomery ends up with the last takedown of the fight getting a leg sweep off a body lock, passes to mount, and then punches Torres until he gives up his back and the choke. Torres had some decent throws himself and did a solid job up till then nullifying Montgomery's offensive grappling, but it was for naught. Torres retired afterwards. (0)

3) Hunter Worsham vs. Shannone Callos: Cal Worsham's kid against some BJJ fighter. Welterweight contest.

FIGHT: Callos Submission Rnd 1. Wild contest with Worsham rushing Callos with flailing strikes and they trade takedowns. Worsham eventually uses the cage to flip the two of them on the mat and get on top, but leaves his head in there for a triangle that he eventually taps to. Cal is asking for Hunter to slam his way out, which really isn't the best strategy if you aren't named Rampage Jackson or Ron Waterman or something. (0)

4) Brad Imes vs. Bo Cantrell: Its hard to believe that Brad Imes was a finalist on TUF 2, isn't it? I mean, that was before the series had total crap on it. Bo Cantrell infamously lost to Kimbo and Dave Huckaba in record time.

FIGHT: Imes Submission Rnd 1. Imes brings the gogoplata, which he won an inordinate number of times by. Cantrell actually drops Imes in the early going and they scramble afterwards. Cantrell is on top in the full guard once some leg lock attempts come to an end and Imes works for the gogo. The next fight for Cantrell was indeed the Kimbo Slice bout. (2)

5) Robert McDaniel vs. Dan Molina: McDaniel got a couple fights with EXC later. Molina had been in the IFL and collected losses there to Brian Foster and Ryan McGivern.

FIGHT: Molina Submission Rnd 1. Man, didn't expect that. McDaniel lets Molina get him down by getting real low and pulling the heel out while shooting the double, and Molina starts getting active inside the guard to set something up. That something is a heel hook given to him by McDaniels' flailing open guard. McDaniel tries to fight it off for awhile and then ends up getting himself hurt by not tapping in time. (1)

6) Tony Lopez vs. Frank Appah: Appah is making his second pro fight and states that he has a TKD background. Jesus.

FIGHT: Lopez TKO Rnd 1. Not the greatest Lopez performance. Appah is squared up and strong, sure, but after the first minute or so, the fight slows down tremendously and Appah basically is stuck at the end of Tony Lopez's kicks. I'll say this about Lopez - I was thinking he had Guy Mezger power in those kicks, but then one lands clean to the head with the shin and Appah slowly slumps and takes shots and the fight is stopped. The announcers basically try to cover for Appah having been looking for a way out of the fight by saying that he was looking for a way out of the fight, but, hey, Mazzagatti stopped it early! (1)

7) Bao Quach vs. Chris David: Prefight video for David shows him smashing something. What? Why? I don't know. Lightweight bout. I like Bao Quach fights.

FIGHT: Quach Unanimous Decision.

Quach: I often think of Quach as a gatekeeper with serious grappling skills. I suppose that's true here, even though the fight is about Quach keeping it standing and using his advantage in technique. He's such a smaller guy that it makes his ability to repeatedly fight off the takedowns of David very impressive, and to then counter it with crisp punching and low kicks is huge. He never has David in trouble, but he makes his shots count and he wins through sheer technique over athleticism or physicality.

David: Wants the clinch, wants takedowns. Never gets them. He pushes with his punches rather than snaps them, which means that he can't really hurt Quach and he's slow getting the shots off. He can't check a kick to save his life. David's not an entirely bad fighter. Clearly he has qualities that don't come to light because he can't institute his gameplan, but if you want to be elite or something imitating it, you need to be able to beat midlevel fighters who's best success came at 140. He's not really a guy with a blast double - more of a swim to the clinch and then he tries to overpower. (1)

8) Anthony Lapsley vs. Jaime Jara: Lapsley debuted and did not so well in Bellator. Jara also debuted and did a little better in Bellator. Well, at least he made it a more competitive fight.

FIGHT: Lapsley Submission Rnd 2. Kinda. Officially this is a no contest because Lapsley tested positive for THC.

Lapsley: Elite wrestler? No. Not really. He gets Jara down a couple times but he never really powers the guy down or shows some sort of wild technique with his wrestling. What's wild is that he starts the fight with a spinning heel kick that opens a cut on Jara. They trade submissions in the first and in the second, a tired Jara gets taken down and KOTC Specialed with the RNC. Interesting attempt at an inverted triangle looking thing in the first is worth noting.

Jara: Tough guy who didn't show the gas tank I expected. Decent submission attempts though - he nearly had Lapsley in a heel hook and had Lapsley's back too. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Jara/Lapsley

KO OF THE NIGHT: Lopez/Appah

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Cantrell/Imes

OVERALL FOR THE SHOW: 4.5 out of 10. Substandard show with a couple decent main events (one of which basically doesn't mean anything at all officially) that's bolstered with fights that don't belong.

D&R Rating: 17.5% (7/40)

RETRO REVIEW: KOTC Execution Day (10/29/05)

Again, another one from the KOTC of the Day thread of yore.

