The Sprawl And Brawl Video Review: King Of The Cage - Conquest
Posted by Randy Harrison on 04.23.2008
King Of The Cage invades Canada's Sports Leader, TSN, as the cable network gets a taste of mixed martial arts action. Six big fights highlight the card from Calgary as the Sprawl and Brawl returns!!
Howdy folks, and welcome to another edition of The Sprawl and Brawl Video Review. King Of The Cage gets the review treatment again this week, with an event that's dear to my heart because it's located in my home and native land. This is a King Of The Cage Canada special event, from the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was special in that it was broadcast across Canada on TSN. The full card for this event looked pretty spectacular, but sadly this DVD features only the six fights broadcast on the TSN special. Outside of those fights, guys like current UFC fighter Jason Day, and current free-agent and possibly soon to be Affliction MMA star Ben Rothwell had fights and both won in the first round of their respective fights. Let us not be disappointed for too long though, because there are six excellent fights on the card, and with TSN on board, the production aspects should be much better than on the regular King Of The Cage shows. Enough of my yammering, let's get to the cage!!
This King Of The Cage event is part of the five-disc, ten event Underground Worldwide box set available here.
King Of The Cage - Conquest
Mauro Ranallo and Terry Trebilcock are cageside and they're previewing the night's card including the main event of Blake Frederickson vs. Jake Short. Trebilcock talks about Frederickson's skills as a kickboxer and how Short is going to want to work ground and pound against the cage. Ranallo runs us through the rules, with a rather extensive rundown, which is a nice touch, and they throw us up to the ring announcer who gets the crowd pumped up through a rain of pyro. I'm already noticing a huge difference between the KOTC Canada shows and the regular KOTC shows.
Match One: Middlewieghts
Kyle Cheyne (0-2) vs Daryl Bonar (0-0)
Another nice touch is that each fight gets a pre-fight video package. Cheyne talks about how wild it is for him being eighteen and doing MMA. Bonar talks about how his army training has helped him and he brings all of those attributes to MMA. Cheyne says that he has a lot of boxing and jiu-jitsu experience and that it's all going to help him in this fight, while Bonar speaks about his calmness under pressure and how he's going to bring a killer instinct into the cage. Cheyne asks if Bonar is ready to feel the pain in the cage, while Bonar calls Cheyne "Mr. Cheyne" despite being only eighteen and says that if he doesn't come correct that Bonar will. OOOOH, come correct son!! Check yo self before you wreck yo self!!! Cheyne gets a good reaction coming to the cage and we hear about his first fight that ended in a little over a minute in the first round with him being choked out. Bonar gets a decent reaction himself, making his KOTC debut. He goes all Ken Shamrock-crazy and shrieks as his name is announced. Well, that and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee I suppose.
Round One
Goddamn, as if I didn't know it already, but Canada has some fine-ass women. Ahem, the bell rings to start the first round and they tough gloves with Bonar landing some low kicks and a Thai knee up the middle before Cheyne rushes in for a takedown. Bonar grabs a guillotine and cinches up on it, forcing Cheyne to tap out a little over thirty seconds into the fight. Cheyne falls to his back, cursing himself over the loss.
Winner: Daryl Bonar, submission (guillotine choke) at 0:35 of Round One
Fight Analysis: Bonar made sure that lightning struck twice on the young kid from Alberta. Cheyne looks like he's more than willing to fight, he's just going to need to have a LOT more seasoning to make an impact in MMA. Bonar did a great job of transitioning that arm-in guillotine to a straight guillotine with a crafty little move that belied his own lack of MMA experience. Solid move and a solid win for Bonar.
After the fight Bonar is interviewed and he says that he wasn't nervous at all for his first KOTC Canada fight and he thanks TSN and KOTC for growing the sport and the fans for putting their money down on the show. He also thanks his trainer, all the while showing the military background and respect that that entails.
Match Two: Welterweights
Cruz Chacon (7-11) vs. Chris Wilson (6-1, 1 NC)
Chacon has the weirdest MMA nickname ever, "The May-Tec Warrior", and he says that he's goign to be more of a stand-up fighter than anything else. Wilson says that he enjoys the stand-up game and the fluidity of moving and landing a hard punch flush. Chacon says that he usually ends up on the ground but that he wants to try to keep the fight standing so that he can give the fans what they want. Wilson talks about how much it helps him to have the training regimen and training partners that being a member of Team Quest can allow you to have. Chacon wants people to know that Mexicans aren't only known for boxing, but that they can be MMA stars too. Wilson says that Chacon isn't going to be able to out-gas him or out-fight him and that he better be ready to lose. Chacon says that he's going to go out there for himself and his trainers and that he's going to leave it all in the cage. Trebilcock talks up Chacon, trying to give him a lot better record than what his actual fight record is. Wilson gets a good response from the crowd, just for having Nate Quarry in his corner. Some chick in the front row has a Winnipeg Jets jersey on and it's very happy-making for me.
