Photos up from King of The Cage: No Mercy & M-1 Global Selection Americas 4
Sleep is for the weak. I proved that this weekend by traveling to Connecticut on Friday night then to New Jersey the following night to cover King of the Cage: No Mercy and M-1 Global Selection Americas 4 respectively.
If you recall, KOTC: No Mercy was supposed to be headlined by Ray Mercer vs Ron Sparks, but Ray had gone missing and was found, and hours before showtime, Ray was pulled from the car due to “a thirteen year old injury.” Instead, Jimmie Rivera VS Abel Cullum for the flyweight title was moved up to the main event, and what a main event it was! Five intense rounds of back and forth action led to a split decision win for the TSMMA fighter, Jimmie Rivera, and led him to his first national title. Oh, and in case you were wondering, we found Ray Mercer sitting ringside and was physically fine for an injured man, so much so that he turned down an interview by saying “Nah!” and hastily walking away.
Over in New Jersey, M-1 Global put on another excellent show as they wrapped up their selection series. Fighters who moved on included Tom Gallicchio, Kenny Garner who knocked out the iron-headed Pat Bennett, Jose Figueroa (via verbal submission thanks to Jose punting George Sheppard’s testicles into his stomach), Byron Byrd who picked up a dramatic win with a triangle choke after being powerbombed by his opponent and Tyson Jeffries. It was their best night of fights since they started coming to Jersey, and for those in attendance, the stigma of being an M-1 show was definitely wiped out of their mind.
Hit the jump for my photo highlights from both events!
Check out the full King of The Cage: No Mercy gallery at this link and the full M-1 Global Selection Americas 4 at this link here!
[...] You might remember them most recently for their first East coast event in years, which featured Jimmie Rivera VS Abel Cullum in a spectacular five-round war for the flyweight title, and also for Ray Mercer causing a nationwide police search to locate his missing [...]
[...] held for over two years with four successful defenses. He lost the belt in September 2010 at “King of The Cage: No Mercy” against Jimmie Rivera in another five round war, and it looks like the two will be going at it again soon to see if it [...]
[...] MMA student is looking ahead to a rematch with the previous KOTC flyweight champ and the man he took the belt from in October, Abel Cullum, in his home turf of New Mexico in May. We talk about his performances in his last two fights and [...]