Garett Davis and Cody Krahn took steps towards a possible  title shot in their respective divisions at King of the Cage Canada’s recent May 28^th “Combustion” event in Edmonton, Alberta. Davis earned his second victory in as many fights since returning to action for the first time since 2008, stopping veteran welterweight Shannon “The Cannon” Ritch, while Krahn extended his winning streak to 4 by tapping out fellow light-heavyweight Trent Thorne.

When KOTC Canada spoke with Davis recently, the veteran and accomplished grappler was quick to concede that he was a bit anxious heading into his bout with Ritch, despite having submitted the jiu-jitsu black belt once before in 2006. Crediting Ritch for his toughness and ability to take “anybody out in the first round,” Davis maintained he would be ready for the well travelled fighter last Friday and proved just that.

“I fought pretty good,” said Davis who stopped Ritch in the first round with a flurry of strikes from the top position. “I threw a couple of lame kicks but followed up nicely with a big left hook that dropped him. Thanks to Tony Pep for the left hook!”

“The Cannon” was a lot tougher than I thought,” Davis added. “People always say he taps early, but dude, I was hitting him really hard in the face and head for a long time and he wouldn’t tap. He just kept taking it until the ref stopped it.”

And as far as how Davis feels about the win, considering the pre-fight nerves he mentioned earlier?

“It feels right...now I'm going to Disney Land. Next question.”

With two more wins under the KOTC banner now added to Davis’s 13-10 record, the Vancouver fighter is not only anxious to get back in the cage, he’s eager to face the promotion’s best.

“KOTC 170lb. title fight at Rexall Place on July 30^th,” said Davis when asked about what he hopes is next. “Come on Ken (Kupsch) make it happen...please.”

Krahn was confident heading into his bout with Thorne that he would be the one to halt the light-heavyweight’s three fight winning streak, while at the same time, extend his own record to 7-2. Although Krahn predicted that his dedication to studying the fundamentals would be the deciding factor in their highly anticipated bout, the Edmonton fighter had planned on utilizing his striking, and not his grappling, to deliver the win.

“I was happy I was able to make the fight fast, but I would’ve preferred a knockout,” said Krahn, who tapped Thorne out with a first round Kimura. “I thought I could’ve kept my striking a lot tighter and refrain from brawling, but as soon as Trent pressed the action I went into kill-mode.”

“I was surprised at how aggressive Trent was coming towards me even when I was hitting him with my hardest punches,” Krahn noted, who had defeated Dan Chambers, Jason Gorny and Aaron Teed in succession prior to “Combustion.” “The guy really does have a solid chin; he was also a lot stronger than I thought he'd be.”

And as far as what the 26 year-old-fighter’s future aspirations are?

“Next for KOTC Canada: more and more fights!”