KOTC: Explosion (6/15/07) & Underground Warriors Final Review

Okay, bit of a mixup. This is actually from Soaring Eagle in Mount Pleasant, MI. 

1) DOM O'GRADY vs. ANDY HAHN: Welterweights. Grady claims to be 8-2. Hahn is 5-0?

Short rounds. Maybe this is an amateur event? O'Grady does a solid job controlling the fight on the mat, getting mount and other dominant positions when he's able to get the fight there. Luckily, Hahn is primarily a karate guy, and so its not that tough. Hahn loses the first two very clearly and then turns it all around suddenly in the third with an armbar attempt. While he fails getting it, he gets on top and is able to at least put some points on the board. Fight is ruled a majority draw. (0)

2) JOEL ROBERTS vs. SCOTT BICKERSTAFF: 155. Roberts has a 4 inch height disadvantage.

Roberts is way undersized and it doesn't matter. He is able to take down Bickerstaff and does some cool reversals there before getting an armbar out of nowhere. He's won a number of ammy bouts in the last year. (1)

3) PAUL MARTIN vs. MILES JURY: Good claimed records here at 155. 

Martin gets a head kick and some punches to the head on the mat and its over. (0)

4) GENO RODERICK vs. JOSH TAIBL: Taibl I've seen once before and he hardly left a mark in my mind, though my notes tell me that he was pretty good and from Ludington. Roderick I've seen a couple times now and he seems to be semiskilled but lacking in athleticism.

Roderick with an immediate takedown and this looks really bad for Taibl. Roderick goes from dominant position to dominant position, and looks to be on the verge of stopping him from mount before Taibl bucks him off and begins to land shots within Roderick's guard. Within maybe 30 seconds, the fight is over and Taibl has won his second pro bout. His pro record is 2-11 or 2-12 based on whatever you're looking at that given day, but he's claimed as 16-6 here. Amazing. (0)

5) JOHN BURT vs. VICTOR TORRES: Middleweights. Burt looks to be maybe 16 and Torres is pretty chubby.

Body lock takedown right into mount for Burt. Torres survives and that's about the best you can say for the first round. He's taken down repeatedly, punched in the head repeatedly, and the fight is stopped. No fights since though. (0)

6) TOM LOGSDON vs. JOE VOISIN: Voisin's a solid wrestler, Logsdon looks OLD.

Voisin goes for the takedown, Logsdon tries a guillotine, and Voisin passes. Voisin throws a knee to the head in north/south. Oops! Fight restarts and Logsdon is a mess. Another takedown for Voisin. Joe throws another knee to the head on the ground, and the ref stops it. Logsdon by DQ. (0)

7) JIM MARTENS vs. BRYAN HARPER: Light heavyweights. Martins trains with Dan Severn, Harper is 2-0, James Lee's BJJ coach, etc. I've seen both of his pro fights.

Harper gives Martens more respect than either of his prior opponents, but the first round isn't much different. Harper's striking still has a long, long ways to go, but his grappling is way, way beyond what Martens is ready for. Harper's BJJ isn't exactly elite though, and that shows when he botches what seems to be an easy armbar from the mount. Martens makes it to the second and the fight is suddenly interesting when a right hand lands on the skull of Harper. He survives and gets a trip takedown, where he once more dominates. Harper again goes for the armbar, but recognizes after some time that Martens is not defending at all, and punches him a few times. This actually happens again later in the round: Harper is trying to spin into an armbar and is just so sloppy with the transition that an otherwise hapless Martens is able to hang in there. Inaction gets this one standing, and when there, Martens is stunningly effective just winging bar room punches. He gasses though and just falls down at one point, but Harper isn't really in significantly better shape and is then unable to capitalize. Harper wins the decision. Harper's since lost to guys like Anthony Perosh. (0)

8) LUKE ZACHRICH vs. BRAD BURRICK: Zachrich is a middleweight who trains with Gurgel. Burrick is some dude from Michigan.

Zachrich is way more technical than Burrick, and after nearly grabbing a heel hook early, Zachrich is able to quickly grab an armbar from the guard. Really slick stuff. Zachrich lost on TUF 7 in the second round, though with an 8-1 pro record, its not out of the question to imagine him returning. (1)

9) AUNGLA SANG vs. JAMES LEE: KOTC Light heavyweight title: three 5 minute rounds. Lee is the champ, Sang is coming up from middleweight.

Sang has a funny stance and he gets taken down quickly from a Lee bullrush. Side control, crucifix position, mount. Lee is wearing wrestling shoes, by the way. He is all over Sang, and decides to get fancy and goes for a straight kneebar, but Sang defends. Well, really, its more that Lee's attempt was sloppy and had no leverage, but let's imagine that Sang is talented. Lee recovers after losing the position temporarily and ends up winning by heel hook. (1)

10) JASON IRELAND vs. MIKE O'DONNELL: O'Donnell looks absolutely ridiculous. He hasn't shaved in days and his hair looks like its straight out of the Trivium Fan Club. 

Ireland just smashes the crap out of the overmatched midwestern Bleeding Through fan in round one. He's cut pretty badly and is flopping around on the mat due to absorbing a ton of punishment. He barely makes it to the start of round 2, and ends up slept by a huge right hand standing that he eats after spinning into it. (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Roderick/Taibl

KO OF THE NIGHT: Ireland/O'Donnell

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Zachrich/Burrick

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 3 out of 10. Not many great fights, but some entertaining scraps and Lee and Ireland abusing dudes.

D&R Rating: 8% (4/50)

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

COMPOUND REVIEW OF KOTC UNDERGROUND WARRIORS:

Explosion: 3 out of 10 (8%)

No Holds Barred: 1 out of 10 (2%)

Battle At The Bowl: 4 out of 10 (11%)

Eliminator: 1.5 out of 10 (1%)

Epicenter: 4 out of 10 (9%)

Damage Control: 3 out of 10 (9%)

Eclipse: 1 out of 10 (1.5%)

Crackdown: 3.5 out of 10 (12.5%)

Undisputed: 4 out of 10 (20%)

AVG: 2.78 out of 10 (8.2%)

To compare:

Underground Worldwide: 2.7

Underground Warriors: 3.55

Combat Collection Vol. 1: 5.9

So, basically, this was the second worst of the boxed sets I've reviewed from KOTC, and honestly, its the second worst of the ones I've ever watched. I'd argue it might even be the worst.