1) STEPHEN THAMES vs. AARON JAMESON: Two dudes I have no familiarty with whatsoever. Jameson beats the dude up pretty bad and wins with a guillotine easily.

2) ADAM TORRES vs. PAT HEALY: Torres is some dude from a Gracie JJ dojo. Healy, of course, went on to some measure of fame being on Ken Shamrock’s Nevada Lions where he did okay. Serious ass staredown too. Healy is way taller.

Healy’s size advantage is a big factor. He slams Torres a couple times easily and uses it to gain dominant position. He eventually gets the armbar and surprises the announcers, ending before the first round passes.

3) PHIL GARCIA vs. DAN MOLINA: This is a heavyweight fight, and I’m kinda worried. Garcia is a Kerry Schall victim. Molina is from Lions Den and looks way blown up here. Like, the Baldwin brother on Celebrity Rehab blown up. Ken Shamrock is cornering him, and I’m sure this would already be Clown’s favorite bout.

Molina shoots in, Garcia is on the ground, but still sorta defending it, though he’s on his ass. Molina rolls him over, and in doing so, opens some space, enough to grab the left foot of Garcia. Garcia rolls back, essentially in a kneeling/sitting position, and when he does that, he traps his own leg in a toehold. Lions Den fighter by leglock. Sorta. Hey, a fitting tribute.

4) JOE COTA vs. JAMIE JARA: Jara is from CAL WORSHAM’S TEAM. WHAT. I didn’t know that. Worsham was a cop, right? Jara looks like a MS-13 member. How does that work? Joe Cota is a dude of a nondescript nature. This is a 185lb fight, BTW.

Good first round, really, Jara gets a takedown and a leg and gets to work submissions on it for a good minute, but never figures out what to do. Go figure that the trainer with a heavy background in TKD isn’t good teaching kneebars. Cota eventually gets his leg free and ends up in top position for awhile, though he’s not particularly effective with anything. Jara is able to force the fight to the feet and when it gets there, they throw down with a lot of looping bombs. Both men are poorly conditioned and with about :30 left in the round, they are breathing really heavy.

Second round is equally fun. Standup is brief and Jara ends up getting the takedown and controls Cota, beating him pretty heavily, attaining mount, and then getting Cota’s back. Cota, nearly being choked out, responds to the camera and perhaps Jara’s camp by giving the middle finger. Chin tucked in, Cota survives, is able to turn into Jara’s guard, and unleashes some shots of his own. Cota eventually leaves Jara’s open guard and stands up, forcing both men to their feet and a slow dance for the rest of the round as they stare at each other, both super winded. Third round is almost sleep inducing though. Cota’s all done and operating off just heart, and Jara has just fumes in the tank, but that’s more than Cota, and thus he wins a primarily slow standup final 5 and takes the decision. And now Jara has fought MMA on national television. What a world. Of course, so has Ray Steinbeiss, so it doesn’t really mean anything.

THIS IS THE MAIN CARD. A BIG VIDEO PACKAGE TELLS ME SO. The ring girls get introduced and shit and I just fast forward past it. Like I give a fuck about whatever local strippers they’re paying $300 to for the show.

5) TAKEFUMI HANAI vs. BUDDY CLINTON: Clinton shares his name with a dead ex-presidential dog, whereas Hanai fought in everyone’s favorite MMA organization with techno music and weird rules about closed guard.

Hanai attempts to channel Genki Sudo and does a weird sideways stance. Clinton takes a few seconds to analyze it, throws a solid leg kick, then takes down Hanai and beats him up. In fact, he’s pretty much totally dominant in the round. Hanai ends up on his feet and does nothing with it, at one point throwing a koppo kick looking thing.

Round 2 has Hanai faking the leaping Mongolian Chop on a standing Clinton and absorbing a right to the face. He clinches up and goes for a ride, with Clinton slamming him hard. Hanai locks up Clinton and gets the fight stood up. While there, he lands a hard right hand that so bothers Clinton that he backs up most of the rest of the round, even as Hanai turns away from him and expresses his discontent with the lack of action to the crowd. Towards the end of the round, Clinton shoots in and Hanai tries a guillotine. It doesn’t work though, and Clinton lays on him till the bell sounds.

Round 3 doesn’t last long. Takefumi lands a hard right hand and drops Clinton, and following punches cause Mazagatti as close to early as he’s ever been.

6) JASON WEISS vs. WARPATH: Warpath is the Gladiator Challenge Native American Champion of the World. Only in the world of combat sports, man. Jason Weiss is a pro boxer as well as MMA fighter, and was picked among Joe Mesi’s early comeback opponents when he got braindamaged. He’s also been knocked out by modern day Bigfoot Martin, sub .500 fighter Demetrice King.

Weiss pops the jab a little, shoots in for some reason, Warpath holds him in a front head lock and hits his back for about 2 minutes. Eventually Warpath gets him down and wins by GNP. Exciting stuff. Not really.

7) SHAWN BIAS vs. URIJAH FABER: There’s prefight segments with both men interviewed, so you know this one is extra important or something. Faber is then the KOTC Featherweight Champ.

