King Of The Cage, Split Decision was held at the always lively San Manuel Casino. Majority of the fights didn’t go to the judge as the fighters put on another great show.
Daylin Murray vs. Nick Piecuch
This was a short fight and ended in 17 seconds as Murray threw a high kick that landed on Piecuch’s head. Piecuch went down and Murray finished him on the ground.
Winner: Murray
Frank Park vs. Dave Evans
Evans came out aggressive and threw wild punches. Park defended the shots but hesitant to throw back. Evans took him down as the 1st round ended. In the 2nd round, Park threw leg kicks that seemed to hurt Evans. Park took down Evans and scrambled back up. They exchanged punches with Park getting the better shots. Evans took Park down only to be swept and reversed. Park got a full mount and started throwing heavy shots. Evans defended an arm triangle and Park finished him with a flurry of shots.
Tony Lopez vs. Andenilson ClementinoThis was a fast paced fight and it was an advantage to Clementino in the 1st round. Clementino landed hard shots at will but as usual, Lopez didn’t go down. Clementino seemed gassed at the opening bell of the 2nd round. Lopez took him down and took his back. Lopez got the choke in and Clementino tapped. There was controversy afterwards as Lopez didn’t let go of the choke right away.
Brandon Hunt vs. Melvin Costa
This was a bloody fight and it lasted all three rounds. Costa was the more athletic fighter but Hunt kept him at bay with his jabs. Hunt kept throwing jabs and it opened up cuts on Costa’s face. Hunt won by unanimous decision.
Winner: Hunt
Sean Strickland vs. Matt Lagler
The champion Strickland controlled the fight from the get go even though Lagler was more aggressive. Lagler seemed a bit nervous and even though he was throwing more shots, it looked like he wasn’t committing. Strickland picked him off by throwing body shots. Strickland threw a barrage of punches with 30 seconds left and got the KO with 1 second left.
Winner: Strickland
Joshua Aveles vs. David Gonzales
This was a rematch as Gonzales won the belt from Aveles in their first match. There was bad blood as Aveles was talking smack beforehand. Gonzales controlled the first 2 rounds with takedowns and ground and pound. Gonzales couldn’t pass Aveles’ guard and this got the challenger’s confidence up. In the third round, Gonzales threw hard body shots that slowed Gonzales down. In the 4th round, Aveles landed heavier shots and Gonzales was clearly fatigued from the body shots. Aveles set him up with a nice body shot and went to the head. It landed and Gonzales was KO’d.
Henry Corrales vs. Gustavo Limon
In a short fight, last minute replacement Limon was throwing kicks and hoping to land a shot against De La O Jiu Jitsu fighter, Corrales. Corrales calmly backed out before getting him in a clinch and landing some vicious shots. Limon dropped to the ground as the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Corrales