The Sprawl And Brawl Video Review 12.18.07: King Of The Cage - Redemption
Posted by Randy Harrison on 12.18.2007
An all-star lineup for this week's Sprawl and Brawl with Shonie Carter, Jeff Curran, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Clay Guida, Bart Palaszewski, and tons more great fighters on the card as King Of The Cage invades Illinois for the first time. It's my early Christmas present to my faithful readers, as I look at one of the most action-packed and star-studded independent MMA shows of 2006. ~SPRAWL AND BRAWL!!!~
Hello friends, and welcome again to the best dang video review on 411mania (outside of the other six or eight that are better but who's counting), The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review. This week it's another look at my favorite smaller promotion King Of The Cage as they pulled out all the stops for their debut in the state of Illinois. With huge names on the card and a ton of talent from the Midwest and Miletich Fighting Systems fighters littering the card, it looks like this could be a great night of fights. Before we get to the review, I'll point out that the WEC 31 edition of Lay and Pray Radio is up for your listening pleasure and it's available right here for you all to enjoy. Feel free to comment or send some feedback and be on the lookout for our big UFC 79 preview episode which will be coming soon. Enough of my jibber-jabber for now though, let's get to the action!!
King Of The Cage: Redemption is a part of this five disc King of the Cage box set available here Reviews of previous events in this set can be found here,here, and here
King Of The Cage: Redemption
This event was taped on February 17, 2006 and we're at the Mark of the Quads in Moline, Illinois for a huge King of the Cage card featuring the likes of Shonie Carter, Jeff Curran, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Terry Martin and many other top stars of MMA. The Midwest has always been a hotbed for MMA with Miletich Fighting Systems calling the area home as well as there being a ton of smaller level shows all throughout the Midwest. This particular outing looks like it's a taste of the big time though as the cage looks a lot better than some of the cages I have seen King Of The Cage use and there is a huge light set-up and rampway for the fighters to make their way to the cage, as well as a HUGE crowd on hand for the fights.
Erik Apple is in the crowd with "Little Evil" Jens Pulver who will be doing color and Apple hypes up Monte Cox putting on a great card. He also talks up the main event between Carter and Black and introduces us to the undercard fights and the crowd looks HYPED up for a change, as opposed to the somewhat jaded crowds King Of The Cage seems to draw in Nevada and Arizona.
Undercard Fights
Match One: Catchweight
Billy Ayash (2-0) vs. Dennis Reed (39-36-1)
Ayash is introduced as being from Jorge Gurgel's Jiu-Jitsu Academy and is the Warrior Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion and the KFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and that's Kentucky Fighting Championships, both of which are amateur championships. Ayash also has Rich Franklin in his corner which has got to be a bit of a boost. He also has a bit of a size advantage in this one as he outweighs Reed by about twenty five pounds. Reed is introduced as having a record a little better than his official record but it is still a very substantial edge in experience for Reed, who is a fixture in MMA in the Midwest competing on cards for over a decade. All of the undercard fights are three, three-minute rounds as far as I can tell with the main card fights going the usual three five-minute rounds.
Round One
Reed comes out with a flurry of punches that forces Ayash to backpedal and while he's backpedalling, Reed shoots for the double leg and gets the takedown. Jens Pulver gets in a good shot at Reed saying that he's the "greatest takedown artist in the game, even if it only lasts for thirty seconds". Tremendous. Reed is in Ayash's full guard and Ayash is struggling to get back to his feet but Reed is doing a good job in controlling him and riding him back down to the mat. Reed starts throwing lefts and rights and lands some glancing blows but there's nothing of note landing while Ayash is pushed up against the fence. Jens wonders if Reed will have anything left in the tank after this big flurry. Reed is still working on landing some shots when Ayash pushes off and stands up, shoving Reed away and landing a brutal pair of right hands that put Reed down and out for the count as Herb Dean steps in to stop the fight.
Post-fight Reed's smiling so I think he's just happy that Ayash didn't beat him until he had to eat through a tube, and even Herb Dean looks impressed by how much power Ayash had in his hands. We get some replays of the finish from a couple of different angles as well, making the crowd ooh and ahh.
Winner: Billy Ayash, KO at 1:30 of Round One
Match Two: Featherweights
Justin Robbins (2-0)vs. Matt Jagers (1-0)
They bill this as his fight debut despite the fact that he already has one professional fight on his record, a win in May of 2005. They talk about how he's been training to work on the mat and expects this fight to end up on the mat, while Jens talks about the training and preparation for fighting and that it's all a part of MMA. Robbins is introduced and they begin to talk about how he's giving up five pounds to Jagers and I'm not sure if he's allergic to the smoke at the entrance or if one of his cornermen just cut one cause he comes to the cage with his t-shirt pulled up over his nose and mouth. I would have just come out with a SARS mask like Nakamura did at UFC 76. There's another guy announcing with Jens and Erik Apple and he sounds like a REALLY annoying radio morning show type guy and that's getting on my nerves in a hurry.
