King of the Cage: Bad Boys Too 4/16/10 Re-Cap

King of the Cage: Bad Boys Too
Cobo Arena
Detroit, Michigan
April 16, 2010
HDNet

This is the third installment of KOTC on HDNet and tonight in the Main Event former UFC fighter Joe Doerkson will take on Chad Herrick. Brad Burrick and Brandon Hunt will also fight for the Middleweight Title and David Shepherd will defend his lightweight title. Michael Schiavello and Frank Trigg are the announcers and former WWE diva Maria will handle backstage interviews. Jake Rosholt and Jeremy Horn were supposed to fight tonight but Jake had to pull out of the fight.

Middleweight Title Fight- Brad Burrick (c) (19-10) vs. Brandon Hunt (5-3)

These guys have already fought against each other twice with each guy holding one decision victory.

R1- Hunt went for a take down but ate a knee for his trouble. Burrick landed some good strikes and he's stuffing take down attempts so far. Burrick landed a good elbow that looked like it hurt Hunt. Schiavello makes a Nancy Kerrigan reference. Burrick landed a head kick but not with full impact. Hunt briefly got on top but Burrick flipped him over and got full mount and landed some good Ground and Pound and Hunt got saved by the bell. Borderline 10-8 round. CompuStrike stats tell us that Burrick landed 41 strikes to only 5 from Hunt in the first round.

R2- Holy Crap. Hunt comes out and tags Burrick and finishes this fight. That came out of nowhere.

Winner and new Middleweight Champion: Brandon Hunt by KO R2 0:59

165 lb Catchweight Fight- Steve Berger (21-18-3) vs. Waylon Lowe (7-2)

Berger has been fighting since 1998 and fought 3 times in the UFC. he's only 2-3 in his last 5 but he's fought some well known fighters like Rich Clementi, Shonnie Carter and Pete Spratt. Berger has finished 14 of his 21 wins by way of submission (67% submission ratio). Lowe has been training with two of the top lightweights in the world, Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez, for this fight. He is on a 5 fight win streak. He has a wrestling background and has been working on his boxing lately.

R1- Lowe hit a big left hand and immediately got a take down but could not keep it. Lowe hit a big left hand that stunned Berger and floored him. Lowe was a little stunned he hit it so well and didn't immediately follow up. He went down and got some Ground and Pound but then let Berger up. Lowe is tagging Berger and this one is over. Great showing by Lowe. Dominate performance. Lowe landed 17 strikes to only 1 for Berger. Berger comes to slowly after the fight and they go ahead and take Berger out on a stretcher for pre-cautionary measures.

"The right hand was simply icing on the burger"- Michael Schiavello

Winner: Waylon Lowe by KO R1 2:18

Schiavello mentions that the winner of Knockout of the Night wins a long-term contract with KOTC. Schiavello brings up that Trigg is currently training the Atlanta Falcons and he says it's not a bad gig. I just found out about that today and as a Falcons fan think it's very cool.

Middleweight Fight- Ben Lagman (6-1) vs. Angelo Popofski (14-7)

Lagman is 4-1 in his last 5 fights but is coming into this fight off of a submission loss. Lagman trained with Dan Henderson at Team Quest for this fight. Popofski has been fighting professionally since 1999. Popofski is 5-0 in his last 5 fights. Lagman has a 3" height and 5" reach advantage. Lagman was also in Season One of MTV's Bully Beatdown.

R1- Lagman tagged Popofski early and he went down but was able to revcover. Lagman caught Popofski again coming in. Lagman hit a good jumping knee. Lagman hit a big left and Popofski is down again but Lagman lets him up again. Lagman just dominating. Popofski tried for a single but Lagman just started pelting him with strikes and finally finished the fight. Lagman looked really good. Lagman landed 23 strikes to 1 for Popofski.

"Nice body shot...Bon Jovi style. Shot to the Heart"- Michael Schiavello

Winner: Ben Lagman by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:58

Welterweight Fight- Jason Holmes (6-1) vs. Daron Cruickshank (4-0)

Schiavello says Cruickshank is nasty. Holmes is taking this fight on only 2 weeks notice. Holmes is on a 2-fight win streak and is 4-1 in his last 5. Holmes has a 2" height and 6" reach advantage.

