KING OF THE CAGE: HONOR RESULTS - Complete Recap and Madman Awards for 5/14/10 HDNet KOTC Event

KING OF THE CAGE: HONOR was held Friday May 14, 2010 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico. The Mark Burnett HDNet produced event featured 3 title fights, with a main event light heavyweight title change, a successful flyweight title defense, and the crowning of an undisputed bantamweight champion in one of the best fights of the year.

Mike "MAK" Kyle did enough on two judges' scorecards to capture the KOTC Light Heavyweight Championship away from Tony "Kryptonite" Lopez. Just two fights ago, Lopez was 18-2 and held both the KOTC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight titles. Now, Lopez has lost both titles in back-to-back fights and had indicated before this fight that if he lost, he would likely retire. Given the end result of this fight with Kyle was a very close split decision, Lopez will hopefully backtrack on the retirement talk and work towards getting himself a rematch with the new light heavyweight champ.

In the co-main event, Nick "Afrozilla" Gaston brutalized former UFC fighter Darrill "The Boss" Schoonover (TUF 10) in the second round with elbows that opened up a huge gash on Schoonover's forehead that lead to a fight stoppage. The fight went back and forth, and was a very entertaining heavyweight scrap. Schoonover tested Gaston's chin for the first time in his career, stunning Afrozilla with some big shots, before Gaston was able to come back and seal the deal late in the second round. While Gaston is only 3-0, he is an incredibly athletic monster of a man who is more than ready to compete for the KOTC Heavyweight Championship against Tony Johnson right now. Gaston will likely end up in the UFC or Strikeforce sooner rather than later.

KOTC Flyweight Champion Abel "The Silent Assassin" Cullum made short work of Josh "The Destroya" Montoya with a rear-naked choke just over a minute and a half into the first round. KOTC Welterweight Champion Quinn Mulhern also scored a rear-naked choke submission victory, but his was in a non-title affair, and it took a couple of rounds longer against Joey "The Takedown Wizard" Gorczynski.

In a candidate for Fight of the Year, the KOTC Sanchez rivalry produced its second straight split decision. KOTC Bantamweight Champion Angelo "The San-I Warrior" Sanchez and KOTC Interim Bantamweight Champion Donald Sanchez fought in a rematch to crown an undisputed KOTC Bantamweight Champion. While their first encounter produced a split decision victory for Angelo Sanchez, this time it was Donald Sanchez who was on the right end of two judges' scorecards. If ever a fight in the history of fights deserved a rubber match, it is this fight. After two highly contested and incredibly entertaining split decisions, with one going to each guy, not completing the trilogy would be borderline criminal on the part of KOTC.

In the opening fight of the night, top welterweight prospect Sam Oropeza brought his undefeated record to 4-0 against Koa Ramos. Oropeza is a product of the Philadelphia Fight Factory along with top female fighter Tara LaRosa.

KING OF THE CAGE: HONOR

{Light Heavyweight Championship}
Mike Kyle (16-7) won by SD over Tony Lopez (18-4). [25:00]

Nick Gaston (3-0) won by TKO over Darrill Schoonover (10-2) in R2. [8:13]

{Flyweight Championship}
Abel Cullum (18-3) won by SUB over Josh Montoya (5-4) in R1. [1:38]

Quinn Mulhern (12-1) won by SUB over Joey Gorczynski (17-9) in R3. [10:53]

{Bantamweight Championship}
Donald Sanchez (20-10) won by SD over Angelo Sanchez (8-3). [25:00]

Sam Oropeza (4-0) won by SUB over Koa Ramos (6-2) in R1. [0:50]

Complete MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.

