Tag: King of the Cage

The Samurai Returns: An Interview With ‘King of the Cage’ Prospect Gabe Sagman


(via King of the Cage)

By Brian J. D’Souza

The professional MMA landscape in Ontario is pretty barren due to a lack of shows, so what do talented fighters do in order to progress their careers? In the case of my Toronto BJJ teammates who fight MMA, just like previous generations of Ontario-based fighters, they end up having to travel in order to get fights.

One such individual is Gabe “Samurai” Sagman (1-1) who is heading 2700 kilometers (that’s 1468 miles for you yanks) to Calgary, Alberta to face Keegan Oliver (3-4) this Friday at King of the Cage: Wrecking Ball. Gabe last fought in November 2014, so he’s primed and ready to get his momentum back.

“For the past month and a half, I’ve been training really hard,” says Gabe.

Check out Brian’s full interview after the jump.

The post The Samurai Returns: An Interview With ‘King of the Cage’ Prospect Gabe Sagman appeared first on Cagepotato.


(via King of the Cage)

By Brian J. D’Souza

The professional MMA landscape in Ontario is pretty barren due to a lack of shows, so what do talented fighters do in order to progress their careers? In the case of my Toronto BJJ teammates who fight MMA, just like previous generations of Ontario-based fighters, they end up having to travel in order to get fights.

One such individual is Gabe “Samurai” Sagman (1-1) who is heading 2700 kilometers (that’s 1468 miles for you yanks) to Calgary, Alberta to face Keegan Oliver (3-4) this Friday at King of the Cage: Wrecking Ball. Gabe last fought in November 2014, so he’s primed and ready to get his momentum back.

“For the past month and a half, I’ve been training really hard,” says Gabe.

Check out Brian’s full interview after the jump.

I have had a unique perspective, because I trained alongside Gabe at Toronto BJJ under MMA coach, former UFC veteran Claude Patrick.

One thing that makes Gabe special is that he’s a consummate professional at his trade, a man who coaches and teammates know they can expect to see show up time and time again. There’s no excuses, or story or evasion of the job at hand—just a record of nearly-perfect attendance.

Skilled in all areas of MMA, Gabe has a plan to dispatch Keegan Oliver.

“I want to get in there—ideally, use my movement, out-strike the guy. If there’s an opening for me to take him down, I’ll take it. Obviously my strength is on the ground,” says the Ribeiro BJJ brown belt.

As MMA fighters have morphed into athletes, the conditioning routine Gabe follows outside of his Muay Thai, wrestling or jiu-jitsu training is also worth noting. Working out with his brother, Reuben, Gabe does an impressive array of exercises designed to give him a mix of strength and explosiveness.

What I learned from Gabe is that a person has to do the maximum preparation. It’s impossible to predict the future, but the harder you work, the luckier you get. He’s got the tools to win and that’s backed by his heart.

Says Gabe, “I’m putting on a great show, I’m coming to fight.”

Brian J. D’Souza is the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out an excerpt right here.

The post The Samurai Returns: An Interview With ‘King of the Cage’ Prospect Gabe Sagman appeared first on Cagepotato.

Hot Potato: 14 Photos of Nikita Esco, French-Chinese KOTC Ring Girl [GOT DAMN]


(That’s her on the right. Glad I could clear that up.)

Meet longtime King of the Cage ring girl Nikita Esco, a half Chinese, half French model and international gogo dancer who blah blah blah hnnnnngg. Named one of The 25 Hottest Import Models on Instagram by Complex magazine last year, Nikita is the daughter of a famous Taiwanese actress, singer, dancer and model. Her favorite MMA fighters are Georges St. Pierre and Sean Strickland, and she feels that her “killer legs” are her best feature, but we’ll let you decide.

Check out a gallery of our favorite Nikita Esco photos after the jump, and make sure to follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Meet longtime King of the Cage ring girl Nikita Esco, a half Chinese, half French model and international gogo dancer who blah blah blah hnnnnngg. Named one of The 25 Hottest Import Models on Instagram by Complex magazine last year, Nikita is the daughter of a famous Taiwanese actress, singer, dancer and model. Her favorite MMA fighters are Georges St. Pierre and Sean Strickland, and she feels that her “killer legs” are her best feature, but we’ll let you decide.