Fight is a single round in length, chiefly controlled by (SHOCK) Faber. Bias does throw a kick right at the onset and uses it to get Faber down and take his back, but doesn’t get his hooks in and Faber ends up in his guard. From there, Bias never again puts forth any serious offense, nearly getting caught in a triangle in a weird sideways attempt by Faber and eventually submitting to a guillotine. Faber is now the WEC’s headline star and for good reason.

9) AARON BRINK vs. RICHARD MONTOYA: Montoya is some kid from Lion’s Den. Brink is a full time fighter, part time porn star who isn’t actively horrible, while one would expect Montoya to perhaps be given the place of Lion’s Den in the overall scene of MMA in 2007. Lots of prefight interview stuff for both.

Nothing fight. Montoya shoots at the very onset, gets Brink against the cage and eventually down. Brink is able to get back up but finds himself in a guillotine. Apparently unaware as to how to defend against it, he ends up tripping Montoya, putting himself in Montoya’s guard and has to tap.

10) MAC DANZIG vs. TAKUMI NAKAYAMA: Danzig is the Gladiator Challenge Lightweight champ, Nakayama the KOTC title holder. Nakayama is a fairly mediocre fighter from Japan who is an okay benchmark. Some more prefight interview blather.

I’ve seen this fight before and thus I wasn’t as intruiged by it as others. Nakayama is generally dominated by Danzig from the early going, as Danzig’s wrestling and strength is way too much for Nakayama. As the bout labors on, Danzig gets busy with a flurry on the feet, causes a massive gash on Nakayama with some knees from the thai clinch, and Herb is forced to stop it. Just another stop on the Mac Danzig Express.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Jara/Cota in a landslide. Two dudes showing a modicum of skill in the cage against each other rather than against far inferior competition. Best matchmaking of all.

KO OF THE NIGHT: Warpath/Jason Weiss: Weiss is ruined by the assault on the ground, and while its not unexpected, the violent nature of it should create some sort of visceral "oh fuck" response.

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Molina/Garcia. Toe hold FOREVER.

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 6.5 out of 10: Not a bad show per se, with nothing outwardly offensive in it and some guys who are decent names in the sport competing in bouts that helped develop their reputation and career. Decent production quality and nothing outlandishly dumb being said in commentary helps out. Honestly, Apple/Williams isn't any worse than a team involving Ranallo and a pro wrestler.

-----------------

POSTSCRIPT:

Jamie Jara can now be seen in Bellator.

Pat Healy beat the crap out of Lyle Beerbohm in the headlining position on a Strikeforce Challengers card.

Takefumi Hanai lost to future Shooto 167lb champ Katsuya Inoue and then to Keita Nakamura. He lost a third time in a row to a nondescript opponent in Pancrase then retired in 2008.

Warpath Villareal was last seen nearly beating Brett Rogers in the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Urijah Faber is Urijah Faber.

Shawn Bias has a face tattoo and last fought in 2009.

Takumi Nakayama last fought in December 2010 having transitioned to full bore gatekeeper status in Japan.

Aaron Brink is now well known for appearing on a TLC show about drug addiction.

Mac Danzig is still with the UFC after winning TUF 6.

KOTC: Legacy (3/26/2010)

We're hot from Reno, NV with another KOTC show review. This is like #300 or something at this point. Headlining this card is Tony Lopez/Tony Johnson and Mike Kyle/Jon Murphy. Heavyweights ahoy!

1) Quinn Mulhern vs. Koffi Adzitso: Mulhern is the rising star here.

FIGHT: Mulhern Submission Rnd 2. Generally, Mulhern runs the fight. Even when he's not in the best position, he's controlling the action from the bottom. Where his weakness is clearly still is the standup world. Adzitso cuts Mulhern with a punch in the first minute of the fight and forces Mulhern to shoot and pull guard to get the fight down. From there though, he works the active guard and nearly pulls the submission in round 1 at the end with an omaplata. Adzitso is done in round 2 and eventually gets taken down, loses the back, and is choked out in fairly short order. (2)

2) Mike Guidry vs. Nick Gaston: The magic of Afrozilla cannot be denied.

FIGHT: Gaston Submission Rnd 1. Gaston just bodies up Guidry after Guidry blows his load with a series of wild punches en route to closing the distance. He puts Guidry on his back after landing a number of uppercuts and elbows, goes to half guard, and works for a kimura. He really cranks the hammerlock and forces the tap. Gaston did dominate a guy with a gut that hung down like it was made of nothing but excess skin, but hey, a win is a win. (2)

3) Jamie Jara vs. Tim Means: This blog loves Jamie Jara and doesn't apologize. Yeah, he's old, yeah he's not great, but he has HATE tattooed on his throat. And he scraps. Always.