Round One
Ranallo talks about how Wilson loves the triangle choke and that he favors that as his submission of choice. They touch gloves to start the round and circle before Wilson throws a push kick, which Chacon responds to with a leg kick. Wilson throws a combination and forces Chacon against the cage for a moment before they trade leg kicks. Wilson rushes forward with another combination and grabs the Thai clinch to land some knees up the middle before they clinch against the cage. Chacon grabs a bodylock and SUPLEXES Wilson over, taking him down and moving to side control. Wilson gets the fight back to half-guard and Chacon pushes him against the cage while Wilson tries to move for a triangle choke. The referee stands them back up? That makes no sense at all as Wilson was trying for the triangle choke and he's understandably pissed. Wilson comes forward with another couple of knees and then they go back to circling around the cage. Superman punch lands for Wilson and he darts back to the outside, throwing another front kick. A jab and a solid one-two combination lands for Wilson and Chacon throws an outside leg kick that lands. Wilson moves forward again with another combination of punches and knees, forcing Chacon to the cage. OVERHAND RIGHT lands on the jaw from Wilson and another one and Chacon just shrugs them off like they were nothing. Wow, that's one hell of a chin. High kick from Wilson gets blocked and Chacon throws a leg kick that lands. They circle a little and Chacon throws a spinning back kick to the head that misses as the round ends.
Round Analysis: Chacon had his moment with that awesome suplex, but the rest of the round was fullly Wilson's as he controlled the pace and landed the better strikes. Chacon looks like he has tons of heart, but he's just a step behind what Wilson has to offer.
Round Two
Wilson throws a high kick that gets blocked and comes forward with an eight or nine punch combination that lands and Chacon can only throw a body kick to stop the flurry. Wilson lands a good push kick then tries for the high kick again but it gets blocked. Wilson with some good jabs and he JUST misses a big overhand right before Chacon shoots in for a takedown. Wilson pulls guard and gets a butterfly guard, throwing a high guard up to possibly look for a triangle choke. Wilson eats a decent elbow from Chacon and he again throws the guard up to try for the triangle. Chacon tries a guard pass but can't get it and falls back into the guard and the triangle trap is set. Wilson starts raining in strikes, similar to the end of the Anderson Silva/Travis Lutter fight and he starts cranking harder on the triangle, straightening out Chacon's arm to try for an armbar, but in the end the triangle choke finishes him off.
Winner: Chris Wilson, submission (triangle choke) at 2:43 of Round Two
Fight Analysis: You can't accuse Mauro Ranallo of not doing his homework at least, since he talked about Wilson's triangle skills in the pre-fight and Wilson finished with that exact submission hold. Wilson showed what being a product of Team Quest training can do for you and he used every ounce of his training, showing all of his skills in a well-rounded display of mixed martial arts. Wilson impressed me and showed that he could do big things in MMA, as evidenced by his finally making the UFC. Impressive to see him striking during the triangle as well, which is something that not a lot of guys think to do and it really helped him finish the choke and sink it in all the way.
After the fight, Wilson is in the cage with ring announcer/interviewer extraordinaire Keith Crawford and he says that it felt good to be in the cage and he felt prepared thanks to his training partners. He thanks his sponsors and his chiropractor and then looks up at the big screen to talk us through the finish, feeling like he could set something up on the ground and that the elbows were going to set things up. He talks about finishing of the triangle then puts over the toughness of Chacon.
