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King of the Cage: Reality Champions DVD Review
By Reed Benson (Dedwyre@msn.com)
King of the Cage: Reality Champions is a two-disc set, featuring three KOTC Best of shows that appeared on Pay-Per-View. The first disc, Reality Stars, is a compilation of early fights in the careers of four winners from the UFCs Ultimate Fighter TV series. The second disc, Extreme Champions 1 & 2, showcases former and current UFC fighters such as Rich Franklin, Jeremy Horn and Matt Hughes.
KOTC Rules:
- Standard matches are two 5-minute rounds, while title fights are three 5-minute rounds.
- Matches can be won by knockout, tap out, referee stoppage, doctor stoppage, or corner throwing in the towel.
- Illegal moves include head butts, eye gouges, hair pulling, fish hooking, striking the back of the head or spinal area, small joint manipulation, and intentionally throwing opponent out of the cage.
For curiosity's sake, I'm going to give each fighters record coming into their respective fights. If I cant obtain this info from the DVDs commentary, I'll get it at Sherdog.com.
Disc 1 Reality Stars
Rashad Evans (2-0) vs. Bryan Pain Inducer Pardoe (8-6)
Part of a light heavyweight tournament.
Round 1: Inside leg kick by Pardoe. They clinch and go into the cage. Pardoe tries to take him down, but Evans avoids it and they go back into the clinch. Evans takes Pardoe down and takes half-guard. Evans throws some punches and gets into mount position. Pardoe give Evans his back, but gets to his feet. He turns around into another clinch. Evans blocks a takedown. Pardoe is bleeding from under his left eye. Evans gets a double leg takedown and throws punches. Pardoe blocks some, but takes a lot. Evans gets a knee in as well. Pardoe tries to roll out, but Evans is just standing there and raining down punches. Referee Herb Dean stops it at 3:24.
Winner by Referee Stoppage: Rashad Evans
Forrest Griffin (5-1) vs. Steve Sayegh (11-5)
Sayegh is announced as one of the only fighters to throw Dan Severn.
Round 1: They go to the middle and Griffin throws some punches. They quickly go into a Muay Thai clinch in Sayeghs favor. Griffin throws some knees and gets control of the clinch. A couple knees are pretty high, possibly hitting Sayeghs chin. They go into a wrestling clinch. Griffin takes Sayegh down. Griffin frees his arms from Sayeghs hooks and goes for
mount. Sayegh rolls and Griffin gets his back. Griffin tries for a choke, but Sayegh holds off one of his arms. Griffin rolls them into the cage mesh and tries for a choke, then lets Sayegh roll onto his back, giving Griffin the mount. Griffin rains down punches with Sayeghs head against the cage. Sayegh gets his hands up, but isnt doing a good job of blocking. He taps
out to punches at 1:45.
Winner by Tap Out: Forrest Griffin
KOTC Welterweight Title Fight
Diego Nightmare Sanchez (11-0) vs. Jorge Santiago (6-2) (C)
Round 1: Sanchez controls this round, getting Santiago down and into guard position, then keeping him from grabbing any holds. Sanchez lands a lot of big punches while on the ground. They get into the guard three times, with the same result every time, before the round ends.
Round 2: In this round, Santiago takes Sanchez down with a judo throw and gets guard. Nevertheless, Sanchez controls him and almost gets a triangle choke. They eventually get stood up, and Sanchez catches a kick and takes Santiago down. Sanchez pounds on Santiago in the guard, and Santiago basically tries to protect himself and survive for the rest of the round.
Round 3: Sanchez lands a high-angle takedown, but doesn't have a lot of power behind the slam. He stays in Santiagos guard and does pretty much what he's been doing. He's trying to pass the guard, when Cecil Peoples stands them up. Sanchez isnt happy, but doesn't spend too long complaining. He gets Santiago down again pretty quickly. He tries for an armbar, but Santiago somersaults backwards. Sanchez holds onto his arm and almost gets another triangle choke, but the round ends. Sanchez is awarded the unanimous decision and the welterweight title.
