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 The King of the Beach promotion is proud as hell of this last weekend’s card, as KOTB 11 would end up being the highest rated card in it’s history, as well as having the second highest attendance. The card would also see a record 10 finishes, a record nine KO/TKOs, as well as a tie for the fastest finish in KOTB history. All in all, a crazy night, so let’s get into the recap:
Getting things started would the KOTB debuts of two Rio-born middleweights, as Ryan Gracie took on Caio Rodrigues. Both fighters possess strong grappling games, so it wasn’t a surprise that this fight took place entirely on the mat. Rodrigues was first to make a move, grabbing a nice single leg takedown seconds into the fight. From there, it was a battle of positioning before Gracie hit a beautiful sweep from his butterfly guard and transitioned into a fight-ending kimura. Overall, it was a wonderful show of jiu-jitsu for the Rio fans that got to the arena early.
Ryan “Neto” Gracie (2-0, 1-0) defeats Caio “Cobra” Rodrigues (0-1, 0-1) via Submission (Kimura) R1 - 01:37
A pair of featherweights looking to follow up their recent victories were up next, as another Rio-born fighter, Bruised Rib Aldo, took on the Hawaiian, Akira Mahalo. Considering both fighters’ skill sets, the fans were expecting a standup war in this one. Aldo had other things planned, however, in a flawless performance that pushes him near the top of the featherweight rankings. After missing his first punch, Aldo would hit cleanly in his next four, including a massive lead left hook that would separate Mahalo from consciousness at the 23-second mark of the first round.
Bruised Rib “Excuse” Aldo (5-1, 2-1) defeats Akira “Pearly Shells” Mahalo (2-3, 1-2) via KO (Punch) R1 - 00:23
Up next was the only fight to make it out of the first round, as Egyptian prospect Ramses XII battered the Peruvian, Gabriel Vera, over the course of three rounds. If nothing else, Vera showed a solid chin and good heart in a lopsided defeat, but besides a few takedowns and a series of submissions, this one was all Ramses, who finally got to display his full arsenal of punches, kicks, clinchwork and grappling. Rumors have spread since that the highly touted Ramses is now in high demand and our sources don’t think that KOTB will be able to re-sign him. Let’s hope that’s not the case, as Ramses has future champion written all over him.
“The Pharaon” Ramses Xll (1-1, 1-1) defeats Gabriel “Tarántula” Vera (3-3, 3-3) via KO (Punches) R3 - 03:53
Our first of five super-heavyweight fights on the card saw a pair of excellent boxers in need of a win, as New Zealand’s Kevin Koo took on Florida’s Neon Uno. Despite both fighters holding strong ground games, this one would unravel entirely on the feet. Koo looked to be the more athletic and active of the two, firing over 10 punches per minute at his opponent, and despite some solid footwork and defense from Uno, the pace would start to wear on him. After a deep cut started to spill over onto Uno’s face, Koo smelled the finish and delivered a devastating uppercut, followed by a volley of punches on his slumped opponent.
Kevin Koo (2-2, 1-1) defeats Neon Uno (1-3, 1-3) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 03:13
Another super-heavyweight bout would finish off our undercard, as Croatia’s Mirko Vukovic took on Russia’s Lane Herman. Vukovic was making a record fifth appearance for the promotion and is one of the more well-rounded athletes in the division. Despite winning his last fight by submission, he decided to attack with kicks against the grappling presence of Herman. Herman tried his best to get this one to the floor, but got there the hard way after getting cracked with a head kick. Vukovic followed, but the referee would quickly stand it up after a positioning stalemate. It would be here that Vukovic would land a gorgeous fight-ending, walk-away head kick. That’s two straight impressive performances for the teenager.
Mirko “The Shadow” Vukovic (3-2, 3-2) defeats Lane “Heman” Herman (4-2, 1-2) via KO (Head Kick) R1 - 03:08
Our “fight of the night” would open our main card, as Scotland’s Mick McManus and England’s Bruce Bogtrotter would engage in spirited back and forth super-heavyweight affair. After a cut-inducing jab scored for McManus, Bogtrotter moved the fight into the clinch, where he does his best work. Things seemed to be going well for him, as McManus struggled with positioning while trying to block his opponent’s shots. In the final minute, however, Bogtrotter would break out of the clinch only to be dropped by a huge McManus right hand. Maybe still out of sorts, Bogtrotter would glance up at the clock only to be dropped by another huge McManus right hand, one that he wouldn’t recover from. McManus has another big win under his belt and is creating a following as one of KOTB’s more exciting fighters.
“Merciless” Mick McManus (2-1, 2-1) defeats Bruce Bogtrotter (2-1, 2-1) via KO (Punch) R1 - 04:42
Our only welterweight fight on the card would see the introduction of a new Brazilian contender, as Jefferson Murillo made short work of Korean grappler, Jin Kazama. Murillo showed strong takedown defense, swatting away three early attempts from his opponent, before dropping him with a vicious hook, forcing the referee to jump in and wave this one off in just 19 seconds. Murillo now moves up the ladder and looks forward to a bigger test against KOTB veteran, Walood Kassab.
Jefferson “Grisahlo” Murillo (2-1, 1-0) defeats Jin “Devil” Kazama (5-2, 0-2) via TKO (Punches) R1 - 00:19
Tito Griffin is paving a road of destruction to the title and Bruce Zimbardo wouldn’t amount to much more than a speed bump. The Caribbean striker, who was making a record tying fifth appearance for the promotion, never had lost a fight by knockout before this matchup. This didn’t appear to matter to Griffin, who launched into a fight-ending right hand just five seconds into the fight, tying the KOTB record for fastest finish. Griffin looks to be a serious contender and will probably wrap up a shot at the champion with another victory.
Tito “The Warrior” Griffin (3-2, 2-0) defeats Bruce “The Great” Zimbardo (5-2, 3-2) via KO (Punch) R1 - 00:05
Our co-main event would be the third straight finish in under a minute, as the baby faced assassin, Marty McFly, tore through his hometown opponent, Casey Frost. Frost was making his KOTB debut, but will have to go back to the drawing board in his sophomore appearance. McFly found his confidence after stuffing a trio of takedown attempts and showed his class with stinging combinations. McFly would then seal the deal with a massive right hand and takes his place as one of the top prospects in the light-heavyweight division.
Marty Mcfly (5-0, 1-0) defeats Casey Frost (2-1, 0-1) via KO (Punch) R1 - 00:50
And finally, to top the night off, Guy Mourtneant broke the KOTB curse for defending champions, putting in a vintage performance over the surging Brit, Harry Milne. The Frenchman teased fans about his possible ground attack, but didn’t mess around and went to his dominant clinch game early. Milne did manage to break Mourtneant’s clinch on numerous occasions, something that no fighter has ever done, but he couldn’t get any offense of his own going. Instead, Mourtneant showed strong takedown and striking defense and eventually wore down on his opponent, finishing the fight with a cannon of a jab to Milne’s jaw. Some fans thought the referee might’ve jumped in early, but Milne was clearly out of it until the champion’s hand was raised. Both fighters demonstrated class in the post fight interviews, showing clear respect for each other.
Guy “4” Mourtneant (6-1, 2-0) defeats “The Bulldog” Harry Milne (4-1, 2-1) via KO (Punch) R1 - 03:28
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