A Piece of MMA History: King of the Cage

Sure, King of the Cage is still around. But the incarnation churning out semi-regional shows now is but a shadow of the 2000-2003 version that, at the time, was considered the number two MMA event in the country. Back then, KOTC was a legitimate stepping stone to the UFC and Pride, with stars like Ricco Rodriguez, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Diego Sanchez and more all paying their dues in the West Coast promotion's cage. Sadly, thanks to some serious product dilution over the span of 120+ shows, winning a belt in the promotion doesn't mean nearly as much as it used to - which is a shame. When all fans had was six UFCs a year plus a few IFCs and Extreme Challenges here and there, KOTC was where it was at.