Round One
They touch gloves and Jagers lands a bomb up the middle that stuns Robbins and then shoots in for the takedown, landing in Robbins' full guard, moving out of that into side control for a moment before Robbins manages to get it back to half-guard. Robbins is down on the mat eating a ton of punches from Jagers who stands up and lands back down in side control. Robbins spins away from the fence and Jagers tries to pass into a mount but Robbins pulls it into a full guard and then a rubber guard. Robbins gets a triangle locked in but Jagers tries to powerbomb his way out of it, managing to break the hold for a second, but not long enough as Robbins locks it back in. They roll around with Jagers trying to pull free from the choke, but Robbins pulls the arm in the triangle across his own body, cutting the oxygen and bloodflow off even more, forcing Jagers to tap out.
Annoying announcer guy says "holy poop on a stick" as he talks about the submission and the set-up, which makes me feel dumber even for having heard it. They replay the choke and the slam and the re-application of the triangle choke that led to the stoppage.
Winner: Justin Robbins, submission (triangle choke) at 1:32 of Round One
Match Three: Lightweights
Wayne Weems (5-1) vs. Bart Palaszewski (18-7)
Weems, of course, is remembered as being on the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season five and is coming into this one with a fairly impressive record of 5-1, announced by Tyson Johnson as 16-1, but I think that they're including amateur fights in that total. Weems looks TOTALLY different than he did on the TUF show, seeming way more intense and ready to fight, and I wonder if it will lead to a better result for him than he had on the show. Palaszewski is announced as fighting out of Jeff Curran's camp and has a huge advantage in experience in this one. He's coming into this fight having previously fought the likes of Clay Guida, Cole Escovedo, and Gesias Calvancante so he is certainly going to have a lot more calmness in the cage than Weems one would imagine. Pulver talks up Palaszewski and pays him a ton of compliments before the fight begins.
Round One
They touch em up to start out and circle a little before Weems catches Palaszewski with a good right hook to the side of the head. Weems throws an overhand right and rushes in after it, shooting for the takedown, but Palaszewski sprawls out of it well and avoids it, grabbing a bodylock and clinching Weems. Palaszewski has a ton of blood coming out of his nose but manages to get Weems down onto the mat and takes his back in relatively short order. Palaszewski flattens him out and starts raining in HUGE lefts and rights and Weems is just covering up and hoping for the best at this point. Bart is bleeding everywhere and Herb Dean warns Weems to fight back or the stoppage is coming, but Weems just keeps eating punches and Herb calls for the bell.
The replay shows the end of the fight and they're in to mop up the bucket of blood that Palaszewski dropped on the mat. They talk about how Weems looked like he was a little lost and yet has nothing to be ashamed of. They're both covered in blood and it looks like a fight that lasted a LOT longer than a minute and a half. Weems looks PISSED as they read the decision and storms out of the cage afterwards but I have to wonder why when he ended up eating like thirty punches with no response. Tim Sylvia's in the front row and this must be during his non-title phase because he's not wearing the belt at this event and fuck knows that if he had the belt he'd be wearing it. I swear that he ends up wearing that thing to the crapper when he has it.
Winner: Bart Palaszewski, TKO at 1:11 of Round One
Palaszewski looked like a killer in this one, even taking into account who it was that he was fighting. Weems looked WAY overmatched and it showed. This would be one of Bart's last fights before making his IFL debut just two months later.
Match Four: Lightweights
Jason Reinhardt (14-0) vs. Mike Lindquist (0-4)
Reinhardt has an MMA record that actually matches what they introduce him as having which is a rarity for KOTC. Reinhardt is also more recently remembered for being choked out in a minute and a half against Joe Lauzon last month at UFC 78. Reinhardt plays the kiss-ass card right away throwing out t-shirts to the crowd as he makes his way to the cage. Show some dignity for God's sake man. Four of the GAYEST looking older guys trying to act like young crazy guys are in the front row and I swear if I act like that when I'm 40, (I'm being generous here, a couple of them look older) please just shoot me and end it. Have another drink, Grandpa.
Pat Miletich is in Reinhardt's corner and is wearing a jacket that has the IFL lettering on it as the promotion was set to begin. Lindquist is introduced as being 10-4 which makes me laugh because I'm beginning to think that they're just adding the amateur records in so that some of these guys don't look bad. This is actually a rematch of Lindquist's first pro fight as he fought Reinhardt and lost in 36 seconds to an armbar so let's see if he's progressed any since then.
Round One
They touch up and circle with Lindquist throwing a couple of high kicks that miss and Reinhardt throws an overhand right that misses into a bodylock as they clinch against the fence. They trade knees with Lindquist landing one in the midsection and Reinhardt landing one a little lower than that and Herb Dean steps in to give Lindquist some time to recover from that shot to the beans. The crowd boos and Reinhardt looks shocked but I think that was pretty well a shot right to the pills and I can't think of any reason why he'd be disgusted by that. The crowd boos even louder now as Reinhardt tries to amp the crowd up and looks pretty pissed at the wait. They go at it again with Reinhardt throwing a leg kick instead of touching up the gloves, and Lindquist tries to catch him with a big right hand in response but just misses. Lindquist has a guillotine sunk in but Reinhardt slams him to loosen it just a little and then finally pushes his head out after ten or fifteen seconds. Reinhardt is in guard now and landing some good left and right hands, posturing up before Lindquist closes up his guard and controls the body. Lindquist tries to push Reinhardt away, but he can't get enough seperation on it and Reinhardt continues to land some shots to the body. Lindquist tries for an armbar but Reinhardt spins out of it and takes the back, using that to lock in a rear naked choke. Reinhardt cinches it in and rolls over onto his back, pressing the forearm under the chin of Lindquist and drawing the tapout.
