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 KOTB 12: Péga
What a card we have for you this Saturday, fight fans, as “YOLO,” “The Machette,” “The Little Ginger Prince,” “The Axe,” “Shamrock,” and the man known simply as “PJ” will all compete for KOTB belts. We also have a pair of debuting light-heavyweights competing for a title shot, as well as an important bout between surging KOTB middleweights. All in all, it should be one of the most thrilling main cards we’ve ever put on.
“The Golden Child” Kyrie Perry (2-0, 2-0) v Joseph Annuaku (5-1, 2-0)
Opening this historic main card will be two rising middleweights looking to make it 3-0 in the King of the Beach promotion. Richmond, Virginia’s Kyrie Perry has, thus far, made a successful transition since leaving USC’s wrestling program early to pursue an MMA career. Now fighting out of the Madz gym in Sydney, Perry has utilized a strong top game and defensive grappling to compliment a growing boxing attack. His fellow American, Joseph Annuaku, will also be bringing in a grappling-centered approach, albeit a little more submission oriented. Training out of the Lock and Roll Grappling Gym in Tokyo, Annuaku may be looking to counter Perry’s takedowns into sweeps and submission attempts of his own. While this may be a grinding fight at times, we have no doubt it’ll be full of some really fan-friendly grappling exchanges.
Yuri “Hands of Stone” Boyka (3-1, 0-0) v Zico “The Kick” Ali (3-2, 0-0)
Up next, KOTB is proud to showcase two of their biggest signings in the light-heavyweight division. Russian-born Yuri Boyka fights out of the Pit gym in London, which is also home to KOTB’s welterweight champion, Murphy MacManus. He’ll bring in one of the most polished standup games that our promotion has ever seen, but also has a proficient wrestling game that could come into play. His opponent, Zico Ali, was a one-time UVT fighter with quite a bit of experience here in Rio. Despite his nickname and 3-2 record, Ali has never missed a straight head or body punch in his career. It’s quite a statistic and one that seems to promise a standup war in this number-one contender matchup.
Third Round “YOLO” Romero (6-0, 1-0) v Ronaldo “The Machette” Lima (3-0, 2-0)
The two men who will fight for that aforementioned title will be up next, as undefeated crowd favorites Third Round Romero and Ronaldo Lima finally square off. Both men were scheduled to face former champion James Diaz at one time or another, but Diaz’s sudden departure gives both men an opportunity for gold. This is a clear striker vs. grappler setup, with Cuba’s Romero looking to finish his seventh straight fight in the first round with strikes, while Brazil’s Lima will look to make it three-for-three with first round submissions in KOTB competition. Whatever happens, we’ll have a brand new champion after Saturday night.
“The Little Ginger Prince” Chris Karter (3-1, 2-0) v Thiago “The Axe” Machado (3-0, 3-0)
Our co-main event will see lightweight champion, Chris Karter, defend his belt for the first time against Sao Paulo submission wizard Thiago Machado. This will be the American’s third fight against a Brazilian in as many fights, so the champion should come into the fight with a familiarity of fighting a Brazilian opponent in front of a hometown crowd. He’ll be looking to put hands on Machado, who comes into the fight with two ‘submission of the night’ bonuses and a ‘fight of the night’ submission win in his first three career fights, all of which were with the KOTB promotion.
Murphy "Shamrock" MacManus (3-0, 2-0) v PJ McDermott (2-1, 2-1)
Our main event is a fight we’ve actually been expecting since we signed both athletes in the early days of KOTB. Regardless, it’ll surely be worth the wait, as our Irish champion, Murphy MacManus, looks to defend his title for the first time against KOTB-veteran PJ McDermott. MacManus is coming in off of a wild title fight against former champion, Parker Allen, and will be looking to repeat that success with his top-level striking game, whether it’s from range or from the clinch. McDermott rebounded nicely from his title loss with a dominating performance and showed a new sharpness in his standup game. This one will most likely be fought on the feet and in the clinch in a bloody back-and-forth affair, but McDermott may also want to get this one to the floor. Whoever emerges from the cage champion on Saturday night has a hungry challenger waiting for them, as new signee James La Grande has been chomping at the bit to get into the cage and show his potential as champion.
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