King of the Cage "Payback"

Cleveland, Ohio

The recent King Of The Cage pay-per-view card that took place in Cleveland had more mainstream press present according to KOTC owner Terry Trebilcock than any MMA show except the UFC. Newspapers from as far away as Colorado and Washington D.C. traveled to Cleveland to see Jarrod Bunch and Michael Westbrook headline a card that also featured Pride vets Daniel Bobish and Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett, KOTC Middleweight Champion Joey Villasenor, and several up-and-comers mainly from the Mid-West. KOTC weathered and for the most part controlled the storm from the media circus admirably, thankfully, as this show is bound to be referenced for years to come in the mainstream for sub-UFC events. Got to hand it to Terry, he knows how to spin almost as well as he knows how to run a successful business. First off was the Toughman angle. Steven Burress of Martins Ferry died late January after participating in a Toughman boxing competition in Dayton, Ohio 'likely' due to a blood clot on the brain. He won his first two matches but was knocked down in the third match, the finals of a Heavyweight tournament with a $1000 prize. According to the Times News Service this is the twelfth death in Toughman since their inception in 1979. Both Toughman and KOTC are sanctioned by the Ohio Athletic Commission which in March of '04 was criticized in a report by the State of Ohio Office of the Inspector General when they 'committed a wrongful act in failing to regulate tough person competition during the last two years'. You can bet the house the mainstream press found that report on line but thankfully Terry's spin focused the attention away from this issue as far as what was reported in public. The repercussions this had on the KOTC card resulted in one of the worst fights in KOTC history. Originally Eric 'Butterbean' Esch was supposed to fight Dan Severn. Dan was replaced about a week out by Bo Cantrell, last seen fighting Paul Buentello for the Heavyweight title right before Buentello fought in UFC. According to KOTC owner Trebilcock the unified rules of California adopted and adjusted by New Jersey and Nevada allow for any fighter weighing over 200 pounds to fight in an 'unlimited' class, thus allowing Cantrell at around 240 to fight Esch at a reported 425 despite the weight break between Heavyweight and Super Heavyweight being 265. Problem is Ohio doesn't recognize the 'unlimited' class. According to Cantrell he was told at 10 AM the day of the show that the Athletic Commission was 'clamping down' on the fight, insisting Cantrell make 265 by gaining 20 pounds the day of the fight. According to Trebilcock this was brought on by the Toughman death but sources close to the show speaking on condition of anonymity cited the nationwide press in attendance for KOTC mentioning the Toughman death as being a more accurate rendition of events. Cantrell actually tried to gain the weight and stay in the fight but couldn't do it, resulting in Mike Buchovich taking the fight with only a couple hours to prepare for the much heavier Butterbean, himself a former Toughman competitor. So far the Ohio Athletic Commission has not returned messages requesting comments. Another interesting angle was the two ways this show and particularly the Westbrook/Bunch fight was projected in the media leading up to the show. MSNBC's 'Imus In the Morning' was positive, even featuring Butterbean on the February 18th live broadcast. Newspapers in the DC area however such as the Washington Times and Washington Post both paralleled what many Redskins fans said in this reporter's informal poll of longtime residents, that Westbrook was remembered for his days with the 'Skins as a disappointment on the field and a hothead that feuded with teammates, management, and local press off. Even ESPN.com preceded Westbrook's name with 'NFL bust' while the Rocky Mountain News referred to Westbrook being known 'more for sucker- punching running back Stephen Davis as for catching Kordell Stewart's Hail Mary pass against Michigan'. Actually this fight was good, with Westbrook and Bunch both showing fight skills that would form a good foundation if they were to continue with Bunch showing superior wrestling and Westbrook solid jiu-jitsu. With a reported $100,000 fee for fighting plus a percentage of the pay-per-view profits Westbrook doesn't seem to be bothered, saying in a pre-fight entrance video 'love me or hate me, you'll watch'. So what will fans watch besides the abhorrent Butterbean/Buchovich 'draw' and Westbrook/Bunch? The highlight was definitely George Gurgel vs. Jay Ireland in a standup war where both fighters repeatedly stood toe to toe throwing heavy leather much to the delight of the estimated 7,000 in attendance. Joey Villasenor, James Lee, Daniel Bobish, and Thiago Alves all overwhelmed their opponents in what were only seemingly one-sided fights with worthy opponents. Also worth checking out will be Alvarez's ATT teammate Paulo Dantas who had a close fight with Jason Dent that will please fans of the ground game. This pay-per-view starts airing March 6th. Written by:Keith Mills