Winner: Jason Reinhardt, submisson (rear naked choke) at 2:14 of Round One
Reinhardt just seemed like an ass for the entire fight and afterwards he raises the hand of Lindquist in what seems to me to be a pretty empty gesture. Don't try to kiss his ass after you basically buried him for being a pussy for wanting to take time after you kneed him in the balls. A little class wouldn't kill you Jason, I'm just going to throw that out there right now. As for Lindquist, he hasn't progressed at ALL since the first fight, and even since this fight, as his record is now a stellar 2-14 as of the posting of this column, with both of his wins coming over the same guy.
Match Five: Lightweights
Clay Guida (18-3) vs. Tristen Yunker (1-2)
"Iron Man" Tyson Johnson makes me laugh pronouncing Guida as GUY-da but hey, he was still a bit of an unknown at this point so it's understandable I suppose. Guida comes down to the cage with a belt of some sort. I don't think Clay has cut his hair since this fight actually as it's in a somewhat manageable do at this point and not the absolute mop that he sports today. As usual Guida gets the holy hell slapped out of him by his corner man on his way into the cage. Yunker comes in with a huge height advantage as he's 6' 3" and 155 pounds. Yunker sadly doesn't go by his official nickname which apparently is "Too Much For You". That's the same thing I said to his mother last night..oh man I'm too funny. I'll be here all week people, make sure you tip those waitresses. Jens talks about how big Guida is for 155 and actually talks about how he's glad that he fights a lot at 145 instead of 155 and it's interesting to hear that based on what's happened recently with Jens in the WEC.
Round One
Herb Dean is earning his paycheck tonight refereeing this fight as well. They circle for a moment to start out before Yunker shoots in for a double-leg takedown attempt that Guida is able to sprawl out of rather well. Yunker switches to a single-leg and lifts Guida up before putting him on his back. Guida ends up giving up his back and Yunker locks in a body triangle and lands some hard left and right hands before he manages to lock in a rear naked choke and he forces Guida to tap after abit of a struggle. Guida looks crushed after the loss and Yunker is thrilled at the win.
We get a TON of piped in crowd noise for Yunker as he's officially announced as the winner of this one. Guida gets the microphone from Tyson Johnson and talks about how Yunker was the better man in this fight. The crowd boos and Guida talks about how he lost his best friend in a car accident two months previous to this and says goodbye to his friend. I hate to say it but it looked like Guida wasn't himself as that was a very quick and very uncharacteristic loss for him.
Winner: Tristen Yunker, submission (rear naked choke) at 1:17 of Round One
Match Six: Lightweights
John Strawn (29-6-1) vs. Joe Jordan (19-10-2)
Jens is so excited for this fight that he says that he's going to talk in the third person. "Jens is very happy, Jens likes this fight, Jens likes spicy chicken." Okay, maybe he didn't say that last one but I thought it would have been funny if he had. Strawn comes in with a ton of experience fighting guys like Clay Guida, Spencer Fisher and Din Thomas, as well as beginning his career with a 25 fight win streak which I swear has to be some kind of record, even against somewhat dubious competition. Jordan fights out of Miletich Fighting Systems and also has a ton of experience with guys like Jens Pulver, Roger Huerta, Josh Neer, and Melvin Guillard on his fighting resume in his career. Jens talks about fighting him previously and how he likes that Jordan never has a boring fight, even if he has to take fifteen shots to the face.
Round One
Jordan eats a leg kick from Strawn and then backpedals as Strawn rushes forward and they exchange punches before Jordan sidesteps Strawn who falls to the mat. Jordan keep swinging and Strawn gets it to guard on his back, controlling Jordan's head and body from the bottom. Jordan is trying to pull out and pass but Strawn does a real good job to defend it and keep Jordan under conrol. Strawn pushes off of the fence to try get back to the center of the cage as Jordan works some hard shots to the body. Strawn working some forearms from the bottom and Jordan passes into a half-guard situation but can't land any real damaging shots.
They're back into full guard and there are some ticky-tack punches but some good action as well and they're back to their feet. Jordan scores with a right hand and Strawn gets a good leg kick in before shooting for the takedown but Strawn sprawls out of that VERY well and avoids the takedown, clinching Strawn against the fence. Strawn with a couple of knees to the body and he grabs for single-leg but there's nothing there. They scramble a little more and Strawn gets a leg-trip takedown and pushes Jordan against the fence and lands a solid knee as the round comes to an end.
A bit of an even round that makes it hard to judge but I think it's a round you could score for Strawn as even though he was on the bottom for most of the round, he didn't take any damage and he landed the harder shots with the knees when it was standing.
