Wineland on KO slam: ‘All I saw was Rampage in my eyes’
“Fighting Ken Stone, he was a newcomer that had never fought in the WEC before,” Wineland said. “I didn’t get…
“Fighting Ken Stone, he was a newcomer that had never fought in the WEC before,” Wineland said. “I didn’t get to see a whole lot of tape on him. I knew he had that left kick because he’s a southpaw, but the tape I saw, it looked like a slapping left kick. But anybody who saw that first kick saw it wasn’t a slapping left kick. I felt it. I felt all three of them, really.
“I think I put one on his chin when we had that little exchange. He felt my power and didn’t like it and jumped guard and tried to guillotine me. I carried him to my corner, and all I saw was ‘Rampage’ in my eyes.”
With Stone wrapped firmly around his body, Wineland walked calmly over to his corner and received a bit of instruction from his coaches. Then suddenly, while channeling his inner Quinton Jackson, Wineland launched forward into the canvas.
“He was going for the guillotine,” Wineland said. “My corner was yelling at me to frame away on his face, so I framed away on his face, and I was grabbing behind him so he couldn’t jump off. Either way, he was getting slammed. Whether he hung on or let go, I was slamming him.”
Stone slammed headfirst into the mat, and he was out cold from the blow. In fact, the shot was so powerful, Stone had to be carted out of the cage on a stretcher. It was a scary moment that remained tense for everyone, including Wineland, until WEC officials released word that Stone had been given a clean bill of health from medical personnel and had left a local hospital under his own power.
“When it first happened, I was happy obviously because I got the knockout,” Wineland said. “Then when I realized the seriousness of it, that he still wasn’t moving, it worried me. Later on I got word that he was OK and cleared. That made the celebration a little bit easier.”