UD = Unanimous | SD = Split Decision | SUB = Submission | R = Round

MADMAN AWARDS

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Donald Sanchez vs. Angelo Sanchez

KO OF THE NIGHT: Nick Gaston (over Darrill Schoonover)

SUB OF THE NIGHT: Abel Cullum (Rear-Naked Choke over Josh Montoya)

QUICKEST WIN: Sam Oropeza over Koa Ramos in 50 seconds

GOAT OF THE NIGHT:( Tony Lopez

MOVIE TRAILER: Kimbo Slice, Heath Herring, Frank Mir, Roger Huerta and Miguel Torres Star in CIRCLE OF PAIN

From the director of BLACK SPRING BREAK 2: THE SEQUEL, comes this direct-to-video film starring Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring as MMA champion Colin "The Brick" Wahle. In real life, it's been nearly 2 years since Herring last fought. His last fight resulted in a decision loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 87, before Lesnar went on to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. In this film, Herring plays the bad guy to Tony Schiena's good guy, Dalton Hunt, a former fighter who is making a comeback after 5 years away from the sport. Hunt is coming back to fight the mohawked menace played by Herring.

While Kimbo Slice receives top billing on the DVD cover and poster, he actually has a smaller role in the film. Kimbo does, however, get to fire off a few f-bombs in this red band trailer, so that surely makes up for his lack of screen time. Roger Huerta plays a character aptly named Roger, and Frank Mir plays a fighter named Axl. Former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres also has a cameo role in the film as Kwan. As for actual movie stars, the film features B-listers Bai Ling, who loves to be naked, and Dean Cain, who played Superman in LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN back in the mid-'90s.

FUNNY FRIDAY PIC: Pat Barry Reps His Team Cro Cop Shirt While Prepping to Fight Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 115

UFC 115: LIDDELL VS FRANKLIN will feature a co-main event between former kickboxers Pat "HD" Barry (5-1) and Mirko Cro Cop (26-7). The legendary Cro Cop is a fighter Barry idolized as he sought to make a name for himself in kickboxing and then in MMA, following a course set forth by Cro Cop, who dominated in his transition to MMA. Barry and Cro Cop both are two of the nicest guys in MMA, and Barry's sense of humor shines through in this tribute to the master who Barry will do battle with at UFC 115 in Vancouver.

COMPLETE UFC 115 FIGHT CARD

BELLATOR 18 RESULTS: Watch Hector Lombard's Entire Fight with Jay Silva in a GIF - Video of 6 Second Knockout

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 18 was held Thursday May 13, 2010 at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana. The Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard made short work, quite literally, of Jay Silva, knocking out the former UFC fighter in 6 seconds flat in a non-title fight. At 25-2, Lombard needs to be fighting people a bit more capable than Jay Silva. Lombard was supposed to be fighting Paulo Filho, but might've just as well have booked against himself, cause Filho sure as shit wasn't showing up. So Silva went in there on a few days notice, and lasted as long as Mancow was able to take being waterboarded. Goodnight Irene! The great Michael Schiavello might've proclaimed.

The Bellator Featherweight Tournament Semi-Finals took place with Patricio "Pitbull" Freire winning a unanimous decision over Wilson Reis. Pitbull remains undefeated at 14-0, and will be a tall task for Joe Warren, who used his wrestling to score a unanimous decision of his own, over Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan. Pitbull and Warren will duke it out for a shot at the Bellator Featherweight Championship in a fight with last year's tournament winner and current champ Joe Soto.

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS XVIII

Hector Lombard (25-2) won by KO over Jay Silva (5-4) in R1. [0:06]

[Featherweight Semifinal]
Patricio Freire (14-0) won by UD over Wilson Reis (10-2). [15:00]

[Featherweight Semifinal]
Joe Warren (4-1) won by UD over Georgi Karakhanyan (13-2). [15:00]

Charlie Rader (10-3) won by KO over Christian Fulgium (6-6) in R1. [3:27]

Shawn Jordan (4-1) won by TKO over Doug Williams (4-12) in R1. [0:19]

Bill Albrecht (15-9) won by SUB over Jason Anderson (10-21) in R1. [0:36]

Lamont Stafford (2-0) won by KO over Jules Bruchez (1-2) in R2. [5:19]

Brock Kerry (6-5) won by TKO over Mike Braswell (2-3) in R1. [3:20]

Complete MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.