Round Two
They touch gloves to begin round two and Strawn lands a leg kick and a hard right hand before shooting in and Jordan JUST misses timing a knee to the head on the shot. Jordan sprawls out of the takedown and ends up on top of Strawn in the full guard. The crowd starts reacting to something outside of the cage and Erik Apple is intrigued enough to stand up on his chair outside of the cage and see just what the hell is going on. All he says is that "there is certainly some craziness going on here at the Mark of the Quads arena" which leads me to believe someone was fighting or someone was gettin naked. Just a funny visual to see him standing on a chair looking into the crowd while the fight was still going on.
Jordan works some shots to the body and head from the top position in Strawn's full guard but there's not a lot of power behind them. Jordan takes a bit of a break before landing some more head and body punches, not allowing Strawn to regain his footing or sweep. Jordan just lets his weight lay on him and Herb Dean has seen enough and stands them back up. Strawn sticks the jab and lands a hard kick to the body as he starts to work the leg kicks now as well. Strawn telegraphs a shot and Jordan sprawls it even being as tired as he is. Strawn closes up the guard and that's it for round two.
Strawn was the fresher fighter, landed the better strikes and was more active, but Jordan actually did a little something with top position this time, landing some good strikes so I'd give that round to Jordan, making it one round apiece heading into the third and final round.
Round Three
They touch em up again and Strawn tries to throw a jab but Jordan ends up flying in with a six or eight punch combo and pushes Strawn backwards. A hard left hook lands for Jordan as Strawn throws a bunch of leg kicks to try and slow Jordan down before clinching him. Strawn lands a body kick but misses another one to the head before Jordan lands a short hook and a short elbow to the face. Jordan with a good combination that he finishes with a nice uppercut and Strawn goes back to the leg kicks. A straight right lands from Jordan and Strawn looks a little woozy on that one as he clumsily leans in against Jordan and pays for it by eating five or six good punches and knees. Strawn with another couple of body kicks and Jordan finally throws a leg kick of his own at this point.
Jordan lands another good right and Strawn throws more leg kicks before firing off a combination of punches that land on Jordan and stun him a bit. Jordan responds with a couple of hard right hooks that land and some hard standing elbows that look like they're taking their toll on Strawn. Strawn is cut over his right eye from those elbows and Jordan lands a hard right hook to the head. Strawn shoots in and Jordan sprawls really well and stands back out of it to let Strawn back to his feet. They circle for a moment and Jordan unleashes a right hook BANG on the temple and Strawn crumples drawing an excited "OH SHIT" from Jens on commentary. The commentators are on their feet, the crowd is electric and Jens is talking to Jordan through the cage. Erik Apple says "Oh my goodness, is another way to put what Jens just said" and Jens apologizes for the language and that it caught him off guard and that he's a fighter first and commentator second.
The replays show Strawn getting dropped and after that shot he fell directly onto his face so that was a pretty vicious KO shot from that right hook over the top.
Winner: Joe Jordan, KO at 2:25 of Round Three
Main Card Fights
Tyson Johnson does his usual spiel and introduces everyone and through a roundabout search I find that one of the judges, Fred Ettish, competed at UFC 2 losing in 3:07 to Johnny Rhodes, and that thanks to the extensive records kept by websites, a picture exists of him with the jackass radio announcer sounding guy I was bitching about earlier, and I find out that his name is Big Papa Schnake. Yeah, that's SO much cooler than what I thought it was originally. We get the national anthem that even the drunk loser 40 year-old men in the front row stand for, while still making their weird little tiger claw poses. Seriously, just shoot me if I act like that as a grown-ass old man. Some piece of ass in the front sings the anthem to what looks to be her sugar daddy, who giggles at his silly gal and I'm guessing he hopes the fights don't run too late so she isn't late for her first period English test the next morning.
Match Seven: Welterweights
Joey Clark (10-3-2) vs. Brian Gassaway
Clark is primarily a wrestler and up to this point has fought a veritable "who's THAT?" of MMA with his only notable fight being a draw against Sam Stout. Gassaway is a veteran of the UFC, WEC, Shooto, Pancrase, with losses to fighters like Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa and Yuki Kondo and this is his first fight since his UFC 54 loss to Diego Sanchez. Pulver on commentary talks about how big Gassaway is and wonders if he's cut down from 205 to the 170 welterweight limit in the right way or if he's going to be in some trouble cardio-wise as the fight rolls on.
Round One
They circle to start and Gassaway throws a BIG right hand that Clark ducks under, grabbing double underhooks and trying to use them to wrestle Gassaway down to the mat. Gassaway moves to the double underhooks and they land some knees before Clark scores a judo throw and takes Gassaway down, landing in side control. Gassaway is trying to push off of the fence and ends up standing on his HEAD agains the fence while Clark tries to hold him down in the north/south position. Knee to the body lands for Clark and he looks for a north/south choke and a possible anaconda but Gassaway has his chin down and looks to be safe for now. Gassaway with a couple of shots to the head while Clark moves from north/south to side control but Gassaway scrambles back to his feet.
They're clinched and Clark scores the takedown again into side control. He tries to pass into mount but gets stuck into full guard, with Clark pushing Gassaway up against the fence. Herb Dean warns them that he's going to stand them up and sure enough he does, and Clark misses a right hand while Gassaway lands one and they're back to clinching in the center of the cage. Clark with a high clinch and he hits the judo throw again into side control. Gassaway reverses it into back control rather quickly though and takes a body triangle out on Clark and tries for the rear naked choke. Clark defends it well and Gassaway looks to be cinching in on the body triangle, transitioning it into an armbar attempt that Clark defends and he ends the round on top of Gassaway.
