King of the Cage made its HDNet debut tonight with KOTC: “Vengeance,” which featured a trio of title fights. The Mark Burnett production concluded with a second-round stoppage victory for Mike “MAK” Kyle, while UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi was upset earlier in the night.

In championship fights, Donald Sanchez retained his KOTC Interim Bantamweight Championship, while “The Silent Assassin” Abel Cullum and Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez successfully defended their KOTC Flyweight and Heavyweight titles. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of the action.

 

Mike “MAK” Kyle vs Travis “Diesel” Wiuff

Round 1:
Wiuff missed with a lunging right hand and was met with a one-two and a leg kick from Kyle. The fighters exchanged punches and Kyle slipped. He got to his feet and circled away from a Wiuff takedown attempt. Kyle established his jab and landed a Superman Punch, but Wiuff scored a takedown. He landed elbows from Kyle’s guard and Kyle looked to set up an armbar.

The pace slowed down, but Wiuff continued to score with single elbow strikes. He added punches to the body and passed to half-guard. Kyle tried to strike from the bottom, but ate more elbows to the face for his troubles. Kyle scrambled to his feet, but Wiuff secured an arm-in guillotine choke and quickly pulled guard. Kyle eventually escaped the choke and landed punches from the top until the bell. 10-9 Wiuff.

Round 2:
Wiuff closed the distance in the second round, but was staggered by a one-two from Kyle. Wiuff stumbled backwards and survived a follow-up onslaught. The fighters separated and Kyle scored with a hard leg kick. Wiuff caught a second kick and took Kyle down. Wiuff landed weak strikes from the top and dragged Kyle back to the mat as Kyle attempted to stand up.

A stalemate ensued as Wiuff threw sparse strikes from the top and Kyle answered with the occasional elbow. Referee Herb Dean stood the fighters up and Kyle rocked Wiuff again with a counter hook. He followed with a pair of knees as Wiuff dove for a desperation takedown. Wiuff turtled and the fight was stood up again. An exhausted Wiuff was dropped by a big right hand at the very end of the round, but the punch came a half-second after the bell rang.

The unintentional late punch was deemed to be a legal strike and Wiuff was unable to continue. The doctor stopped the fight, giving Kyle the victory. The fighters embraced after the fight in a show of respect.

Winner: Mike Kyle by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round two. He improves to 14-7-1.

 

KOTC Interim Bantamweight Championship

Donald Sanchez vs Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela

Round 1:
Sanchez opened the fight with a nice combination and rocked Valenzuela with an overhand right. He took Valenzuela down and tried to move straight to mount. Valenzuela defended well and used a loose guillotine choke to get back to his feet. The fighters traded knees and Sanchez was unsuccessful with a trip takedown. Valenzuela threw a pair of right hooks and Sanchez answered with a leg kick.

The action slowed somewhat as Sanchez circled around Valenzuela and both landed body kicks at the same time. Sanchez began to push the pace again and connected with a combination, but he could not take Valenzuela down. Sanchez landed a looping overhand right and a body kick and the fighters traded punches against the cage. 10-9 Sanchez.

Round 2:
Valenzuela opened the second round with a stiff leg kick and the fighters traded quick punches and body kicks. Valenzuela kept Sanchez on the defensive and scored with a big right hook. Sanchez took him down and tried to move to side-control, but Valenzuela worked for a Kimura from the bottom. A scramble ensued, but Sanchez remained on top. He passed to side-control and tried to move to mount, but lost the position.

From half-guard, Sanchez landed elbows and he tried to move to mount again. Valenzuela defended well from the bottom and Sanchez could do little more than land short punches. Sanchez stood up and landed a trio of solid strikes, then dove back into Valenzuela’s half-guard. Sanchez looked for a keylock, but quickly let it go and returned to punches. Sanchez dominated the remainder of the round. 10-9 Sanchez.

Round 3:
Sanchez scored with kicks and punches in the third round, but Valenzuela answered with a nice combination. Sanchez took the fight to the mat and moved to half-guard. He pinned Valenzuela’s arm down and teed off with punches using his free hand, but Valenzuela held strong. Sanchez pressed him up against the cage and landed short strikes to the head and body.

Valenzuela turtled as Sanchez peppered him with more punches and elbows, and Sanchez looked for a Kimura and a straight armbar. More strikes found the mark for Sanchez, as Valenzuela had absolutely no answer for his opponent’s relentless offence. Valenzuela tried to roll into a leg submission, but Sanchez escaped and moved directly to mount. He landed punches as Valenzuela rolled over repeatedly. Valenzuela barely survived until the bell. 10-8 Sanchez.

Round 4:
Sanchez connected with a big right hand early in the fourth round, but Valenzuela was unfazed. The fighters traded power punches and Sanchez backed Valenzuela up with a three-punch flurry. Sanchez shot in for a takedown and Valenzuela sprawled out. Sanchez refused to give up the shot and managed to get Valenzuela down on the second try. He moved straight to mount and landed punches as Valenzuela desperately tried to survive.