KING OF THE CAGE: NO HOLDS BARRED (7/14/07)

This event has Inman and Kanoba on the mics and claims to be from Soaring Eagle, but NO, it is really from Eagle Mountain Casino in CA.

1) RONNIE KRUGER vs. STAN DRESSLER: Heavyweights with an 82lb difference. Kruger looks 52 and Dressler looks like a fat mexican woman.

Why do I watch this crap? Horrid ground work and striking. They are gassed at exactly 59 seconds into the fight. Kruger taps from a guillotine. (0)

2) DEMETRIAH JOHNSON vs. PEDRO MERCADO: More heavyweights. Sorta. One is 198, the other 224. 

More terrible. Literally looks like a bar brawl, right down to Mercado's wife beater. Johnson by KO with punches. (0)

3) TRAVIS DAVENPORT vs. BARNEY GARFIELD: Holy shit, MORE heavyweights? Barney is in considerably better shape at 5'11' 254.

Both wearing rash guards. When shirt wearing fighters fight one another, we all lose. Davenport eats a low kick to the groin. They push each other around for the rest of the two 3 minute rounds after he recovers. Fucking horrible. (0)

4) ERIC OLSEN vs. JASON DRAKE: Lightweights! Both are 0-2.

Drake lands a ton of shots and needs to be pulled off. (0)

5) LEWIS STEEL vs. BILLY TERRY: Steel is 5-8, Terry 2-2. Lightweight action.

Steel looks like a crank addict in training with his Liddel mohawk. Terry with an easy single, straight to side control. Steel has no clue. There are strikes and he eventually goes for an armbar. Steel accidentally defends it. Somehow he eventually reverses position and gets a really weak looking RNC. (0)

6) FRANCISCO ROMERO vs. DOUG HUNT: Romero has a Mistico mask on. That is what I know.

Hunt gets this down early and has Romero's back really early. He fails there but gets mount, and Romero isn't defending well at all, giving up his back and then trying to stand up. He absorbs some knees and gets taken down again. This cycle repeats a couple more times: Romero fights his way back up, gets taken down again, absorbs more blows. The final time this happens in round 1, Romero is choked out. (0)

7) JOSE TORRES vs. MARK DE LA CRUZ: Welters.

Torres shows the uncanny capability to get a dude off of him while he's mounted. Unfortunately, he does nothing else well. All the offense, all the takedowns, etc: De La Cruz controls it. He wins a unanimous decision due to his inability to finish in spite of repeatedly getting dominant positions. (0) DLC lost his next fight in Palace Fighting Championships.

8) ROLANDO TORRES vs. TOM CONTRERAS: Light heavyweights, both have .500 records.

Torres gets a takedown and attempts to strangle Contreras. Torres taps out and there is confusion. Like, can you win by an illegal choke? They decide to let this restart, and Contreras gets hit a bunch. Front snap kick wins this for Torres. Contreras looks like he might have gotten a toe in the eye. (0)

9) DARVIN WATTREE vs. JEREMY YBARRA: Welters. Apparently this is the "main card".

Ybarra has his own t-shirts, so you imagine he might be good. You are wrong. Wattree throws him to the mat and beats the crap out of him as Ybarra has given his back. BUT WAIT: There was a punch to the back of the head! The fight is restarted after some time, and it goes much the same way. Ybarra throws a flying knee and is jabbed out of the air. On the mat, he's pounded on again, and Ybarra tries to scramble. When he does, he's in a deep standing guillotine. (0)

10) BRYSON KAMAKA vs. DUSTIN ARDEN: Kamaka is a well known awful fighter, and is given a record of 17-11. This is not actually true: In fact, Kamaka was 7-13. Arden I have seen years ago against Brian Foster.

Kamaka throws some leg kicks, eats a right hand, fails at a desperation takedown, and then he is pounded out. Not a shock. (0)

11) TONY VERA vs. WILLIAM JOHNSON: Native. American. Heavyweight Title. OF THE WORLD.

Vera wins the vacant title that Warpath once held. He is also crap. Who cares? (0)

12) JAMES FANSHIER vs. RONALD JHUN: What a bizarre fight, and yet, how appealing!

Pretty awful fight to watch. Jhun came into this in the midst of a losing streak, and so you'd think Fanshier would look strong being a blue chipper, but he's not. The first was horrible, with the fans losing while both men fought to a virtual stalemate in an embrace against the cage for most of the 5 minutes. Round 2 featured flashes of action with Fanshier being cut by a shot and getting taken down and hit a few times, but it was still not doing a good job of fending off the thought of napping. In round 3, Fanshier is taken down early and catches the arm. Jhun taps out and this one is over. (1)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Steel/Terry

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Jhun/Fanshier

KO OF THE NIGHT: Torres/Contreras

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 1 out of 10. Simply dreadful.

D&R Rating: 2% (1/60)

KOTC Battle At The Bowl (7/21/07)

A new intro? This is like 7 shows into this DVD set. Why now? Oh well. This is from the Lake of The Torches Casino in Wisconsin. Interesting names on this one: Crazy Horse is fighting, as is Kyle Kingsbury.

1) JOSE LOPEZ vs. ROBBIE GONZALEZ: Now they have strengths listed! Apparently he's a good striker. Lopez is listed as 3-1, Gonzalez as 1-2.

Robbie with an immediate takedown and mount. Lopez gives up an arm and Gonzalez takes it. Lopez uses some illegal kicks to defend and the ref basically lets it go because of the position. Gonzalez just cannot finish this and ends up having to give it up. Robbie Gonzalez is called "Robbie Lawler" for a moment, which is pretty hilarious. Lopez is trying to gouge. There's someone on color and I have no idea who it is. Rodriguez throws a crazy right hand at the end of the round. Lopez is raising his own hand. Replaying it myself, it looks like it was thanks to some 12 to 6 elbows to the back. Lopez wins by cheating. (0)

2) JOSEPH GEORGE vs. BRANDON BUELL: Two debuts at middleweight. Bell is 14 years younger. George has wrestling shoes.