Clark takes the first round for me even with giving up the back control because he had the throws, the strikes and the superior positioning for the entire round so it's one round to none for Clark at this point.
Round Two
Leg kick from Clark to start the round and they're just kind of cautiously circling in and out. A spinning back kick from Clark JUST misses as Gassaway ducks under it and they're back to clinching as Clark tries for the judo throw again. He misses it and ends up giving up his back to Gassaway, though he fights out of it quick enough, regaining top position and getting on top of Gassaway into half-guard before taking the full mount against the fence. Clark lands some good shots and forces Gassaway to roll to his elbows and knees, which lets Clark take the back with hooks sunk in. Clark looks for the rear naked choke and almost has it but Gassaway is defending well until Clark gets a forearm under the chin but it's not deep enough for the finish.
Gassaway is keeping himself out of danger and defends against the choke but he's unable to get out of the bad position. Clark turns it back to mount and starts landing some hard shots and Herb Dean calls for Gassaway to fight back. Gassaway tries to buck out of the mount but he can't and Clark looks like he's going to try for an armbar but Gassaway slips out the back door with it, retaking half-guard before giving up side control. Clark regains the mounted position and the crowd is starting to turn on what looks to be an amateur wrestling fight with a couple of punches mixed in. Clark landing some shots from the mount and Gassaway tries to buck him off again but no dice. Gassaway starts controlling the head and Clark can't do much as the round comes to an end.
An easy round to score for Clark as he dominated the positions and ended up landing some quality shots. Two round to none for Clark so far and it doesn't look like anything is going to change in the third if things stay the same.
Round Three
They slowly circle for a good length of time to start the round and the crowd starts to boo before they finally engage and Gassaway lands a beautiful left hook and Clark is shooting for the takedown as he looks hurt. He has Gassaway up against the fence and actually takes him down again into half guard. Gassaway takes back full guard and Herb Dean is telling them to work as the crowd kind of turns on this fight a little bit and they cheer when Herb gives them the stand-up. Clark throws a straight right that misses and a leg kick that lands before shooting in again for the single leg and he transitions to a double leg and scores the takedown again although Gassaway looks like he has some sort of kimura/reverse triangle.
Clark gets out of it and ends up back into Gassaway's guard and the crowd starts booing again as Clark lands some hooks to the body of Gassaway. Gassaway tries to push off of the fence as Clark moves into side control throwing hard knees to the body. Clark lands some punches as well and then moves to the full mount again hitting a good right hook before Gassaway gets the body control. Clark pulls away and throws a combination before attempting an armbar that was pretty sloppily done. He moves back to side control and hits some shots to the body as Gassaway tries to roll and reverse into an armbar but he can't lock it up. Clark with another couple of hard knees to the body and Gassaway gets it back to guard as the fight finishes up.
Three round to zip for Clark as the crowd boos them for the slower pace of the fight. Clark dominated that fight with wrestling and superior position and that's all there really is to say. Tyson Johnson says that the judges have reached a unanimous decision after three exciting rounds. BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. I didn't know TJ did stand-up comedy.
Winner: Joey Clark, Unanimous Decision
Between fights we get a shot of Andrei Arlovski in attendance as one of his sponsors is a sponsor for this event and he's out in support of them as well as the fights so close to his home base in Chicago.
Match Eight: Middleweights
Gideon Ray (11-3-1) vs. Brendan Seguin (9-9-1)
Seguin is another guy that has a lot of MMA experience with losses against Denis Kang, Joey Villasenor, Martin Kampmann and two losses to Joe Doerksen. That's a lot of big names on his fight record. Gideon Ray is the former UFC veteran that is most known for being the guy that opened the geyser on the forehead of Edwin Dewees in the Ultimate Fighter fourth season and he's trained by another former UFC veteran in Keith Hackney. Ray is more of a boxer while Seguin is going to want this fight taken down to the mat, which will lead to an interesting clash in styles.
Round One
They circle to start and Ray throws a couple of solid inside leg kicks to Seguin's lead leg, trying to soften him up a little in the early going. Ray throws a one-two that misses as Seguin backs up and then shoots for a double-leg takedown, but Ray sprawls out of it very well and keeps the fight on its feet for a moment before Seguin takes Ray down HARD against the fence. Seguin into Ray's half-guard and starts to land some forearm shots but Ray controls the head and tries to posture against the fence to stand up. Seguin lands a couple of left hands when he's holding Ray down but again there's not a lot on them so it's not doing much of anything.
Herb Dean is threatening a stand up and Seguin gets busier with the lefts but they're still not doing any damage. Ray neutralizes Seguin's punches and tries to kick him away but doesn't get him kicked far enough away to regain his feet. Seguin gets sloppy re-entering the guard and trying to pass though, as he leaves a leg hanging out and Ray capitalizes on it, locking in a kneebar and then rolling it over into a heel hook that Seguin fights for a few seconds but eventually he relents and taps out.
