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Sherdog’s Top 10: Regional MMA Promotions

Patrick WymanApr 07, 2015
Urijah Faber was a King of the Cage staple for a time. | Photo: Scott Bowler/Sherdog.com


9. King of the Cage


Few promotions have lasted longer or put on more shows than the venerable King of the Cage organization, which ran its first event in October 1999. Since then, the promotion has run almost 400 events under its banner, ranging from near premier-level shows featuring world-class talent to tiny cards featuring only amateurs.

The list of talent that has passed through King of the Cage over the years is staggering, and for a certain generation of fighters, it would be easier to list those who never competed for the promotion rather than those who did. Javier Vasquez, Joe Stevenson, Duane Ludwig and Vernon White were all on a single card in April 2000, while Quinton Jackson and Marvin Eastman had their first meeting at the next event; Dean Lister got his start in MMA around the same time. Diego Sanchez made his name in King of the Cage before he made it onto “The Ultimate Fighter,” while Keith Jardine and Carlos Condit got valuable experience on some of the same shows. Urijah Faber fought in King of the Cage six times and scored a victory over Bibiano Fernandes, one of the biggest of his early career, under its umbrella.

King of the Cage no longer occupies the heights it once did. The MMA landscape has changed drastically since the early 2000s, and King of the Cage’s reliance on tiny TV deals and Internet pay-per-views has left it somewhat out of the loop in terms of exposure. Moreover, other promotions have moved into the same market, and competition has not treated them well. Still, King of the Cage is around and kicking, and it does not look to be going away anytime soon.

Number 8 » The list of skilled fighters that has passed through its doors is illustrious and shows no signs of slowing down. The casino’s location in central California gives it easy access to both the talent-rich northern and southern parts of the state, and it is no surprise to see prospects from the big-name teams in both areas getting early experience in well-matched fights.