FIGHT: Jara Submission Rnd 1. Great win for Jara. He takes down Means early in the bout to establish control. When we get back up to the standup, he's easily way better than means, lands some strong combinations at perfect distance, and as Means stumbles around, he locks in a guillotine. (1)

4) Tony Johnson Jr. vs. Tony Lopez: Lopez is still 205lb and heavyweight champ at the same time for KOTC here. Johnson is a decorated wrestler and a former football player who is making the transition to MMA.

FIGHT: Tony Johnson Jr. Unanimous Decision. The fight in a nutshell: Tony Lopez gets taken down over and over. Tony Lopez tries for submissions from the bottom and gets none of them. Johnson lands a billion strikes and spends lots of time in half guard. When you are on top for like 24 of 25 minutes and you are responsible for every takedown? You win. Lopez makes the fight interesting with an armbar attempt with 20 seconds left but Johnson basically just does a bicep curl so forceful he breaks it. (2)

5) Jon Murphy vs. Mike Kyle: Your MAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING.

FIGHT: Kyle TKO Rnd 2. Murphy is the grappler and yet he is comprehensively outwrestled. What makes this fight mildly interesting is that Kyle sucks at defending strikes. This in spite of having a kickboxing record and that being considered his primary style. Kyle gets takedowns with trips, doubles, everything. He outlands Murphy 10-1 with strikes and end up winning this by dropping 'bows and punches in the crucifix at the end of the second. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kyle/Murphy

KO OF THE NIGHT: Kyle/Murphy

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Gaston/Guidry

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Some OK action mixed with a not that meaningful and frankly somewhat dull title fight.

D&R Rating: 36% (9/25)

SHOXC (9/20/08)

It occurred to me that I never did put up my reviews of Rumble on The Rock's last three shows on their boxed set. I mention this for no particular reason. Really is unfortunate that I didn't do so. What I will say, however, is that the highs quickly receed. Rumble on The Rock 7 is downright horrid. If I ever find my notes, I would be glad to not rewatch them.

In the meantime, here is a review literally a year in the making. I originally didn't set for a long enough recording time with this event, so I was glad to rerecord it months later, where it sat on my DVR until last month. It was purged, against my will, by the DVR itself in the Great Spanish Language Purge of 2009. But alas, I have notes.

This show was the last ShoXC event ever televised, and eminated from Chumash Casino in California. The planned main event was Bao Quach/Wilson Reis for a 140lb belt that EXC was to promote, but Quach was injured and in steps the KOTC champ at the weight, Abel Cullum. Joining this bout was an array of B-list stars.

1) MATT MAKOWSKI/ERIK APPLE: Apple drops the headset and heads back in. Bless his soul. Makowski beat Nick Serra in an embarassing fight you should never want to see.

Makowski gets the first takedown on a caught kick, but gets swept. Apple attempts a few kimuras and straight armbars inside the guard, which would be more effective if he was outside of it. Makowski does try for some submissions off his back, but doesn't pull off any. All Apple's round. Apple shoots to start the second and Makowski defends with the guillotine. Apple pulls out his head, and prevents a repeat of the prior round by passing to mount, punching until Makowski gives his back, and ending this with that old chestnut of chokes, the rear naked. Erik Apple is....doing something right now. (1)

2) GIVA SANTANA vs. JAMIE JARA: I love Jamie Jara. I love Giva Santana. I will love this fight.

There's tenative standup as Santana is terrible and Jara is terrified of Santana's grappling. Jara lands a punch and Santana shoots and is successful. Jara tries to spin out, but Santana is holding him back, and then gets the mount. Jara gives the back and returns to mount and eats punches before scrambling to his feet. Santana reintroduces Jara to the mat shortly afterwards. Not the finest round for the tattooed one.

The second sees Santana pretend to strike before attempting to clinch. Jara is smart enough not to let himself be pulled into the guard and gets out and back to his feet. He lands shots but instinctively clinches, which is all wrong. Santana drops for the leg, Jara pushes out, and he's back up and striking. Santana, being old, was not prepared to fight more than 5 minutes, and its showing on his face and with his movement. Jara, meanwhile, is old but crazy, and this difference means that he's capable of continuing to scrap. As the round moves on, more punches land for Jara, and he's more willing to clinch with a less effective Santana.

The bell for the final round tones and we're off to the races with Jara giving a lesson in dirty boxing in close and tattooing (ironically) the middle aged Brazilian with punches at distance. Santana is throwing body kicks, which sound better than they are effective. He's shooting and coming up short. Jara might be cut, but its largely superficial. At the end of the round, Jara runs out of gas suddenly and Santana catches a second win, causing him to pursue a striking attack. Jara wins the round on my card and ends up with the split decision. Fans are equally split. (3)

3) MALAPEIT TEAM DIAMOND vs. DAVID DOUGLAS: Douglas is nicknamed Tarzan, speaks in bizarre tones, and trains with the Diaz brothers. Malapeit is Malapeit. I will love this fight.