Ray does a backflip after the fight and we get a replay of the finish with the roll into the heel hook and the tapout. A really impressive submission display from someone more well known for his stand-up game.
Winner: Gideon Ray, submission (heel hook) at 2:52 of Round One
Match Nine: Light Heavyweights
Trevor Garrett (4-7) vs. Terry Martin (11-1)
Garrett has fought mainly on the smaller shows in the Midwest and as an interesting bit of trivia he has fought against and defeated someone named, and I'm not even attempting to bullshit here, Ghost Ghost. Yeah, I'm as perplexed as you all are quite frankly. Martin was already a UFC fighter at this point, having suffered his devastating flying knee loss to James Irvin and he was two months out from fighting Jason Lambert at UFC 59 when this fight took place. Strange to see him fighting at light heavyweight again after seeing him at middleweight his past two fights and these two are definitely opposites in body shapes and sizes as Garrett looks a bit ripped, while Martin is a little stockier.
Round One
Martin chomps at the bit to get this one going and Garrett meets him with a flailing overhand right that misses and they trade wild punches before clinching against the fence. Martin pushes out with a Thai clinch and lands some knees to the body and a hard right to the head that wobbles Garrett. They're back to the clinch against the fence and Martin lands some knees before grabbing Garrett's head and cranking on a guillotine to try for a takedown, but Garrett fights it off. Martin leans in for a double leg and lifts Garrett up high and gets slammed down hard, but Garrett is able to pop right back up to his feet. Martin clinches him against the fence again and lands a VICIOUS knee to the head that sends Garrett's mouthpiece flying, but to his credit he swings back at Martin with some shots before eating another knee. Martin lands an uppercut and a hard body shot while they're clinched against the fence and another couple of hard knees to the head and after three or four more of them, Garrett collapses and Herb Dean calls a stop to the fight.
Winner: Terry Martin, KO at 1:40 of Round One
Match Ten: Welterweights
Victor Moreno (11-4) vs. Laverne Clark (21-14-1)
We get a video package for Moreno now and he talks about how he's trained for three years or so and that he feels like he's well rounded and ready to go after it. He thinks he's always up for a challenge and ready to fight anyone they put in front of him. He thinks that he has to get his name out beyond the Midwest so that everyone can know who he is. He talks up Clark's skills and says that it's going to be a good test for him. He thinks it's a good match-up and that he's going to win the stand-up or take him down and submit him.
The video package for Clark is much of the same with him talking about his mentality towards fighting being that he must win. He says that a lot of people respect him and like him but they know not to fight him in the streets and that he wants to be a world champion. He uses his instincts for the most part and trains to fight his best. Clark thinks this is a big fight in his comeback and that he needs the win especially in his hometown. Clark is, of course, a former UFC veteran and has fought the likes of Fabiano Iha and Matt Hughes.
Round One
Clark comes out flying with a hard front push kick to the body and a combination, landing a hard uppercut to Moreno early. Moreno tries a flying knee that misses and Clark just misses with another hard uppercut. Clark is LOADING up on these uppercuts and missing them but they have bad intentions on them. Moreno lands a leg kick and throws a wild uppercut that misses but Clark lands a hard uppercut now before Moreno gets a straight kick to the body. Clark with a big combination, lands some heavy shots and forces Moreno to clinch.
Moreno gets a knee from the clinch and then grabs a hold of Clark's head and they clinch against the fence. Clark landing some hooks to the body and Moreno almost jumps guard with a guillotine but thinks better of it. They trade body punches from the clinch and Clark lands a knee to the body before Moreno tries to change levels to shoot. They back out of the clinch with Moreno trying an elbow that misses and they're back to standing. Clark WHIFFS on a huge right hook and Moreno lands a straight right before they clinch back against the fence.
Moreno with another hard knee to the body and after some struggle Clark tries for a throw that ends up with him on his back. Clark explodes with a reversal and sweeps into Moreno's guard. Clark works some shots to the body as Moreno pushes away from the fence. Clark is on top and riding Moreno as Moreno looks for a kimura and has it locked but Clark avoids it back into the full guard. They trade some ticky-tack shots and end up stalemated in the guard as the round ends.
A tough round to score in the pace of the round, but Clark had better punches and strikes standing and did more damage from the top position on the ground as well so I'd give that round to him.
Round Two
Clark moves in tight and lands a couple of hard shots to the body of Moreno, but Moreno slips off and hits a solid combination of his own to the head of Clark. Clark whiffs on another big right hand and Moreno JUST barely clips Clark with a high kick to the cheek, drawing an OHHHH from the crowd at the Mark of the Quads. They trade some sloppy stand-up shots that miss wildly and Moreno tries to shoot for the takedown but misses it and pulls guard instead. He starts controlling the body and head of Clark and they just end up laying on top of each other the announcers talk about he change of rules that doesn't allow elbows to a downed opponent in Illinois and that transitions to talk of Jens Pulver thinking that taking elbows out and bringing back knees would be a good way to go.
