Soboba Casino June 12th, 2005 San Jacinto, California
King of the Cage up and comer Nam Phan impressed the crowd and his numerous fans in the Main Event fight of the night. Giving up almost 20lbs to last minute match up Sost “the Minute Man” Infante did nothing to stop Nam from getting his 3rd win in a row after losing a tough decision (split) to Nic Ertl (Cesar Gracie) at WEC 11.
Sost wasted no time in getting away from Nam’s hard hitting hands by closing the gap and getting Nam up against the cage. Phan and Infante traded knees but it was Phan’s punch from the clinch that would end the fight. Phan landed a right hook to Sost’s left eye opening up a large cut above the bigger mans eye. Sost was able to take Phan down shortly after the punch but the ref was forced to stop the fight after the doctor was unable to stop the bleeding. Phan TKO (Cut) 0:51 Rd 1
In the final fight of the night King of the Cage rookie Emmanuel Ley from San Diego fought Ray “Lights Out” Lazama. Lazama’s last fight was an impressive win in his fight vs. Aaron Wetherspoon.
The fight begins with Ray and Ley clinching. Ray gets the double under hooks and works for a takedown but Ley counters with a guillotine attempt. The fighters brake apart and Ley looks to shoot a double while Lazama looks to keep it standing by throwing several kicks and punches. The fighters once again clinch with Lazama getting the best of it by landing several hard knees and few good rights. The fighters once again break apart this time Lazama throws some more punches hurting Ley, but Ley fires back with some big lefts. The fighters clinch again with Ray getting some good knees but he gets sloppy and Ley takes advantage by landing a left that sends Lazama to the mat. With Lazama visibly hurt for some reason Ley falls right into his guard then goes for a leg lock. After a scramble Lazama ends up with side mount. Ley is able to counter and flip Lazama over but Ray gets Emmanuel in his guard then goes for a triangle. Ley is able to escape as the round ends.
Round 2 starts with some more Clinch work with Ray able to get off several knees to Leys head. Ley is eventually able to get the takedown but once again is put in Lazama’s triangle where he is unable to escape and forced to give up early in the second round. Lazama tap out Triangle Rd 2.
Devon “Much Love” Miller came down the ramp with a sign that said “Love cannot be defeated”. Nothing is further from the truth. Randy Velarde showed that love can’t conquer all by quickly knocking out his opponent. Velarde TKO 0:41 Rd 1
Another King of the Cage fan favorite Thomas “the Wildman” Denny took on relative new comer Thomas Padilla. Padilla took this fight with less than a months rest after beating Adolphus Walker in a May King of the Cage event. Thomas beat Ray Elbe by submission in his last fight
Denny wasted no time coming after Padilla by throwing out a push kick followed by a right and a left. After throwing a wild high kick Denny takes down Padilla who impressively gets back up to his feet. Denny showing his wrestling skills slams Padilla down to the map with a text book double leg. Working from sidemount Denny easily passes to full mount and Padilla gives up his back. Denny slides in his hooks breaks down Padillas base and finishes with the rear naked choke. Denny fires up the crowd for his next opponent a rematch with James Fanshier for the King of the Cage 170lb belt. Denny Tap Out (Rear Naked Choke) 1:54 1
Coming from “the Streets of Anaheim” Thomas Kenney fought Aaron Torres from the Shark Tank. Although Kenny asked me when I talked to him before the fight if I knew anything about Torres he didn’t seem scared one bit, just excited about his new big sponsor DeWALT and the future of big sponsors in MMA.
