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 For the fourth Saturday in a row, the King of the Beach promotion has broken it’s ticket revenue record. KOTB 22 would also see the first split decision in promotional title fight history, as well as record-tying fifth promotional win and knockout for another KOTB champion.
Opening up the main card were a pair veteran light heavyweights making their combined 18th professional and 7th promotional appearances. Bulgarian grappler Papas Kanamun basically had his way with his Canadian opponent in this one, as he took Mike Loner down and worked position for about a minute before submitting him with a seldom seen Americana. Kanamun now has a respectable 3-4 record and has won 2 of 3 after a career jeopardizing 3-fight losing streak earlier in his KOTB career.
Papas “Mucata” Kanamun (3-6, 3-4) defeats Mike “The Werewolf” Loner (2-7, 1-6) via Submission (Americana) R1 - 01:57
Next up we had a pair of young Russian heavyweights vying for their first promotional wins, as Alex Snow took on Andrei Fedorlov. Snow came out extremely aggressive in this one, throwing out head kicks like they were going out of style. One did eventually connect and managed to open up a cut on Fedorlov, but “The Undertaker” would quickly switch gears and began looking for takedowns. At about the one-minute mark, Fedorlov latched onto a deep Americana and a scream from his opponent forced the referee to intervene. The second straight Americana to start the night also netted the young Russian grappler a ‘submission of the night’ bonus.
Andrei “The Undertaker” Fedorlov (1-1, 1-1) defeats Alex “Predator” Snow (1-2, 0-2) via Submission (Americana) R1 - 01:45
Next up was a pair of featherweights making their promotional debuts, as Philippine grappler Jackson Llames took on Brazilian grappler Vallar Morghulis. Llames came out the aggressor, winging a wild hook before diving into a nice takedown into side control. From here, the two would engage in a heated grappling exchange that saw 12 submission attempts in less than two minutes. Morghulis would have the final say, latching onto a tight guillotine choke from his half guard. The Brazilian squeezed tight moved to full guard and forced that tap. The Brazilian crowd was in a frenzy after three impressive jiu jitsu performances to open the undecard.
Vallar “Ninguém” Morghulis (1-1, 1-0) defeats Jackson “El Tigre” Llames (1-1, 0-1) via Submission (Guillotine) R1 - 01:53
We’d stay at featherweight, as another Brazilian in Vinicius Costa made his professional debut against Canadian, Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius was in desperate need of a win but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him, as the muay thai specialist looked exhausted entering the cage. This would prove costly as his opponent immediately started chopping at his legs and slowing him down even more. Costa would have his way with his opponent for the entire first round, landing kicks at will and almost finishing his opponent late with an uppercut that landed flush. Aurelius, though, would hang on to see the second round despite already looking defeated. Costa and the crowd would sense this and both exploded to open the second round. With the crowd chanting "HOO - VAI MORRER! HOO - VAI MORRER, " Costa landed a big headkick, jumped into mount, took the Canadian’s back and started fishing for a rear naked choke. After a couple tries, the Brazilian beautifully transitioned into a fight ending armbar.
“Morte” Vinicius Costa (1-0, 1-0) defeats Marcus “The Tutor” Aurelius (1-5, 1-4) via Submission (Armbar) R2 - 01:22
Our featured preliminary fight would be host to a really fun super-heavyweight bout, as Romanian Nicolae Filimon took on American Mike Kina. Filimon opened the round with a nice takedown and some workmanlike ground and pound, but Kina would eventually surprise his opponent with a crafty scissor sweep and started digging into his opponent with some g‘n’p of his own. After a few minutes of positional battles and submission attempts, Kina would stand up and immediately land a huge headkick that dropped Filimon. The Romanian, however, was undeterred and landed another takedown and the two engaged in a crazy scramble to end the round. The second round would see much of the same, as Filimon landed a takedown, but after a few scrambles, the Romanian found himself and mount and rained down punches and sealed his second impressive promotional victory. The fight topped off a fantastic undercard.
Nicolae "Ciocoiul" Filimon (2-2, 2-0) defeats Mike Kina (1-1, 0-1) via TKO (Strikes) R2 - 02:45
Our main card would see a battle of Asia, as China’s Bruce Lee took on Indonesia’s Chris John in a middleweight scrap. Lee, who was making his second main card appearance for the promotion, came out firing on all cylinders and landed a variety of big punches early. John tried his best to move into the clinch but was forced into a boxing match, something he was not cut out for. The Indonesian landed a particularly nice combination, but admired his work too much, as Lee immediately countered with a devastating uppercut. Lee sensed his opponent was on shaky legs and faked a leg kick before landing an incredible superman punch that knocked his opponent out cold. The Chinese fighter also showed some charisma on the mike and is quickly moving making a name for himself in the middleweight division.