Check out a gallery of our favorite Nikita Esco photos above, and make sure to follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Bonus video: Get familiar with Nikita via a brief introductory reel taken from a Youtube-based reality show she appeared on, Roll Models.

–J. Jones

22 of the Dumbest Event Names in King of Cage History [GALLERY]


(“You won’t see fighters this scared anywhere else!!”)

In the beginning, MMA events had catchy titles like “Revenge of the Warriors” and “Collision Course” to make them seem even more dramatic than they already were*. Eventually, all the good ideas ran out, and you started seeing crap like “Slammer in the Hammer” and “Helter Smelter” on the local circuit.

But while the UFC eventually wised up and stopped giving its events random, stupid names**, King of the Cage has kept the lunkheaded tradition alive. As proof, here are 22 of the dumbest KOTC event names we could find on the Internet. (Not pictured: Buckeye Nuts, Nuclear Explosion, Knockout Nightmare. Actual event names. Seriously.)

* The trend was officially started in 1993 with Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1-4. I guess the promotion was tired of curious locals asking them, “Say, are you guys hybrid wrestlers or something?”

** The final UFC event to carry a name was UFC 125: Resolution, on January 1st, 2011, but by that point, event names had almost completely fallen out of fashion in the UFC. There were only five UFC events that carried names in 2009-2010, including UFC 99: The Comeback and UFC 112: Invincible.


(Because there’s nothing that MMA fans love more than a good split-decision.)


(“You won’t see fighters this scared anywhere else!!”)

In the beginning, MMA events had catchy titles like “Revenge of the Warriors” and “Collision Course” to make them seem even more dramatic than they already were*. Eventually, all the good ideas ran out, and you started seeing crap like “Slammer in the Hammer” and “Helter Smelter” on the local circuit.

But while the UFC eventually wised up and stopped giving its events random, stupid names**, King of the Cage has kept the lunkheaded tradition alive. As proof, here are 22 of the dumbest KOTC event names we could find on the Internet. (Not pictured: Buckeye Nuts, Nuclear Explosion, Knockout Nightmare. Actual event names. Seriously.)

* The trend was officially started in 1993 with Pancrase: Yes, We Are Hybrid Wrestlers 1-4. I guess the promotion was tired of curious locals asking them, “Say, are you guys hybrid wrestlers or something?”

** The final UFC event to carry a name was UFC 125: Resolution, on January 1st, 2011, but by that point, event names had almost completely fallen out of fashion in the UFC. There were only five UFC events that carried names in 2009-2010, including UFC 99: The Comeback and UFC 112: Invincible.


(Because there’s nothing that MMA fans love more than a good split-decision.)


(Moral Victory: Not like a *real* victory, but at least you did your best.)


(Anybody who’s ever put chili in the microwave for too long can relate to this one.)


(Yep, just a random shout-out to Richard Ramirez.)


(“Come to gawk at the black guy’s muscles…stay for the fights!”)


(Of course they’re unsigned. Why else would they be fighting for KOTC?)


(I’m only including this one because the poster looks even more like a gay-porn DVD cover than the rest of these posters.)


(When in doubt, just name the event after your muffler-sponsor.)


(…or a random phrase that has nothing to do with fighting.)


(I see one fighting legend, and one damn fool in mascara.)

Continue to page 2 for more!

Bobby Green On Winning His UFC Debut, Facing Danny Castillo At FOX 8

Former King of the Cage champion and Strikeforce lightweight fighter Bobby ‘King’ Green (20-5) made a successful Octagon debut last February by submitting Jacob Volkmann at UFC 156. The win also earned Green the “Submission of the Night” bonus for his work. In this interview, Green talks about the win and the bonus, as well as his next fight in the Octagon, a July 27th match with Danny Castillo at UFC on FOX 8.

Props to Spencer Lazara at MMAInterviews.tv for the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Former King of the Cage champion and Strikeforce lightweight fighter Bobby ‘King’ Green (20-5) made a successful Octagon debut last February by submitting Jacob Volkmann at UFC 156. The win also earned Green the “Submission of the Night” bonus for his work. In this interview, Green talks about the win and the bonus, as well as his next fight in the Octagon, a July 27th match with Danny Castillo at UFC on FOX 8.

