King of Kombat Play-By-Play

King of Kombat has definitely stepped up the production to world-class. The Austin Music Hall is a great venue with great seating throughout. One item that beats the Crockett Center… the air conditioning is working great! Should have brought a sweater.

Gilbert Jimenez vs. Jace Pitre
Round 1: Pitre is active with punches and a kick to the head. Jimenez is hesitant getting started. Pitre quickly cynches in a guillotine and Jimenez is unable to defend. Pitre falls to guard and Jimenez falls asleep quickly. The fight is over in just a few seconds. Pitre by guillotine, round 1, 43 seconds. Dominating performance.

Davis Sylvester vs. Ryan Benoit
Round 1: Marcus Hicks in Davis Sylvester’s corner. Crowd gettinmg a little restless as they feel each other out. Trade punches that connect. Low kick from Benoit, looking like he wants to be go as Muay Thai as possible. Right connects for Benoit. Sylvester clinches but Benoit shurgs him off. Benoit rolls and Sylvester charges but Benoit able to stand back up. Sylvester chases Benoit across the ring and Benoit lands on top as they reach the cage. Benoit ends up in half mount than converts to full mount raining down elbows and punches in bunches. Sylvester turns his back but the round ends before it can be stopped.
Round 2: Benoit anxious to work his striking. Low kick from Sylvester that sounded terrible but Benoit seems ok. Benoit ends up in Sylvester’s guard against the cage but they battle back to standing where Benoit lands a couple knees to the body and a strong knee to the head. Right hand connects for Benoit. Sylvester looks tires. Benoit attacks. And connects with punches. The referee stops the fight after several strong punches connect to Sylvester’s head and chin. Good job by Benoit to perceive Sylvester being tired and then to pounce. He came running across the cage to attack Sylvester and Sylvester just didn’t have the energy to stop the punches. Benoit is wincing at his right hand just before the post-fight interview.

Jacob Austin vs. Navied Sadeghi
Round 1: Boos for Sadeghi, the Houston fighter during the intros. Big pop for Austin. Austin lands kicks and ties Sadeghi up against the cage. Sadeghi tries to judo throw but ends up half mounted by Austin. Austin is ver active on top and working hardas Sadeghi spins for a leg lock. Good job by Sadeghi to prevent mount. Big elbows from top but the ref stops the fight to warn Austin about elbows to the back of Sadeghi’s head. Austin is tenacious. Pulls Sadeghi to the ground but the ref stops the fight briefly to deduct a point from Austin for again hitting with downward elbows.
Round 2: Austin has the energy and the strength. From the bell he picks up Sadeghi and slams him to the mat, landing in side control. He traps Sadeghi’s left hand with his own and lands unanswered strikes with his right. Extremely impressive performance from Austin. One of the most impressive 145 pound performances we’ve ever seen. Sadeghi is tough but he never got a chance to get off against Austin, who just overwhelmed Sadeghi. Great future ahead for Austin.

Randy Vera vs. Jesus Rivera
Round 1: It’s 9:00. The show is running seamlessly. Rivera has an intense stare. Scary. Kicks from Vera to start. A kick responds from Rivera but it’s blocked. Knees to the body from Vera against the cage. Right connects for Rivera and then one connects for Vera. Kick to the body from Rivera hurts Vera but they end up against the cage. Rivera works hard to his feet. Vera gets the fight to the ground and is on top.
Vera trips Rivera but the ref warns Vera against holding the glove as he did so. Vera catches a kick and takes Rivera hard to the ground. Vera gains mount and tries for armbar as the round ends. VERY exciting first round. TTF scores it 10-9 for Vera.
Round 2: Nice left-right combo from Vera stuns Rivera. Ref stops the fight to cut Vera’s tape on his glove. Poor timing as Vera seemed to be taking control. Combinations back Rivera up but Rivera kicks and Vera catches, tripping Rivera hard to the mat. On the ground, Vera has been superior thus far. He’s working from top position here, landing punches. Rivera able to kick Vera off him. The fighters trade punches, connecting more often now. Defense is starting to wane. Rivera lands a kick to the head and ends up in top position as they hit the ground. Round ends. Tough round to score. Vera led early but Rivera connected more often late in the fight. TTF scores is 10-9 Rivera as the judges most likely went this way.
Round 3: Very exciting fight thus far. May come down to who has the better cardio. Rivera throws another body kick Vera catches and takes Rivera to the ground. He lands a knee to the body as they stand. Combination from Vera rocks Rivera. His hands are now low as Vera punches. Suprisingly, Vera goes for the takedown but doesn’t get it. Rivera is too tired to block Vera’s punches. Vera’s punches are now all arms. Ref pauses the fight again to fix the tape on Vera’s gloves. Both fighters are very tired but Vera is throwing more. Rivera needs a strong combination to steal the round. He does land a great body kick but the ref pauses a third time to fix the tape. The round is coming to an end and Vera holds his arms up, expecting a victory that should rightfully be his.
29-28 Rivera, 30-27 Vera, 30-27 Vera Randy Vera wins a split decision.