Bruce “The Hoodlum” Lee (4-0, 2-0) defeats Chris “The Dragon” John (1-1, 0-1) via KO (Superman Punch) R1 - 01:16
An intriguing lightweight fight was next, as a soft-spoken Japanese grappling champion, Ryo Takajiri, made his promotional debut against a brash and wild Compton striker in Lionel Wright. After suffering two consecutive submission defeats, Wright came out even more aggressively than he usually does. The Compton banger landed a cut-inducing head kick just moments into the fight and followed it up by dropping the Japanese fighter with another. Takajiri got to his feet only to be dropped again by a nice hook. Wright followed and forced the referee to intervene at just 13 seconds into the opening round, earning the fighter a nice bonus on top of his win bonus. The Compton fighter has since been calling out another Compton lightweight in Morgan Wade, who competes in the lightweight tournament finals this week.
Lionel wutUsay” Wright (4-3, 3-2) defeats Ryo “Yoshi” Takajiri (5-1, 0-1) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 00:13
Next up, the pride of Lolita, Chile, Alejandro Sepulveda, made his fourth appearance in the super heavyweight division against an American twice his size, Blob Sapp. Sepulveda has completely abandoned his ground game in his last few fights, but has found surprising success in his striking despite huge height and reach disparities. The need to please the crowd would cost him in this one, however, as the power from Sapp would prove to be too big of a mountain to climb. The two fighters looked like different species as they exchanged in the opening moments, with NOLA’s Sapp trying to find his much smaller foe with uppercuts and downward punches, while the Chilean leaped up into his strikes. Sepulveda seemed to be finding some success, but a massive uppercut would put a sudden end to this contest. Sapp swarmed, but the referee had already seen enough and pried the massive American off of his defeated foe. Sapp has been asking for a rematch with the first man to ever beat him, Mick McManus, and it looks like his request might come to fruition in early 2016.
Blob “Voodoo Child” Sapp (5-2, 3-2) defeats Alejandro “Osito” Sepulveda (8-5, 2-2) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 00:48
Our co-main event would see the first of two title fights, as James La Grande looked to defend his welterweight title against talented promotional newcomer, Terrence Mitchell. The odds were heavily in favor of the Brazilian champion in the days leading up to the fight, but the challenger came in confident and surprised everyone in the opening rounds. The gameplan was clearly to bring La Grande into the later rounds and tire him out, and for a while it seemed to be working. Mitchell dictated where the fight took place with takedowns and clinches and stole the opening two round from the champion. A razor thin close third round made way for a compelling set of championship rounds, which saw the champion take control. La Grande dominated the clinch game to open the fourth round, but a late rally by the challenger saw him take mount to end the round. The fifth round was clearly in favor of La Grande, as he controlled the action and attacked with submissions, but the challenger proved worthy and hung on until the final bell. The two combatants embraced after the judge’s split decision announcement, and a relieved La Grande seemed happy to still have the belt around his waist.
James “Flames” La Grande (11-1, 3-0) defeats Terrence Mitchell (4-1, 0-1) via Decision (Split)
The lights then dimmed and the crowd was deafening as our two main event fighters made their way to the ring for a super-heavyweight title fight. After all of the press and smack talk between these competitors, the two looked equally calm as they touched gloves, with Sandu Lungu looking up at an opponent for the first time in his career. Brash Irish challenger Conrad Mcgillicutty came forward and initiated the opening exchange, but a game Lungu came out on top with a chopping leg kick and a nice right hand. The two competitors stood in the pocket for over a minute and both came out bloody before the champion brought the fight into the clinch. This is where the tide would turn, as Lungu dominated with a demoralizing dirty boxing game that looked as sharp as it ever has. Mcgillicutty showed incredible heart, however, taking shot after shot but never wincing or showing any ill effects from the onslaught. The damage was clearly seen between rounds, though, and a slower Mcgillicutty emerged for the second round. Lungu proceeded to beat down one of the toughest men KOTB has ever seen, and it took over four minutes of damage before a pair of hellacious uppercuts put an end to the madness. The “Big Bear” era is starting to look like it might be a long one, as the Romanian looks improved every time he steps into the ring. In a positive turn of events, Lungu has invited Mcgillicutty to train at the renowned Darkness gym in New York, a move that could prove to be fruitful for both fighters.
Sandu “Big Bear” Lungu (8-1, 5-1) defeats Conrad “The Joker” Mcgillicutty (5-3, 0-1) via KO (Punch) R2 - 04:33
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