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 KOTB’s first appearance on the arena stage was an absolute success Saturday night, as the promotion set new highs in ticket revenue, attendance and event ratings. Incrível also saw the resurgence of a few veteran contenders, while others went down in defeat and made way for a new era of KOTB athletes.
The crowd present for the opening fight was larger than usual, which seemed to provide a spark for the competitors involved. Malaysian muay thai sensation Jon Duangjan got things started in his lightweight showcase against Rio Branco, Brazil’s Jose Perez. Duangjan stayed on his back foot to start and countered Perez’s punches and takedown attempts with hard kicks to the legs, body and head. The striker then went on the offensive and attacked with two big punch sequences before a right-left-uppercut combination shut the lights out of his opponent. Duangjan picks up his first victory since his debut and is beginning to show some longevity in a career as one of the purest strikers in the division.
Jon “Destruction” Duangjan (2-4, 2-2) defeats “Hit Man” Jose Perez (0-1, 0-1) via KO (Punches) R1 - 01:57
We’d move to welterweight for a matchup of grapplers making their promotional debuts, as Okinawa’s Chozen Toguchi took on Sao Paulo resident Miguel Ronaldo. On paper, the two brown belts matched pretty evenly, with Toguchi holding a slight wrestling advantage against his Brazilian foe. This is kind of how it would play out in the beginning, as the two struggled for position and felt each other out with jabs, but it soon hit the mat after a persistent trip takedown from the Japanese fighter. Ronaldo was confident in his guard and fished for a triangle choke for a couple minutes, but Toguchi stayed patient and after seeing his opponent tire just a bit, he began his attack. The fighter then passed guard, took side control, mounted, took his opponent’s back and eventually locked onto a tight rear naked choke in a beautiful series of events.
Chozen Toguchi (5-0, 1-0) defeats Miguel Ronaldo (4-3, 0-1) via Submission (RNC) R1 - 04:24
For the second straight event, we’d have a retirement bout from a KOTB veteran that was announced just days before the fight. Fringe contender and proud Texan Gary Finkler said that this would be his last appearance for the promotion and the sport, as he took on dangerous Italian grappler Raecius Felix in a lightweight bout. It wouldn’t be long for this one to hit the mat, as Felix countered Finkler’s clinch with an early takedown and after a few minutes of positional battles, the fun began. Felix latched hard onto a kimura but couldn’t get the torque, which allowed Finkler to recover into a nice butterfly guard before sweeping his opponent. Felix continued to attack from his back and, after avoiding Finkler’s own submission attempt, he bucked the Texan off and suddenly took his back with less than a minute remaining. With the clock ticking, the Italian got his arm under the chin and forced the tap with only seconds remaining.
Raecius Felix (3-1, 2-1) defeats Gary Finkler (5-3, 2-3) via Submission (RNC) R1 - 04:52
Our lightweight-filled undercard would continue with a main card worthy fight, as former champion Sean Soffman looked to rebound against Danny Charles, a man who should inspire anyone who’s a fan of the sport. The Canadian, Soffman, was coming off a five round decision loss in defense of his title, which made some question why he was fighting a disabled journeyman fighter making his first post-Island appearance. That reason, my friends, is because Danny Charles is the real deal. The American fighter, who was born completely blind, showed some skills on his stint with the Leftovers despite his disabilities, but came into this one looking like a refocused fighter with a serious fire burning inside him. Every time Soffman took him down, he bounced right back up. Every time the Canadian clinched, Charles was the first to attack. Using the sounds of the mat, his coaches, as well as his opponent, Charles was able to be successful in every aspect of the fight. Members and media alike were simply awe-struck at just what Charles accomplished, and the judges would agree, awarding the man 30-25 scores across the board. Look for Charles to be featured heavily in his next bout. Soffman, on the other hand, has fallen on the wrong end of two decisions since his title run and will be looking to rebound as soon as possible.
Danny “Handi-Capable” Charles (10-9, 1-0) defeats Sean “The Strangler” Soffman (4-2, 4-2) via Decision (Unanimous)
Our featured undercard bout would see two of the featherweight division’s top grapplers tangle, as former TWGC contestant Andre Soares took on the jungle-jitsu of Augusto Azevedo. Soares perhaps showcased a new wrinkle in his game in the beginning of the rounds, as he was able to land a few crisp punches to his countryman. The story of this fight, however, would be the strength of Azevedo’s powerful takedowns and commanding top control. The two Brazilians would be on the offensive most of the fight, but were able to more or less neutralize each other’s attacks. Azevedo has his celebrated ‘fight night’ streak broken, but will look to repeat this success in a featured bout in the future. Soares looks like he has a bright future ahead of him, which we may see sooner rather than later.
