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