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Diego Sanchez
KOTC Lightweight Title Fight
Joe Daddy Stevenson (20-6) vs. Thomas Schulte (7-1) (C)
Round 1: This fight consists of Schulte first trying for lead kicks, then going for takedowns. Stevenson either sprawls out or gets right back up when taken down. In one case, he hits a big knee and cuts Schulte. Finally, Schulte ducks some of Stevenson's punches, getting down on his knees. You can hear Stevenson's corner yell KNEE! Stevenson hits a big
knee that knocks Schulte out at 3:29 to win the lightweight title.
Rashad Evans (3-0) vs. Hector Ramirez (2-0)
Second round of the light heavyweight tournament from before. Dan Severn is in Evans' corner.
Round 1: This round is full of punching exchanges where no one gets the advantage. There are a couple clinches where Rashad goes for takedowns, but he only gets one with a double leg, and they stand back up pretty quickly. Rashad lands some good knees to the midsection, while Ramirez hits a couple good body shots.
Round 2: Rashad continues going for takedowns, and Ramirez continues blocking them. Rashad does land some good shots to the face while Ramirez tries to scramble out of one. They swing and miss a lot. With about a minute or so left, Rashad gets bored and starts dancing when there's no action. He even tries the old boxing trick of holding both hands behind his back before striking. This round ends with no clean cut advantage, but Rashad's dancing must have entertained the judges, because he gets the unanimous decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Rashad Evans
I'm surprised they ended the disc on that fight. If I'd ordered that on PPV, I would've been left underwhelmed just because it ended on the most boring match. Fortunately, I still have one more disc left, and it has about twice as many.
Disc 2: Extreme Champions 1 & 2
Only the last two fights on this disc are from King of the Cage. The rest are either from Extreme Challenge or Rings USA.
Dave Menne (11-4-1) vs. Mike McClure (2-0)
Round 1: Menne tries for some kicks. McClure shoots in and pushes him into the cage. They clinch, and Menne ends up getting the takedown. Menne lands some punches, but they end up back on their feet at the referees command. Menne lands a couple punches and a knee, and gets another takedown. The ref stands them up again for lack of action. McClure catches a kick, but Menne sprawls to avoid a takedown. Menne gets a guillotine, but McClure escapes and they end up on the ground again. Again, they get stood up. Menne misses a spinning back kick, and McClure shoots in. Menne lands a knee, but
finally gets taken down after much struggle. Menne quickly goes for a triangle choke. They end up rolling over, and Menne has McClure in almost a cradle, where McClure cant escape and has difficulty avoiding punches. McClure taps at 4:47.
Winner by Tap Out: Dave Menne
Matt Hughes (4-1) vs. Joe Stern (Debut)
Round 1: Hughes catches him with a shot to the face right away, then takes him down with a slam. Stern gets him in guard. Hughes lifts him and slams him. Hughes passes into half guard, pushing Stern against the cage. Hughes gets in side mount, Stern basically tries to hold him down and negate and activity. Hughes breaks free and throws punches down until Stern taps at 2:30.
Winner by Tap Out: Matt Hughes
Jeremy Horn (32-4-4) vs. Adam Harris (Debut)
Round 1: Harris gets a front facelock, so Horn slams him down. Horn struggles to get out of the guillotine, throwing punches. Horn knees Harris in the face and cuts him. Theyre stood up at 1:43 so the doctor can check the cut, which is on Harris nose. They start again and trade a lot of punches, elbows and kicks. Horn takes him down and smiles at his corner as
he lands a punch and an elbow. He gets his knee on Harris midsection and starts raining down punches. The ref stops him quick at 2:31.
Winner by TKO: Jeremy Horn
Pat Miletich (29-2-2) vs. Shonie Carter (7-1-3)
A Shonie Carter promo is shown, where he introduces himself and explains his credentials. He says he took this fight as a challenge, and because he thinks that a good showing against Pat could help launch him to a higher platform. He thinks it will be an interesting fight, because they have similar styles. Nothing wacky, unfortunately.
A Pat Miletich promo is shown. He says it will probably be a fairly tough fight. He says he has the advantage of training with the one person who beat Shonie, and he thinks he has a weak jaw.
Round 1: They lock up, and Carter pretty much suplexes Miletich. Carter gets him in a headlock on the ground. The crowd chants for Pat. Carter cuts Miletich over his left eye with a punch. Miletich manages to pull them back to their feet. They clinch, Carter goes for another throw, but Miletich maneuvers and gets back up fast. Carter tries for some kicks while theyre up, and they clinch a couple times. The second time, they both throw a lot of shots and knees. They continue until the end of the round.
