King of the Cage "Drop Zone"

Mt. Pleasent, Michigan

Aptly named “Drop Zone,” the level of entertainment for Saturday’s King of the Cage at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort dropped faster than coins in the casino’s slot machines. The under card was littered with mismatches and unproven talent, while the main card saw Mac Danzig (Pictures) and James Lee successfully defending their lightweight and light heavyweight weight titles, respectively. Danzig, defending his title for the first time after dismantling Takumi Nakayama (Pictures), won a unanimous judges decision against a game Jason Ireland. Danzig looked tentative as the scrappy Ireland pressed the action early in the first round. Controlling the distance with his jab and leg kicks, the southpaw Ireland kept Danzig on his heels. Hoping to improve his situation, Danzig attempted a hip-toss only to have Ireland counter and land a belly-to-back of his own. After a brief scramble on the ground, Ireland landed a straight left that crumbled the Millenia Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Ireland, searching for a quick finish, pounced on Danzig, who was able to recover from the punch only to find himself locked in a tight guillotine choke. Danzig escaped, passed guard and worked to get his hooks in just as the first round ended. Wanting to push the stand up action, Danzig opened the second frame with a flying knee that connected, but resulted in Danzig on his back. The Irish Tornado then peppered the legs of the butt scooting Danzig. Ireland lowered himself into Danzig’s guard with a right hand that brought that Ireland-friendly crowd to their feet. Once Danzig was able to establish the top position on the ground, he quickly forced Ireland to give up his back. Ireland’s strength and grit would not allow Danzig to improve on the dominate position, as referee Herb Dean (Pictures) was forced to stand the action shortly before the end of the second round. The third stanza saw Danzig prove his mettle by dominating all aspects of the fight. He opened up with two hooks, a shot to the body and a double-leg takedown and then quickly cut through Ireland’s guard. Once in mount, Ireland did not want punches rained down so he gave up his back. As Danzig worked for the choke, referee Dean confusingly halted the action and requested the fighters to stand. After a brief exchange, Danzig secured the challenger’s back again, this time with a leg triangle. With Danzig still working to finish the fight, Dean again warned of an imminent stand up. Appearing to be comfortable on the ground, Danzig attempted an armbar, then transitioning to a Kimura and then heelhook and Ireland deftly defended. When it was clear the heelhook would not finish the fight, Danzig attacked the knee, forcing the leg past 180 degrees. Ireland, showing the heart of a warrior, refused to tap as the round came to a close. Danzig, who was very apologetic after the fight for not finishing his opponent, showed tremendous character being able to come back and control the fight after being dropped with a punch. Ireland proved that he can be a force in the future at 155 pounds. James Lee, with a horde of the MASH team in his corner, improved his record to 18-2 by walking through a haggard-looking Brian Hawkins (Pictures). Hawkins, who has lost a step or four, was outclassed quickly. Lee landed a hard right hand that would have finished the fight, but the champion quickly advanced and locked up the clinch. Had Lee not engaged, Hawkins would have dropped. Lee muscled the fight to the ground, where he ended the action with a heelhook 24 seconds after the opening bell. Charles Bennett (Pictures) attempted to bring his out-of-the-ring flair into the cage, only to get choked out cold at the hands of Buddy Clinton (Pictures) 18 seconds into the bout. As referee Dean gave the fight instructions, Bennett used the opportunity to sniff Clinton like a rabid dog. Straight out of the movie The Matrix, Bennett parried Clinton’s overhand right so deftly that both fighters spun to the ground. Clinton used this chance to lock a deep rear-naked choke. The consummate combatant, Bennett refused to tap while slipping from consciousness. Matt Shaw impressed the crowd by pulling a sneaky armbar out over Derrick Keesley one minute into the second round. The bout was action packed, with both fighters showing quick hands and strong ground work. After calmly fending off a opening flurry by Joe Voisin, Jason Dent forced a tap 4:50 into the first round with a guillotine choke. Brendan Seguin (Pictures) won a unanimous decision over Thomas Russell by controlling the fight with a strong wrestling base. Josh Taibil reigned down punches from the mount after escaping a sloppy armbar attempt from Josh Martin. The strikes induced a referee stoppage at the 2:15 mark. Using his 40-pound weight advantage, Don Richard (Pictures)s armbarred Allen Weikart 1:55 into the first period. Wearing a singlet, a fighter announced to the crowd as “Count Blackula” used a karate style to confuse Tony Forgione early in their bout. However, once the “Count” ate a punch, he ran away attempting to keep Forgione at bay with sidekicks. Forgione danced through the snap kicks and landed some meager punches that compelled “Blackula” to verbally submit two minutes into the bout. Brian Harper choked out Kevin Brent 32 seconds into the opening bout of the evening. Sorry but do to the photographer pulling a no show we have no pictures.Written by:by John Hanlon