George goes for the shot immediately. He's clearly a GnP fighter. Mount is picked up in 40 seconds of the fight and he takes the back right after. Buell gets it at least back to mount, but he doesn't do much better. Buell somehow bucks off George as he seems to tire, and then on the feet lands a couple mediocre punches. Buell then locks in a guillotine as George shoots in carelessly and pulls guard. He made a huge comeback. (0)

3) FELIX MARTINEZ vs. BENNY VINSON: Vinson is 1-0, Martinez is debuting.

Martinez comes rushing out and has a guillotine early. Vinson slams him, reverses the situation, and has a tapout a minute in. (0)

4) DAMON DIER vs. JEREMY STAMPER: Both are in their early 30s and are making debuts. Inman points out that this is safer than boxing because Dan Severn is still fighting. It helps that he is not fighting in legit bouts too.

Dier has shoes on and goes for a takedown. They roll around like absolute newbs to grappling, Dier eventually ending up on top in mount. He locks a head and arm choke and Jeremy Stamper is out. (0)

5) PAUL GAMBOA vs. GENO RODERICK: Gamboa is 35 and debuting. Roderick was just in my last review and looks like some guy who works at a Jiffy Lube.

Roderick is wearing the same tights as his last bout. Roderick gets a takedown and then mounts. Punches follow. The camera is out of focus for most of this. Roderick takes home a couple hundred bucks and I am not terribly enthralled. (0)

6) HUSSEIN RASHAD vs. BILLY RUTHERFORD: Rutherford I saw recently on another KOTC show featured on this blog. He has an outrageously inflated record. Rashad is 18 and making his debut.

Rashad goes for a takedown and he's fended off by the bigger, more experienced opponent. Who says there isn't record building in MMA? Rutherford clinches and slams Rashad into side control and even mounts, but can't finish him there. Rashad's survival seems unfair to him, as he is way outclassed. Rutherford almost pulls off a cradle piledriver and instead lands some knees. The ref jumps in to stop it and gets clocked by Rashad. Rashad gets his mouthpiece put in and forgets to put Rutherford in a neutral corner. This is a comedy of errors as the ref then lets the two scrap after the bell.

Rutherford is a dude you cannot stand: He poses demanding slugouts, then shoots in. He slams Rashad in sweet fashion, but c'mon, you're 9-1 fighting debuting teenagers? If Rutherford was any good, this would be over. He takes Rashad's back and can't sink in hooks, so he gets stood up? Odd. Rashad's striking is hellawild. Another takedown for Rutherford. He moves to mount and throws some bows, and suddenly this might end early. North/South position as the round ends.

A third round! Joy. Rutherford with a double leg and he floats over using the cage to side control. Rashad shouldn't be here. More punches from Rutherford. I will be so pleased when he gets murdered on a season of TUF. Rashad actually gets the position reversed during some sort of armbar/omaplata attempt, but he gets caught in an armbar anyhow. (1)

7) ANGELA HOWARD vs. SAMANTHA MAKI: Oh boy. Women's fighting.

Abyssal talent level. I mean the crowd liked it, but this was a side show. I can't imagine showing this to someone and having them take me seriously. Maki wins by strikes in the mount in round 2. (0)

8) MUHAMMED RASHAD vs. MATT JAGGERS: These poor Rashad kids. This one is 19.

Jaggers with a takedown, strikes, fight over. (0)

9) RICKY GONZALEZ vs. MICHAEL SIXEL : Gonzalez is supposedly 5-3 and 19. Sixel is from Team Quest apparently and is 2-1.

Sixel with a takedown, takes the back, RNC. This is an amateur bout? I have no idea. (1)

10) DEMIAN DECORAH vs. KYLE KINGSBURY: Decorah is chubby, Kingsbury is awesome. He apparently stated when asked why he fights that he "loves animals". Why was this dude so lame on TUF?

Decorah is a fat dude with a rash guard. Kingsbury survives the opening salvo of Decorah and then picks him off with punches. Kingsbury is often lazy with his kicks. He really doesn't commit the way you'd want to strikes. Decorah does and so he's able to hurt Kingsbury far too often. Kingsbury starts putting together combinations in the final minute and some flying knees. Decorah is a tough dude and not much else.

Decorah throws a high kick. I mean, he is a minature version of Andre Roberts. Who would expect that? Decorah takes this to the mat after a bullrush. Kingsbury does a decent job getting the guard back. Decorah can't land any real bombs, but he does posture up. There's a standup and Decorah is hit with a borderline low blow. As he goes to complain, Kingsbury lands some shots. Kingsbury drags down Decorah and lands a lot of shots to his dome while he has his back. Kingsbury wins a decision, and Damien Decorah is all pissed. (1)

11) DAN LOMAN vs. CHARLES KRAZY HORSE BENNETT: Bennett comes to the ring in a straight jacket led by cops. Krazy Horse is AWESOME.

Krazy Horse starts by leaping to the top of the cage and posing. YES. Loman is fairly terrified. Loman is moving his head and just staring at Bennett, who throws a hard body shot. Insane slam, and Bennett wants this back up. Loman runs in and clinches, and Bennett is able to prevent the takedown off pure strength. Loman tries to leap in with a knee. Bennett smiles and catches him in mid air, then slams him to the mat. He lands some strong shots on the mat while defending the armbar.

Loman throws some knees early in the round but they are not terribly effective. Bennett throws some nasty body shots. No one gives him credit for that. Another monsterous slam from Bennett as he picks up Loman and spins him in midair, British Bulldog running powerslam style. Bennett pulls his arm out and stands again. Bennett scores another takedown later, and instead of hitting Loman, he puts his hand up to congratulate himself. Loman is looking all angry and stuff. Bennett is ducking shots in comical fashion and drops Loman with a right hand. Loman gets up and tries to walk it off, but eats another right hook. (3). I wish I could justify a 5 here, because this is a classic, classic Bennett performance. Maybe his best ever. Loman has since gone onto Adrenaline MMA.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Bennett/Loman

KO OF THE NIGHT: Bennett/Loman

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Dier/Stamper

OVERALL FOR THE EVENT: 4 out of 10. Another shorter one packed with fights, much improved production, but most importantly, KRAZY HORSE.