Round 2: Miletich lands a hard right kick on Carters head. Carter recovers quickly as they clinch. They both fight for a takedown, and Carter accidentally knees Miletich in the groin. The fight it stopped briefly, but he recovers in only a couple of seconds. Shonie tries a lot of flashy karate kicks, but doesnt hit many. They go back and forth between throwing strikes and clinching. Some goof in Miletichs corner shouts discouraging comments at Shonie during much of this round, which is annoying. Other than the first high kick, its an even round.
Round 3: This round is similar to the last, except it looks like more shots land. They dont seem to do a lot of damage overall. Shonie actually slips and falls, but gets right up before Miletich can pounce. Shonie lands a back kick to Miletichs body. Miletich throws a body kick, but Shonie tries to grab it. Miletich scrambles into the clinch. They repeat what theyve
been doing until the round ends.
Round 4: Shonie tries the spinning back fist, but doesnt land it. Miletich lands a lot of body shots whenever they clinch. Shonie tries for a takedown, but gets taken down. He gets up before anything is done. Back and forth between clinching and striking. As with the rest of the fight, they land a lot of shots, but none do a great deal of damage. Miletich looks to b slightly more aggressive in the second half of this round. After the round ends, Shonie does a lot of showboating. 38-36, 40-38 and 40-36 are the final scores, all in favor of Pat Miletich. The 40-36 scoring is ridiculous, proving that dumb judges have been around for a while.
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Pat Miletich
Rich Franklin (2-0) vs. Dennis Reed (25-19-1)
Round 1: Reed shoots in and gets a double leg takedown right away. They both swing wildly. Reed tries for a double stomp, but Franklin blocks it. That was crazy. Reed is in the open guard, and Franklin tries for an armbar a couple times. Franklin tries a big kick from his back, bit doesn't land it. Franklin gets him in an armbar and Reed taps at 1:56.
Winner by Tap Out: Rich Franklin
Jeremy Horn (41-7-4) vs. Jason Allar (1-1)
Round 1: Horn lands a kick to the midsection. Allar swings wide and wild. They clinch, and Allar throws a bunch of body punches. Horns lands some knees while pushing Allar against the cage. Allar finally takes Horn down against the cage. Horn neutralizes Allar and tries to lift him up with his legs, but Allar keeps himself from being moves aside. Horn tries the same
trick three or four times before it works, and Horn rolls Allar over and gets full mount. Horn lands some calculated rights to the head. Allar turns over and lifts Horn up on his back, falling backward and guarding himself against a choke until the round ends.
Round 2: Horn walks over to Allar and throws a high kick. His foot catches Allar in the eye, and Allar waves his hand as if to say, Forget it, I'm done. That took 3 seconds.
Winner by TKO: Jeremy Horn
Matt Hughes (17-1) vs. Joe Guist (Debut)
Round 1: Hughes lands solid punch, and Guist goes down, but recovers enough to fight back up. This actually happens a couple more times, Hughes landing a punch and Guist getting staggered. Hughes accidentally low blows Guist at 1:42, so they fight is stopped for him to recover. He's fine in a couple seconds. Guist lands a few jabs, but Hughes shrugs them off and takes him down. He gets full mount, lands a hard shot, then just stands back up. Guist comes at him, Hughes gets him down again and is in Guists guard. Hughes powers Guist up to his feet. Guist tries to pull him back down, but he just doesnt have enough weight. Guist goes down by himself and tries to guard against Hughes getting on him. Hughes locks on an armbar to get the submission at 2:45. Guist looked completely out of Hughes league.
Winner by Tap Out: Matt Hughes
Jeremy Horn (44-8-4) vs. Josh Hall (0-1)
Round 1: Horn gets Halls leg and takes him down after some difficulty. They almost fall out of the ring. Hall scrambles into an odd position. Horn gets Halls leg and almost gets a leg lock, but Hall frees himself and tries to get one on Horn. Horn trips him and moves into full mount. Horn pretty much telegraphs an armbar and gets it, but Hall holds onto his hand
and stands up. Horn releases the armbar and grabs Halls leg. He gets a kneebar and Hall taps at 3:50
Winner by Tap Out: Jeremy Horn
Matt Hughes (18-1) vs. Robbie Newman (5-1)
Round 1: Hughes takes Newman down, Newman gets a guillotine. Hughes slides into side mount while Newman still holds his head. The ref gets bored and stands them up. Hughes hits a straight punch and gets another takedown. He gets side mount again, then full mount, then the other side mount, all the while holding Newmans head and arm. He gets in the right position for a side choke and Newman taps at 1:40.
