KOTB 13: Derrubar (Review)

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Wow, are we ever proud of this weekend’s card. Despite not having any title fights, KOTB 13 would go on the shatter our ‘event rating’ and ticket revenue records, while also tying an attendance record. This is a major step for the organization and a testament to the quality of fighters who are building in our roster. In my completely biased opinion, we now have the top 270k org in the world in terms of talent, while also holding a top 50 ranking and one of the top ‘owner satisfaction ratings’. Anyways, enough about us, let’s recap this weekend’s fights.

A pair of giants would open the main card, as the 7’4” 300lb American, Todd Hunter, took on the 6’8” 275lb Brazilian, Gustavo Gouveia. Despite both fighters holding brown belts, this one would never make it to the mat. Hunter did attempt a pair of early takedowns but it was Gouveia who would show off his heavy hands, as he landed a crushing right hand before clinching up and landing another fight-finishing right on the chin of his opponent. Gouveia has quickly turned into KOTB’s most reliable heavyweight gatekeeper, but will look to make his first KOTB winning streak in his next fight. Hunter, meanwhile, is now in desperate need of a win.

Gustavo “Montanha” Gouveia (4-2, 2-2) defeats Todd Hunter (0-2, 0-2) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 00:36

Our next fight saw a potential future lightweight contender emerge when Swedish import Dag Daghammar took on Fortaleza’s Hermes Franca. Daghammar, who came in half a foot taller than his opponent, came out firing with body shots. Franca avoided most of the damage, but after landing a big shot of his own, he threw a reckless power punch and Daghammar countered with his second huge uppercut of the night, sending Franca crashing to the floor. Franca managed to recover but ran into a devastating straight right and fell back to the mat face first. All in all, it’s a mighty impressive debut for the Swede who earned himself a $5000 “back room” bonus.

Dag “Dregen” Daghammar (2-0, 1-0) defeats Hermes Franca (1-2, 1-2) via KO (Punch) R1 - 01:06

Another lightweight bout would follow, as Italian grappler Raecius Felix took on Brazilian muay thai specliast Jose Almeida. Much to Almeida’s dismay, this one would go to the floor early from a picturesque double leg from the Italian. From there, Almeida would fight for position and looks for sweeps while Felix landed some strikes and fished for a submission. A fight-ending submission would eventually materialize when Felix torqued a nasty Americana on his foe. Felix then proceeded to give the ring girls some attention, something they are getting used to down here in Rio.

Raecius Felix (2-0, 1-0) defeats Jose Almedia (1-2, 1-2) via Submission (Americana) R1 - 02:53

I don’t think KOTB has ever seen a fight cover all the areas of mixed martial arts quite like our next featherweight matchup. Brazil’s Eduardo Dias and Ireland’s Cliff Carriggian fought back and forth in a fight that saw good exchanges on the feet, battles in the clinch, submission attempts, beautiful escapes and picture-perfect sweeps. In the end, all three judges would score all three rounds for the Brazilian, but Carriggian definitely shouldn’t feel bad about his performance. Dias moves closer to the top of the division and looks towards a tough bout against unheralded newcomer Veikko Susi.

Eduardo “Pelé” Dias (3-1, 2-1) defeats Cliff “Blazing” Carriggian (1-2, 1-2) via Decision (Unanimous)

In our featured undercard bout, Emerson Sheik took on veteran Gary Finkler in a number-one contender bout at lightweight. This one would end up being another grueling three round affair, as Finkler pushed for takedowns and clinch exchanges while Sheik countered with crisp combinations. Finkler probably had his best performance for our organization, showing good striking defense and takedowns, but couldn’t keep his foe down long enough to do any real damage. Sheik, on the other hand, stayed out of trouble and consistently landed with his hands while throwing out Hail Mary headkicks. Sheik now waits for a title shot and will be watching KOTB 14’s main event closely.

Emerson Sheik (3-0, 2-0) defeats Gary Finkler (4-2, 1-2) via Decision (Unanimous)

Opening the main card was a matchup that could’ve easily been a part of the TWGC tournament, as Amazonian, Augusto Azevedo, took on local jiu-jitsu wiz, Anderson Gracie. A lot of fans were hoping for a back and forth jiu-jitsu show, but this one ended in another first round ‘submission of the night’ for the Amazonian. Azevedo used superior athleticism to get himself on top early, while Gracie looked calm and worked from the bottom. Azevedo then exploded into a tight kimura and proceeded to step over and force the tapout from a visibly disappointed Gracie. Azevedo has looked like a wrecking ball and will now be the third straight Brazilian to contend for Chris Karter’s featherweight belt.