Match Three: Lightweights
Blake Frederickson (10-3) vs. Jake Short (10-7)
Frederickson likes that there's going to be the exposure on TSN, but he's just going to handle his business and do his thing. Short gives Frederickson his props, but also says that he's never been in the cage with someone like him and that he's a Division I wrestler and that he has all the skills to put him on his back. They both talk about how they're going to plan to end the fight and Frederickson gets a chip on his shoulder about his Canadian heritage and says that he's going to knock Short out cold. Short says that he has the skills to put him on his back and end the fight, closing by saying it's not going to be a good night for him. Frederickson says that Jake is going to come up a little....short. HAH! Short comes out to Real American...yes, the Hulk Hogan song. BWAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
Round One
Ken Shamrock joins the booth for the fight and he seems rather excited to be there. The talk comes to the PRIDE 30 loss by Shamrock to Kazushi Sakuraba and they joke a little about a phantom-punch before the bell rings. Short closes on Frederickson and gets a clinch into a bodylock but Frederickson does well to block that takedown attempt against the fence. Frederickson lands a good knee to the body as Short tries for a trip, finally throwing Frederickson over into side control. Short begins to work from the half-guard and Frederickson grabs for a kimura, using it to get to his feet before Short slams him back down. Short works from the full guard and Frederickson works some short strikes from the bottom as Short holds him down on the mat. Short stands up out of the guard and tries to throw a big elbow but he misses it and Frederickson is able to scoot out and get to his feet again. That's a momentary thing as Short takes him right back down, but Frederickson locks in a triangle choke, punching at Short's head before Short pulls free from the hold. He falls back down into the full guard and lands some body shots to Frederickson, but there's not a lot there at the moment. Frederickson keeps trying for the kimura and it forces Short to stand back up before falling back into the guard again. Frederickson kicks Short away and then lands some short elbows as the fight ends up back in his guard. Short stands out of the guard again and lands a hard leg kick, dropping a right hand down as he falls back into the guard and they trade short punches to end the round.
Round Analysis: Short gets the takedowns but Frederickson did better striking from the bottom. A tough round to score based on position and striking, but I'd say that Short would probably take it just because he had more takedowns and those can tend to play big with the judges. Nice attempt on the triangle from Frederickson though, and good elbows from the bottom that could come into play later in the fight.
Round Two
They clinch against the fence to begin the second round and Frederickson tries a trip takedown but ends up taken down and put on his back with full guard in effect. Short just lays on top and throws a couple of shots but doesn't do a lot with his top position. The referee stops things and stands them back up as Frederickson tries to strike on the feet. Short gets another deep double-leg attempt and tries for a throw but Short ends up falling onto his back. Frederickson takes the mount and then takes Short's back, landing a ton of short right and left hands, trying to flatten out Short after sinking in both hooks. Short manages to reverse out of that position and ends up back in the guard of Frederickson, standing out of it and throwing a leg kick. Short gets back into the guard and does more laying, throwing some short punches and the referee stands them back up again. Frederickson misses a high kick and then rushes in with a punch, leading to a clinch against the fence. Some good short standing elbows from Frederickson and he starts to drop some hammerfists on Short's head while Short tries for another single-leg takedown. They clinch against the fence again as Frederickson tries for a standing kimura and sprawls well against the cage. Foot stomp from Short and he rams Frederickson against the fence and Frederickson drops a couple more hammerfists on him and they sprawl and grapple standing up until the bell rings to end the fight.
Winner: Unanimous Draw
Fight Analysis: First round to Short, second round to Frederickson, and now you see why I hate two round fights that go to decisions. They will either be incredibly boring fights that see one fighter dominate another to win 20-18, or they end up being close fights that go as 19-19 draws. There is really no need for two round fights, and I hope that they start slowly making their way out of MMA in favor of all fights being three rounds, minus championship bouts.
Crowd doesn't seem terribly happy with that decision and Short deosn't look it either, while Frederickson tries to calm the boo birds in the audience. Shamrock talks about how Short is going to have to try to do more with his takedowns when he gets them and says that he agrees with the draw because it would have been a shame to give either fighter a loss for this fight.
Match Four: Lightweights
David Mah (1-0) vs. Tyler Jackson (2-2)
Mah talks about how there is very little difference between fighting in a cage and fighting in a ring because he feels like he can fight standing or on the ground. Jackson is excited and wants to stand and bang. Mah feels like he can outwit fighters the longer the fight goes and says that it's his strength before saying that he wants to go for a five-second KO or a submission in under a minute. Jackson says that he's going to knock out Mah with some sprawl and brawl. Mah says that it's nothing personal and only business. He apologizes for sleeping with Jackson's woman and hopes for a good clean fight. Jackson threatens Mah, the same way that I would if someone apologized for sleeping with my woman. Mah lists his fighting style as "Awesome", and comes to the cage looking like The Great Muta with his face fully covered and pulling off the hood to do the MIST SPRAY! Jackson makes his way to the cage with a black cowboy hat, a la Heath Herring.
