MMA Recap

San Bernardino, CA

December 17^th, 2009

 

King of the Cage returned to southern California on Thursday night and MMARecap was on scene to recap the action. The venue was more than half full by the time the fighters were gathered at center cage for the first time, a good 30 minutes before the first fight took place. By the time the main card video was played over the LCDs, a near sellout crowd had gathered to witness two top contenders emerge and two King of the Cage Champions retain their belts. Proceeds for the event were donated to the “City of Hope” charity.

 

The main event featured venerable yet able veteran prospect Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez (17-2) taking on the young and explosive Tyler “The Beast” East (4-2) in a battle that carried significant local buzz. Lopez looked to be in the worst shape of his career and it showed in his sluggish striking. Immediately, East began setting up the power slams that brought him a large local fanbase and the Albuquerque native drew first blood with a power combo that sent Lopez to his heels, where he'd remain for the better portion of the fight.

 

East's aggressive wrestling both in the clinch and on the ground won him the first two rounds rather easily as Lopez couldn't muster much in the way of reversals or striking prior to being locked up. But “Kryptonite” came alive in the third. Though his striking still lacked the snap that it usually has, he was able to take advantage of East's early gas depletion and worked his way to dominant positions. He was able to land moderately effective ground and pound that was enough to take the next two rounds.

 

The fifth round was another game of position and Lopez won that battle for a third consecutive time, landing elbows and fists in a myriad of unorthodox positions with East pressed against the cage, oftentimes resembling a human pretzel. 20 seconds before the final bell sounded, referee Jason Herzog stood the fighters up and a last second flurry by East punctuated the bout. Two of the three judges scored it the same as MMARecap at 48-47 in favor of Lopez while, curiously, one judge scored it 49-46 in favor of East. Regardless, the split decision was enough for Lopez to retain his KOTC heavyweight crown.

 

The night's co-feature was between newly crowned “junior middleweight” (160 lb.) champ Ricky “The IE Bad Boy” Legere Jr. (10-2) and Eric “The Monster” Moon (2-2, 1 NC). It didn't take long for Legere to exert his dominance as early on, he shot in for a takedown that was quickly reversed by Moon. But Legere was slippery and found a backdoor escape from the mounted position and the two were back tot heir feet. Another takedown by the new addition to Millennia MMA wasn't reversed this time. Instead, a minute-long struggle was broken with a smooth transition and subsequent tapout by Moon due to armbar came at 3:04 into the fight.

 

Perhaps the most attention was directed towards the scrap between the popular, young, talented, but inconsistent Bobby “King” Green (12-3) and wildcard Pride veteran Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (22-16-2). Bennett publicly called out Green during his last KOTC victory's post fight interview, an offer that was graciously accepted by the 23 year old. Before they locked horns, it was announced that this was a match that would determine the top contender for Ricky Legere's 160 lb. Belt.

 

“Krazy Horse” brought his usual flair to the cage while Green managed his own attention garnering, walking through the crowd in full Santa Clause garb. When the bell rang, Bennett's low hands foretold his own fate. Though he managed to land a few strikes, Green's technique was competent enough to find the uncovered jaw of his opponent, knocking him unconscious a couple of minutes into the fight. The knockout was met by a roar of approval from the estimated 4,000 in attendance.

 

The opening main event match-up between Dave “Badman” Huckaba (11-4) and Jon “Man of Faith” Murphy (5-3) was a rematch of a prior meeting in a ShoXC Challengers event in 2007. The result was the same as Murphy, looking like Jesus would after years weight training, finished Huckaba, this time in the first round and by north-south choke submission instead of a knockout. Murphy appeared to be the more skilled fighter in the limited time the bout lasted, landing several strikes and possessing a greater level of explosiveness all around. His 5-3 record is somewhat of a misrepresentation of his skill level as he appears to be ready for the title shot he lobbied for in his post fight microphone time.

 

In other notable action, an extremely impressive performance by Ken “The Krusher” McCorkell (5-0) over Ben “Bad News” Lagman (5-1) opened more than a few eyes. His fluid motion en route to a perfect formed triangle choke less than a minute into the fight was enough to set some onlookers to whispering about his future in the middleweight division. Don't be surprised to see him contend for the KOTC 185 lb. belt sooner or later and perhaps move to a larger promotion.

 

Full results, including the undercard, are listed below:

 

Undercard:

 

David Gomez (3-2) def. Evan Thompson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Adam Rothweiler (3-2) def. Ston Lee (0-1) via submission (RNC) 2^nd round

Danny Davis (1-0) def. Jared Lara (1-1) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ken McCorkell (5-0) def. Ben Lagman (5-1) via submission (Triangle) @1:00, 1^st round

 

Main card:

 

Jon Murphy (5-3) def. Dave Huckaba (11-4) via submission (north-south choke) @4:10, 1^st round

Bobby Green (12-3) def. Charles Bennett (22-16-2) via KO (punch) 1^st round

Ricky Legere Jr. (10-2) def. Eric Moon (2-2, 1 NC) via submission (armbar) @3:04, 1^st round

Tony Lopez (17-2) def. Tyler East (4-2) via split decision (46-49, 48-47, 48-47)

 

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