Props to Spencer Lazara at MMAInterviews.tv for the video.

Poster of the Day: Tank Abbott Returns on 4/13 With KOTC Superfight Title Match Against Warpath Villareal


(Let’s all have a moment of silence for the career of Trevor Prangley. / Props: King of the Cage via MiddleEasy)

Before Tank Abbott re-enters the UFC and takes the heavyweight strap back from these pussy-ass point-fighters, his latest comeback will begin with a tune-up fight against guyliner-clad palooka Ruben “Warpath” Villareal, who has lost eight of his last ten fights. The match will go down April 13th at King of the Cage: Fighting Legends, at Gold Country Casino in Oroville, California.

According to a KOTC press release published last week, Tank Abbott is “the world’s most famous cage fighter” (!!!), and his fight against Warpath will be for the King of the Cage Superfight title, whatever the hell that means. And of course, Abbott’s second-career as a novelist also gets a plug:

“[Abbott] recently took a few years off to write a 300,000 word trilogy about the origins of cage fighting entitled “Befor There Were Rules” with the first novel, “Bar Brawler”, now available for purchase as a paperback or digital download from Amazon.com.”

I think it’s really cool of KOTC to keep the misspelling of “Befor,” so as not to embarrass or confuse Tank. Anyway, there’s a little video profile on Tank after the jump hyping the 4/13 fight. Check it out if you want, but just keep in mind that his fascinating toupee is still in hiding.


(Let’s all have a moment of silence for the career of Trevor Prangley. / Props: King of the Cage via MiddleEasy)

Before Tank Abbott re-enters the UFC and takes the heavyweight strap back from these pussy-ass point-fighters, his latest comeback will begin with a tune-up fight against guyliner-clad palooka Ruben “Warpath” Villareal, who has lost eight of his last ten fights. The match will go down April 13th at King of the Cage: Fighting Legends, at Gold Country Casino in Oroville, California.

According to a KOTC press release published last week, Tank Abbott is “the world’s most famous cage fighter” (!!!), and his fight against Warpath will be for the King of the Cage Superfight title, whatever the hell that means. And of course, Abbott’s second-career as a novelist also gets a plug:

“[Abbott] recently took a few years off to write a 300,000 word trilogy about the origins of cage fighting entitled “Befor There Were Rules” with the first novel, “Bar Brawler”, now available for purchase as a paperback or digital download from Amazon.com.”

I think it’s really cool of KOTC to keep the misspelling of “Befor,” so as not to embarrass or confuse Tank. Anyway, there’s a little video profile on Tank after the jump hyping the 4/13 fight. Check it out if you want, but just keep in mind that his fascinating toupee is still in hiding.


(Props: Steve Inman)

Classic Mismatch: Duane Ludwig vs. Shad Smith, Who Was Wearing a Pair of Vans at the Time [VIDEO]

Thanks to Manny Yarborough GOAT for digging up this classic fight from King of the Cage 4 back in June 2000, in which a young Duane Ludwig beats the absolute dogshit out of MMA pioneer Shad Smith, who entered the cage wearing the same pair of sneakers and white socks that he showed up to the arena in. No, this would not be Shad’s night. Ludwig’s Muay Thai was nasty even back then, and the referee was as shitty as most local refs were in those days — two factors that combined to produce an uncomfortably violent late-stoppage. Skip to the 2:25 mark for the beginning of the end.

After the jump: Shad’s 2004 King of the Cage bout against Krazy Horse Bennett, which is worth watching just for their pre-fight promo packages. A credit to humanity, both of these guys.

Thanks to Manny Yarborough GOAT for digging up this classic fight from King of the Cage 4 back in June 2000, in which a young Duane Ludwig beats the absolute dogshit out of MMA pioneer Shad Smith, who entered the cage wearing the same pair of sneakers and white socks that he showed up to the arena in. No, this would not be Shad’s night. Ludwig’s Muay Thai was nasty even back then, and the referee was as shitty as most local refs were in those days — two factors that combined to produce an uncomfortably violent late-stoppage. Skip to the 2:25 mark for the beginning of the end.

After the jump: Shad’s 2004 King of the Cage bout against Krazy Horse Bennett, which is worth watching just for their pre-fight promo packages. A credit to humanity, both of these guys.