Douglas rushes Malapeit at the start and grabs a takedown, Malapeit scrambles, and its time to get crazy. Dudes are getting thrown, Douglas is windmilling like its a Strife show, Malapeit is crushing Douglas with right hands and the dude just won't totally die. I won't bother giving play by play because its ridiculous and wild. Malapeit clearly wins the round with kicks and punches and everything imaginable. This trend continues in the second and Douglas looks like he will be stopped with leg kicks as Malapeit is controlling distance and just bombarding him with then. BUT~ Douglas snatches a leg, shoots, moves to mount, and starts bombing away as the round ends. The third has Malapeit throwing a flying knee, Douglas getting a takedown, landing about 300 punches, forcing a stop, and then giving a surreal interview. All out war reminiscent of Rollins/War Machine skillwise, but better (3)

4) CARL SEUMANUTAFA vs. SHANE DEL ROSARIO: Del Rosario is a much loved prospect. The other guy is Samoan and fat.

Samoan guy shoots, throws Del Rosario and then lays on him. Del Rosario mixes it up by trying a submission, but Seumanutafa slams out and escapes to north/south and an armbar attempt. Del Rosario escapes that and rolls the Samoan into full guard, who sweeps and...okay, "positioning battle". Nothing is landed. Seumanutafa wins the first. He tries to shoot a bunch in the second, gets stuffed, eventually is hit as he tries to go for some Superman punch/shot combo and goes down like a sack of shit. Del Rosario wins and is now beating up scrubs in M-1 Challenge. (2)

5) ABEL CULLUM vs. WILSON REIS: When I originally recorded this show, the recording of this fight ended in the second and it looked so awesome. And watching the full version? Not as awesome.

Lemme give you the short version of what happens: Reis wins every round. He takes down Cullum, Cullum is on his back defending submissions and getting hit. He never mounts any sustained offense, and Reis always comes out of scrambles in a better position and always seems to improve his position. Its like that first Noguiera fight with Herring; Herring became everyone's favorite heavyweight because he played defense the whole time and did alright at it. That's what Cullum does here. When in the Dream tourney, his skill level was exposed. Elite fighters don't lose to Hideo Tokoro. Meanwhile, Reis has a similar issue: He was supposed to win that Bellator tourney, and instead gets beat by Joe Soto. Oh well. (3)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Douglas/Malapeit

KO OF THE NIGHT: Douglas/Malapeit

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Apple/Makowski

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 6.5 out of 10. Not as good as I remembered it to be, but there's a middle section of fights here that's damn fun to watch, even if it isn't wildly important.

D&R Rating: 48% (12/25)

Note: That's the new record for one of these shows, and I hate to say it, but its almost nondeserved. Look, lots of good fights are one thing but none of these stand out. Plus, if you had to see the untelevised stuff, it would probably fall to a 20%. But, this is what it is. To that end, I do admit that its the best of the ShoXC shows and way better viewing than some of the recent efforts.

SHOXC: 8/25/07

CHEATING: I've already seen this show when it originally aired. But then, that's true for so many of these. This is, in reality, a King of The Cage show in every way but the recorded name on Sherdog. Even the music is that same generic canned metal.

1) OMAR LUV vs. BRENDAN TIERNEY: Tierney I can't remember having watched, actually. But he's undefeated here.

Some decent striking before Tierney and Luv clinch and spin each other around. Luv gets the takedown and ends up on top, but he rises to his feet. The announcers miscall a trip as a hard left hand that drops Tierney, and he's off and looking for rubber guard. Luv goes back for a leglock and Tierney defends, only to give up his back to Luv.  Luv lands some hammerfists and Tierney ends up giving up the choke. Luv is emotional. Of course, as documented here, he lost his next fight and was outta town. (0)

2) RAY LIZAMA vs. HECTOR URBINA: Lizama got his fight at Affliction cut against Levens. Then Levens committed suicide. Catchweight fight at 205.

Urbina wants a takedown, that is certain. Urbina is good enough to stop that. Lizama is doing a good job minimizing the value of Urbina's striking as well. Very tenative stuff. Urbina looks soft, actually. Lizama's hands are decently fast and Urbina is just telegraphinc the hell out of his kicks. Urbina throws a high kick and knee and he doesn't connect, but gets in a good body kick. Lizama only really throwing jabs. With a minute left, Lizama lands a straight left and it hurts Urbina a little. There's some good straight punches that land near the end of the round for Lizama. Close round. 

Lead left hook off the jab by Lizama at the early part of the round stumbles Urbina. Urbina really not looking good, just walking forward throwing this limbs around, shooting and failing miserably over and over. Urbina keeps pushing with one single leg attempt and trips up Lizama, but doesn't really capitalize. In fact, Urbina loses top position and while he goes for a guillotine, he's totally unsuccessful. Lizama on top is inactive and the standup is forced. Urbina is landing shots standing even as flawed as he is and Lizama's limited boxing is not doing him many favors as he is gassing out. Urbina throws an elbow and misses, seems to maybe get headbutted, and then falls down. Lizama is on top and just rides out the round. I'd have it 2-0 Urbina into the 3rd.