15 minute intermission.

Paul Buentello announces he is going back to the UFC.

Chris Trammell vs. Charles Byrd
Round 1: If you can tell who is going to win a fight by the look in their eye, it doesn’t look good for Byrd. Trammell is an intimidating presence in the cage. Byrd presses Trammell to the cage and then defends a couple takedown attempts. Elbows by Byrd have cut Trammell badly over the right eye. They will be restarted, Trammell is bleeding badly over the right eye. Byrd lands a big kick to Trammell’s head and then pounds on Trammell’s head as Trammell turtles. The ref stops the fight after Trammell takes a few punches. An early stoppage as Trammell doesn’t seem fazed at all and there didn’t seem to be any communication from the referee instructing Trammell he intended to stop it. Regardless, the eyes DON’T have it as Byrd wins in a dominating performance. Early stoppage or not, Byrd didn’t give Trammell a chance to implement a gameplan or get off any offense. Congratulations to Byrd.

Adam Schindler vs. Lane Yarbrough
Round 1: Schindler lands a mean right cross flush to Yarbrough’s face to start the round. Yarbrough tries for a guillotine but ends up on the wrong end of Schindler’s half mount. Yarbrough gains guard after a reverse armbar attempt but eats forearms from Schindler anyway. Great chin from Yarbrough as Schindler is throwing with power. The ref warns Schindler about head butts. Yarbrough is bleeding and reverses position afterone leg submission and then another. Schindler knows how to defend and is able to put Yarbrough on his back again. Schindler’s left eye is bleeding and is squinting but the doctor clears them to go. They are restarted with Schindler in Yarbrough’s guard. The bleeding from Schindler may have come from one of the headbutts. The ref stops the fight to restart the fighters on their feet as the round comes to an end. TTF scores the round 10-9 for Schindler.
Round 2: Yarbrough lands a great left hook but Schindler is unfazed. Schindler with a combination that seems to have rocked Yarbrough as his hands are low. Schindler is chasing Yarbrough around the walls of the cage landing punches and elbows one after another. The fighters are broken from their tie-up against the cage and restarted only to return. Schindler this time picks up a leg to trip Yarbrough to the mat. Yarbrough again goes for a footlock but Schindler kicks Yarbrough’s hands free. Both are trading footlock. and Yarbrough lands punches and knees to Schindler’s face but Schindler eats them and throws some back. Both fighters are tired but Schindler looks more winded as Yarbrough finds some bounce in his step. He lands a big kick flush but Schindler responds with a punch of his own. Yarbrough seems able to choose his spots better now as Schindler is standing more zombie-like than before. This zombie, however, still has power in his hands. TTF scores the round 10-9 for Yarbrough.
Round 3: The crowd is loving this fight. On paper, this was an awesome matchup but no one could have predicted the war that has transpired. Schindler has found a second wind as he catches a kick from Yarbrough and responds with a right-cross that puts Yarbrough on his back. Schindler is in Yarbrough’s guard with new energy, landing forearms from the top while Yarbrough is tying up his arms and delivering heel-strikes to the liver. The fighters are stood up. Schindler lands a great punch and takes Yarbrough to the mat again, this time landing in half-guard. What did this guy eat in-between rounds? Schindler is more dynamic in the first half of the third than he was in the second half of the second. More ground and pound from Schindler while Yarbrough works hard to escape or find an opportunity for another submission attempt. Time is running out. The ref restarts the fighters and Schindler lands a kick. Yarbrough lands a tough right haymaker that catches Schindler but not quite flush. Schindler lands a right of his own. Both fighters are throwing strong punches in the latter moments of the fight. Big kick and a left hook from Schindler ends the fight and should put the punctuation on another 10-9 round for Schindler. TTF gives the fight to Schindler 29-28 in fight of the night candidate thus far.
Schindler wins via unanimous decision.