Thomas wasted no time in shooting for the double leg but Torres countered by getting an underhook. Kenney then looked for a high crotch take down but gave up when Torres countered with knees. Kenney then finally secured the double under hooks and took Torres down to the delight of his many fans chanting his name from the cheap seats. Kenney landed in Torres half guard then looked to pass to sidemount but Torres defended well so Kenny tried passing to full mount and in a scramble Torres was able to push Kenney off and secure his back. Torres then attempts a rear naked choke but Thomas defends well and is able to stand up. After both fighters are up Kenney gets a double leg but this time Torres counters with a guillotine. Kenney is able to escape and push Torres up against the fence then pass to the side where he delivers some knees to the body. Torres is able to escape from the bottom again but when he tries to take Thomas down Kenney applies a deep guillotine choke that ends the fight standing. Kenney Tap Out (Guillotine Choke) 3:33 Rd 1
John Cole looked to take on Richard Solis for the 3rd time in this one sided grudge match. Cole decisively beat Solis in there first 2 fights by simply over powering him. Cole just took Solis down and used his superior wrestling to work his ground and pound to get 2 unanimous decisions. Talking with Richard before the fight I was shocked to learn that he was fighting Solis for the 3rd time, I knew he was on the card but didn’t know he was going up against Cole again. In Richards last fight vs. Cole he was training at the same BJJ School (Ralph Gracie OC) as me so I would often shoot the shit with him and some other students after class. Not wanting to see Richard get beat again by Cole but not wanting to spook him before a big fight I asked him where he was training and how and how it was going. He said his training was going good and that he was training a lot of stand up.
Solis comes out looking to trade punches but Cole backs away looking for his opportunity to shoot for the takedown. They eventually end up in the clinch where Solis lands a few punches and Cole lands a few knees. The ref breaks them up from the clinch and Solis begins to throw punches again but this time Cole decides to trade instead of backing away and ends up getting caught by a few of Richards punches. Hurt, Cole covers up and Solis begins to knee the wounded fighter to the head and body. Solis lands a big knee to Coles chin dropping the wrestler to his knees where Solis is able to get the ref stoppage. Great fight Richard! Solis TKO 1:55 Rd 1
John Paulson from team Subfighter took on Shad Smith who came down to the ring in Hannibal the Cannibal type outfit including the straight jacket and the mask. Shad came out swinging but Paul is able to connect with a big right after Shads telegraphed left hook misses. The punch sends Smith to the mat where Paulson begins to work to secure Shad’s back and apply the rear naked choke. Shad defends the choke well and is able to stall out for the stand up. The ref stands them up but Shad throws another right hand down left hook and this time is knocked out by the same big right that hurt him earlier. Paulson KO 1:19 Rd 1
In the 10th fight of the night Erik “Bad” Apple took on KOTC new comer Mark Thorne. Apple wasted no time taking down Thorne and scooting him to his corner where he worked his ground and pound while corner men Justin Levens and Mike Guymon shouted out instructions. Thorne attempted an arm bar but Erik was able to escape that and a few ankle lock attempts before ending up back on top. Apple was later able to pass guard and finished the round pounding Thorne from the mount position.
Round 2 brought more of the same. Apple started the round with a few Ruas like low kicks that made Mark wince. Apple then effortlessly took down Mark and moved to side mount. Apple began to apply a Key lock but abandoned the submission for a better position by getting mount. Mark them gave up his back but after taking a few punches from Erik decided to roll to sidemount instead. Apple took advantage of his scrambling opponent by getting knee on belly and landing enough heavy punches to get Marks corner to throw in the towel. This gave the King of the Cage PBP announcer his 6th win in a row. Apple TKO (Corner Stoppage) 1:57 Rd 2
Cipi Gamino took the mount early and delivered enough punches to Bucky Hamilton to make him tap out with only 1:19 gone by in the first. Gamino tap out strikes 1:19 Rd 1
King of the Cage: San Jacinto Under Card
The first under card fight of the night was between Mac Danzig and Mike Valdez from New Mexico. The fight went quickly to the ground where Danzig was able to secure Mikes back then finish the fight with a RNC after an impressive ground display by both men. Danzig submission Rear Naked Choke Rd 1 4:20
Illiums Goglia came out quickly with a flurry of punches and knees against Nick “Time Bomb” Davanzo but Nick countered with a great throw taking the fight to the mat. Goglia is able to escape get to Nicks back and quickly apply the choke. Goglia Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:39 Rd 1