They are swinging in the third and Lizama is actually landing clean punches. Urbina shoots and forces down the fight, but Lizama does get up fairly quickly. Lizama lands an uppercut as Urbina comes in and he stuns him again, but there's no followup. Lizama is just way too tired. Urbina with the clinch and a belly to the stomach is the best strike of the round up through the first half. Some more decent punches inside and he is pushing Lizama around. Lizama is absolutely gasping. When they separate, there's a nice right hand from Urbina, but its slapping and possibly open. A sloppy takedown attempt by Urbina fails and gets him down on his back. Urbina goes for a gogoplata, but fails. Fight is stood up. Lizama really needs to come forward and does not. Some nice knees and elbows at the bell. I think its a shutout and the judges all think its a 29-28. Either way, goes to the same person. (0)

3) DAVID HUCKABA vs. JON MURPHY: Oh shit. Huckaba was among the greatest heavyweights in Gladiator Challenge history. Murphy is known for very questionable fights and a thunderous beating at the hands of Brett Rodgers. 

Murphy and Huckaba just sorta dance around, then they clinch. Huge suplex by Murphy and Huckaba recovers and they throw some leather. Huckaba is on top trying to throw elbows. Murphy covers up and Huckaba lets him up. Murphy goes for a shot and is thrown into the cage. Huckaba gets up and punches Murphy as he is down on all fours. Huckaba knees to the side of Murphy. They're swinging wildly! Huckaba with another sorta throw thing and Huckaba lands more shots. They are stood up, and Murphy jumps into guard with a guillotine. He mounts Huckaba and throws a ton of punches, then tries to float into an armbar....AND FORGETS THE ARM. Huckaba does nothing to stop a blown up Murphy at this stage and he grabs it and extends it....but Huckaba defends as the horn sounds. That was, well, something.

Both are dead ass tired at the start of the second. Hard right hand lands on Huckaba, and he's hurt. Huckaba then takes two more big punches and the man who has never been KOed is KOed HARD. Fun fight to watch between two bad but not miserably bad heavyweights. (1)

4) SETH KLEINBECK vs. JAIME JARA: Jara has a tattoo that says "HATE" across his throat. He is awesome, as you may know. Kleinbeck is a hospitalist: that's code for "doctor who works in a ER". Video of him fucking up Metcalf from a show I've already reviewed is shown.

Patient standup, to be kind. Way too much respect being shown by both. Crowd is not pleased. Jara has his chin way out there. Can't say that's too wise, but then again, can't say that about those tats either. "Feeling out process" says Moron Ranallo. That is code for "bullshit". Three minutes in, no landed strikes. Oh, there's a low kick at 1:47 left.  One! A second 25 seconds later. This is the worst Jara fight ever. Another low kick. Kleinbeck looks sorta worried, Jara looks like an MS-13 Liddell. Awful. 

The only strikes to have landed cleanly in the entire fight as we enter a minute into the 2nd are low kicks. 5 of them, in fact. A clinch! The crowd is happy because there is a change in the status quo. Both guys pummelling around in the clinch, Kleinbeck with a big slam. Jara was thinking about pushing off but then brings the hips up. God, I hope they don't stand this up. Kleinbeck with a pass but he's back in guard before you can blink. "Let's keep it moving" says the ref. Or what? We go back to standup? Oh, we are. Greaaaat. More leg kicks, more circling, more of the same. Wild swinging exchange at the 4:30 mark, no one lands. The crowd is like "fuck this" and I'm like "shit, sleepy" and then BOOM. Kleinbeck with a left hook and Jara is down in a heap at the bell. I can't say this was too entertaining, but Jara borders on being top 50 still. (1)

5) CHARLES "CRAZY HORSE" BENNETT vs. VICTOR "JOE BOXER" VALENZUELA: A rematch years in the making. If only we knew....

Bennett is waiving at the crowd and Joe Boxer is pissed. Bennett lands a left hook and tries to finish Joe Boxer very early with punches on the mat. Joe Boxer recovers and he's really heated. Bennett looks stoned. He lands a jab and Bennett seems to pretend being hurt. Except punches keep coming. They are swinging HARD. Boxer drops him and Bennett is not doing so well anymore. His hands are by his waist and he's getting tore up. He ends up face down on the mat and taps out from strikes. Victor hates him still. (1) 

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Bennett/Valenzuela

KO OF THE NIGHT: Huckaba/Murphy

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Tierney/Luv

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Pretty fun to watch, short, some inoffensive fights. No one on the program has gone onto anything of value really. 

D&R Rating: 12% (3/25)

King Of The Cage(or NOT): Crackdown (5/11/07)

Another King of the Cage classic. Maybe. I did review a Shooto event from 1995 but the paperwork is still in my storage stuff so until I find it, some KOTCs I've watched recently and committed to a lawyer's notepad left behind by the professor who lived in this home prior to me.

First, a big secret! This is not actually a KOTC show. No sir, its a Gladiator Challenge show in a KOTC boxset. What cheats! But it is okay. Its about as good as most KOTC shows if not better. We are in Tahoe, so that means real unified rules. And given that there are two title fights, well, that's a big deal. The poster shows that Shawn Bias/Josh Rabedeaux and Emanuel Newton/Buckley Acosta were supposed to happen, but never did. Inman and Sean Kanoda (???) announcing.