“Amazing” Augusto Azevedo (3-0, 3-0) defeats Anderson “The Boa Constrictor” Gracie (2-2, 1-2) via Submission (Kimura) R1 - 01:08

When Blob Sapp fights you better not blink. The American heavyweight continued his streak of sub-minute finishes with a devastating knockout over countryman Tim Wallace. Wallace immediately lunged for some grappling exchanges but Sapp countered with some thudding shots to the body and head. Every shot seemed to make Wallace wince in pain and two especially devastating rights would finish the job. It was another short night for Sapp who suddenly moves into contender status. Sapp was very vocal at the post-fight presser and had a few words for former contender Sandu Lungu, as well as recent signee Conrad Mcgillicutty. BREAKING NEWS: It looks like Sapp’s callouts have become fruitful, as Sapp will now fight Mcgillicutty in a number one contender bout.

Blob “Voodoo Child” Sapp (4-1, 2-1) defeats Tim “Lights Out” Wallace (4-2, 1-2) via KO (Punch) R1 - 00:45

Up next we had an intriguing bout between surging superstar Lucas Campos and former champion Parker Allen. Campos has shown incredible power in his hands during his career thus far, but Allen showed he was on another level on Saturday night. Allen easily avoided everything Campos threw at him with stellar footwork and picked his opponent apart with accurate punches. Allen, sensing his opponent was wilting, landed one of the most devastating uppercuts we’ve seen in Rio, lifting his opponent off the canvas. This would earn Allen his third straight ‘fight night’ bonus and puts him back on track to get his title back. This should prove to be a valuable learning experience for Campos who still has a ton of potential.

Parker “The Terrorizer” Allen (3-1, 2-1) defeats Lucas “Samurai” Campos (3-1, 3-1) via KO (Punch) R1 - 02:33

The fans expected a KT-style barnburner in our co-main event and they got their wish, as light-heavyweights Simon Sims and Diederik Boschman tangled in a vicious, clinch-heavy encounter. Boschman got things started by moving into the clinch and seemed to be in his comfort zone. The two competitors started exchanging over the next couple minutes as the crowd ate up every moment. Boschman’s “hellbows” wouldn’t find their mark, however, as Sims appeared to be the better defensive fighter. After an extended dirty boxing exchange, Sims would move out of the clinch and land at range, only to be clinched up again. This would repeat late in the round, but this time Sims would land a beautiful uppercut, which sent Boschman tumbling to the mat. Sims followed and forced the referee stoppage, much to Boschman’s dismay. Both fighters displayed tons of class towards each other in the post-fight interviews and Boschman apologized to his father for his first career loss. Maybe it’s something to do with his own father’s recent retirement, but Sims now looks totally revitalized from his debut loss and finds himself in a number one contender fight against phenom Marty McFly.

Simon Sims (7-2, 2-1) defeats Diederik “The Hidden Blade” Boschman (3-1, 3-1) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 04:26

We had a number of ‘fight of the night’ worthy bouts throughout this card, but heavyweights Sandu Lungu and Thiagus Davaru Silva would top them all in a thrilling main event. Silva looked like a different fighter compared to his last bout and managed to get an early takedown. Lungu, however, showed off his rarely seen ground game and immediately swept his foe. The rest of the round was a tense fight for position as Lungu defended submission attempt after submission attempt from top position. Lungu looked like the much fresher fighter coming into the second round and put on a striking clinic against a fading Silva. Lungu would finish with a stunning right-left combo before landing an astonishing flying punch. It was quite a display from ‘Big Bear’ who looks to be ready for another shot at Mourtneant in the future. Silva took to the mic and made a surprising revelation that he will be dropping all the way to middleweight for his next fight, citing a loss in mass as a result of past-PED use. It’s a nice moment of clarity from Silva who seems to be winning some of his Brazilian fans back with his honesty.

Sandu “Big Bear” Lungu (6-1, 3-1) defeats “Megaton” Thiagus Davaru Silva (5-2, 3-2) via KO (Punches) R2 - 01:19 

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