The Sprawl And Brawl Video Review: King Of The Cage: More Punishment

Posted by Randy Harrison on 04.08.2008

King Of The Cage makes another stop in California and they've got stars like Dennis Hallman, Drew Fickett and Joe Villasenor on the card. Will it be a joy to watch this event or will it just be.....More Punishment!! If wit were brains, I'd be Einstein.

The Sprawl and Brawl is back after an unscheduled one-week hiatus and I apologize to my tens and tens of fans who were ardently waiting for my review of the Strikeforce event featuring Frank Shamrock and Cung Le. As it is, that event has been looked at a thousand different ways and even dissected by yours truly in the Five Rounds of News last week, so instead I thought I'd give another King Of The Cage event a try. This one is coming from California and took place on August 16, 2003. That's right, no city given. Just....California. The card has an interesting bout between Drew Fickett and Dennis "I submitted Matt Hughes twice" Hallman, and features a main event of current IFL star Benji Radach taking on Brazilian standout Gustavo Machado. There's nine big fights to get to and a ton of action on the way, so let's get to it everyone!! First though, some pimpage!!!



King Of The Cage: More Punishment is part of the five-disc, ten-event Undergound box set available right here.


King Of The Cage: More Punishment



Match One: Lightweights
Khomrkit Niimi (0-0) vs. Dan Mann (0-0)

Both guys are making their professional MMA debuts, so there's not a lot to say about either of them at this point, and I'm not expecting a lot from the fight. Here's to surpassing lowered expectations!!


Round One

Mann throws a knee to start out and Niimi tries for a takedown from the clinch. Niimi hits a knee to the body and pushes Mann against the cage, finally taking him down. Mann tries to stand up out of it but Niimi just keeps shoving his ass back down to the mat. Mann gets back to his feet and works to press Niimi against the cage, trying for a trip takedown but ending up on the bottom. Niimi begins to work from the full guard of Mann and is looking to pass the guard rather than strike, and he ends up taking Mann's back but he can't get anything out of it. Mann is back to his feet and trying for a single leg, but Niiimi has a front facelock and looks to be trying for a guillotine. Mann gets the takedown and stuffs Niimi against the cage, popping his head out and landing some forearms and punches. The action slows a little and they mainly grapple against the fence, with Niimi holding the full guard and trying for an armbar out of a scramble, but Mann's arm is too high up and he can't lock it in. They scramble back to their feet and throw knees from the clinch up against the fence with Mann landing some solid right hands before they're back to clinching. Body shot from Niimi and he gets another takedown on Mann, working from the full guard again. Niimi passes to side control and tries to drop a couple of hammerfists and forearms. Left hammerfists and uppercuts as Niimi takes the mount and starts to land a few more short punches up until the bell.

Round Analysis: Niimi was pressuring Mann for almost the entire round and scored the takedowns, so he definitely takes the first. The only problem is that he didn't do a lot when he was on top and that speaks to his jiu-jitsu background, but he needs to do a little more if he wants to avoid letting the fight slip through his fingers.


Round Two

Mann misses with a big right hand and throws a high knee, but Niimi catches it and takes him down with a double-leg, pressing Mann against the cage. Mann tries to walk up the cage with his back but Niimi holds him down and then stands over him to mount, landing some hard lefts and rights. Mann tries to kick him away but ends up giving up the side control and Niimi puts a knee into the bell and starts landing with left and rights straight on. Niimi back to the half-guard and he's still pounding away with left and right hands, stopping to work the body before moving back to the head. Mann tries to control the body and head of Niimi but he can't do it and Niimi ends up in the mount, landing a ton of right hands before he starts in with the hammerfists. A few of those land HARD on the head of Mann and it's ALL OVER!!

Winner: Khomkrit Niimi, TKO at 3:04 of Round Two

Fight Analysis: An interesting fight in that there was a good bit of action, but I'll be damned if I can remember any of it even five minutes later. I'm not saying that it had to be some over the top dramatics like pro wrestling, but it seemed like a fight that was just there. I can presume that it's just because both guys were making their debuts, but it was still a little on the boring side for my tastes.



Match Two: Welterweights
Steve Renaud (3-0) vs. Casey Balkenbush (2-2)

Balkenbush started his MMA career with two straight wins, but is coming off of two losses in a row, including in his previous fight against current UFC Lightweight star, Joe Stevenson. Renaud is 3-0, but it's against a bit of a lower level of competition, so there are still questions as to whether he's a star in the making, or just someone who has benefitted from good matchmaking.