They're not really talking about the fight because there's not much going on and that's reinforced by Herb Dean standing them up. Moreno tries for another flying knee but they end up clinching again with Clark shooting for a double leg and Moreno pulling guard to take the fight down to the mat. Moreno pushes off the fence to get back to the middle of the cage and Clark keeps working the body and the head with short punches from the guard and Herb Dean stands them up again. Moreno lands a couple of HARD punches to Clark and Clark starts swinging wildly as he's hurt. A HARD body kick lands from Moreno and Clark winces noticeably at that one, and then Moreno JUST misses with a left hook that grazes Clark's chin.
They trade and Clark lands a solid uppercut right to the balls of Moreno and you can hear him scream, but Herb Dean didn't see it and it ends up with Clark in half guard trying to finish with some big punches and forearm shots. Moreno turtles well and avoids a lot of the damage as Clark is swinging and swinging but not really hitting Moreno anywhere but the arms. Moreno gets it back to full guard and avoids damage, starting to body control and looking for the kimura again from the bottom as the round comes to a close.
Another round for Clark and this is two rounds to none so far as Clark is not really DOMINATING him but is still managing to win the rounds with top position and harder strikes. That flurry of shots helped him out a lot too as the round neared its conclusion. Between rounds we see Rich Franklin in the crowd and he doesn't look terribly excited to be there, barely giving a twitch of acknowledgment to the cameraman. I wonder if someone bounced his appearance check or something.
Round Three
The third starts with Clark trying to drop a shot in to the body and Moreno trying for a high kick that misses. Moreno lands a glancing uppercut while Clark misses a left hook and they're back to the clinch with Clark pressing Moreno against the fence. Clark picks up Moreno with a double leg and slams him down to the mat. He tries for a can opener to open Moreno's guard and Moreno is trying to push off of the fence to get back to the center of the cage. Clark is just laying and tapping on Moreno and the crowd starts to turn on them again. Herb's seen enough and stands them back up.
Clark throws a wild combination and ends up rushing against Moreno, clinching against the fence and taking him down again against the fence with the double leg. Moreno has a hold of Clark's head and is trying to squeeze on the guillotine but Clark pops his head out of it and they're back to Clark being on top with Moreno pushing off of the fence again. There's nothing really going on and the announcers start talking about Clark's boxing career as he lays on top of Moreno in the guard and they trade some ticky-tack shots. Moreno ALLLLMOST gets a sweep but Clark shoves him back down to the mat and Moreno turns to a kimura to try to get a sweep but there's nothing there.
A bit of a combination from Clark and Herb Dean stands them up again. Moreno hits a kick to the body and Clark throws a high kick while holding the fence. Moreno goes for a high kick that misses and a front kick that he slips on and they trade some combinations against the fence with Moreno landing the cleaner strikes. Clark grabs a clinch and starts working knees to the head and the body from the clinch as the bell sounds to end the third.
I think it ended up being three to none for Clark in this one. It wasn't exciting at all but he had top position, scored the takedowns, and landed the cleaner strikes so to me it's an easy decision for Clark. Tyson Johnson confirms what I had thought with it being a unanimous decision.
Winner: LaVerne Clark, Unanimous Decision
Match Eleven: Lightweights
Charles Bennett (14-10-2) vs. Jeff Curran (21-7-1)
Video package for Bennett where he says that his background is streetfighting and that he throws a little bit of everything into his arsenal. An interesting visual as he has the microphone taped to his chest as opposed to clipped on a shirt or something. This guy is so odd, I swear. He says that he goes into fights feeling like he's invincible and that he doesn't care who he fights, he's going to be the aggressive guy. He thinks that people like him cause he's different and they do a little vignette where he ends up getting "jumped" by a bunch of hoodlums in a garage or something and he kicks all their asses. Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly how it would go down with like ten guys on you. Urijah Faber barely survived an attack like that, and you sir, are NO Urijah Faber. More sterotypical street-tough talk from Bennett closes it out. Bennett comes out flipping off the camera and scratching his nuts. Class act here, people and people STILL high five him after he gets himself a handful of nutsack. What the FUCK is wrong with people?
The Jeff Curran video is the complete polar opposite of Bennett's shenanigans though and starts out at his own academy. He feels like it's his legacy to be a fighter and we see him in training and talking about Bennett and how he's a great power puncher that hits hard and is known for his slams and he respects Bennett's abilities. He feels like he has great submissions, knockout power and he's good at finishing fights. He feels like it's not a smart move for Bennett to come in to fight him with all the submissions Bennett has had in previous fights. Curran is actually giving up ten pounds in this one as he's fighting at 145 instead of 155.
Round One
Bennett doing his usual hamming it up in the pre-fight instructions as he starts sniffing on Curran and Curran is a good sport and goes along with it, while Jens hopes that no one pulls a Heath Herring out of it. Bennett climbs up on top of the fence as the bell rings and flexes and shoots the birds and Curran catches him with a left hook/straight right combination right out of the gate. Curran throws a side kick that just misses Bennett's head and Bennett is trying to throw some uppercuts and hits a good shot to Curran's body. Curran throws a wicked high kick that just misses and Bennett rushes in and throws a couple of uppercuts that land. Curran hits a body kick and a good one-two that Bennett tries to no-sell by staggering comedically back to the cage but Curran doesn't buy it and shoots for the takedown, picking Bennett up and slamming him, before Bennett stands back up and delivers a back suplex on Curran. Curran immediately locks in a triangle out of the slam though and Curran pulls up on him and lands a wicked elbow before Bennett picks him up and slams Curran, landing in the mount before Curran takes back guard. Curran controls the arms and uses butterfly guard to sweep Bennett over. Curran grabs an armbar out of that in a beautiful transition and Bennett has no choice but to tap and the crowd goes absolutely wild for the hometown kid Curran.