D&R Rating: 11% (6/55)

KOTC Eliminator (6/2/07)

I'm skipping around again. Oh well. This is from the Kiowa Casino Resort in Joplin, OK. I expect lots of Team Triton. Also, its an outdoor event with no canopy. On the upside, not a cloud in the sky.

1) HUNTER TUCKER vs. MARCOS LIRIANO: Weights are a mystery.

Tucker goes for the takedown immediately and there is no doubt what his plan is. There's a really nasty slam shortly after in the round where Liriano almost lands wrong and destroys his knee. Liriano's talent level makes it look like he trains James Thompson style.  He loses by strikes to the face while mounted. (0)

2) MIGUEL GUERRA vs. BENJI MORRIS: Heavyweights.

When was the last good heavyweight fight in this promotion? Buentello/Hoffman I in '03? This is ugly. Guerra looks like a juggalo with a mustache and a rash guard. He controls the more physically imposing opponent, taking him down and getting superior position. The last 30 seconds feature plenty of mean elbows from the half guard. Second round is pretty surprising: Guerra shoots in and gets caught in a guillotine that Morris actually flips him over onto his back with. Pretty slick. (0)

3) RED CLOUD vs. AARON YORK: What a name.

Cloud is pretty soft. He shoots in after some leg kicks, and York gets the guillotine. Short.(0)

4) LJ MIER vs. ALDIN HERBERT: Triton fighter! Mier is one and he looks pretty imposing.

Not the worst standup ever. Herbert looks better technically, to be honest, throwing better punches and landing some solid knees in the clinch. Herbert even gets a nice trip takedown. Mier decides not to continue? Bizarre. Another Triton Tragedy. (0)

5) CIPRION HANGAN vs. FILBERTO CLEMENTE: Another rashguard wearing fighter. 205?

Hangan gets a double early and spends a couple minutes bashing in Clemente's head with punches and hammerfists.

6) CHANCE HUDSPETH vs. JOSH BARNES: More heavyweights.

Barnes with a takedown, immediate mount, back, RNC. Awful. (0)

7) JASON JOHNSON vs. JAY B. WELLS: More heavyweights, I think.

Johnson and Wells do some sloppy grappling Tommy Hackett would love, then Johnson gets an arm while standing and Wells is on all fours and just turns him over into an armbar. (0)

8) BRANDON FARRAN vs. MELVIN JORDAN: Two black dudes, and I am happy to see someone of color finally on this event. 8 fights, not even 30 minutes into this show. Sadly they will not beat up some generic white man, but must be positioned against one another. Only in a slave state.

Farran is in a karate stance throwing sidekicks. Really. He doesn't know how to check low kicks or throw punches though. He's also wearing wrestling shoes. There's a clinch midway through and Farran is just pushing him all over the ring, but can't get him down. Farran gets hit with a knee in the groin but is able to recover after some time. I take this back, this is a kung fu stance. Farran throws a leaping side kick at the end of the round. This is delicious.

Farran is chambering punches. It is 2007. Both guys are really uncomfortable with each other's style. Jordan has some nice low kicks but is afraid to move forward. Really cool leaping kick from Farran lands and hits Jordan in the face. Jordan returns fire soon after with a high kick that lands with the foot. Farran throws a push kick at one point! Jordan is throwing some really mean kicks late in round two and they're all landing to the legs. Farran has a noticable limp.

Round three! This is worth it. The low kicks just keep landing square. Farran shoots from way outside and Jordan defends and lands a lot of punches to the body. Jordan wins 2 of the 3 rounds going away and the judges give it to him. (1) for the unique nature of this one.

9) PRESTON CAMPBELL vs. GENO RODERICK: Preston is a fat man name. Campbell lives up to it.

Geno Roderick just smashes Campbell on the ground with elbows in short order. The bell rings before the ref jumps in to stop it. Roderick is the guy Ryan McGivern beat up at Adrenaline MMA II. (0)

10) ALEX MCINTOSH vs. JASON HOBBS: 145lbs.

HUGE knee from Hobbs early as McIntosh tries to get away from the clinch. Punches on the ground make it official. Another late stop by the ref. (0)

11) BRANDON BRYANT vs. KASSIDY OWENS: Look like welters?

Bryant has wrestling shoes and Owens is the one who gets the takedown early. Not a good sign. Or not. Owens is in a guillotine early and has to tap. Maybe 20 seconds?

12) DARRELL RITTMAN vs. WILLIAM GREEN: Heavyweights. Green is a fat man with thai shorts.

Low blow 3 seconds in and Rittman is screaming obscenities. After he recovers, some sloppy striking and Green goes for some takedowns. He's almost KOed by a wild right hand and survives by putting Rittman on his back with an ankle pick. After a minute, Rittman is gassed. Rittman is hit in the back of the head during the lazy GnP and Rittman is claiming to be hurt. He is all wobbly and looks ridiculous with that fakery. When he decides to fight again, Green keeps shooting for this singles and Rittman just circles away and throws hammerfists to his head. This cycle repeats a few times until Rittman stops Green with backfists to the face. (0)

13) CASEY ULRICH vs. MATT JAGGERS: Jaggers! A respectable name!

Ulrich has a rat-tail? Jaggers with a big ol' slam and he's in side control. Jaggers is in full mount, lands punches, Ulrich sticks an arm out, and Jaggers takes itfor an attempted armbar. Ulrich does defend decently and gets out of it, now being on top for a few seconds until he's swept. Jaggers is passing the guard at will. Round ends? Or Ulrich tapped out due to strikes. Inman is "announcing" from a studio and is like "yeah, uh the angle of our booth, can't really see?" Jaggers is a journeyman supreme. (0)

14) NATE MURDOCH vs. JOHNNY FLORES: 155.

Murdoch can push Flores around, and Flores can land blows like knees and punches and stuff. Murdoch's size is valuable in that alone. Flores drops him with a pretty nice leg kick and starts landing punches effectively on the mat. The fight goes back to vertical at the end of the first for a few moments and Flores gets a double leg takedown.

