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 KOTB 25: Tretar
It was yet another record-breaking event for King of the Beach on Saturday night, as KOTB 25 would go on the set new promotional highs in tickets revenue and fighter pay, as well as setting a new ‘event rating’ record.
Opening up the landmark event was a lightweight contest between a debuting California via Las Vegas product, Mat Diaz, and local grappling veteran Pablo Esposito. Diaz pressured early in this one with his exceptional wrestling game and immediately took down his opponent. Esposito quickly threw up his legs in desperation for a triangle choke, but Diaz was ready and quickly passed to half guard where he began working with heavy ground and pound.
Esposito weathered the onslaught and worked for position, but the rain of punches kept coming and would eventually separate him from consciousness just before the half way mark of the first round. It’s an impressive debut from the American who looks like a person of interest in the competitive lightweight division. On the other hand, Esposito is in dire need of a victory in his next outing.
Mat Diaz (1-0, 1-0) defeats Pablo “Breaker” Esposito (2-6, 1-6) via KO (Strikes) R1 - 01:58
Two former Grassroots Lightweight Tournament competitors were up next, as Beezow Doo-Doo Zopitty-Bop-Bop-Bop took on Conrad Terasenko. Both fighters suffered first round defeats in the tournament and both bounced back with TKO victories at KOTB Challenger Series 6 in December, so this was an important fight for both young fighters. Unfortunately for Terasenko, he’d never really get a chance to shine as Zopitty-Bop-Bop-Bop came out extremely aggressively and surprised his Russian opponent with a swarm of punches and kicks. An overhand right would clip Terasenko and end his night in just 11 seconds.
After the fight, both fighters were eager to get back into the cage and both passed all of their physicals, so KOTB has awarded a rematch at our next Challenger Series event. Will we see a more spirited back-and-forth affair this time out? Or will “Bop-Bop” pick up two big victories in less than a week.
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopitty-Bop-Bop-Bop (2-1, 2-1) defeats Conrad Terasenko (1-2, 1-2) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 00:11
KOTB veteran Walood Kassab would tie a promotional record with his eight appearance next, as he took on Sao Paulo’s Miguel Ronaldo in a welterweight showdown. This one would be surprisingly and definitively one-sided from the opening bell. Perhaps it’s his patience and workmanlike demeanor in the gym, but Kassab has really turned a corner in his career.
The Omani fisherman effortlessly moved in and out of the clinch while landing knees, elbows and punches. Ronaldo finally managed to pull guard late in the round, but a fresher Kassab was ready and channeled his inner Tito Ortiz, unloading a barrage from his opponent’s guard. After passing to half guard, Kassab would feint a Kimura attempt before finishing his handiwork and forcing the referee stoppage.
In another surprising move, the usually reserved Kassab got the crowd riled up with some excellent mic-work. Not many other fighters would be such a fan-favorite after beating two Brazilians in a row in front of their home crowd.
Walood “The Dugong” Kassab (5-4, 4-4) defeats Miguel “Black Mamba” Ronaldo (4-4, 0-2) via TKO (Strikes) R1 - 04:41
Former champion Sean Soffman would continue his downward spiral since losing his title, as he got drubbed over 15 minutes to Manaus-born striker, Jose Almedia. The Brazilian continued his resurgence at lightweight and opened with an occasionally hard-to-watch 10-8 opening round. Again and again, an out of shape Soffman dove in for takedowns and got countered by an assault of kicks and punches to the body and head.
The former Canadian champion gutted out a better second and third stanzas by getting some takedowns and attacking with submissions, but a game Almedia was never in much danger and continued to pile up damage with his strikes.
30-26 scores were awarded across the board and Almedia moves forward with a two-fight win streak, while Soffman has now lost three in a row. The entire Qes Ter fight team seems to be in turmoil and most of the roster has been released, including Soffman who may be walking away from the sport. The Qes Ter management team was integral to KOTB’s early success, so we must thank them for their efforts, as they will always be a big part of our history.
Jose Almedia (3-3, 3-3) defeats Sean “The Strangler” Soffman (4-3, 4-3) via Decision (Unanimous)
Next up would be a terrific featured undercard bout between two of the lightweight division’s top talents, as Vitor Estima looked to rebound from his debut loss against one of KOTB’s most talked about fighters, the blind assassin, Danny Charles. Estima, despite walking into a nasty headkick in the opening moments, controlled the first round with good movement and sharp hands, and a late takedown would seal an impressive first round.
A lively second round would yield similar results, with Estima controlling the range and mixing in takedowns while Charles pushed into the clinch with knees and elbows. Both fighters smiled and got the crowd to stand to start the third round and resumed the spirited exchanges until the final bell.
All three judges gave the third round to Charles, but it was too little too late, as Estima locks up his first promotional win in the event’s ‘fight of the undercard’. “The King of the Beach” will get his chance to earn his nickname as he looks to avenge a loss to champion Dag Daghammar, this time with the championship on the line.
“The King of the Beach” Victor Estima (7-3, 1-1) defeats Danny “Handi-Capable” Charles (10-10, 1-1) via Decision (Unanimous)
A stacked main card would kick off with two of the middleweight division’s most dangerous fighters, as New York’s Joe Walcott took on England’s Ozamataz Buckshank. Both men came out firing to start and basically went shot-for-shot in an intense opening minute. Buckshank would switch things up with a takedown but couldn’t mount much offense, forcing the referee to restart things on the feet.