R1- Daron throwing out some highlight reel kicks but hasn't landed anything yet. Daron hit a good left but then a round kick was blocked. Daron hit a spinning back kick and then tried a jumping knee but Holmes fired back with some strikes. Good turning back kick by Daron to the chest. Good first round that was even although Daron was a lot more flashy so could have taken the round. Daron landed 14 strikes in the first round and Holmes landed 11.

R2- Not a lot of action in this round. Daron got a take down with one minute left in the round. Daron is going to take this round based on him gaining top position at the end of the round. In the second round Daron landed 14 strikes to 8 from Holmes.

R3- Both guys trade combinations but neither hits anything substantial and then Daron tried a flying knee but couldn't land it. Daron got a take down with about two minutes left in the fight but it quickly gets stood back up. Daron quickly got another take down and tried to take the back of Holmes. This one is going to go to the judges and I think Daron took rounds 2 and 3 so he's going to take the fight.

Judges scored cards: 29-28 Cruickshank, 29-28 Holmes, 30-27 Cruickshank

Winner: Daron Cruickshank by Decision (Split)

Lightweight Title Fight- David Shepherd (c) (3-1) vs. Dom O'Grady (9-2)

This is the first title defense for Shepherd. O'Grady's nickname is "I Hate You So Much". He is 4-1 in his last 5 fights. Shepherd has a background in wrestling but is called a self-taught mixed martial artist. All of Shepherd's wins have come by way of submission. O'Grady has a 6" reach advantage.

R1- O'Grady floored Shepherd early but allowed him to get back to his feet. Shepherd got a brief take down but O'Grady got back to his feet and hit a judo take down. Shepherd went for a triangle but couldn't get it. Shepherd went for a reverse arm bar but O'Grady rolled out of the submission attempt. Interesting round as Shepherd was very active from the bottom and might have stolen the round because of the submission attempts.

R2- O'Grady landed some good strikes to start the round and then landed another strike to get Shepherd to the ground. O'Grady jumped on top and started landing hammer fists but Shepherd grabbed him and then flipped him over and took top position. O'Grady went for a triangle off of his back. O'Grady tried to switch the triangle to an arm bar and lost the submission attempt. Shepherd re-took guard and landed some elbows. O'Grady went for another triangle and kept with it and finished quickly with what looked like an arm bar.

Winner and new champion: Dom O'Grady by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:18

Middleweight Fight- Joe Doerkson (43-12) vs. Chad Herrick (7-3)

Herrick was a trouble youth and ended up in prison in his early 20s and then found an outlet for his aggression in MMA. Herrick is on a 2 fight win streak and has won 4 of his last 5 fights. This is Herrick's first fight at Middleweight as he normally fights at Light Heavyweight. Doerkson is a former UFC fighter who has been fighting for 11 years. Most of Doerkson's victories have come by submission. Doerkson is on a 4 fight win streak and is a black belt in jiu jitsu with extensive training in Muay Thai. Doerkson has Jeremy Horn in his corner for the fight.

R1- Herrick landed a good body shot that floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back to his feet. Doerkson landed some good strikes in the final minute but Herrick clinched him. Doerkson got a take down and took side control in the last 30 seconds of the round but didn't have time to do anything. Trigg gives the round to Doerkson. Doerkson landed 18 strikes to 8 for Herrick.

R2- Doerkson worked really hard for a take down and finally picked Herrick up and planted him on the mat but Herrick stood up and shrugged Doerkson off. Doerkson sustained a cut above his eye during the scuffle. Doerkson got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Doerkson got on Herrick's back but Herrick was able to pull off the move when Doerkson went for an arm bar. Herrick landed a good right hand and floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back up and the round ended. Trigg gives Herrick the second round because of him landing the last punch of the round. Overall Doerkson landed 20 strikes to 9 for Herrick and Doerkson also had 2 take downs to Herrick's zero in the round.

R3- Doerkson went for an immediate take down and completed it but Herrick was able to quickly get to his feet. Doerkson hit a big combination that floored Herrick. Doerkson got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Doerkson took Herrick's back but couldn't finish him. Doerkson is going to get this one by decision. Trigg says we might be looking at a split decision. In the fight Doerkson landed 64 strikes to 24 for Herrick and Doerkson got 7 take downs.

Judges score cards: 29-28 Doerkson, 29-28 Herrick, 29-28 Doerkson

Winner: Joe Doerkson by Decision (Split)