Round One
They touch gloves and exchange combinations while they try to find their range, circling in the middle of the cage. Jackson presses Mah against the cage and gets a takedown, pulling his head free of a guillotine attempt by Mah. Armbar attempt from Mah now and Jackson slams him HARD to break free of it, beginning to work from Mah's guard. Elbow landed by Jackson and he backs out of the guard, letting Mah back to his feet. Solid one-two lands for Jackson and they exchange with Mah landing a shot and getting a good knee to the body. He throws Jackson, but ends up reversed and on the bottom before Jackson takes his back. Mah looks to try for a front-side kimura and Jackson gets a NASTY German suplex with Mah still trying to land that armbar. The referee warns Jackson about strikes to the back of the head with his heel strikes and Mah is given time to recover. This referee is on it, explaining fully to everyone that he has a full five minutes to recover if he needs it. Good job from that referee before he restarts the fight. Jackson gets a good one-two combination again and Mah lands a good knee before getting slammed to the mat again HARD. Mah with a guillotine but Jackson has an arm in so he should be just fine. Jackson pops his head out and begins to work the ground and pound, doing some elbow striking on the mat. He presses Mah against the cage and lands a HARD elbow, splitting Mah WIDE OPEN. I mean that cut GUSHES in a matter of seconds. His entire head is nearly covered in blood from the cut and the fight is over.
Winner: Tyler Jackson, TKO (cut stoppage), at 3:39 of Round One
Fight Analysis: Jackson looked good, but it's a shame that this fight was stopped when it was. They looked like they were on their way to putting on a very good fight that probably would have gone the distance but then that nasty slicing elbow landed and it was all over. Great placement on the elbow from Jackson and his slams were very impressive to see.
Jackson gets his interview time with Keith Crawford and he says that it felt great for his first time in. He says that he's been working his wrestling and ground and pound because he always has the stand-up in his back pocket. Jackson thanks a couple of his trainers and that's it for his interview time.
Match Five: Welterweights
Tim Thurston (3-0) vs. Jason Tatlow (2-2)
Thurston says that he can take this fight to the ground or fight stand-up, either way he's ready for battle. Tatlow is excited for his first pro fight and just wants to get in there. Thurston says that he's trained in boxing for the past fifteen years or so and in jiu-jitsu for the past five or six, while Tatlow says that he's a mixed-style fighter, training in MMA for about three years. Thurston feels like the cage is going to be an advantage because he's going to be able to use it to keep his feet and keep the fight standing and he has knockout power in both hands. Tatlow says that he's trained hard and he's gonna "give 'er". Thurston predicts a knockout.
Round One
They touch glovs and Tatlow tries for a Superman punch, rushing Thurston against the cage and clinching him up on the fence. Thurston reverses and puts Tatlow's back on the fence and lands a HARD knee to the body. A hard standing elbow from Thurston lands and they trade knees and positions against the fence from the clinch. The referee breaks them and separates them to the center as Thurston lands a solid one-two combination before Tatlow grabs the clinch again, bodylocking and working against the fence. Overhand right lands for Thurston in the clinch and Tatlow gets a trip takedown, moving to half-guard to land some solid elbows and ground and pound. Thurston tries to work off the fence but he can't do it and Tatlow continues to land short elbows to the face. Thurston does well to avoid any serious damage but is still taking some punishment from those elbow as Tatlow tries to pass to the full mount. Thurston rolls to his side and tries to get free as he's bleeding from the bridge of his nose and the referee stands them back up. High kick attempt gets caught by Thurston and he lands a HARD knee to the body and a good uppercut and elbow while they stand against the fence. Another knee from Thurston misses and they trade knees to the body as the bell sounds.
Round Analysis: Tatlow did well with the top position and wins the round, but he needs to try to get forward to do more in terms of landing shots or improving to mount or side control. Thurston was doing well enough to avoid any serious damage but those short elbows took a toll on him. It will be interesting to see if his cardio is affected any by that round and having Tatlow laying on him with full weight.