North League Extreme Kickboxing 1

Akron, Ohio

Extreme Kickboxing made its highly anticipated debut in downtown Akron this past weekend in front of a packed house at the Posh Night Club. Due to the recent success of the Atlanta (GA) based promotion, EKB founder and President Lane Collyer made the decision to expand the event to another location and was convinced by co-promoters Ryan and Allison Madigan to make Akron the next stop. Four fights were on the inaugural card which featured both low kick and Muay Thai rules along with eight of the top fighters in the region. In the nights first bout it was Akron’s own Kerry McKinney (Noble Clan Kung Fu) taking on Pittsburgh’s Mike McClelland (Iron City Gym) in a low kick rules clash. McKinney came out with a quick flurry and set the tempo in a very even and fast paced first round. It was more of the same early in the second with McKinney pushing the action but it was McClelland’s conditioning that would prove to be his biggest asset. The Pittsburgh native came out swinging in the third almost sensing that he needed a KO and after a brief exchange, it was a short right hand from McClelland that put McKinney down for the count and gave McClelland the hard fought victory. Both fighters should be commended for a great fight and McKinney will no doubt regroup and be ready to go for his next fight this coming March.In the second bout of the night, it was a battle of two NE Ohio fighters with allot to prove. Drew Longshore (Massillon, OH) is coming of a loss in his last bout and looking to get back on track while making the transition from MMA to kickboxing. On the other side of the ring stood Michael Slayton, another home town favorite who did not want to disappoint his supporters in attendance. Longshore started quickly and landed a straight right which stunned Slayton and momentarily sent him to the canvas. After a standing eight count from referee Lorenzo Scott, the now refocused Slayton went on the attack and finished the first round strong but still was on the losing end of a 10-8 round. In the second it was all Slayton from the opening bell. Slayton opened the attack with a two punch combo followed by a left leg low kick which momentarily stopped Longshore. At that point Slayton smelled blood and like a hungry Shark went for the kill. It was another vicious flurry from Slayton that sealed the deal for the hometown favorite.In what was anticipated as possibly being the fight of the night, it was Jason “Steel-Town” Taylor taking on GriffonRawl-Ohio’s Aaron “Juice” Veverka in a 155 pound, full Muay Thai rules match up. Taylor was coming off an impressive 2004 campaign posting an 18-2 record in the twelve month time span. Veverka came in with an impressive resume of his own and the experience of training with of the regions top MMA/Muay Thai teams in GriffonRawl.Both fighters came out firing from the opening seconds and right away fans knew it was going to be a slugfest. Taylor brought the crowd to its feet first with several high-flying knee strike attempts and back kicks which nearly connected. Veverka, who sported the more traditional style, stuck to his early game plan and worked to take Taylor in to the corner of the ring. The clinch is where Veverka seemed to be most comfortable and was able to inflict most of his damage throughout the fight. With each exchange the advantage seemed to shift from one fighter to the other in what was turning out to be an epic battle as both fighters proved to be in excellent shape. As the five round war began to unfold, it came down to the fifth and final round to decide the outcome. Veverka started quickly in the fifth and once again was able to slow the more active Taylor with his inside body work which in the end proved to be the difference. One final exchange in the final ten seconds left the crowd standing and cheering in response to what they had just witnessed The Majority decision went to Veverka in what was no doubt one of the best fights early 2005 season. After the fight both fighters expressed interest in a rematch but it will have to happen on the professional level as Taylor announced his intentions to turn pro after his next scheduled fight this month. Hopefully, we as fans will get the chance to see these two go at it again….this fight alone was worth the price of admission.In the nights main event it was accomplished Muay Thai veteran Neal Rowe stepping in for his student Jason Kenneman (flu) and taking on Pittsburgh’s Alex Beck in another full Muay Thai rules match up. Rowe started strong and showed the bigger Beck that he would not be pushed around with an early combination of jabs and low kicks to open the scoring. Beck retaliated with what would become his most affective weapon, the right leg low kick. Shot after shot landed square on Rowe’s left thigh and started to take its toll on the smaller fighter. Beck took control of the fight in the late third round with a devastating round kick that buckled Rowe and put him down for the first of two standing eight counts. The damage and swelling proved to be too much and Rowe was unable to come out for round four giving Beck another hard fought victory. Rowe deserves a ton of credit for taking this fight on literally two hours notice and stepping in with such short notice. “He is a great fighter and very quick, I’m sure he will be back soon” said a very satisfied and tired Beck after the fight. Beck is another Iron City Gym (Mark Miller) prospect who has his sites set on turning pro but told PKW that he will wait another week before making his final decision.Congratulations to all of the fighters, coaches, staff and fans that helped make this event possible in NE Ohio. Special thanks to Ryan and Allison Madigan for putting together such a first rate show. After a night of great kick boxing action, EKB Akron was definitely considered a success and we look forward to the next one! You can visit http://www.extremekickboxing.net/ soon for pre fight and post fight comments from all of the fighters on this card, along with an updated list of EKB fights for your viewing pleasure.[i]Written by:http://www.prokarateweekly.com/</i>Feb. 4th EKB Akron- Quick Results:190 LBSMike McClelland (Pittsburgh, PA) over Kerry McKinney (Akron, OH) - KO 1:35 rd 3170 LBSMichael Slayton (Akron, OH) over Drew Longshore (Maxilla, OH) - KO 1:49 rd 2155 LBSAaron“The Juice” Veverka (Mentor, OH) over Jason Taylor (Pittsburgh, PA) - Majority Decision230 LBSAlex Beck (Pittsburgh, PA) over Neal Rowe (Cincinnati, OH) TKO (could not come out for rd 4)