UD = Unanimous | SD = Split Decision | SUB = Submission | R = Round

Marcus Davis vs Nate Diaz - The Irish Hand Grenade Likely to Fight the Walking Time-Bomb at UFC 118 in Boston

According to the MMAjunkie, UFC 118 will likely feature a welterweight fight between Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis and Nate Diaz, assuming Diaz doesn't get suspended for his part in the Strikeforce Nashville Brawl, which is possible, despite the fact that he was kicking Jason "Mayhem" Miller while he was being held on the ground, as Diaz wasn't originally served with a notice by the Tennessee Athletic Commission like his brother Nick Diaz, Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez were. Nate Diaz wasn't an officially licensed cornerman for Jake Shields' fight, while Nick and Melendez were, so it will likely turn out that since no criminal charges were filed, Nate Diaz will walk away scot-free from the ordeal. If that happens, then he'll be free and clear to throw down with Marcus Davis at UFC 118.

Marcus Davis (17-6) is coming off a TKO win over Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113 in Montreal. Davis had previously lost back-to-back fights to Ben Saunders and Dan Hardy. At one point, Davis put together an 11-fight winning streak, with 6 straight in the UFC, before dropping a decision to Mike Swick. Davis is Irish-American and trains with Team Sityodtong in Bangor, Maine, so fighting in Boston will basically be a hometown bout for the 13-fight UFC veteran.

Nate Diaz (12-5) won The Ultimate Fighter Season as a lightweight. Diaz had fought exclusively at 155-pounds in the UFC, before moving up in weight in his last fight with Rory Markham. Diaz and Markham were supposed to fight at welterweight, but Markham came in a staggering 7 pounds over weight, so the fight ended up being contested in the middleweight division. Now, on his second try, Diaz should be making his UFC welterweight debut at UFC 118. In his 10 Octagon bouts, Diaz has won Fight of the Night three times and won Submission of the Night twice, meaning Diaz has walked away with bonus money in half of his UFC fights.

COMPLETE UFC 118 FIGHT CARD

SHINE FIGHT III - WORLDS COLLIDE: MAYORGA VS. THOMAS -- Fight Card in Fayetteville, North Carolina

EVENT WAS CANCELED

SHINE FIGHT 3 - WORLDS COLLIDE: MAYORGA VS. THOMAS

Location: Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Broadcast: PPV

MAIN CARD

Ricardo El Matador Mayorga (0-0)* vs. Din Dinyero Thomas (25-8)

David Heath (14-6) vs. Murilo Ninja Rua (18-10)

Charles Krazy Horse Bennett (22-16) vs. Luiz The Joker Azeredo (12-8)

Alexandre Cacareco Ferreira (18-6) vs. Jamal The Suit Patterson (5-2)

Braulio Carcara Estima (0-0) vs. Rick Hawn (3-0)

Eduardo Pamplona (12-2) vs. Nick The Goat Thompson (38-12)

Zac George (19-3) vs. Mario Serious Staple (16-12)

PRELIMINARY BOUT

Roger Carroll (8-2) vs. Paulo Tuba Souza (7-3)

*Ricardo Mayorga has a 29-7 professional boxing record

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 20 -- 5/27/10 Fight Card in San Antonio, Texas

BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS XX -- May 27, 2010

Season 2, Week 8

Location: Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas

Broadcast: Fox Sports Net

MAIN CARD

[Middleweight Semifinal]
Bryan The Beast Baker (12-1) vs. Eric Schambari (12-1)

[Middleweight Semifinal]
Jared Hess (11-1) vs. Alexander Storm Shlemenko (28-4)

Eddie Sanchez (11-3) vs. Marcus Sursa (6-5)

Nick Mamalis (3-3) vs. Mark Oshiro (12-2)

PRELIMINARY BOUTS

Aaron Rosa (12-3) vs. Robert Villegas (7-2)

Andrew The Powerhouse Chappelle (8-6) vs. Cedric Spider Man Marks (27-19)

Brian Melancon (3-0) vs. Adam Schindler (5-1)

Humberto DeLeon (5-2) vs. Jimmy The Brick Flick (0-0)

BELLATOR 20 RESULTS

Paulo Filho Flakes Out Again - Hector Lombard vs Jay Silva in (Now Less) Super Fight at Bellator 18 on Thursday Night

As if we couldn't see this one coming from a million miles away, Paulo Filho will NOT be fighting Hector Lombard in the main event of BELLATOR 18. Filho has recently no-showed fights for Bitetti Combat in Brazil and DREAM in Japan. Now, Filho is out of what would've been his first fight in the United States since his mental breakdown at WEC 36 against Chael Sonnen.

