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 KOTB 7: Supremo
A record 2,000 fans were in attendance for the first-ever double championship card in King of the Beach history on Saturday night. Hayashi’s Lounge provided the perfect atmosphere for the highest rated event in promotion history, and now KOTB looks forward to a return engagement at the lounge for KOTB 8, as well as the inaugural “Challenger Series” card on Wednesday night. For now, let’s get into this weekend’s recap:
Opening the card was a lightning quick affair between 18-year-old Canadian middleweights, Matt Lewsk & Rene The Hulk. Both grapplers came in hungry for a victory and it showed, as The Hulk immediately grabbed a takedown and started unloading with some ground and pound. Lewsk, though, doesn’t mind being on his back and quickly turned things around with a tight triangle choke and a ‘submission of the night’ bonus.
Matt Lewsk (2-2, 1-1) defeats Rene The Hulk (0-2, 0-1) via Submission (Triangle) R1 - 00:22
Up next we had another pair of KOTB veterans looking for their first victories, but in the super-heavyweight division. American Neon Uno, who was considering retirement before the bout, seems to have revived his career after landing a promotion record 152 standing strikes and winning all three rounds 10-8 in the judges’ eyes. Santos Silva showed some resolve after being rocked in the second round by quickly getting his only takedown of the fight and surviving the round. The rest was all Uno, however, as he now looks forward the next stage of his career.
Neon Uno (1-2, 1-2) defeats Gabriel Santos Silva (1-3, 0-3) via Decision (Unanimous)
A key matchup in the featherweight division saw Ireland’s Maellan Rowan take on Belo Horizonte’s Eduardo Dias. On paper, this appeared to be a fight that would be decided on the feet, but the Irish boxer Rowan seemed determined to get things into the clinch and to the floor. This would be a strategic disaster, however, as Dias immediately started landing with knees and elbows in the clinch and countered with some takedowns of his own. After grinding down his opponent for almost two rounds, the Brazilian latched onto a late second-round armbar for his first promotional victory.
Eduardo Dias (2-1, 1-1) defeats Maellan Rowan (0-1, 0-1) via Submission (Armbar) R2 - 04:53
A pair of 19-year-old middleweights looking for their second KOTB victories were up next, as American wrestler Kyrie Perry took on Cuban grappler Jacare Romero in an exciting three-round affair. Things looked good for Romero at first, hitting an early takedown and diving for a heel hook, but Irving managed to get on top and stay there for the remainder of the first round. The second and third rounds would be largely similar, with Perry on top landing ground and pound and defending against the submission attack of Romero. After another win for the former USC wrestling standout, Perry now looks forward to the upper ranks of the division.
Kyrie Perry (2-0, 2-0) defeats Jacare Romero (2-3, 1-2) via Decision (Unanimous)
In the featured preliminary bout, a pair of large and talented teenagers made their promotional debuts in the super-heavyweight division. At 6’4’’ and 255lbs, New Zealand-born Kevin Koo probably isn’t used to being the smaller man when he enters the cage, but that’s exactly what happened when Shaquille O Neal stepped in at 6’10’’ and 280lbs.
Despite having good wrestling bases, both fighters came in looking to keep things on the feet, as O Neal looked to setup his clinch attack with kicks, while Koo countered with a boxing attack. Both fighters displayed some great striking defense, but O Neal landed some key body shots and pressed against Koo with a weighty clinch game, tiring his foe and eventually stopping him with some heavy shots from the clinch in the second round.
Shaquille O Neal (1-0, 1-0) defeats Kevin Koo (1-2, 0-1) via TKO (Strikes) R2 - 01:51
The opening bout of the main card didn’t disappoint our high expectations, as British grappling sensation Eric Ashton took on Egyptian über-prospect Ramses XII. On paper, it looked like Ashton had a big step up in competition in his KOTB debut, but things didn’t seem much different when Ashton immediately got a takedown into side control and began to let loose with his lethal ground and pound game. Ramses managed to quickly regain guard, but Ashton then mounted and knocked his opponent clean out. An excited Ashton then took to the mic and now looks forward to a title bout against champion Thatcher Halverson.
Eric Ashton (6-1, 1-0) defeats Ramses Xll (0-1, 0-1) via KO (Strikes) R1 - 01:57
Next up, Caribbean Bruce Zimbardo made his KOTB-record fourth appearance for the promotion in a super-heavyweight matchup against undefeated Russian Lane Herman. Things looked dire for Zimbardo early, as Herman walked through a jab and got an early takedown. Zimbardo, though, avoided a pair of submission attempts and managed to control Herman enough to force a referee standup. From here, it was all Zimbardo, as he countered Herman’s takedown attempts with laser-precise strikes and finished off Herman with a beautiful head-kick knockout, the fourth of his young career.
Bruce Zimbardo (5-1, 3-1) defeats Lane Herman (4-1, 1-1) via KO (Head Kick) R1 - 04:51
Our inaugural featherweight champion was crowned after American boxer Chris Karter took out Brazilian grappler Anderson Gracie very early in the second round. Gracie knew he had a real chance to win this fight with his jiu-jitsu, but Karter would never allow this one to get to the mat. After spending most of the first round peppering Gracie with dirty boxing, Karter would rock his opponent with a clean combination before flooring him with a big right hand. After being saved by the bell, Gracie walked right into a fight ending hook just five seconds into the second round. Karter has now re-signed with the organization and looks hopeful for a long championship reign here in Rio.
Chris Karter (3-1, 2-0) defeats Anderson Gracie (1-1, 0-1) via TKO (Strikes) R2 - 00:05
Our co-main event would see another light-heavyweight contender emerge, as hometown favorite Ronaldo Lima looked to follow up a successful KOTB debut against Australian kickboxer Simon Sims. In a somewhat surprising result, Lima made his sophomore appearance look as easy as his debut, scoring an early trip takedown and moving immediately to a fight-ending kimura. Sims will be looking to rebound, while Lima potentially has a fight with fellow Brazilian and champion James Diaz in his view.
Ronaldo Lima (3-0, 2-0) defeats Simon Sims (5-2, 0-1) via Submission (Kimura) R1 - 00:46
Our super-heavyweight championship belt would finally find a home after being in lingo for a number of weeks, as “Big Bear” Sandu Lungu took on Guy “4” Mourtneant in the most highly anticipated matchup in KOTB history. Lungu had some success at range, landing a kick and some punches, but this one would be decided in the clinch. This is where Mourtneant would make his championship move, landing an assortment of body shots and uppercuts, eventually dropping Lungu to his knees and forcing the referee to intervene. Mourtneant now emerges as KOTB’s premiere fighter in its premiere division. Congratulations and celebrations are in store for the Frenchman.
Guy Mourtneant (5-1, 1-0) defeats Sandu Lungu (4-1, 1-1) via TKO (Strikes) - R1 - 02:44
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