King & Hoppel shine at NAAFS: Caged Fury 11

 

 

 

After nearly a year off for both fighters, both Mike King and Grant Hoppel made successful MMA returns at NAAFS: Caged Fury 11. King last fought in March of 2009, where he won the First Strike Combat 205lb title. A serious hand injury and job relocation has kept him on the sidelines until now. For Hoppel, his last performance was a decision loss in July 2009. When spots opened up for the NAAFS's East Liverpool event, calls were made and contracts were signed.

 

Grant Hoppel faced Landon Khakdoust at 170lbs. Despite a 4-3 record coming into the contest, Khakdoust comes from a strong team in Griffonrawl and has fought as high as 2 weight classes above Hoppel. However, a solid strategy and dominant takedowns allowed Grant to take control of the bout early on. Khakdoust, who wanted to keep the fight standing, found himself pinned against the cage before the eventual takedown occurred. From there, Hoppel picked his strikes wisely so as not to tire himself out, then mounted his opponent. Unable to escape, Khakdoust tapped out after absorbing several solid punches from Hoppel. 

 

During the post fight interview, Hoppel paid comedic homage to Ricky Bobby when he couldn't figure out what to do with his hands. The ring announcer didn't get the reference but those in on the joke found the situation hilarious!

 

Next up was Mike King taking on an enormous Chris Green (8-3) in one of the featured amateur bouts of the event. Green was clearly the hometown favorite, and was greeted with a huge ovation as he made his way to the cage. King, who traveled from across the state, could hear a cricket chirp during his introduction. The crowd clearly had its favorite picked before the fight began.

 

King relished the underdog role and delivered the East Liverpool fans exactly what they didn't want: a HUGE upset. Mike put Green on the cage early, working his legs and body with knees and foot stomps. After a takedown, King spent the majority of the first round over top of Green landing a multitude of hard punches. 

 

In the second round, King wasted little time going after Green. Despite getting wobbled as he shot into an uppercut, King still managed to pick Green up over his head and slam him back to the mat. From there, Mike controlled sidemount and was able to sink in the fight ending D'arce choke. With the win, Mike King improves his record to 4-1 and should have moved himself up the NAAFS rankings in the light heavyweight division. Look for Mike King to return to Columbus in July for another bout in the NAAFS as he continues his climb towards winning the 2010 NAAFS 205lb amateur championship.