Ringside Report: KOTC

**Vargas** · Posted On: 2/22/2003 1:20am

I was at the KOTC live broadcast tonight. Pretty good fights, for the most part. All my buddies won, so that was cool (Jardine and Sanchez by TKO, Shulte by armbar). Alberto Crane, a Santa Fe BJJ black belt, beat Javier Vasqez by split decision to become the new lightweight champ (I'm proud to say I helped Alberto train for that win). Bobby Hoffman won the Heavyweight crown by TKO, Jimmy Ambriz won the Super-Heavy title fight by submission (side choke, I think).

The arena was sold out, so that was good to see. No problems getting in or out of the casino, good crowd, not too many punks or rednecks, most of the fans seemed pretty educated about the nuances of MMA.

As for the overall skill and techniques, pretty much what I expected. A lot of striking, only saw two submissions the whole night. All the fighters had pretty good ground skills. Lots of ground-and-pound. Some kicking, but nothing that looked really effective. Saw two spinning backfists that missed by a mile on both occasions. The light and middle weight fighters had good conditioning, the heavy and super-heavy guys were, to be honest, kind of fat. Not a bad showing, in my opinion. The New Mexico fighters were 5-0, so I was happy about that. It would be nice to see some better conditioning in the heavier weight classes, but it could have been just a fluke.

Oh yeah, had a some locals guys (early 20s) sitting behind me, talking smack about how they could do that (MMA) because they had the killer instinct. One guy was going on about how he would like to go vale tudo with one of the pro fighters from Farmington, New Mexico, a 170 lb brawler named Joey. I turned around and saw that 1) the guy had about 8 different piercings in his face, so he probably doesn't train and 2) he is soft and pudgy, so I KNOW for sure he doesn't train. I tell him that Joey trains in Albuquerque on the weekends at my dojo and would happy to 'spar' with him. His reply was "I'm not afraid of Joey". That was the last thing I heard him say for the rest of the night. Pretty funny ending to a nice evening at the KOTC.

"Go cry about it Vargas. Aren't you late for your shift at McDonald's?"

**J-kid** · Posted On: 2/22/2003 2:45am

I watched it on PPV.

It was pritty good, But it seemed to be less professional then UFC or PRIDE.

When is Frank shamrock supost to fight?

**Vargas** · Posted On: 2/22/2003 7:46am

As much as they might try, KOTC is a second-tier promotion. UFC and Pride are still the top venues and they draw the top talent. Some of the KOTC guys could make the jump, but only a small percentage. KOTC is AA or AAA, Pride/UFC is the Major Leagues.

"Go cry about it Vargas. Aren't you late for your shift at McDonald's?"

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 2/22/2003 1:08pm

On sherdog Frank has been reported to be fighting for WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting).

Go away I'm talking to myself

**PizDoff** · Posted On: 2/24/2003 1:53pm

lotsa these venues sprouting up

--

Let me introduce you to my friends: Hand, Elbow and Knee.

**Blad3** · Posted On: 2/24/2003 7:16pm

sounded good.

"
I tell him that Joey trains in Albuquerque on the weekends at my dojo and would happy to 'spar' with him. His reply was "I'm not afraid of Joey". That was the last thing I heard him say for the rest of the night. Pretty funny ending to a nice evening at the KOTC."

lol, I wonder if he'll ever show up (doubt it..)