1) JOSHUA TURNER vs. DANIEL SCHMITT: Turner is a Gracie trainee.

Round 1 has Turner seeking and getting the takedown, laying on top, throwing occasional shots, not doing anything else. That is the entire round. Round 2? More of the same. Josh Rosenthal does stand the fight up this time, and Turner throws some bad punches and gets another TD. There is another ref standup near the end of the round, but it is meaningless. Turner wins by UD. Neither man has fought again. (0)

2) CHRIS DAVID vs. WALTER PATTERSON: Patterson is a trainee with Faber.

David goes for a TD right away, Patterson sprawls, spins, and takes side control. David turns, gives his back, Patterson goes for a RNC but only gets one hook in, allowing David to escape out the backdoor and get into Patterson's guard. David gets in some GnP, Patterson pushes off with his legs, gets the fight to the standing position, and David again clinches immediately. David has a big slam here putting him immediately into side control, but opts to go inside the guard again and throw elbows and punches. Good first round.

Second round see David throwing some low kicks early on before the inevitable shot. Patterson defends by leaning on the cage, but David eventually gets a double and is inside the guard of Patterson most of the round in a somewhat inactive fashion. Another late standup by Rosenthal to give Patterson one last chance, but David drops in for a double. Patterson defends, but its still pretty simple to figure out who wins here. David by unanimous decision. (1) - Neither man is particularly great, but this was an entertaining fight.

3) NASSOR LEWIS vs. JUSTIN SAMPSON: Sampson is a Gracie guy but he lurves his karate.

Sampson with some fast side and high kicks, Lewis takes him down for the trouble. Sampson is good enough to get full guard but gets pushed into the cage and worked over. Sampson tries to stand up and fails, as Lewis gets his back and wins by rear naked choke. (0)

4) TOMAS ROSSER vs. RICK CHEEK: Cheek has a claimed boxing background. Rosser is a claimed 3-1, but Sherdog shows him as 0-0 coming in.

Cheek eats a bunch of jabs, tries to rush in for a clinch, and Cheek pushes off. Left hooks landed cleanly for Cheek, and he drops Rosser with a 1-2 and hammerfists him into oblivion. Ehhh. Cheek looked impressive but against a nobody and has gone nowhere special since. (0)

5) JOSH RABEDEAUX vs. GIGO JARA: Gigo is the brother of Jamie Jara, but not as good.

Rabedeaux goes for a double and Gigo defends. Josh tries to throw him, Gigo defends that too, takes his back, and pounds him a little. Rabedeaux turns over, tries for the triangle, Jara just pulls himself out of it and pounds out Rabedeaux. (0)

6) BRYSON KAMAKA vs. JAMIE JARA: This is for the GC middleweight title. Jara is also the LHW champ of GC at the same time. P4P candidate! Kamaka is a dude who has been beaten up in prior reviews.

Kamaka throws a not too shabby one-two, clinches, and Jara pushes him off. Same thing happens again. Jara clinches and third time and gets a trip TD into half guard. Jara easily passes on the hapless hawaiian, and gets some really bizarre can opener from side control and turns Kamaka onto his shoulders, making him totally helpless. Tapout from Kamaka and Jara with a submission of the year candidate. (2)

7) RONALD JHUN vs. JEREMIAH METCALF: I have no problem with Strikeforce, but who thought it would be a good idea to take a guy who was GC champ to fight the "Michael Jordan of the WCL"? Metcalf is perfectly adequate as far as fighters go. Here he defends against Jhun, who is an old school legend.

Metcalf opens the fight by going to clinch immediately, and Jhun fires punches back. Nothing hits solid. Clinch fighting for most of the round ensues, and Metcalf is getting the better of it. Eventually both push off and we are back to standup at distance. Jhun lands a nice body kick and Metcalf catches it and drops Jhun. Metcalf spends the final minute on top inside of the guard.

Second round sees Jhun stuck in the clinch again after an early punching exchange and lots of dirty boxing. Jhun does get separation momentarily and lands a nice right hand, but is back in the clinch and on the mat by the end of the round. Metcalf changes strategy for the opening of round three, throwing low kicks and using them to set up a combination of punches before scoring a takedown. The fight stays on the mat with Jhun controlling Metcalf to some degree inside the guard, and is able to force a scramble that gets it back to the standing position. Metcalf does score another takedown, however.

We enter round 4 of this, a welterweight title fight, and Jhun starts off well with some decent strikes. Metcalf with another takedown, but Jhun tries for a kneebar. Metcalf is too good to get caught like that, stacks up, and drops shots on Jhun. Metcalf takes a mount position, Jhun is exhausted and gives up the back, and the ending is fundamental. (2) for a solid midlevel title fight.

8) DAVID HUCKABA vs. BO CANTRELL: Oh man. This is for the GC Heavyweight title Cantrell holds. Huckaba is a dead ringer for Mick Foley and was in a joke of a fight on a ShoXC card last year. Cantrell? Well.

