KOTC went live on HDNet for a free TV broadcast that made it available to over 16 million homes! With a standing-room-only crowd cheering for nearly every takedown, slam, and knockout. The show had plenty of fireworks to go around as KOTC brought in UFC and worldwide MMA star Rich Clementi to face top KOTC contender Quinn Mulhern and former KOTC fighter Mike Kyle, who got his start in the event, againt powerhouse fighter Travis Wiuff. Added to that was Tony Lopez in a rematch against Tyler “The Beast” East, whom Lopez had barely beaten in a close decision. In the lighter weights 135 lb. champion Able Cullum went against undefeated Joe Coca and Donald Sanchez looked to get revenge against Victor Valenzuela.

Mike Kyle vs. Tavis Wiuff (Heavyweight)
On paper this looked like it might have been something of a mismatch, as Kyle came in at 213 lbs. and Wiuff a massive 250-plus. However, at the high altitude of the mountain venue Wiuff found it hard to get enough oxygen to chase down the lean and fit Kyle, who moved around the cage constantly and was very active even when on the mat. At the fight went on, Wiuff looked increasingly winded and Kyle got ever stronger. While Wiuff went for takedowns behind an occasional lead punch, Kyle landed stinging shots which repeatedly left Wiuff wobbly on his feet. At the end of the second round, Kyle caught Wiuff with a combination leading to a punch that looked like it could have came after the bell which put Wiuff down. Although he did get to his feet it was clear he was badly stunned and the doctor called a stop to the match between rounds. If there is a rematch, Wiuff would do well to insist it be fought at sea level.

Victor Valenzuela vs. Donald Sanchez (145 lbs.)
In the first meeting between the two, Sanchez tried to punch with the ex-boxer Valenzuela in order to beat him at his own game. It didn’t work and Sanchez ended up blooded and bruised in a decisive loss. From the opening bell, it was clear his strategy had changed as he didn’t box with the boxer but rather looked to close, clinch, knee and then go to the mat. With a ground game that couldn’t match that of his 15 year younger opponent, Valenzuela was worn down and hit with numerous ground strikes for nearly four full rounds. Finally, Sanchez got the full mount towards the end of round four and rained down a barrage that forced the referee to end the match via top online casinos TKO with only five seconds left in the match.

Tyler “The Beast” East vs. Tony Lopez (Heavyweight)
In the days leading up to the fight, nearly everyone seemed to have Lopez getting beat for his first loss in his last 16 fights, since losing a close decision to Tony Bonello, who was also on the card. Tyler, at around 20 years old, had slammed the 36-year-old Lopez at least 10 times in their first match a month earlier. Lopez had pulled out the close win but looked much the worse for the wear. At the opening bell, it was obvious that East had changed his strategy, as he was less physical and more technical, looking to beat Lopez kickboxing. What he discounted was the presence of kickboxing guru Colin Oyama in Lopez’s corner. Not able to dominate Lopez on the feet, East instead seemed to run out of gas trying to chase the rangy and active Lopez around the ring. When he did finally use his superior strength to get Lopez to the mat, he was overly aggressive and leaned forward to punch from inside the guard, opening himself up for a triangle which Lopez locked in at 4:54 of the opening stanza for the tapout win. Make that 17 wins in a for Lopez.

Abel Cullum vs. Joe Coca (135 lbs.)
Still very much new to the fight game and in his early 20s. Cullum nevertheless has a sterling 16-3 record and has fought in Japan as well as being the KOTC titleholder for several years. Wearing his trademark black Stetson cowboy hat down the ramp to the cage, Cullum looked every bit the Old West gunslinger coming into town for a showdown. Showing that he will not give up his belt easily, Cullum was aggressive and active from the opening bell, setting the pace for the fight and making Coca react instead of act. After pulling out of several dangerous positions, Coca finally got locked into a Cullum kimura at 2:09 of the first round and tapped out.

Quinn Mulhern vs. Rich Clementi
Tall and lanky and with a very confusing (to his opponents) ground game, Mulhern looked to show the world that a top KOTC fighter can hang with a top UFC fighter. Not yet the champion, Mulhern was beat his last time out by then-champion Mike Guymon (who has since signed with the UFC). While Clementi is rightly known as an absolute beast in the cage, he made the mistake that men such as Chris Brennan have made (who got tapped by Mulhern) in trying to go to the ground with the Santa Fe Jiu-Jitsu trained fighter. Where Guymon beat Mulhern by using his wrestling to dictate the positions of the fight and then unloading whenever possible, Clementi tried more of finesse approach that played right into Mulhern’s hands. Exhausted from trading positions and from pulling of out numerous submission attempts, Clementi was finally mounted in the middle of round two and pummeled on the mat as the fight was stopped for a TKO win for Mulhern at 3:24.

Undercard Highlights
“Bully Beatdown” star Tony Bonello showed that he is equally as tough against non-bullies as he met Mike “The Rhino” Bourke in a cruiserweight title match at a catch weight. Although giving up considerable size to Bourke, Bonello went ahead with the fight vowing to not get taken down. Thirty seconds into the match “The Rhino” had charged forward, put Bonello on the mat, and was gleefully punching down from inside Bonello’s guard. Although known as a kickboxer, Bonello luckily has black belt level grappling skills and he used them to lock in a winning triangle choke on the highly aggressive Bourke at 1:24 of round one. In other action James Flores beat Jeremiah Crosby by round one TKO, Andrew Vasquez KO’d Brian Chavez early in the second by KO, Boy Morgan TKO’d Joey Frank early in the first, Joey Lujan upset Javier Rubio by first round rear naked choke, Eddie Armendariz upset Levi Price by second round TKO, and Richard Villa stopped Brad Nordquist by first round TKO.

Conclusion
After 10 years of shows, featuring 3,000 fighters battling all over the world, and having fought several battles of its own to keep going after it was purchased by ProElite, and then bought back by Trebilcock after ProElite folded, KOTC isthe only MMA event airing live on free TV on a regular basis to millions of homes. To find out when the next airing of a live KOTC event is visit www.kingofthecage.com or check the HDNet television listings.