Sanchez picked his shots and looked to set up an armbar and a rear-naked choke. Valenzuela held on as Sanchez blasted him with more punches. Valenzuela tried to scramble out, but Sanchez maintained position and teed off with punches until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.

Winner: Donald Sanchez by TKO (Punches) at 4:05 of round four. He improves to 19-10-0 and remains the KOTC Interim Bantamweight Champion.

 

KOTC Heavyweight Championship

Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez vs Tyler “The Beast” East

Round 1:
East opened the fight with a head kick and he scored with a second one and a one-two seconds later. The fighters traded big shots and Lopez stayed on the defensive. East backed him up with kicks to the ribs and a flying knee. Lopez answered with a front side kick and both landed leg kicks. Lopez scored with a counter combination of kicks and punches and stuffed a takedown. East landed another head kick that sent Lopez off-balance.

A Superman Punch cracked the jaw of Lopez and East remained the aggressor. A big kick-punch combination found the mark for East and he tripped Lopez to the mat. East briefly struck from the top and Lopez trapped him in guard. Lopez quickly transitioned into an armbar and punched from the bottom, then switched to a triangle choke. He tightened the choke and East, who had been in total control, was forced to submit.

Winner: Tony Lopez by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:54 of round one. He improves to 18-2-0 and remains the KOTC Heavyweight Champion.

 

KOTC Flyweight Championship

“The Silent Assassin” Abel Cullum vs “Bazookka” Joe Coca

Round 1:
Cullum immediately rushed in with quick punches and clinched, then took Coca down. Cullum looked for a rear naked choke, but wound up on the bottom in a lightning-fast scramble. Cullum secured a triangle choke and unleashed a barrage of elbows from the bottom. He transitioned into an armbar, but Coca escaped and the fighters stood up. Both landed punches and Cullum scored another takedown.

Coca looked for a Kimura from the bottom, but let it go. Seconds later, Cullum secured a Kimura of his own and viciously wrenched it behind Coca’s back. Coca held on as his arm bent back at a gruesome angle, but was finally forced to submit. Excellent fight.

Winner: Abel Cullum by Submission (Kimura) at 2:09 of round one. He improves to 17-3-0 and remains the KOTC Flyweight Champion.

 

Quinn Mulhern vs Rich “No Love” Clementi

Round 1:
Clementi pushed the action with punches and a head kick, then slammed Mulhern to the mat. Mulhern used rubber guard to keep him in place, but Clementi freed himself and passed to half-guard. Mulhern regained guard and worked for an omoplata on Clementi’s left shoulder. Clementi tried to roll through, but was kept in place and Mulhern used the omoplata to sweep. He moved straight to mount and landed punches from the top.

Mulhern moved into a high mount and landed more punches as Clementi tried to escape out the back. Both fighters attempted ankle locks and a rolling scramble followed. Clementi switched to a toe hold and got back to his feet, then secured a front head lock. He pulled guard with a guillotine choke, but Mulhern escaped. The referee strangely stood the fighters up as they both worked for heel hooks and Clementi stuffed a takedown. Mulhern took top position and landed punches until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Mulhern.

Round 2:
Mulhern clinched against the cage to begin the second round and scored with knees in a Thai clinch soon after. Clementi tried to drag Mulhern to the ground, but wound up on his back. Mulhern opened a cut between Clementi’s eyes with elbows. Mulhern moved to mount and teed off with punches. He stood up and continued to throw punches to Clementi’s face and Clementi tried for another toe hold. A scramble ensued and Mulhern wound up in Clementi’s butterfly guard.

Mulhern scored with punches and worked his way back to a partial mount. He continued to punish Clementi with strikes as Clementi turtled against the cage and the referee called a stop to the fight. Very impressive upset win for Mulhern, who was a late replacement in the fight.

Winner: Quinn Mulhern by TKO (Punches) at 3:09 of round two. He improves to 9-1-0.

 

Undercard Fights:

Richard Villa defeated Brad “The Carbomb” Nordquist by TKO (Punches) at 2:16 of round one. He improves to 6-3-0 with the win.

Eddie Armendariz defeated Levi Price by TKO (Punches) at 3:21 of round two. He improves to 3-8-0 with the win.

Joey Lujan defeated Javier Rubio by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:47 of round one. He improves to 2-0-0 with the win.

Tony “The Gun” Bonello defeated Mike “The Rhino” Bourke by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 0:54 of round one. He improves to 16-1-1, 1 NC with the win.

The debut edition of the Mark Burnett-produced King of the Cage on HDNet was a success and featured an exciting night of fights. The network plans to feature KOTC events prominently throughout 2010.