“Amazing” Augusto Azevedo (4-1, 4-1) defeats Andre Soares (2-1, 2-1) via Decision (Unanimous)
Opening the main card was an important fight in the welterweight division, as Brazilian favorite Lucas Campos took on American striker Benji Assklown. Benji started this fight out on fire, lighting Campos up with a variety of punches to the body and head, opening up a decently sized cut in the process. Seeing blood, Campos would dive into a takedown and quickly mount his opponent, much to the crowd’s delight. Chasing an arm triangle, Campos would shift to side control and squeeze until his opponent slumped on the floor. Campos jumped on the cage and exited through the crowd before any post-fight interview could be given. A dejected Assklown was seen leaving the arena without his management.
Lucas “Samurai” Campos (4-1, 4-1) via Benji Assklown (4-2, 2-2) via Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 - 02:57
Coming off of his recent black belt promotion, the former Abu Dhabi and KOTB champ Thatcher Halverson was expected to march back into title contention against a dangerous but untested opponent in Ozamataz Buckshank. The English striker never let his opponent get his feet set, however, as he immediately started connecting on heavy leather to the ribs, followed by series of jabs and straights that had the American reeling just one minute into the fight. Buckshank would then drop Halverson with two thunderous right hands before a walk off uppercut finished his night as just 80 seconds into the first round. It’s an incredible performance and the middleweight division’s newest contender will now take on an equally dangerous striker in “Jersey” Joe in the New Year. Halverson, however, is now coming off of two defeats and has yet to re-sign a new contract with the promotion, so we’ll have to keep an eye out on what happens there.
Ozamataz Buckshank (3-0, 3-0) via “The Avalanche” Thatcher Halverson (4-2, 3-2) via KO (Punch) R1 - 01:20
For the second time on the card - and the third time this week - a fighter came into a fight knowing this would be his last. This time it was Seok Yi, who announced that he would be returning to his roots and rejoining the sport of kickboxing after his fight with former KOTB welterweight champion, Murphy MacManus. The former Korean Marine would take a big uppercut in the opening moments and quickly started moving to the clinch, where he is strongest. MacManus knew better, however, and countered with heavy punches that had his opponent on shaky knees early. Yi regained his footing and landed some solid kicks, but MacManus would methodically pick him apart before forcing a stoppage due to strikes at just over halfway through the round.
Murphy “Shamrock” MacManus (5-1, 4-1) defeats “Rock Lee” Seok Yi (6-6, 0-2) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 02:42
Our co-main event was a clash in styles in a classic sense, as the light heavyweight’s number one contender Simon Sims took on a former heavyweight champion in Thiagus Davaru Silva. Sims - a quick-footed Aussie with a kickboxing pedigree – came out swinging and managed to pin the much shorter Silva against the cage with strikes, but the stocky Brazilian would escape and counter the aggression with an early takedown. With hardly a sweat broken out between fighters, the grappling sensation would quickly latch onto a fight ending and ‘submission of the night’ earning arm triangle choke in just 44 seconds. Silva could still one day move down to middleweight, but for now he looks a revitalized fighter and man in general. Sims, meanwhile, continues with a busy schedule, as he’ll take on another former champ in Romero in the New Year.
“Megaton” Thiagus Davaru Silva (6-2, 4-2) defeats Simon Sims (8-3, 3-2) via Submission (Armbar) R1 - 00:44
And finally, the biggest fight in KOTB featherweight history, as KOTB’s one true ginger king, Chris Karter, took on an undefeated Indian fighter who possesses world class flexibility and proven championship credentials. Karter exploded out of the gate and the 5,000 plus in attendance hung on every strike, as the American champion connected on a number of heavy punches. Randhawa remained stoic and managed to find a trip and moved quickly into a kimura attempt before being swept by the champion, who continues to show improved defensive ground skills with every appearance. Randhawa, however, is a puzzle on the ground and quickly regained top position before moving to mount. The yogi practitioner found a number of deep submissions, but the American always found a way out and still took the round in some judge’s eyes. The opening moments of the second round have proven to be dire for Karter’s opponents, and it would be a trend that continued, as the champ set hit his opponent with a number of hard shots before a picture perfect right hook ended the night. Karter has not-so-quietly turned into KOTB’s most successful fighter and is single-handedly bringing ginger back.
“The Little Ginger Prince” Chris Karter (6-1 5-0) defeats “The Enlightened one” Prathamesh Randhawa (9-1, 0-1) via KO (Punch) R2 - 01:59
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