Round One

They circle and both looks like they want to throw but don't do any actual throwing until Renaud throws a leg kick and Balkenbush rushes him. Uppercut lands from Renaud and he presses Balkenbush against the cage, taking him down with a double-leg and posturing up to throw a couple of right hands. Renaud continues to press him up against the fence and he tries to posture up to land some strikes and OH SNAP, Balkenbush twists his hips and grabs an arm and that's it!!!

Winner: Casey Balkenbush, submission (armbar) at 0:51 of Round One

Fight Analysis: That submission literally came out of nowhere. One second Renaud looked to be in control and the next he's laying on the ground and tapping and screaming. Insane jiu-jitsu from Balkenbush and a great setup for that armbar as he snuck it in until the very last second and then struck like a cobra. I love seeing slick submission setups like that, especially when they're as successful as this one was.



Match Three: Welterweights
Paul Purcell (6-2-1) vs. Jake Short (2-3)

Purcell has one of the best all-time MMA nicknames in "Picnic" and despite a good enough record, lost his one fight to a well-known opponent when he was TKO'd by Melvin Guillard a couple of months before this fight. Short also has some experience with a TUF alum, getting fustigated by Diego Sanchez at a King Of The Cage event earlier in his career.


Round One

They touch gloves and circle and Short ducks under a Purcell right hook, trying for a takedown. Purcell throws him over and ends up on top in side control, pressing Short up against the fence. Short regains his feet and they scramble with Short ending up on top and he starts UNLOADING, with piston-like left hands to the head and Purcell just covers up until the referee steps in to save him from further damage. Purcell looks like he might have caught something in the throat and when they show the referee raising Short's hand, you can see the board and stretcher in the cage, but they don't really acknowledge it at all.

Winner: Jake Short, TKO at 0:51 of Round One

Fight Analysis: Hard to tell what happened there as it looked like Purcell may have caught either a punch in the throat or perhaps an inadvertant shin across his windpipe in the scramble. Either way, it's no real reflection on either guy as a fighter because it's apparent that Purcell suffered some type of serious injury to where he wasn't able to defend himself and Short jumped on it to finish. It's too bad that Purcell never got a shot at a rematch because that seemed like a fight that could have used one.



Match Four: Heavyweights
Bo Cantrell (0-2) vs. Rick Collup (0-4)

Cantrell is most famous for his belly flop against Kimbo Slice in EliteXC, but he did have a career before that, which starts of very Cantrell-like, with an 0-2 record and two TKO stoppages. One of them was against James Irvin, so I'm a little more willing to let that one slide. Collup has an even more "impressive" record, if that's possible, with four losses and none of them going to a decision. All of them are TKO's and his last three haven't made it past the second minute of the first round. Things aren't looking good for him here.


Round One

Cecil Peoples is our referee and he gets us underway, with Cantrell landing a couple of SOLID right hooks before Collup shoots in underneath and gets a nice double-leg takedown. He works the body while Cantrell holds on to his head and neck, but there's not really anything there with that guillotine. Collup tries to walk the cage to get free from it and keeps hammering away at the kidneys and ribs of Cantrell. Collup is in no real danger and he pops his head out, landing some HARD forearms and elbows to the side of Cantrell's head from the half-guard. Those were a LOT of elbows. Collup continues with the elbows and he's managed to split Cantrell open pretty good on the side of the head. Cantrell tries to bridge but can't get free and instead resorts to just holding on to Collup's body. Collup stands out of the half-guard and kicks at Cantrell's legs and he moves past the legs into side control and then takes Cantrell's back. Cantrell rolls over and takes the mount out of nowhere, landing a couple of really good right hands before Collup tries to hold on. Cantrell with a forearm choke and he lands a couple of short hammerfists before they just kind of stop for a few seconds. Collup tries to roll out from underneath and he finally manages to get the reversal, working from the full closed guard of Cantrell. They trade punches and then just slow to catch their breath as the bell sounds.

Round Analysis: Cantrell showed flashes, but this was mainly Collup's round, with the control of the positions, as well as the damage he laid in with those elbows. Cantrell really needs to keep this fight standing because he's just not able to do much when he's on his back.


Round Two

Collup ducks under a jab and Cantrell catches him in a "guillotine" and the fight is over. Huh?