Murdoch is still all about the Tim Sylvia "Push Till You Can't Push Anymore" strategy. In the clinch itself, the fight is about even, with really nothing other than knees to the body being thrown by either. Flores is clearly far superior on the mat. I mean, its not even close. All the sub attempts and sweeps are Flores. He gets a really tight triangle in towards the end of the second round and Murdoch is forced to tap. Flores had a losing record here. (0)

15)  LEVI AVERA vs. MATT WARNER: No idea what this weight is.

Lots of wasted action early. Both guys have crazy nerves. Levi gets a pretty excellent takedown early and slams down Warner. Awesome head and arm choke from the front. Can't say I've seen that in MMA. Avera has lost to Ron Faircloth since. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Farran/Jordan. An odd classic.

KO OF THE NIGHT: McIntosh/Hobbs

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Avera/Warner.

OVERALL FOR EVENT: 1.5 out of 10. Brevity helped here; 15 fights, one hour and six minutes. Not a single top 50 fighter. Among the more meaningless events I've ever watched.

D&R Rating: 1% (1/75)

KOTC: Epicenter (6/8/07)

Welcome back to Soboba! A number of journeyman are on this card, including Thomas Denny, Thomas Kenny, Sean Loeffler, and everyone's favorite racialist, Melvin Costa. Pinona and Inman are announcing.

1) TRAVIS HAVEN vs. ERIC HAKALA: Lightweights?

Haven with wrestling shoes on. Guess what he does? He's in mount before you know it and there's an RNC. (0)

2) GEORGI KARAKHANYAN vs. JUAN CARLOS HUERTA: More lightweights. Huerta is apparently a wrestler. Other dude is probably Armenian. This looks even on paper.

First round of this one is actually really good. Karakhanyan is a very capable grappler standing and off his back, and Huerta is a solid wrestler who is able to successfully defend a umber of good submission attempts. Lots of activity. No one really hurt though.

Wild punches from Karakhanyan, sweet takedowns by Huerta and Karkhanyan counters that with some excellent armbar attempts. A final standup with merely 15 seconds remaining and Karakhanyan gets not only the takedown but moves to mount and nearly stops Huerta with punches. Fight is declared a draw. Karakhanyan is 11-1-1 now. (2)

3) GUNNAR HINSON vs. CHRIS CULLY: Featherweights. Cully trains with Omar Luv and Hindson is from Wildman's camp.

Good action early on with Cully looking for standup and Hinson trying to take it to the mat. Cully's pretty decent on the ground as well and does a stout job defending both an armbar and a heel hook. Cully in fact goes for a gullotine and Hinson is in deep, but slams his way out. The best strike of the round standing is a elbow thrown by Hinson in the clinch, and after a failed superman punch, Cully gets a takedown. More trading of leg locks with Gunnar getting an inverted heel hook and forcing a tap. Good fight. Culley is 3-3 now, and Hinson is 2-0 as a pro and, oh yeah, he's not even 18. He was 15 years old here.(2)

4) NICK AVARADO vs. MATT WILBURN: Another 145 lb bout. Shad Smith is in Wilburn's corner.

Avarado has a tramp stamp and resembles a poor imitation of Clay Guida facially and stylistically. He is just going for wrestling and tries to thrash him with strikes on the mat. Wilburn is pretty decent and can survive these volleys. Avarado has this fantastic slam about midway through the round, but he doesn't do anything with it, and Wilburn ends up taking the mount and his back. However, Avarado can defend the RNC and survives till the end of the first shockingly interesting round.

Wild striking from both on the feet. Avarado gets a takedown and really pushes hard with the GnP. Wilburn scrambles to his feet not long after, and he's gassed. Even totally out of energy, he scores a takedown, but gets flipped over before he's able to create any damage. Both men are gassed as the round begins to finish up, and after some brief standup, another takedown by Avarado and he lands some shots to end the round. The decision goes to Avarado. Good fight. (1)

5) ANDY JEWETT vs. KACEY ROBERTS: Jewett trains at Team Wildman and is a mere 140. Kacey Roberts is training with Buckley Acosta, same weight.

Roberts comes out swinging, and Jewett gets a takedown. Roberts isn't inept, though, and can eventually scramble back up. After some standup that Jewitt also wins, there's another takedown and Jewett tools Roberts from the top. He gains the back and pounds him out with about 15 seconds left in the round. (0)

6) MELVIN COSTA vs. ROBERT DOUCET: Light Heavyweights. Costa is, yes, the Nazi dude. Doucet is a mexican. KOTC: Race War is on.

Wild brawl. Doucet is hit with everything and is a bloody mess, but Doucet gasses, is dragged to the floor and instantly mountet. Costa drops blows and gets a stop. Crazy fight. (1)

7) TIM HUMPHREY vs. PJ ROGOWOSKI: Welters. Rogowoski is a trainee of Todd Medina, who is compared to Pat Militech by the announcers.

Humphrey's got decent grappling but better boxing. Once he establishes that he controls the frame where the fight is going on, Rogowoski is in huge trouble. Combination punching ruins Rogowoski drops him and gets the stop. It wasn't the best striking ever, but it was adequate and decent for this level of the sport. His official pro record is 1-0, but he lost an amateur bout 2 months later and never came back. (0)

8) ANTHONY MENDEZ vs. DUANE HARRISON: Heavyweights. Mendez was seen fighting at KOTC Final Conflict, and I did not have high opinions of him at that point. He won a fight against a dude that Rampage thought looked like Bam Bam Bigelow. Harrison is from AKA? He, apparently, has really unorthodox standup.

For unorthodox standup, Harrison is in a classic boxing stance to start. Oh, he's wearing a shirt AND shoes. Oh, Soboba. Mendez gets a takedown and lands a bunch of shots on top. Easy win for Mendez. (0), as Mendez still went nowhere, but I'll admit that he looked a LOT better than he had in 2005.

9) RUBEN TAGLE vs. SEAN LOEFFLER: Middleweight bout. Tagle is HORRIBLE. I have seen him fight 4 times previously on KOTC cards and he was never good. Loeffler is actually a decent fighter. Maybe not world class, but just below that level.