In a recent interview (transcribed by FightOpinion) with Wrestling Observer Live, Chael Sonnen revealed details for the first time about being part of one of the most surreal fights in MMA history with a clearly mentally distraught Paulo Filho:

You know it was a different deal, for sure. I mean I got it. As soon as he started doing it, I understood what was going on. I understood, ‘oh, okay, he’s checking out and this is his way of doing it.’ He had asked me at one point in the fight to go to the ground with him and I said ‘No, I can’t do that’ and he said, ‘no, no submission attempts, just rest, come to the ground, let’s rest’ and I just said again, ‘I can’t’ and just went back to fighting.

The company, Zuffa, was very unpleased with it. And I got it, I’m like, yeah that was a weird match but man I did my part, I don’t know what to do, it takes two to tango, there’s only one of us out there.

Here's how Paul Filho described to Tatame missing this fight with Hector Lombard in Bellator:

Honestly, I don’t know. I think maybe people knew I was in a good shape, strong, so they got scared. In fact, I’ve been informed it was a mistake of the event, which didn’t gave me the letter so I could take it to the council. Things were left to be solved at the last minute, unfortunately I won’t fight.

My biggest concern is that people start to think that my absences are because of other things better than from what it actually is… I was training hard, working on my boxing with Distak, conditioning, running on the beach, doing Jiu-Jitsu. It was everything going pretty good, but there’s always something to get in the way.

My fight schedule is full, three fights within 20 days on July. The first is on the 3rd, the second on the 10th and against a guy who has fought with (José) Pelé, and the third I think is between Marvin Eastman or Denis Kang, on 18th. There is enough time left, but I believe that all the bureaucracy is for the best. To get into America is pretty hard.

Since apparently Paulo Filho is too strong to fight in Bellator, Jay Silva (5-3) will step in on only a few days notice to fight Hector Lombard. Silva is coming off back-to-back losses in the UFC, after which he was released from the organization. Silva was scheduled to fight Jim Williams at MATRIX FIGHTS 2 in Philadelphia in June, so he should be in good fight shape for this Bellator Super Fight.

Hector Lombard (25-2) has went 18 straight fights without a loss. He had one draw, and has won 13 fights in a row since. Lombard is the Bellator Middleweight Champion, winning the title in the first season's middleweight tournament. Despite Lombard's insanely impressive fight record, he is largely ignored by most fight rankings. Lombard has yet to beat a top-ranked fighter, so he remains on the outside looking in so far as the best of the best in the middleweight ranks. A win over Paulo Filho would've given Lombard an incredible legitimacy boost. Instead he gets Jay Silva, a talented fighter in his own right, but beating him isn't really going to affect Lombard's stock value in the MMA world.

COMPLETE BELLATOR 18 FIGHT CARD

Paul Daley Offers Apology to Josh Koscheck, the UFC and MMA Fans for Cheap Shot Sucker Punch at UFC 113

Paul Daley has begun the rehabilitation process for his MMA career by issuing a formal apology for his post-fight actions at UFC 113. After clearly losing a decision to Josh Koscheck, Daley allowed his emotions to get the best of him, and sucker punched Koscheck well after the fight was over. See a GIF of the punch below.

Despite the loss to Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley would have been in good standing in the UFC, however, his striking Koscheck after the fight amounted to nothing short of a criminal act, and although he was not subject to criminal prosecution as he justifiably could have been, Daley was immediately released from the UFC. Daley has now expressed remorse for the incident in a statement to Gareth A Davies at The Daily Telegraph:

I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologize to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.