Winner: Bo Cantrell, submission (guillotine) at 0:13 of Round Two

Fight Analysis: Well, that was....odd. I guess that the Kimbo fight wasn't the first time that Cantrell was involved in a bit of a work. Either that or Collup just had nothing left and gave up at the first sign of something even remotely resembling a finish. The guillotine that Cantrell had on in the first was WAY tighter than this one, which leads me to believe that maybe Collup had just given up and wanted to lose in the cage rather than on his stool between rounds. Still a pretty piss-poor ending, whichever way you choose to look at it.



Match Five: Heavyweights
Rocky Batastini (5-9) vs. Jason Coronado (2-0)

Coronado is undefeated in Gladiator Challenge appearances and is going to make the next small step up to fight in King Of The Cage. Judging from his two KO's he's going to be looking to throw hands with Batastini. Batastini may not have the best record, but he's sure to be a tough test as some of his losses have come against the likes of Heath Herring, Paul Buentello, and Ricco Rodriguez.


Round One

They touch gloves and Batastini tries for a high kick that misses before he shoots in for a single-leg and he slams Coronado down with a takedown. He fires off a TON of rights and lefts against the fence and Coronado doesn't know what hit him. He weathers the storm and ends up getting some elbows in on the back and side of Batastini before Batastini shoots in for another takedown. Batastini lifts him up but can't get him turned over for the slam and Coronado sprawls out of the takedown attempt and works some punches to the kidneys. Batastini grabs that single-leg again and almost gets a trip takedown but Coronado sprawls away from it again, working with more punches to the body. Coronado moves around and starts to land punches and elbows to Batastini's head and Coronado is beginning to control the head and body of Batastini. The referee, a young-looking Steve Mazzagatti, stands them up and Batastini gets a good leg kick from the restart and he lands the high kick this time, knocking Coronado down. He follows up with a ton of rights and lefts and Coronado looks to be in serious trouble, but just as quickly he ends up turning it over and taking the back of Batastini. Coronado looks for the rear naked choke and finds it and just like that it's OVER!!!

Winner: Jason Coronado, submission (rear naked choke) at 3:24 of Round One

Fight Analysis: Coronado showed a ton of toughness in looking like he was almost out of it completely and then turning it around almost instantly and getting the submission stoppage. He's also built like a brick shithouse so it's too bad that he didn't continue to try to make a go of it in MMA, since he clearly had the heart, and also a little bit of skill to go with it. A good win for him, but since he's never fought again, it didn't really lead anywhere now did it?



Match Six: Light Heavyweights
Sean Gray (4-4) vs. Art Santore (6-0)

Santore is the zoot-suit wearing, jiu-jitsu practitioner with a ton of charisma and a perfect MMA record and he's looking to keep that string going in his fourth straight King Of The Cage appearance. Gray looks to be a stiff test for Santore as he's scored a win previously over the notoriously strong-chinned Niko Vitale, as well as lasting into the third round against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in a previous King Of The Cage fight.


Round One

Santore rushes to take the center of the cage and misses with a right hand, but Gray grabs a bodylock and tries for some knees to the thigh. Santore lands a couple of hooks to the body and one to the head as they clinch against the fence and they start to trade knees inside. Gray landing hard knees and punches to the body of Santore for a good twenty or thirty seconds before Santore fires back with a knee of his own. More inside knees from Gray and he gets a knee to the head before slipping and they separate. Gray shoots in for a double-leg and gets a HARD takedown against the fence, working from the full guard with some rights and lefts. Santore keeps throwing his legs up to look for submission attempts but there's nothing there so far. Santore comes REALLY close to a triangle attempt but takes a ton of punches from Gray because of it. Gray continues to stack up Santore and deliver the punches from the top as Santore tries to throw up the guard, looking for another triangle. Santore misses it and Gray passes the guard all the way to the north/south position. Gray sits on top of Santore and then tries for a toehold but Santore fights out of it and they scramble back to their feet, clinching against the cage. More knees inside from Gray and Santore lands a HARD punch that puts Gray down. Gray tries for a takedown but it gets stuffed and Santore ends up on top in the half-guard, doing a little work from the top and landing some solid strikes to end the round.

Round Analysis: Gray takes the round because he had the advantage for the majority of it and controlled where the fight was going to be, but it looked like he was starting to tire at the end of the round, so his gas tank could be a question if Santore can keep pressing forward.