Loeffler gets a bodylock takedown, Americana, snap crackle pop. (0)

10) CRYSTAL HARRIS vs. THRICIA POOVEY: WOMEN'S MMA~

Decent fight in the first. Harris goes for striking on the ground, and Poovey is constantly working for submissions, transitioning from one to another pretty well. However, when she goes for leg locks, it oftens ends badly. Harris has her best offense at that point, attaining mount or half guard and landing blows. Poovey is unable to continue after round one due to injury and Harris is the winner. (0)

11) DAVE CRYER vs. UBER GALLEGOS vs: Middleweights. Crier has a dude on bagpipes and a dude playing snare drum for his entrance during his pro debut. He's a blue belt in BJJ. Gallegos is apparently a former boxer, though nothing on boxrec about him.

Cryer stands and trades for not long, then goes to the clinch and tries to get him down. The fight is against the cage for awhile, with not much happening. Cryer does get the fight down eventuall and when there, he's clearly better. Lots of good armbar attempts, sweeping to mount with one. Gallegos isn't bad himself and forces the fight back standing by sweeping Cryer and standing out of the guard. When on the feet, Cryer lands some solid knees and Gallegos handles them.

Round 2 opens with some standup and Cryer lands way more knees in clinch and a right hand. Gallegos' standup isn't superior. Cryer gets a takedown and Gallegos is bloody. On the mat, its all Cryer, blasting with punches and forcing Gallegos to his back. RNC, Cryer wins against a decent fighter in his debut. Cryer is 6-1, his lone loss coming by KO in 9 seconds. (1)

12) CODY BOLLINGER vs. CHAD WALTERS: Featherweights. Bollinger is a second generation MMA fighter. Walters is 1-0 but has a win over Jewett, seen earlier in the show.

Walters is the wrestler but he's taken down really early. Bollinger spends virtually all 5 minutes on top of him throwing blows and trying to get a better position. All Bollinger in that round, but he's pretty tired at the end. Second starts the same way, with both cautious, circling, and then Bollinger jabs and shoots. More Bollinger domination, eventually Bollinger gets the back and a RNC. Apparently he trains with Joe Stevenson and it looks that way in his style. (1) He lost his next fight, but he was only 17 or so. He'll be an interesting lightweight prospect in a year or so.

13) DON SHEA vs. THOMAS DENNY: The Wildman needs no introduction. Shea is an "indepenent fighter" who the announcers say must be tough because he has a shirt that says both "Iowa" and "wrestling" on it.

Denny gets the back almost instantly and start pounding him. He's helpless as Denny looks for an armbar and then transitions out to stand. Shea just flops around and is KOed as Denny has the back again. (0) these days. Denny has fallen from fringe contender to basically nothing, sadly.

14) JAY DIAMOND vs. THOMAS KENNY: Kenny is known for having a name close to the guy who fought before him. Who is Diamond? Who knows? He is not Team Diamond, Malapeit, that I know for sure.

Kenny with a takedown immediately. He ends up rolling Diamond over into his own half guard and straightens out the arm. Tapout follows soon after. (0)

15) KYLE MCCLAUGHLIN vs. DANIEL GIBBONS: Featherweights wearing the SAME TRUNKS.

I can't even tell these guys apart. Two white dudes with bad tattoos and camo trunks. On guy takes the other one down and the guy who is taken down tries to reverse position with a side headlock and the guy who has the takedown instead goes for an armbar and then doesn't get it and they roll around some more. This is so bad. Daniel Gibbons is on the bottom and hammerfists the dude out of side control and into his guard. How does that even happen?

Gibbons is a guy with submissions but he can't really pull them off. McClaughlin just bullrushes. There's a stand up from full mount. This is such a waste of time. McClaughlin won the decision. (0)

16) AIKI CAVANAUGH vs. ANGELO MCELROY: Light heavyweights? Cavanaugh lost to Keith Berry in 4 seconds once at KOTC Mangler.

Cavanaugh is the kind of guy who runs backwards with his right hand all the way back like he's gonna throw a baseball. He is the better of the two technically. McElroy lands a left high kick right in the face and Cavanaugh goes down HARD. (0)

17) JAMES COLLINS vs. JOHN BROCK: Heavyweights.

Takedown early by Collins, but Brock is a lot better on the mat and ends up reversing position, punching him a lot, and taking his back. Collins has no idea what to do. Somehow he is not choked out and just keeps getting rolled on instead. Brock wins with a guillotine. (0)

18) SHANE HOUSER vs. VICTOR RODARTE: I didn't pay attention to weights.

Final fight of the night. Wild "striking" and there's a takedown. Rodarte is on top, mounts, punches, gets the back, tapout. (0)

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Karakhanyan/Huerta

KO OF THE NIGHT: McElroy/Cavanaugh

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Kenny/Diamond

OVERALL FOR EVENT: 4 out of 10: Some really fun fights on this one. Big negatives are too many bouts, mismatches with the big names, and length. Three hours long and maybe one good hour in the whole thing. On the other hand, eliminate 9 of those fights and I'd complain.

D&R Rating: 9% (8/90 )

KOTC: Damage Control (5/26/07)

This was held the same night as Eclipse, except this event was in Chicago at the Vic Auditorium. Steve Inman is doing PBP, usual low rent setup (couple of roaming DV cams).

1) BILLY RUTHERFORD vs. BRAD FONCK: Who are these guys? What weight class? Dunno. Don't care right now.

Rutherford is a wrestler, apparently, and Fonck is a BJJ sorta dude. 3 minute rounds, it would seem. Absolutely dull round with Rutherford getting a bunch of takedowns and some interesting slams while Fonck holds on for pseudosubmissions for the entire round. This happens against in the second, though Fonck gets to sweep his way on top for a brief period. The third again starts with Rutherford getting a double, picking up Fonck, and doing a Hughes impression. More boring grappling and we go to a decision. Rutherford with an easy win. It was one of 8 in 2007, but zero fights in 2008. (0)

2) MALIK ALLAH vs. JOSH PHILIPS: Allah has a helluva name.

