King of the Cage Sets Up Office in the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!

President and Founder Mr. Terry Trebilcock and Mr. Ray Young , Chariman of KOTC Philippines express their high hopes and aspirations that King of the Cage Philippines will be one of the most sought after fights here in Asia and the World.

King of the Cage, also known as KOTC, is an MMA promotion based in Southern California, USA. It was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC is known for honing both up-and-coming and seasoned fighters. This year, the distinguished breeding ground of MMA fighters will be having its franchise in the Philippines.

KOTC signed recently signed a multi-year with a private equity group headed by international businessman Ray Young and finance expert Michael Brown. The group will be setting up an operating company in the Philippines for the purpose of promoting and developing multiple live events and bringing weekly broadcast television shows throughout the country.

 As announced as an official statement, KOTC initially plans to hold two shows on Philippine soil this year in addition to opening a gym to facilitate the growth of Filipino prospects. There are also intentions to establish a partnership with a local television network for its international content in 2014.

Fresh off its announcement of entering the Pearl of the Orients to further its global expansion, KOTC holds its first live event in Manila at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena on July 5. Two undefeated world champions will headline the fight card.

 

The first world title fight features Sean “Tarzan” Strickland defending his KOTC middleweight championship against Japan’s Yuske Sakashita. Strickland has seven fights inside the KOTC cage and is 11-0 in his professional MMA career. In his run with the California-based promotion, he has five victories by knockout, one submission win, and a decision triumph over KOTC veteran Josh Bryant.

Moreover, his opponent from the Land of the Rising Sun is a 9-3 fighter, who is making a KOTC debut. Five of Sakashita’s nine victories have come by knockout, but he is coming off as a unanimous-decision loss to Young Choi this past September. 

 

In the second world title fight, Lowen Tynanes puts his KOTC junior welterweight title on the line versus Joe Condon. Tynanes most recently defeated Felipe Enomoto via first-round TKO at ONE FC 9: Rise to Power, which was also held in Manila last May 31. The 5-0 gladiator from Ewa Beach, Hawaii is making his first title defense after his submission victory over Kris Armbrister last April 11.

While Condon is a long-time KOTC brawler, who is coming from an unfortunate two-fight losing skid against Sevak Magakian and Derek Campos. The American slugger from Victorville, California has three submission victories tucked under his belt.

On the evening of July 5, all spotlights will be zoomed not only on the title fights but also on the eight undercard bouts that will put Filipinos on display. The fact that KOTC’s inaugural fight card in Manila will showcase locals instead of foreign ones is a clear indication of its core mission to work with our very own Filipino fighters. 

KOTC held tryouts at SM City Marikina last April 28 in search for the right fighters to fill in for the undercards. Every Filipino who qualified to the roster was given a five-year contract which entitled them to multiple fights in the promotion.

Both URCC and PXC claim being the best in the country. URCC takes pride that majority of the best homegrown talents are enlisted in its fight organization, while PXC boasts of a constantly improving line-up of Filipinos. KOTC has a different take on the matter. Even with the availability of clever fighters, they chose to burrow deeper and put their stakes on the young guns of the industry in preparation for stardom.

One of the Pinoy combatants who should see action that night is Reign Sotto. It was noted that he broke the arm of his opponent during the qualifiers.

Also making a special appearance in the one-night spectacle is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion that recently signed with Bellator MMA.

One of the most respected MMA referees will be in the mix to officiate as well. Herb Dean, a veteran of more than three thousand fights, will be the third man in the cage in some of the fights on July 5. 2013.

First time in the history of known international sports competition brand specially on MMA fights they will used Filipino models to be the RingGirl that would really set the mode of the fights in every events.

KOTC is known for producing renowned MMA fighters with the likes of Rampage Jackson, Urijah Faber, Bibiano Fernandes, Diego Sanchez, and many others. It can be said that the arrival of King of the Cage puts the Philippines a notch higher than its neighboring Asian countries. It can be expected that the cage with the bright yellow mat can pave the way towards the fulfilment of dreams for Pinoys who want MMA to be the next big thing in sports.

More pictures of the girls and the King of Cage fighters here.



MAIN CARD:

KOTC junior welterweight championship: Lowen Tynanes (c) vs Joe Condon

KOTC middleweight championship: Sean Strickland (c) vs Yuske Sakashita


UNDERCARD:

Rabin Catalan vs Genil Francisco

Alvin Ramirez vs Francis Curilan

Dean Bermudez vs Rex Tanduyan

Mickey Ablan vs Ralf Francisco

Carlos Tiongson vs Fadi Alhamoui

Chow Garcia vs Winnie Paderna

Mike Bunag vs. JM Figueras

Reign Sotto vs Francis Frac


Like them on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/KOTCph

Again, to see more of the pictures for the event please click this link.