Mari's Minute

King of The Cage Recap

"Final Chapter"

December 2, 2007

Soboba Casino

San Jacinto, California

The “Final Chapter” was the perfect way to end 2007 for King of the Cage (KOTC) at Soboba Casino in San

Jacinto, California this past Sunday. Not only was this the last KOTC event of the year but the last event at

Soboba Casino. KOTC CEO Terry Trebilcock announced that KOTC’s new home is going to be San

Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, California. Mr. Trebilcock gracefully thanked everyone at

Soboba Casino who gave him the opportunity to bring Mixed Martial Arts to Southern California and take the

risk along with him - A risk that went from a small indoors room that seated hundreds to a successful

outdoor arena seating thousands. The first event to take place at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino is

scheduled for January 24, 2008 with the main event to showcase Joe Camacho vs. Thomas Denny. Make

sure all you KOTC fans get your tickets early - The venue should sell out as it holds about 3,500 people and

KOTC usually brings about 5,000 or so.

The “Final Chapter” consisted of 23 fights - and it all started with the singing of the national anthem by Shar

Jackson who kicked butt with her vocals...Britney who? What the hell were you thinking K-Fed?

First came the under card action:

Jesus “Chuy” Morales defeated AJ Pace with an impressive knockout. It took Morales only 19 seconds to

connect with a right and left hook combo that knocked Pace out.

Another powerful knockout came from Patrick Doty who was able to connect with a clean uppercut that

dropped Sean McCafferty at 23 seconds of round two - he then followed it up with punches that knocked

McCafferty out for the win.

Then came Tom Peralta defeating Paul Webb via unanimous decision after two rounds of action. Peralta

was able to get the take downs and dominate on the ground. 

On to the Main Card:

Umar Love connected well with a right hook and kick to the body against Keith Berry early in round one.

Love was able to secure a take down, and from top position, connected with short elbows that opened up a

cut above the right eye of Berry and gave him a bloody nose. Berry came back and finished the round strong

though, connecting with right and left hooks to the face that left a stunned Love going to the wrong side of

the cage after the bell.

Love was able to get the take down and top position once again in round two. Love connected with short

elbows once again but Berry did well keeping him close in full guard. The referee (Herb Dean) stood them

back up. They tied up and Berry moved in with a reverse triangle choke. Love held on and didn’t tap although

Berry looked to have had a strong grip. Berry began to strike the face, still holding onto the triangle choke,

and gets the tap from Love at 4:50 of round two.

Brian Sesma became the new Super Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Alan Zunner. Sesma

connected with consecutive powerful right hands to the face from the top position after taking Zunner down.

Sesma was too much for Zunner who tapped at 1:18 of round one.

Also on the main card, making a return, was Brian Warren. Warren took on Paul Arras who overpowered

him with his striking ability. Arras connected with a clean uppercut that dropped Warren to his knees and

then came in over him with punches to the side of the head before the referee stepped in to stop the fight at

3:53 of round one. A disappointing loss for Warren.

The quickest knockout of the night came from Rubin Taigle - Taigle came in with a right hook to the face

of his opponent, John Lober, who got knocked out at 10 seconds of the first round.

Jumping to the last fight of the night - it didn’t disappoint. The night ended like it started - with a bang! Who

would of thought that the last after card fight was going to be that exciting? It felt like a main event fight. Nick

Alvarado and Victor Salcedo received lots of props from everyone who stayed to watch. And for those who

left early, you missed a great battle. Wow, these two warriors went toe-to-toe. When Alvarado would

connect, Salcedo would come back and counter with the same. It was a slug fest until the end but Alvarado

was able to get the take downs and show a better ground game which earned him a unanimous decision win

after two rounds of non-stop action.

As for the rest of the action, here are the results:

Under Card:

David Aguirre and Rubin Duran battled to a split draw (One judge had it for Aguirre, one judge had it for

Duran, and the final judge scored it a draw). Jason Jones won by an arm bar submission after a great battle

against Melvin Costa. Chris Cully also got a submission win in round one (rear naked choke) over Kasey

Roberts.

Main Card:

Tony Cruz won by submission over Tim Humphry at 50 seconds of round two due to an arm bar. Reggie

Orr won a unanimous decision over a tough Illiam Goglia. Rick Legere won by submission over

Napoleon Lechunga at 3:31 of round one due to an arm bar. Greg Guzner won by submission over

Anthony Guerra at 55 seconds of round one due to an triangle choke.

After Card:

Dave Cryer defeated Noufel Ammellouk by unanimous decision. Ammellouk, disappointed with the judges

decision, shoved the referee (Raul Peralta) and stormed out of the cage. John Brock makes Tyrone

Crane tap out in round one after receiving some ground-and-pound. Andy Balmore won a majority decision

over Miguel Esparza. Neil Cooke won after some ground-and-pound action over Mike Simms - The referee

stepped in to stop the fight at 15 seconds of the first round. Brenden Bender submitted Hugo Sandoval

with a leg triangle choke from the top in round one. Domonic Verdungo made Dan Priggle go night, night

with a guillotine choke at 33 seconds of round one. Will Richie won over Adam Woods by submission at

1:10 of round one due to a rear naked choke. And Fabian Diaz won over Daniel Gibbons via a judges

unanimous decision. 

Until Next Time,

Mari

(12/5/07)