Allah has thai shorts and no takedown defense. Philips has Sprawl shorts and can't strike. This is MMA, and so Allah is in trouble. Philips is eventually ground down with punches on the ground and when he's back on his feet, Philips is to his side throwing knees in the face until the ref jumps in.  (0)

3) KARL TUREK vs. KEVIN KNOP: They look a little bigger: 205, I think.

Turek gets a takedown and mount hella fast. He punches Knop a bunch and the fight is over. No one even cares. Turek is now 6-4. (0)

4) KRIS TACKETT vs. KEVIN KING: Moar mystery weights.

SLUGGIN'. Fun but pointless slugfest with King nearly stopping Tackett very early, gassing, and Tackett came back with a number of right hands to get the win by KO. Neither had fought in 2008. King is 0-5 professionally. (0)

5) BOB BRENTS vs. JEREMY GENIN: Heavyweights. Brents has karate pants on? And socks??

Genin is a fat dude and he gets a takedown very early. He blasts Brents with shots and this is over. (0)

6) JOSH MARTIN vs. DAVID SARVER: Martin is a little excited to be there. Just too antsy.

Martin blows through Sarver. Better strikes, big takedown, ridiculous guillotine where he's just throwing Sarver around like a ragdoll while he sinches it in. Martin I've seen before and he's not anything special. (0)

7) JASON PIERCE vs. CHRIS MCDANIEL: Biggerish dudes?

Jason Pierce almost gets caught with a guillotine early but can't finish it. Pierce gets his head out and is in mount not long after. Strikes end it in one. Pierce is 9-0 officially, 11-1 unofficially. (1)

8) CARVIN MAFATAU vs. MUHAMMED ABDUL RAHIM: Heavyweights.

Slow standup bout with Mafatau catching the obese black guy and stopping him with hammerfists. Like most heavyweight bouts, a waste of time. (0)

9) RYAN ANTLE vs. MIKE MARRELLO: Antle is known as a bit of a journeyman; I just reviewed him at Mainstream MMA VI. Light heavyweight division. Marrello I have seen! He trains with Cell at Team Curran. At that point, he gassed early and sucked standing.

This event claims to be 1:43 long and I'm like 35 minutes into it and already 9 fights. Marrello has a lot of tattoos and is white. That is the most interesting thin about the first round. Marrello had improved in the 4 months between the fights I've seen of his, but not by tons. After lots of feeling out, Marrello has a few moments to wail on Antle and he kinda doesn't do well. Antle makes it out of the first. 

Absolutely boring beginner striking, Antle ends up losing the second round, and then he tries shooting in desperation. Antle defends well and almost grabs a guillotine. He doesn't get it and things do not improve. Fans boo this fight and Marrello ends up hitting him a bunch. Antle goes for a takedown and fails, instead ending up on his back.

Marrello wins the decision. The crowd boos. (0) After a short run in TUF, he's out of the UFC and fighting in FL.

10) HECTOR URBINA vs. ADRIAN SERRANO: Urbina I've seen get KOed. Serrano has been fighting forever. 

Urbina gets thai clinch early and lands a bunch of knees that clearly hurt Serrano. A big looping right hurts Serrano and more punches force him to his back. Urbina forces him to be stood up and the striking continues. A few more knees and Serrano crumples. He's since retired. (1)

11) DERRICK KEASLEY vs. BRIAN GASSAWAY: Gassaway has been fighting FOREVER.

Dull first. Some poor striking exhibited by both. The venue is quiet for this and the ring is squeaking a ton. That, or someone is fucking lovelessly on an old bed nearby. "HOW ABOUT THAT" says Big Poppa Schnake. Has anyone tried to put themselves over harder than him? 

Round 2 starts and I note Keasley's shorts: They're Tapout shorts that appear to be similar to Alan Belcher's custom shorts with a single flowery leg cut in. Virtually no kicks or knees in this round, instead we're left with dull boxing and neither man is really landing. Gassaway is, to my eyes, winning. He's landing blows and making Keasley miss. Now, he might be running a little, but that's a different story. Keasley goes for a takedown late in the round.  Gassaway defends it well but Keasley lands a knee to the head inside the clinch. Gassaway is dropped and is pretty badly hurt, but he recovers soon enough and Keasley doesn't really follow up for the rest of the round. Keasley eats a few punches right before the bell. Unanimous decision after 2, Keasley wins. (0)

12) BUDDY CLINTON vs. CLAY FRENCH: Clinton's a well regarded submission expert and French is a decent grappler himself. This is a lightweight title fight of sorts. 

No real point with a PBP for this. Not the most entertaining bout in history, and perhaps decided by a bizarre call in which it was made apparent that upkicks are illegal in Illinois. Clinton tried to keep this standing and French wanted the fight in the clinch or at least on top. Neither man was super effective in striking mode, not really any solid sub attempts either. French wins a split decision. (1)

13) JOHN MAHLOW vs. JEFF CURRAN: Curran might be a future bantamweight contender. 

Curran gets kicked in the balls early. That is the most exciting thing. Mahlow gets a takedown and punches him some after Curran briefly stuns him with a right hand. Mahlow looks way bigger than Curran, for what that's worth. Its funny, we spend all that time with one of his trainees and they never talk about this fight. Curran has landed two good strikes standing as he tries to back away from the big wrestler guy, but Mahlow is doing a decent Mark Coleman impression on the mat.

Speaking of Coleman impressions, round two. Mahlow begins to gas and is single minded in looking for takedowns. Curran prefers to try and strike from distance with his hands way low throwing right hands from waaaay out there. Most of the fight is fought in the clinch with Mahlow not really being too successful with anything damaging. He tries to steal the round and might have been successful.

The third round is all Mahlow. He gets a takedown early and Curran comes nowhere near getting the guillotine. Mahlow controls almost the entire round until Curran gets a pretty impressive takedown that nearly spikes Mahlow. Mahlow reverses the position shortly afterwards and ends the round on top. If I was scoring, I would have given it to Mahlow 29-28. Curran wins the split decision in reality. (3)

Fight of The Night: Tackett/King

KO Of The Night: Urbina/Serrano

Submission Of The Night: Martin/Sarver

Overall for the Event: 3 out of 10. Generally inoffensive bouts with some questionable officiating. Lacked anything really amazing, however. 