Paul Perry’s fight debut against Robert Dupont was a quick one. Perry got the easy takedown but Dupont was able to stand up where Paul delivered several knees to Roberts’s body from the clinch. Paul once again scored a takedown but go to excited and started to kick his downed opponent. The fight was stopped, Paul was warned, and a point was deducted. The fight was restarted on the feet where Perry landed a right hand that bloodied Roberts nose. After that punch Robert seemed to look out of it and Perry took advantage of it landing several more punches on the feet and on the ground.Perry TKO Ref stoppage 1:19 Rd 1
Victor Hunsaker works early for the takedown in his fight with Bill Duvall and gets it. Hunsaker then begins to apply the most brutal ground pound of the night. Duvall has no answer to Hunsakers brutal onslaught of punches and elbows. Hunsaker only slows when he begins to tire. Victor stands up in Bills open guard and drops for a heel hook that Hunsaker is unable secure. Bill begins to roll out of it but gets himself in a bad position where Hunsaker is able to lock in a Toe Hold to finish the fight. Hunsaker submission toe hold 1:33 1
Anthony Ruiz takes the fight to the ground where Eddie “Dirty” Sanchez is able to secure high guard. Ruiz begins to Ground and Pound Sanchez but is unable to fight off the numerous submissions. He eventually is caught in a triangle where he stays inactive forcing the ref to stop the fight. Ruiz and his corner dispute the call but Sanchez is awarded the victory. Sanchez submission Triangle Choke 2:49 Rd 1
In the 6th fight of the night Armando “Mondo” Sanchez took on the more experienced Kyle “Spider-Man” Olsen. The fight begins in a ground battle with Mondo going for several submissions but each time Olsen is crafty enough to find his way out. The fight is briefly stopped when Sanchez is incidentally poked in the eye. Sanchez is able to continue where the ground war begins again with Mondo once again applying submissions and Kyle being able to miraclesly escape. For no apparent reason other than being tired Kyle taps out when Mondo has side control. Kyle takes an unusually long time to stand up and then collapses when the winner is being announced. Kyle is treated with oxygen and is eventually able to walk out on his own power. Sanchez tap out 2:21 Rd 1
The 7th fight of the evening featured Chris Brennan’s student Josh Smith from Dana Point CA, making his debut at King of the Cage. His opponent was Joey Alvarado a Machado blue belt from Los Angeles CA. This fight was definitely my under card fight of the night. The fight starts with Smith throwing a push kick and Alvarado following immediately with a take down. There is struggle and Smith ends up getting Alvarado to the ground but Joey is able to get up after fighting off a choke. After a spinning back fist attempt by Smith the fight once gain goes to the ground with Smith effectively working his GNP from Alvarado’s guard. Alvarado then locks in a deep armbar attempt but is forced to give it up when Smith illegally knees Alvarado to the head. The ref stands them up and Smith wastes no time rocking Alvarado with a huge right hand which sends him straight to the mat. Alvarado recovers well and gets Smith into his half guard. Alvarado scrambles to his feet where he is immediately pushed up against the fence by Smith who begins to land knees and another big right punch. Smith tops off his great clinch work by getting his hips under Alvarado’s and executing a perfect throw. The throw is all for naught though as Alvarado is able to quickly reverse the throw and get side mount. Smith stands up again but Alvarado answers with a Knee. Smith backs away then throws a high kick that is effectively blocked by Alvarado. Smith follows with a series of punches but Alvarado answers with a right of his own that forces Smith to look for the takedown. The round ends with Smith taking down Alvarado.
Second round begins with the fighters trading punches and Alvarado getting a takedown. Alvarado works his GNP game from Smiths guard but Smith answers with a nice upkick. Alvarado dives back into Smiths guard but is swept with Smith landing in the sidemount. Smith wastes no time in trapping Joey’s arm and raining down unanswered punches and elbows to Alvarado’s head. Think Newton/Hughes 2. Smith tries to squirm out but is forced to tap out at 1:59 in the 2nd round. Smith tap out (Strikes) 1:59 Rd 2
The last fight of the under card featured 2 sluggers Jerry “Batman” Davis vs. Adrian Perez. Since my ring side seat was taken by its rightful owners half way thru the fight I was unable to see most this match. Perez began by throwing some low kicks and Davis countered with his fists. At one point Perez looks to have been poked in the eye but the crowd begins to boo and the ref does nothing so Perez is forced to engage with Davis again. Batman throws wildly again at Perez landing a few knees after attempting a spinning back fist. This is when I get moved so it gets fuzzy. Perez some how ends up with the upper hand looking to take Batman’s back but Batman escapes. Batman throws a knee that puts Perez down then the fight is ended for some reason I can’t see. Davis Submission 2:21 Rd 1
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Report by
Brad Doerges
MMA-Fighter.com Reporter
brad@mma-fighter.com