Round Two

Santore lands a good body kick and Gray responds with a front kick to try to keep him away. They trade combinations until Santore changes levels and gets a solid takedown, working from Gray's full guard and landing shots to the ribs. Santore postures up and starts throwing rights and lefts up against the fence as Gray tries to struggle out from the bottom. Santore postures up with more lefts and rights and the crowd roars its approval until the action slows and they end up back on the mat in Gray's full guard. Gray tries to push off of the cage with his hands and feet but Santore won't allow it and continues to hold him down, working the ribs with some punches. Gray throws his legs up and tries for an armbar but Santore pulls out of it and they end up back in the guard before referee Herb Dean stands them back up. Leg kick from Santore and Gray comes back with a three-punch combination and he loads up a knee but doesn't throw it. Gray shoots in for a takedown but Santore sprawls right out of it and takes Gray's back, landing some hard punches to the side of Gray's head. Gray flips over to get the fight back to guard and tries for a kimura but he can't lock it all the way in and Santore pulls free from it to take the full mount, hammering way with rights and lefts to the face. Gray covers up and then Santore just starts leveling in some elbows, forcing Gray to give up his back. Santore gets it back to mount and lands more punches and tries for another choke but he can't get it and throws a couple more punches from the mount at the bell.

Round Analysis: This round was completely different than the first and it was all Santore. He took advantage of Gray and his apparently small gas tank and did some serious damage from the half-guard and the mount. It looks like it's one round apiece going into the third.


Round Three

They clinch right out of the gate to start the third and Gray lands a good uppercut before blocking a high kick attempt from Santore. Santore throws a combination and changes levels to try for a takedown, getting a HUGE one against the fence, and Santore is in full mount raining in punches. Herb Dean has seen enough and steps in, much to the chagrin of the announcers, but honestly, it looked like Gray had nothing left.

Winner: Art Santore, TKO at 0:54 of Round Three

Fight Analysis: A really good back and forth fight, and I can say that for once, I don't have a problem with the stoppage. Gray looked pretty gassed after that first round and by the time it got to the third he really seemed like he'd run out of steam completely. The only thing he was going to do on the mat was take more shots, which would have been unecessary. A good win for Santore, as he had to overcome some adversity and show some heart to get his hand raised.



Match Seven:
Joey Villasenor (9-3) vs. James Fanisher (3-3)

The always dangerous Joey Villasenor looks to continue his winning ways, coming into this fight as a winner of three straight, and four of his last five fights. His skills lie in his stand-up and he's always one punch away from ending any fight. Fanisher's record is nothing to write home about, but he has the most aptly-suited nickname in MMA, "The Educator", since he looks like he could be teaching a ninth-grade biology class. I hope he's a little tougher than he looks or this could be a short fight.


Round One

Fanisher throws a front kick to the body right away and Villasenor gets a takedown off of it, taking the back for a moment before they stand up and clinch against the fence. Villasenor starts working the body with some knees and he tries to trip Fanisher back to the mat but he can't get him down. More clinching and they trade knees on the inside, with Fanisher throwing double-fists to the body and head of Villasenor. Fanisher JUUUUUUUST misses a high kick and they're right back to the clinch, with Villasenor trapping an arm and trying for another takedown. Knees to the thighs from Fanisher and he responds back with knees of his own. Villasenor pushes back and they separate with Fanisher throwing a combination before landing a hard knee to the gut from the clinch. Villasenor gets a good right hand and Fanisher lands a front kick again before Villasenor gets a HARD takedown against the fence. Villasenor gets the full mount and lays a forearm across the throat before landing a WICKED right hand. Fanisher rolls to his stomach and manages to scramble to his feet and they're back to a clinch. Villasenor tries for another trip takedown but he can't get it and we find out that Fanisher trains with Cung Le. They separate and throw with neither man connecting and they're back to a clinch against the fence with Villasenor landing some shoulder strikes. Fanisher with a good standing elbow and a knee inside and Villasenor presses him back against the fence with some striking to the body. Fanisher lands some heel strikes to the thigh and calf of Villasenor and the round is over.

Round Analysis: This is a tough round to call, but I'd have to lean to Villasenor just because of his takedowns. The striking was fairly even, with Fanisher getting the flashier strikes but Villasenor landing with what looked like harder shots. The takedown barely gets the round for Villasenor but he just doesn't look like himself so far in this fight, which I credit to Fanisher's unorthodox style.