Walcott would then start to pull away in the second half of the opening round, as his kicks began to take a toll on Buckshank’s output. This continued into the second round, as Buckshank just didn’t seem interested in checking leg kicks. Buckshank did land a pair of gorgeous combinations, but a left hand from Walcott had him on shaky knees early.
Then, out of nowhere, Walcott connected on a clean headkick to the neck of the Brit and followed him with some fight-ending ground and pound. “Jersey Joe” has now won three in a row since his debut and is edging into contender status, while Buckshank takes the first step back in his career after an impressive opening run.
“Jersey” Joe Walcott (3-1, 3-1) defeats Ozamataz Buckshank (3-1, 3-1) via TKO (Kick & Punches) R2 - 01:10
Two of KOTB’s longest serving and most successful welterweights were up next, as former champion Murphy MacManus took on Lucas Campos. For the second straight fight, “Samurai” looked to show off his improved and dangerous grappling skills.
The takedown wouldn’t come, however, and MacManus countered with a bevy of thudding jabs, uppercuts and crosses that had Campos reeling. MacManus then showed some flash, faking a leg kick and crushing his opponent with an incredible Superman punch knockout, the second in his KOTB career. The talented Irishman now looks forward to regaining the welterweight title against the winner of our main event.
Murphy “Shamrock” MacManus (6-1, 5-1) defeats Lucas “Samurai” Campos (4-2, 4-2) via KO (Superman Punch) R1 - 00:57
Next up, former light heavyweight champion, Third Round Romero, took on a former number one contender Simon Sims in what would end up being the card’s ‘fight of the night’. The fun began immediately, with both fighters standing in the pocket and exchanging hands.
The Aussie striker looked to be getting a slight edge, but Romero would bring his Olympic wrestling pedigree into the fold and dove into a smooth takedown. Romero would then move into mount and remain there for the remainder of the round, but never really looked to finish the fight.
After a brief clinch battle to start the second round, both fighters stepped back into the pocket and resumed knocking the snot out of each other. Both fighters landed big combinations, but Sims would eventually get rocked with just over a minute remaining. Just as the crowd sensed a finish, Sims would get his feet back and started returning fire, but a late takedown would seal another round for Romero.
The third round was razor close, with two judges scoring 10-10s, and the damage began to take a toll on both fighters. A heavy clinch battle ensued, with both fighters breathing heavily and slowing down their outputs. In the end, all three judges would award the fight to Romero, who now has won two in a row since losing the title. Sims, on the other hand, has now lost two in a row to some very talented fighters, and will be looking to rebound in a big way.
Third “Y O L O” Round Romero (9-1, 4-1) defeats Simon Sims (8-4, 3-3) via Decision (Unanimous)
Our co-main event somehow managed to keep up with the excitement of the previous fight, but in a much shorter manner. Indian yoga master Prathamesh Randhawa looked to rebound from a title loss, as he took on the Amazon’s Augusto Azevedo, who also was looking forward to a rematch with the champion.
Azevedo would get the fun started with a strong takedown in the opening seconds. Randhawa stayed composed and fished for a triangle choke and an armbar, but Azevedo sensed it and avoided both with ease while he tried to plan his attack. The Indian yogi wouldn’t let him get comfortable, however, and used his world-class flexibility to set up some sort of omaplata submission/transition.
Azevedo, in what seemed like a good move at the time, fought through and jumped into side control, but it was all a trap, as Randhawa quickly used the momentum to take the Brazilian’s back and quickly took away his consciousness with a deep rear naked choke. It was an inspiring display of BJJ from both men, despite the length of the fight. Azevedo was not pleased after the fight and began barking at his opponent while the announcements were made. Randhawa stayed calm and collected, but his training partner Danny Charles took exception and started returning fire.
The two had to be separated, and in a sudden move, Azevedo has decided to move up to lightweight to settle the score. The two now will compete in a grudge match this weekend at KOTB 26. Is there a little rivalry starting between the Buff Minion and McKenna camps?
"The Enlightened One" Prathamesh Randhawa (10-1, 1-1) defeats “Amazing” Augusto Azevedo (4-2, 4-2) via Submission (RNC) R1 - 01:49
Our main event would see KOTB’s inaugural welterweight champion, Parker Allen, looking to regain what he thinks is rightfully his, as he took on Brazilian superstar, James La Grande. As one of KOTB’s busiest fighters, La Grande was already making his third defense of the title in less than a year.
The Brazilian did what he does best in the opening moments, avoiding a strike and landing an early takedown. Allen would immediately explode back to his feet, though, and never looked back. The American mixed in some dirty boxing with thumping leg kicks crisp punches. As La Grande started to slow, Allen picked up the pace and started unloading on the stunned champion. “The Terrorizer” felt the finish coming after hitting some brutal punches in the clinch and pushed away.
La Grande quickly went to wipe some Vaseline out of his eye and Allen pounced with a brutal left hook knockout, putting an end to the impressive reign of La Grande. Allen is now KOTB’s first ever “two-time” champion and makes his first defense against the man who took his title, Murphy MacManus.
Parker "The Terrorizer” Allen (5-1, 4-1) defeats James “Flames” La Grande (11-2, 3-1) via KO (Punch) R1 - 04:33
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