Round Two
Thurston lands a right hand and Tatlow follows that with a good one-two combination before they clinch against the cage. Tatlow does a little foot stomping and hits an uppercut to the body before landing another solid knee. Thurston JUST misses an uppercut and the referee breaks them from the cage and restarts them in the center. Tatlow just misses with a one-two combination and they're back in the clinch with Tatlow trying a trip takedown. Thurston lands a VERY solid combination that stuns Tatlow a little and he goes right back to the clinch to defend against the shots. Thurston eats a hard knee to the body and gets pushed against the fence before he fires back with two or three knees of his own to Tatlow's midsection. The referee breaks them again and separates them as Tatlow hits a push kick but misses a jumping something or other. Thurston lands a couple of good jabs and misses an overhand right before they move right back to the clinch with Tatlow hitting a good knee and some foot stomps. Tatlow is looking for the trip again but Thurston lands some good elbows from the clinch and a knee to the body. Another restart with thirty seconds left and Tatlow lands a HARD combination, clinching and foot stomping on Thurston against the fence. They end clinched against the cage until the round ends.
Winner: Jason Tatlow, Split Decision
Fight Analysis: This looked more like a decisive round for Tatlow as he controlled the majority with Thurston landing in short bursts but not being able to break free from Tatlow's clinch to get any sustained pressure going. A close fight, but Tatlow deserved the win because he was the man on top for most of the match and he controlled nearly the whole fight in terms of where it was fought and how. He also landed some good strikes and scored the takedowns he needed to win.
Tatlow is in the ring for his interview and he looks excited about his first pro win. He says that it feels really good to get the first fight out of the way and he thought that it was a very tough fight. He'd have liked to control the fight a little more and used his skills on the ground and he talks up how strong Thurston was. He begins talking about the replay but just kind of tapers out and stops talking. Interview over.
We move to Tim Thurston backstage, saying that he thought it was a good fight and that he didn't let his hands go enough and that he had trouble getting his arms free to strike. He feels like if he lets his hands go more than he did in this fight that he'll have more success in the future.
Match Six: Lightweights
Victor Hernandez (1-7) vs. Joe Martin (0-2)
Hernandez says that he loves coming to a different country to fight and that he loves to display his skills and he likes being the underdog. Martin is making his KOTC debut and thinks that it's a great opportunity for him and that he's going to stand and bang. Hernandez talks about how the cage favors the striker and that he's for the cage. Martin says that his training with Ken Shamrock is fantastic and that it's a huge help for him to get to use Shamrock's experience. Hernandez favors Muay Thai and says that he can't go to the ground much, while Martin says that he's much more well-rounded and will be comfortable wherever the fight goes. Martin will try to knock him out but that if he needs to he'll take the fight to the ground. They trade idle threats and then it's off to the cage!
Round One
They touch gloves and Martin moves in with a clinch as they grapple against the fence before Martin gets the takedown, ending up in Hernandez's guard. Martin takes the mount and lands a couple of short punches before Hernandez gets the sweep and takes top position. He lifts Martin for a slam, but as they hit the mat Martin locks in a triangle choke and Hernandez tries to slam out of it. He throws a couple of strikes trying to break free of it but he can't and has to tap out.
Winner: Joe Martin, submission (triangle choke) at 1:25 of Round One
Fight Analysis: A quick win from Martin and he looked like he had a great skill-set from his training with Ken Shamrock. I'm not saying that so much because of the triangle because I don't recall Shamrock being a BJJ wizard, but mainly that Martin looked calm and relaxed in the cage, the sign of a true pro. A solid win for Martin and one that has to be rewarding since he spoke before the fight of finally being able to dedicate himself full-time to training.
Martin talks in the cage with Keith Crawford and says that it felt great inside the cage and that all the hard work paid off. He says that Shamrock is tough on them in training but he's a great coach and progressing a ton since beginning to train full-time. Shamrock says that he thought the fight was good and that each time he steps in his opponents are going to have to get tougher and that they're looking at the next step. Martin thanks KOTC and his opponent as well as kissing a little ass, saying he loves Canada. We see Mauro and Terry cageside, giving us their final thoughts of the night's action and we're out!
The 411: If you can look past the terrible records of some of the fighters, the action was really good. Short was a bit too much of a lay and pray artist in the Frederickson fight, but the rest of the fights were solid action and good stoppages. Chris Wilson was obviously the most talented guy on the card and looked like a diamond in the rough, so it was cool to see some of his early work. The Canadian crowd was into the fights, much like they were last weekend at UFC 83 and were only booing when the fights went to the mat with nothing happening. A good show for TSN and a good show for fans who might have only been checking MMA out for the first time.