Round Two

Fanisher tries the front kick again but gets CRACKED with a counter-right and they move to a clinch after some more Fanisher kicks, with Villasenor landing shoulder strikes against the fence. HARD foot stomp from Fanisher and Villasenor stomps one right back before getting a takedown into Fanisher's half-guard. Villasenor tries to do some work from the half-guard and he passes into side control, but Fanisher rolls out of it and turtles on his elbows and knees. Villasenor tries for a guillotine but there's nothing there so he transitions to take Fanisher's back and tries for a rear naked choke. Fanisher standing on his feet and trying to fight free and it's very reminiscent of the finish of the Hughes/Trigg fight where Trigg dropped backwards to try to break it as Fanisher tries the same tactic. It didn't work then and it doesn't work here and Fanisher ends up passing out from the choke.

Winner: Joey Villasenor, submission (rear naked choke) at 2:26 of Round Two

Fight Analysis: Fanisher looked like he was giving Villasenor some real trouble with his unorthodox striking, but he couldn't sustain that advantage in the clinch. Villasenor was too quick with his positioning and was able to take the back and lock in the choke before Fanisher could do anything to stop it. Fanisher also needs to learn to tap because he got choked unconscious and looked in REALLY bad shape after that fight. Be a smart man and tap out, or be a tough man and lay on the floor twitching. That's not a very hard decision at all really.



Match Eight: Welterweights
Drew Fickett (16-2) vs. Dennis Hallman (25-7-1, 1 NC)

Two MMA veterans lock it up in this one and I'm really excited to see it. Hallman is best known for his two lightning-quick victories over Matt Hughes, a seventeen-second guillotine and a twenty-second armbar. Seriously, if I had done that to Matt Hughes, I would put it on a t-shirt to wear every day for the rest of my life. Fickett comes into this fight off only the second loss of his career, against relative unknown Landon Showalter, so he'll be wanting to prove that that loss was a fluke and that he's the real deal. This is going to be a treat for me since I've always been a big fan of Fickett's, back to his Rage in the Cage days.


Round One

They touch gloves and Hallman throws a high kick, but Fickett ducks that and goes right into a takedown attempt. Hallman tries for a guillotine with one of Fickett's arms in and lands a knee while they stand. Fickett takes another knee to the head and ends up going down to his back, with Hallman letting go of the head and trying for a keylock. Hallman is on top in side control and he lands a couple of rights as Fickett tries to walk his feet around the cage to sweep. Hallman with a couple of elbows to the head and Fickett uses really good hip movement to get things back to full guard. Hallman presses Fickett up against the fence and postures up to throw some right hands, but Fickett reverses things over when Hallman tries to pass into side control. Hallman gets an armbar from underneath and it's in rather deep, but Fickett is able to pull free from it and get back to the top position, landing some short elbows and forearms to Hallman's head. Hallman looks like he's trying to sneak an arm under for another guillotine attempt as Fickett tries to pass the guard. Hallman defends it well but Fickett lands a HARD elbow and works to pass again from the top. Hallman holds him down and the referee stands the fight back up, with Fickett cracking Hallman with a left hand. Hallman gets another armbar attempt from the bottom but Fickett pulls free from it, with Hallman switching to a kimura but he can't secure it and Fickett lands a couple of punches as the round finishes up.

Round Analysis: That one goes to Hallman, but just barely. If it hadn't been for the two submission attempts that looked to be pretty tightly sunk, I think he would have lost the round, but he managed to end up squeaking it out based on that. Fickett really looked to be coming on at the end of that round though, so this one could easily go to him as well.


Round Two

They touch gloves again and Fickett comes forward with a combination, pressing Hallman against the cage with a clinch. Hallman throws some punches to the head and body but there's nothing on them as Fickett lands a HARD knee to the body. Hallman misses with a knee to the head and Fickett lands a beautiful combination and takes Hallman down HARD, slamming him quickly to the mat. Fickett presses Hallman up against the cage and postures up with a couple of right hands before the action slows a little. Fickett with another combination from the top as Hallman tries for another armbar attempt and Fickett just backs out of the guard and stands up. Hallman gets back to his feet and they both miss on combinations before Fickett gets back to the clinch against the fence. Forearm to the head by Fickett and he tries for another takedown but Hallman stuffs it and lands a good knee to the body. They stop the fight to check on a cut under Fickett's left eye, but all is good and the fight is restarted. Fickett with a NICE jab and Hallman responds with a big right hand back. Hallman ends up on top out of a Fickett takedown attempt and tries to press Fickett against the fence but there's nothing there really. Hallman in the half-guard and Fickett tries to bridge out of the bottom position but instead just holds Hallman down. Fickett rolls away as Hallman tries a guard pass, but eats a shot and ends up giving up side control. Fickett gets it back to guard and the round closes out with Hallman trying to land some strikes.