Winner by Tap Out: Matt Hughes
Jeremy Horn (45-7-4) vs. Chris Haseman (8-6)
Round 1: Theyre both cautious at first. They clinch, and Haseman takes Horn down. Hasemans in butterfly guard, then full guard. Haseman pushes forward, trying to keep Horn from getting an armbar. It takes some time, but Horn gets it anyway. Haseman fights it for quite a while, readjusting his position to try to escape, but Horn holds on and gets him to tap at 2:26.
Winner by Tap Out: Jeremy Horn
Rich Franklin (3-0 (1 NC)) vs. Travis Fulton (113-34-8 (1 NC))
Holy cow, look at Fulton's record! That's a lot of fights.
Round 1: Travis shoots in, but gets caught. Franklin pulls guard. They stay inactive for too long, so the ref stands them up. Franklin throws a kick that glances off Fultons head. They clinch, and Travis blocks some knees. Franklin gets in his guard, and they get stood up again. They throw some punches, and Franklin lands a leg kick. They go down and scramble until Franklins in guard. Franklin maneuvers around to grab Fultons arm. Franklin tries for an armbar, but Fulton guards it. Franklin gets his back and throws body shots. Fulton scrambles out, but ends up rolling back onto his stomach. Franklin tries for a choke, Fulton fights it and gets saved by the bell.
The referee waves the fight off between rounds, as Fulton has thrown in the towel. Looks like the body shots wore him down. His cardio didn[t look too good.
Winner by Throwing in the Towel: Rich Franklin
Matt Hughes (21-2) vs. Brett Al-Azzawi (5-9)
Round 1: Al-Azzawi throws a high kick, then pulls guard. Hughes gets side mount and tries to get a key lock, but AL-Azzawi rolls out. Hughes ends up in side mount on the other side and tries for something else, but Al-Azzawi rolls out again. They stand up, and Hughes sends him down with a punch, but he recovers. Hughes is aggressive, Al-Azzawi is defensive. Hughes gets him down and hits some body shots. Al-Azzawi tries for a triangle, but Hughes avoids it. Hughes stands up, but Al-Azzawi tries to bring him back down.
Hughes grabs his arm and maneuvers it into an armbar, and Al-Azzawi taps at 3:27.
Winner by Tap Out: Matt Hughes
Bobby Hoffman (27-4-1(1 NC)) vs. Tim Catalfo (3-0)
Round 1: They clinch a couple times, as Hoffman wants to keep Catalfo from exploding on him. Catalfo knocks Hoffman down with a right and pounces on him with punches. Hoffman survives and gets up. Catalfo lands a knee. Hoffman brings Catalfo down and Catalfo gets full mount. Things slow down as Catalfo works in the mount, but doesnt do much. Hoffman eventually escapes, getting to his feet and landing a body kick. He gets Catolfo down and lands a bunch of punches. Catalfo gives up his back and gets cross-faced a couple times before tapping out at 3:56
Winner by Tap Out: Bobby Hoffman
Joey Villasenor (15-3) vs. Brendan Seguin (7-5-1)
Round 1: They throw and dodge a little, then clinch. Villasenor lands a number of knees to the body. Seguin tries to fire off a series of punches to the head, but Villasenor ducks out. He throws a left hook, and Seguin goes down. Villasenor goes after him, but Herb Dean pulls him off, as Seguin is out at 2:10.
Winner by Knockout: Joey Villasenor
Well, that was sure a lot of fights on one disc, especially compared to the first disc. Overall, I have to give this DVD set a thumbs up. You get to see a lot of well-known fighters early in their careers and find out what got them to the level theyre at now. Fans of longer fights wont be extremely satisfied, but if you like quick knockout and submissions (as do I), you cant go wrong with this set. Plus, its under $10 at Best Buy, or at the regular online shops like Amazon and Deep Discount DVD.