Duece King vs. Warren Stewart
Round 1: Big pop for King - definitely the first rock star on the card. Both fighters are anxious to engage. Stewart throwing lots of kicks while King goes with punches. The punches seem to be winning as King takes down Stewart and lands left punches while holding Stewart in a headlock. King traps Stewart’s Right arm but can’t hold it. King is dominating with ground and pound but Stewart rolls out and finds himself on King’s back. King escapes and the fighters are back to the center of the cage. King landing uppercuts and body shots in the clinch. Stewart is looking for distance but King seems to be enjoying the dirty boxing. King gets a good clinch and works knees to the body. Stewart is holding on but the body shots seem to be doing more damage. Stewart pulls King to the mat but King ends up on top. With Stewart’s back, King lands right hands and then cynches a rear naked choke Stewart rolls out of. The round ends with Stewart on top but TTF gives the round to King, 10-9.
Round 2: Stewart continues to throw leg kicks while King tries to wrap Stewart up for dirty-boxing. King lands a knee and a couple punches in close that seem to rattle Stewart but he’s very tough, throwing back with everything he’s got. King seems to be winning the battle against the cage. His knees and uppercuts now seem to be connecting with regularity. Stewart’s hands are very low. King again gets Stewart’s back but Stewart is able to roll into guard. Both fighters are tired. King tries pulling Stewart’s leg up to Stewart’s head but doesn’t seem submission-worthy. Stewart is able to take King’s back and lands hammer-fists to the side of King’s head. King eats punches to end the round but TTF still gives King another 10-9 round.
Round 3: This is a tough fight so far. King has taken the first two rounds but Stewart is hanging tough, keeping things close. Stewart attacks to start the round but nothing connects clean. Warring chants of “Warren” and “Duece” from the crowds as the fighters trade more punches and knees in the clinch. Once again, King lands clean strikes that seem to rock Stewart but punches and kicks from Stewart say otherwise. King is the fresher fighter but Stewart is hanging in. Stewart trips King and takes side control. King spins to give Stewart his back while holding a headlock. It’s a dangerous move positionally but it pays off as he is able to roll Stewart and can land right fists from top position with Stewart trapped in a headlock beneath him. Duece skips to mount and Stewart gives his back only to keep rolling and end up with King ending up on bottom. As the round ends, once again, Stewart is landing strikes from on top but it’s too little too late. King should win this one 30-27.
It’s unanimous, King wins.

Cedric Marks vs. Eric Davila
Round 1: Davila responds to a sharp leg kick with a strong overhand right that has Marks holding and pulling Davila to the ground. The XFC middleweight champion is caught in a guillotine and the fight ends with Marks asleep on top of Davila as the choke puts him out. Marks seems to wake and is upset… whether with the referee because he is NOT asleep or with himself for getting caught is not clear. Davila wins via guillotine choke at 1:00 of the first round.
Justin Howard vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Round 1: The last time Rodriguez was scheduled to fight in Austin was nearly five years ago for a now defunct promotion and Rodriguez had an injury at the time making it impossible for him to compete. The crowd seems anxious for his return. Howard is content to stay calm and shrug off Rodriguez’s takedown attempts but Ricco is anxious to engage. A left kick to the body makes a powerful smack and a nice redmark on Howard’s stomach. Howard still hasn’t thrown much more than a few leg kicks as Ricco lands a couple punches and a knee to Howard’s head followed by more punches as Howard falls to his back and the referee has seen enough. During the official announcement, it is announced Ricco wins via tapout. Ricco wins by tapout in the first round.

Nick Gonzalez vs. Dustin Neace
Round 1: The main event of the evening is no longer a championship fight as Nick Gonzalez didn’t make weight. Neace looks anxious and ready to test himself against veteran Gonzalez. Neace tries a spinning back kick that misses but gets oohs from the crowd. Then grabs a leg and takes Gonazalez hard to the mat. Neace has top position on Gonzalez but doesn’t have a free hand to land much until he lands three punches with the left hand, and more that are connecting whilehe holds Gonzales head in a head lock. the fighters scramble to their feet and Neace drops for a leg but is stuffed. The crowd chants “Nick” while Neace works hard for a takedown that never comes. When on their feet, Neace again works for a takedown, attempts a footlock, ends up in Gonzalez’s guard, then another scramble. Neace gets another takedown against the cage and lands a kneed and a punch Gonzales doesn’t react to. Neace takes a tough knee to the body and every time Neace goes to his back gonzales retreates. Gonzales is now landing on his feet and Neace is falling to his back but Gonzales wants none of Neace’s ground game. Neace having trouble getting to his corner, on all fours next to his stool. The referee is speaking with him to see if he’ll continue but the referee stops the fight. It looks like the knee was too much for Neace. It was a strong knee to the body and minutes later Neace still seems unable to get his wind. The official word is Gonzales by TKO at the end of the first round. Gonzales gets the check for $5000 for finish of the night. Every winner is getting an additional $500 from Fleshlight but the big check goes to Gonzales.
The King of Kombat show is over - amazingly successful. Great production, great fights, and a huge leap forward for King of Kombat.