King of the Cage 13: Revolution5/17/2002Reno, Nevada bills itself as “the Biggest Little City in the World”. Reno is kind of the kid brother to Las Vegas, perhaps not as large or world renowned, but the family resemblance is unmistakable and Reno has a charm all of it`s own. Similarly, the King of the Cage could very well bill itself as the Biggest Little Show in the World”, although with their first Pay Per View not in the books the King of the Cage promotion may well not be a little promotion for long. (Following along this theme, Javier Vasquez is hereby declared the “Biggest Little Fighter in the World”, Daniel Bobish is the “Biggest Big Fighter in the World and Ygnewie Malmsteen? Well he`s just huge.)
Word of warning: If you want decent coverage of the event, go to Sherdog.com or Shownopity.com (who has a lot of good pictures and video interviews). My brand new $30 digital camera took pictures like a $30 (that`s thirty) camera would take pictures; consequently the only pictures I have put up are heavily Photoshopped to make them look as fuzzy as they do anyway. The infamous video camera never made it out of my bag. I was all over the PPV; look for the handsome dude by the ring entrance wearing an Onthemat t-shirt!
The actual cage is smaller than the arenas in most other shows. However this makes for some rather quick and intense bouts. Very few fights in KOTC end in a judge`s decision. Couple this with a good crowd and some of the hottest ring girls in the business, and you have the makings for a fun show.
Joey Villasenor defeats Timothy Credeur by submission (strikes) in 3:24 of Round 2.
OTM friend Timothy Credeur looked impressive a few weeks back at Copa Pacifica, winning the light heavyweight purple belt division by submitting all of his opponents. In the first of the preliminary fights of the night he had a bit more difficulty as every time he attempted to engage his vaunted guard work Villasenor executed a perfect ground and pound game. Tim would pull to guard, Villasenor would base out and rain down punishment. Finally in about the third minute of the second round Timothy had had enough as Villasenor`s blows did far more damage and were finding their target with far more frequency as the two were on the mat against the cage. Tough battle between these two!
Cal Worsham defeats Rick Kollup by submission (strikes) in 1:37 or Round 1.
Cal Worsham has been around this sport since the very beginning. Rick Kollup was the hometown favorite. Worsham strides across the ring with intensity and finishes the fight via strikes before Kollup has much of a chance to display anything.
Phillip Miller defeats Robert Ramirez by submission (strikes) in 4:14 of round 1.
Another quick, but entertaining bout.
David Fox defeats Rocky Batastini via DQ (Illegal Knee)
Rocky was apparently another local boy, as the crowd was very vocal in it`s support for the first televised bout of the evening. Rocky quickly got control of the situation and took David Fox down. However while he had side control, he fired off an illegal knee to the head which opened up a cut on Fox which halted the bout. The crowd roared in approval until the DQ was announced, but rules are rules.
Mike Rogers defeats Joey Guel via submission (arm triangle choke) in 4:45 in round 1.
Joey Guel stepped into this fight at the last second when Bobby Southworth had to withdraw with a knee injury. On the feet the pace of the fight was slower as Mike Rogers attempted to initiate the takedowns and Guel was looking to trade blows. A jab opened up a cut below Mike`s eyes that would later require 8 stiches to close, however the bout continued and Mike was able to get the match to the ground, where he got the mount and managed to apply a choke from there, causing Guel to tap out. (Mike also gets the award for having the best post fight party story, congrats Mike!)
Akira Shoji defeats David Roberts via submission (armbar) at 4:46 in round 2
Another exciting bout, David Roberts controlled the match early and nearly submitted Akira via a rear naked early in the bout. However the Pride veteran proved extremely crafty and escaped. In the second round Akira secured a mount, switched to side control, then swung around and scored an excellent armbar for the victory.
Quinton Jackson defeats Sean Gray via TKO at 37 seconds into round 3.
The most exciting fight of the night. Anyone expecting Quinton to steamroller his way to victory had to be surprised by the strong performance by Sean Gray, who did a good job of dictating the pace of the fight on the feet in the early goings. However towards the end of the second round Quinton scored one of his trademark slams and began to dominate, delivering punishment until Quinton was saved by the bell in the second. Sean looked exhausted after the second, but managed to come out for the third, where Jackson quickly finished the bout off (must have been the shorts, eh Jeff)?
Javier Vasquez defeats Sean Wilmot via submission (armbar) at 1:57 in round 1.
Javier “Showtime” Vasquez entered the ring in his customary pink shorts. He quickly charged across the ring and scored a lightening quick takedown on Sean Wilmot, passed the half guard, secured the mount, then swung around for an armbar. An absolute clinic by Javier, who`s looking for more challenges in the future.
Daniel Bobish defeats Mike Kyle via submission (verbal submission) at 3:25 in Round 1.
Mike Kyle weighed in at about 270 pounds and possessed some of the biggest thighs I`ve ever seen on a person. Daniel Bobish weighed in about 320 pounds and is among the larger fighters I`ve seen. You knew this was going to be a war. Mike Kyle came in strong and was actually getting the upper hand on Bobish until the bout was halted due to a accidental finger to Bobish`s eye. Kyle`s corner was claiming that Bobish gave up, but the fight continued anyways. This time Bobish seemed a bit angrier, and he grounded and POUNDED Kyle for the victory.
Overall it was a good show. Looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for King of the Cage.