Winner: Jeff Curran, submission (armbar) at 3:23 of Round One
I laugh out loud as Tyson Johnson asks for a big round of applause for Krazy Horse and the people boo him out of the building. My respect for Moline has grown exponentially over the course of the night I tell you. Oh god, the jackass that was doing the announcing is wearing a kilt and has the microphone for a post-fight interview. They call him Big Poppa Snackie or some shit like that and he completely looks like every other morinng radio douchenozzle just as I suspected. Why do you hate me Jeebus? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? He immediately gives us a Spinal Tap moment calling the town Davenport instead of Moline. What a jackass. I don't even want to see the interview now because of him so I'm going to skip it. My guess is that Curran is happy for the win and glad he was able to do it in front of his hometown fans.
Match Twelve
Shonie Carter vs. Jason Black
Video packages for Jason Black and Shonie Carter as we see the same package that they ran at the beginning of the show. Shonie Carter saying he's been training his ass off, beating up guys in the street and in the gym, cussing at police and yelling at his baby momma. He says he doesn't care anymore and that he's not a thug but he's got thug tendencies. I have to laugh as he trains in his Everlast boxing shorts, his pimp hat and chain and a pair of sunglasses. He says that he did the honor and pride thing and now he's in it to get paid. He says that he's been screwed by every organization he's been in and that he's a King without a crown and now he's coming to King Of The Cage to get that crown. He says that Black is a boring and plain fighter and that if he breaks or bends the rules it's up to them to catch him and that if he ain't caught, it ain't cheatin. Thank GOD that Shonie is wearing actual fight trunks this time and not his man-panties. Tyson Johnson introduces him as having over 170 professional fights and he comes to the cage with his bedazzled cane and his pimp cup and he gives people high-fives with his cane rather than actually having to touch them. He gives his bitches his cane and cup and heads into the cage.
Black is next for the video package treatment and he talks about how he started fighting about six years before this fight and that he was weightlifting at a gym where Pat Miletich was training and Pat asked if he wanted to train. At first he wasn't very interested but after watching Pat train and slowly starting to get into it he got into training with Miletich and hasn't looked back. He thinks that Carter is a well-rounded opponent but that he'll be able to handle him easily. He talks about the sterotypical reputation of being a fighter and going into a bar and having everyone expect him to beat people up and having people consider him a bit of a meathead. He tells Shonie that he's going to bring it all day and that if he feels like giving up early that it would be smart for him to avoid the punishment. Black is rocking the black and pink leopard print trunks and we're finally ready to get this one underway.
Round One
They circle and feint jabs to start out and Carter throws a big one-two that Black ducks under, trying to clinch and score the takedown. Black gets an inside knee to the legs of Carter and then forces Carter against the fence. Carter and Black scramble and fall to the mat and Black comes out of it looking worse for wear as it looks like he fell awkwardly on his arm and his left arm and elbow looks like it dislocated. Carter finishes the slam with left and right hands and Herb Dean stops the fight. Carter is celebrating like he just won the Super Bowl but I think he doesn't realize that Black is hurt yet. Now he sees it and comes over to talk to Miletich and Jason Black to see what exactly happened. Black looks completely dejected to have lost his perfect record to what looked like a freak injury and Carter is just beside himself happy that he won, dropping to his knees when he's announced as the winner of the fight. Carter is in tears he is so happy and they're strapping a title belt on him so I have no idea if this was for the title or not, and the announcers are talking about what a huge upset this is.
Winner: Shonie Carter, TKO (injury) at 1:18 of Round One
We get into the cage with that kilted jackass now to do the interview post-fight. Shonie starts out taking the microphone away from this goof so he gets to have me hear out what he's going to say. He thanks Jason Black and the Miletich team and gives them much respect. He thanks all the sponsors on the ring and on his fight shorts and he gets his bitches and his entrourage in the rin and they give him his cup and cane and they replay the slam and finish. Carter thanks God and he wishes the best for Jason Black in his recovery and he says that his next fight is about the money, he's got two baby mommas and three kids and he's got enough belts, now he wants cash. He also says that he would love to give Jason Black a fight whenever he wins some fights and rehabs.
Erik Apple is in the cage and he thanks all the sponsors and all of the fans for making the event possible and he hypes up the next King Of The Cage event before throwing it to the highlight video that takes us to the end of the DVD.
That's all for a great event and I'll be back next week with another show that features some of the best that MMA has to offer. I'll say as I do every week, in the mean time and in between time, I'll see you all next time for an all-new Sprawl and Brawl Video Review!
The 411: A GREAT show from King Of The Cage, with a ton of excitement, a hot crowd that knows their MMA, and a big-time feel to the production and the show itself. Some great fights and a ton of finishes help cover the two slow decision fights, so this event gets a big thumbs-up from me and is one of, if not THE best King Of The Cage show I've seen to date.