Huckaba punches as Cantrell charges, and then gets a takedown. Cantrell quits for no reason. We've seen that before, haven't we? What's amazing is that there was a rematch and Huckaba won in 5 seconds. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): David/Patterson. Jhun/Metcalf wasn't bad and I liked the length, but David and Patterson fighting had more action throughout.

KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Rosser/Cheek

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Jara/Kamaka

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3.5 out of 10. Inoffensive, had a decent title fight between two guys who aren't bad. The bouts that were meaningless were either fun to watch or over fast.

D&R RATING: 12.5% (5/40)

ShoXC/KOTC 7/27/07

I ended up doing these totally out of order from their boxed set, but whatever. I got a new KOTC boxed set about a week ago and I'm already attempting to run through it. There's a total of 9 shows and a Thomas Denny documentary, of all things. This "show" is actually the Proelite.com streamed undercard to the ShoEX show from 7/27. Gary Shaw's kid is doing color and I have no idea who is announcing.

1) SHAYNA BASZLER vs. JEN FINNEY: Baszler is a pretty good fighter that Elite XC has invested some money into. Finney I know nothing about.

Finney wants the clinch and to Tim Sylvia the bout early on by pushing Baszler into the cage and squashing her offense with mere endless holding. The ref breaks it up, and then they return to action and the same thing happens. However, Baszler expects it, drops from the clinch for a single, gets the takedown, and Finney is helpless on her back. Baszler eventually grabs an armbar for a submission win. (1)

2) JOSH NEAL vs. ERIC BEONDO: Neither one is a fighter I've heard of. Beondo is a wrestler and is quite a bit older.

Beondo likes to go for takedowns and Neal wants to KO Beondo standing. Beondo's gas tank fails him miserably, as by the halfway mark of round one, it is clear that Beondo has no real plan to bypass the striking of Neal. There's some okay groundwork in this one, with a series that sees Neal reversing an armbar attempt of Beondo's and getting in mount, followed by a bunch of scrambling that leads to a big knee in the face of Beondo. As I said before, Beondo gasses and as he flails uselessly to get inside, he's caught with another big knee and Cecil Peoples stops it. Both are not contenders at any level presently. (0)

3) ANTHONY RUIZ vs. JASON GERIS: Ruiz just fought in an awful 5 rounder for Strikeforce.

Geris, like Southworth was against Ruiz, is all about takedowns. Unfortunately for him, he has Cecil Peoples in the ring as the third man, and so when he gets side control in round one and is landing a ton of elbows with Ruiz pinned against the cage, of course the fight is stood up. Somewhere along the way down to the mat, Geris ended up with a nice abrasion in the center of his forehead, between the eyes. Doesn't really bleed or anything, but it makes for a nice target for Ruiz, who given the opportunity to work his superior standup by Peoples, takes advantage. Geris is, as Beondo was in the last bout, pretty gassed by the mid point of the round, and Ruiz is able to control the action even as he attempts repeatedly to just jump in for the clinch. At the end of the round, Ruiz ends up dropping for a single leg takedown that Geris defends, but as the bell sounds, Geris tweaks his knee. He's unable to continue and Ruiz is given a TKO win. (1)

4) DREW MONTGOMERY vs. TONY RUBALCAVA: This is Rubalcava's debut. Montgomery is 3-1.

All Rubalcava. He clinches early in the round, takes down Montgomery, and pounds him out from full guard. A pretty impressive performance, and in spite of having lost since, I'll give this a (1), as he's a fairly interesting prospect at 205.

5) BRIAN COBB vs. JOHN REEDY: This is apparently the third fight between these two. Cobb won the first two, so why another fight between them, I don't know.

Cobb gets an early takedown after catching a kick from Reedy, and goes for an armbar. Reedy gets out and tries to throw shots to Cobb's face from inside his guard, and has to dodge repeated submission attempts in doing so. Reedy shows some skill and passes the guard after a triangle attempt, goes to north/south, and Cobb takes it as an opportunity to stand, switch to Reedy's back and get a rear naked choke. For the third time in Reedy's career, he taps to Cobb's RNC. (1), all for Cobb.

6) JEREMIAH METCALF vs. JAMIE JARA: Change in announcers as Mauro and Quadros take the mics. This is a Gladiator Challenge Middleweight title bout. Jara is a late replacement for Aaron Witherspoon, who was supposed to unify the GC and KOTC welterweight belts against GC champ Metcalf. Jara is instead putting up his title.

Mostly striking, which surprises everyone. That is to Jara's advantage, and yet Metcalf finds a consistent home for his straight right. Jara is naturally a much larger man, having competed as high as heavyweight, and when he lands cleanly on Metcalf, the difference is noticeable. Metcalf is KOed with a single left hand from Jara in an entertaining slugfest. (2)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT(S): Metcalf/Jara

KO OF THE NIGHT(S): Beondo/Neal

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT(S): Cobb/Reedy

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10: Not abyssmal, some okayish fighters, nice and short at 1:06 for everything.

D&R RATING: 20% (6/30)