I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw. He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation.

There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.

Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight. I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I kneed him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw.

Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.

This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision. I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.

I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.

UFC 114: RAMPAGE VS EVANS -- 5/29/10 Fight Card in Las Vegas

UFC 114: RAMPAGE VS EVANS -- May 29, 2010

Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Broadcast: PPV

MAIN CARD

Rashad Suga Evans (14-1) vs. Quinton Rampage Jackson (30-7)

Michael The Count Bisping (18-3) vs. Dan Miller (11-3)

Todd Duffee (6-0) vs. Mike Russow (12-1)

Jason Brilz (18-2) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)

John The Hitman Hathaway (12-0) vs. Diego Nightmare Sanchez (21-3)

UFC PRELIMS (SPIKE TV)

Dong Hyun Stun Gun Kim (12-0) vs. Amir Sadollah (3-1)

Efrain Hecho en Mexico Escudero (12-1) vs. Dan The Upgrade Lauzon (12-3)

PRELIMINARY BOUTS

Melvin The Young Assassin Guillard (23-8) vs. Waylon Lowe (8-2)

Luiz Banha Cane (10-2) vs. Cyrille The Snake Diabate (15-6)

Joe The South Side Strangler Brammer (7-1) vs. Aaron Riley (28-12)

Jesse Kid Hercules Forbes (11-4) vs. Ryan Jensen (14-6)

UFC 114 RESULTS

UFC 113 RESULTS: Shogun Becomes First to Slay The Dragon - Complete Recap and Madman Awards from 5/8/10 in Montreal

UFC 113: MACHIDA VS SHOGUN 2 was held Saturday May 8, 2010 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main event featured an epic rematch between Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Machida won the first encounter with a controversial judges' decision. This time, Shogun left nothing up to interpretation, and knocked Machida out cold in the first round. This was the first loss of Machida's career. Shogun is now the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and will likely defend his title for the first time against the winner of the upcoming UFC 114 main event between Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

In the UFC 113 co-main event, Josh Koscheck won a 3-round decision over Paul "Semtex" Daley to become the number one contender for the UFC Welterweight Championship currently held by Georges St. Pierre. Additionally, Koscheck will coach opposite GSP on the upcoming Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. Koscheck used his wrestling to control the fight, scored multiple takedowns and smothered Daley. After the fight was over, Daley landed his best shot of the night when he sucker punched Koscheck. Referee Dan Miragliotta quickly grabbed Daley by the neck to avoid any possible scenarios similar to that of the Strikeforce Nashville Brawl.

After UFC 113, Dana White confirmed Paul Daley was released from the UFC for this post-fight sucka punch. White had this to say about Daley:

He’s done. I don’t give a shit if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’ll never come back here again. I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he’s the pound-for-pound best in the world. He will never fight in the UFC ever again. There’s no excuse for that. These guys are professional athletes. You don’t ever hit a guy blatantly after the bell like that whether you’re frustrated or not. It was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.

5/10 EDIT: Read Paul Daley's apology and see a GIF of the incident.

Kimbo Slice is likely also done in the UFC, after a second round TKO loss to Matt Mitrione. Other than a couple of uber-slams from Kimbo, where he practically slammed Mitrione THROUGH the Octagon, Kimbo didn't look very good in this fight. The slams, though, were out of this world. I seriously don't know that I've ever seen a man as large as Mitrione get elevated up into the air and folded onto the mat the way the way he was by Kimbo. Regardless, Mitrione survived and implemented his gameplan to perfection. Mitrione used his superior cardio and landed devastating leg kicks to wear down Kimbo. Mitrione has some of the biggest legs in all of MMA. Just the noise made from Mitrione's legs landing on Kimbo's legs was pain inducing. The end result would basically have been the same had Mitrione taken a Louisville Slugger to Kimbo's legs. With sore legs and no gas left in his tank, Kimbo succumbed to strikes near the end of the second stanza.