Round Analysis: Another close round, where it all depends on what you give more credence to, the beginning or the end. Fickett had the first part of the round sewn up, but then Hallman came back at the end with some good striking from the dominant positions. I'd wager that Hallman might have gotten this round, but it's really close either way. A great fight that is tremendously even going into the third round.


Round Three

Fickett comes out with the jab again and rushes forward, avoiding a spinning back fist from Hallman and getting a nice double-leg takedown. Fickett lands some forearm shots to the head and presses Hallman up against the cage, trying to pass into side control. Hallman tries to get back to guard but Fickett passes to the side control and ends up landing a couple of short forearms before he takes the full mount. Fickett works well from the mount with short punches to the head and body before posturing up to land a HARD elbow to the face. Hallman tries to buck but he can't get Fickett off and ends up eating more elbows. Hallman gets it back to half-guard and Fickett just backs off to stand the fight back up. Fickett dances around Hallman tries the spinning back fist again but it misses again and Fickett gets the takedown into half-guard. Fickett works from the top and presses Hallman against the fence as he tries to pass the guard, but Hallman does well to keep him in it. Fickett lands a couple of strikes and then backs out of the guard again to get the fight to its feet. Fickett gets into the clinch again and they just clinch against the fence until the referee separates them. Fickett shoots in and Hallman catches him with a bit of a knee and they end up going down with Fickett on top and in the half-guard. Hallman gets it back to full guard but Fickett is throwing punches as Hallman locks in an armbar with 10 seconds left. Hallman cranks on it and Fickett guts it out until the end of the round and the end of the fight.

Winner: Drew Fickett, Split Decision

Fight Analysis: What a great fight. It could have been truly memorable had Hallman not gassed out as badly as he did at the end, but it was still a really good war between two veterans. This was also a bit of a coming-out party for Fickett as he showed that he had what it takes to stick it out with some of the tougher, upper-level competition in the division.



Match Nine: Middleweights
Gustavo Machado vs. Benji Radach (11-1, 1 NC)

This fight takes place at a bit of a weird time for Radach, as he'd just come off of a moderately successful stint in the UFC and was a few years away from his next shot at the big time in the IFL. For now, he was plugging away at smaller shows like this one and would actually be out of the sport altogether less than a year after this fight. Machado is less experienced, but has definitely faced tougher competition, losing to Ricardo Arona in RINGS and drawing with Yuki Sasaki in DEEP. His last fight was a decision win over current UFC fighter Nate Quarry at King Of The Cage: Flaming Fury.


Round One

Radach throws a combination that misses and Machado throws one of his own and shoots in for a takedown attempt that Radach defends well. Radach tries for a trip takedown of his own and gets it, working from the full guard and landing a couple of right hands. Radach tries to press Machado against the cage and lands some forearms as Machado tries for a kimura from the bottom. Radach postures up and UNLOADS with some hard rights and lefts, overwhelming Machado. Machado tries to kick him away but he can't and Radach continues to pummel away, KNOCKING MACHADO OUT COLD. I mean limp, out cold, frosted and down.

Winner: Benji Radach, TKO at 1:31 of Round One

Fight Analysis: Wow, Radach certainly wasn't getting paid by the hour was he? To be fighting at the size that he is, and to have the handspeed that he has is pretty remarkable. He just completely overwhelmed Machado and totally took him out of his gameplan. Radach was a cut above in this fight and it's a shame he ended up dropping out like he did before coming back strong in the IFL. Radach vs. Silva might be a hell of a fight if that one were ever to come about.


As usual with these quickie King Of The Cage shows, we're right to the credits and over and OUT! That does it for another edition of The Sprawl and Brawl and be sure to join me next week for the next review. I'm not entirely sure what I'll be up to next, but I have a good number of events and organizations to choose from so I'm sure I'll find something with some good beatings to check out. I'm not promising anything but I think that it's going to be pretty cool, just because I wrote it and last I heard I'm not too terrible. All that's left is to say goodbye, so in the mean time and in between time, I'll see you all here next time for an all-new Sprawl and Brawl Video Review!!

The 411: The squashes at the beginning of the card weren't terribly offensive and there was a really good back and forth fight between Fickett and Hallman. Good fights always make me a happy reviewer and leave me to feel a little better about some of the less decent fights. It was also cool to see Benji Radach look like an absolute animal in the main event too, so this one gets the proverbial thumbs up from me.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]