D&R Rating: 9% (6/65)

UWC Invasion (4/26/08)

Bloody Elbow's bigger names all have jobs with this promotion, operating out of the DC area. John Lewis is apparently matchmaker for this, and they made sure to fly in Frank Trigg to work with Jay Adams on the taped coverage. Jason Von Flue vs. Pete Spratt is the main event. This, by the way, is a promotion that dreams of being on par with Strikeforce, whilst their bloggers on staff talk shit about HDNet cards with appreciably better fights. Ridiculously stupid spoken word intro. Also, a special 2 hour episode of Fightzone for this bad boy. I have a feeling they paid for that extra 30 minutes, along with the massive lighting rig and the telescoping camera.

1) RESHAD WOODS vs. RON STALLINGS : Fight is at 185. One of maybe 4 black dude vs. black dude fights in MMA history. Yeah, there might be some issues with diversity in this sport.

Woods is rocking purple thai shorts. He is also pretty good standing. He cuts Stallings with an elbow and takes him down. Stallings tries for an armbar and he gets picked up and slammed on his dome. Stallings is out cold. Ref stands there shocked. Woods lands a sickening punch to Stallings, who is already shaking and bleeding everywhere. Seriously, if I were an MMA organization, I'd have burned that footage. If I were a boxing promoter, that would be the first thing I played at a hearing with athletic commissions. I'm not one to talk about barbarism, but holy shit. (1)

2) JOSH FELDMAN vs. JOHNNY CURTIS: Two heavyweights that are old.

Brief fight with both men throwing single shots and holding. Feldman lands a decent combination and drops Curtis, and then follows up on the mat. Who cares. (0)

3) GERALD LOVATO vs. MIKE EASTON: Dudes who happen to train in muay thai and BJJ at the same time! How novel. 145. Easton is trying the Wanderlei wrist rolls and the Shonie shorts to look tough. Lovato has a bit of a beer belly.

What I learn in the opening minute? Jay Adams likes Cher. Trigg has to defend it by mentioning that they're both married. Oh, the fight. They are in a slow kickboxing bout for most of this. Easton is clearly faster with his strikes and it becomes merely a matter of time before Lovato gets tagged with a punch. One punch KO. (1)

4) THIAGO MINU vs. AARON RILEY: Riley is a perfectly acceptable fighter. Minu is some guy from Brazil who is probably hella good at teh grapplez. Faceoffs for every fight BTW. Hate when they do that.

Minu can't strike. Not shocked there. He gets a trip takedown though and he's on top for a little while but Riley has been around forever. He's way too good for that shit. He actually is able to reverse position and controls much of the round. Minu lands a shockingly good knee in the clinch but has no idea how to follow up and is taken down. Goes for a solid armbar attempt but Riley is calm and stacks up. Minu lets it go. They're trying to make this a close round on the commentary, but really, Riley controlled the round. 

Minu lands his 2nd best shot of the fight right after touching gloves. Riley survives and gets a takedown, allowing him to lay on top and pound Minu for almost 4 minutes. Riley gets in a nice hiptoss when Minu decides to go to his feet and scrap the desperate sub attempts to put him on his back again when he doesn't want to be. Minu's best strikes are upkicks; not a good thing. Minu gets his unsuccessful armbar attempt in the last 30 seconds.

Aaron gets cut by an elbow at some point but the entire round is basically spent on the mat with Aaron on top. He wins a unanimous decision. Best part: He accidentally kicks Minu in the face trying to put his leg over for an armbar. (2)

Intermission with lots of dudes from various places like Rampage and Franca. Nothing really funny is said by anyone. 

5) TENYAH DIXON vs. MARCUS FORAN: Foran comes out to SPIN DOCTORS. I can't make this up. 185, no one has a good record, honestly.

There's a clinch that starts at the 4:55 mark and goes for a long, long, long time. Shades of Sylvia/Vera.  After half the round goes by, they break from each other only to come together again. Marcus gets a takedown finally and....listen, this is not a good fight. This is like watching Dan Severn circa 2002. Dixon gives up his back with a minute left after being taken down and easily passed, but Foran doesn't finish.

Foran is a second rate Ryan Bader. Too bad Dixon is a second rate Professor X. Not only is this a boring fight, its not a competitive one either. There's a tapout by armbar with about :35 seconds left in the second round and it couldn't be sooner. Foran is going nowhere. (0)

6) ZACH LIGHT vs. THOMAS SCHULTE: Lightweight fight between west coast fighters. No offense to the UWC guys, but if I was gonna run a promotion, people like this wouldn't be flown in. Light is 7-5. 

They go at each other, kinda grab each other and do a bunch of stuff that goes nowhere, then Light ends up on the bottom. Not long after, he tries for a triangle and transitions to armbar. Schulte taps out. Oh, Light has a record of 4-8, according to Sherdog. I like it when promotions lie about records. (0)

7) JASON VON FLUE vs. PETE SPRATT: Von Flue got OLD. I always hear about Spratt not having grappled enough or something, as if what makes you a good striker makes you a great grappler. I've been hearing about Spratt working on his submissions for years. YEARS. Fact is he is a kickboxer by nature and not going to become a top wrestler literally ever.

Spratt clinches with Von Flue and throws him around a little. Von Flue absorbs some punches and doesn't react all that well. He's dropped by an uppercut that grazes, and Von Flue is looking to try and drag him to the mat and doesn't really do it too well. Von Flue gets ruined with a single uppercut as Von Flue shoots in and he freezes up in an uncomfortable position. Von Flue has been KOed in similar fashion numerous times. Joe Silva is in attendance and Pete Spratt is begging for a job again. Spratt, of course, has lost his last two. That's 3 of his last 4. Could be worse: Von Flue is 2-7 in his last 9, 1-5 in his last 6. (1)

Fight Of The Night: Woods/Stallings

KO Of The Night: Woods/Stallings

Submission of the Night: Light/Schulte

OVERALL FOR THE NIGHT: 3 out of 10. Some interesting names on the show, some minor prospects I expect will go nowhere big but at least to a UFN/WEC level, and that's about it. 

D&R Rating: 14% (5/35)