As the Extreme Sports channel continues to wind its repetitive way through a dozen WEC shows, we’re going to take a look at their 38th instalment, where Donald Cerrone challenged Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.The broadcast began in the f…
As the Extreme Sports channel continues to wind its repetitive way through a dozen WEC shows, we’re going to take a look at their 38th instalment, where Donald Cerrone challenged Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.
The broadcast began in the featherweight division as Jose Aldo faced Rolando Perez.
Both of these guys were lightning fast with their strikes and kicks, with Aldo just edging it in the speed stakes.
So when it looked like it could go either way, Perez went for a left, only for Aldo to connect with a knee to the chin that sent Perez down.
Aldo went down for a few more strikes before the referee stepped in to give Aldo the TKO win.
Then it was up to welterweight, as Danillo Villefort took on Mike Campbell.
This was a great back-and-forth battle. After a brief feeling-out period, Campbell scored with the takedown. Villefort countered with the rubber guard so Campbell picked him and slammed him down.
Villefort came back with some nice ground work, going for a couple of leg locks. The fight then went up and down before finally returning to the ground, where Villefort took control, took Campbell’s back and secured the ground-and-pound TKO win.
Bantamweight action followed, as Scott Jorgensen went up against Frank Gomez.
Gomez began his night with a couple of kicks, which Jorgensen countered with a takedown. He immediately went for a guillotine, switching it to a power guillotine before Gomez succumbed to the inevitable.
Then it was onto the big rematch in the featherweight division, as Urijah Faber faced Jens Pulver.
This was another step on Pulver’s downward spiral. Little Evil began with a takedown but Faber quickly got back to his feet.
Seconds later Faber connected with a left to the body that rocked Pulver. Faber went in for the kill, eventually taking the fight down and synching in a guillotine for the submission win, handing Pulver his third successive defeat.
The main event saw Donald Cerrone challenge Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.
This was one of the best spirited fights I’ve ever seen. These two showed each other a tremendous amount of respect, but that didn’t stop them from having a great battle.
For just over four rounds we saw an exciting back-and-forth battle. Each man had their moments. Varner put on a great display of ground-and-pound and striking, while Cerrone’s ground work and kicks looked lethal.
But in the early stages of the fifth, Cerrone caught Varner with a knee to the head while the champion was still grounded.
With the blow ruled an unintentional foul and Varner unable to continue, it went to the scorecards, with Varner taking the win by technical split decision. An unfortunate ending to what was a great fight.
In conclusion: Out of the three WEC shows I’ve seen, this has been the best of the bunch.
There was plenty of great action on offer here, with Faber’s destruction of Pulver the highlight of the night for me, although the Varner/Cerrone encounter would have edged it had it not been for the early ending.
So in all, WEC 38 gets the thumbs up from me. But don’t worry if you live in Britain and you haven’t seen this one yet, because it will definitely be repeated soon.
Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com. I’ve just posted some of my old fiction there!
The UFC’s Octagon Nation Tour 2011 kicked off last month in Toronto prior to UFC 129. The 72-city tour, which consists of two Octagon-sized tents and an 18-wheeler truck filled with memorabilia and games, set up shop outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena prior to UFC 130, where hundreds of UFC fans lined up to check out the experience and to meet fighters and Octagon Girls.
MMA Fighting visited the tour, challenged some fans to a punching and weigh-in contest and spoke to UFC CMO Bryan Johnston, Urijah Faber and Arianny Celeste about the experience.
The UFC’s Octagon Nation Tour 2011 kicked off last month in Toronto prior to UFC 129. The 72-city tour, which consists of two Octagon-sized tents and an 18-wheeler truck filled with memorabilia and games, set up shop outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena prior to UFC 130, where hundreds of UFC fans lined up to check out the experience and to meet fighters and Octagon Girls.
MMA Fighting visited the tour, challenged some fans to a punching and weigh-in contest and spoke to UFC CMO Bryan Johnston, Urijah Faber and Arianny Celeste about the experience.
Its no doubt that at UFC 132, the biggest title fight ever in the bantamweight division will take place between Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz.Both men have created a storyline that has helped push their title bout further into the eyes of MMA fans acr…
Its no doubt that at UFC 132, the biggest title fight ever in the bantamweight division will take place between Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz.
Both men have created a storyline that has helped push their title bout further into the eyes of MMA fans across the board.
Now a night removed from UFC 130 where the bantamweight division had three bouts on the card. None of them though, were on the main card.
When the UFC acquired the bantamweight and featherweight divisions from the WEC, the UFC needed to do some marketing to help bring these smaller fighters into the eyes of casual MMA fans. None of the bigger promotions outside of Japan showcased this guys.
Now the UFC is on the verge of having one of its biggest stars from these divisions becoming a UFC champion.
Faber is the only man to beat Cruz, and he did so at 145-pounds in the first round. Now, Cruz is the bantamweight king and looking to avenge his only career loss.
If the UFC wants to market these smaller divisions, look no further then Faber. Faber is one of the most marketable MMA fighters coming over from the WEC and is known by most casual fans. In fact, he is the reason I started following MMA like its my religion.
On top of Faber’s marketability, he is an excellent fighter. Faber goes out and gives 110 percent each and every fight. Faber is 25-4 in his career and his four losses have came against top competition. No one can complain about a loss to current featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, two losses to former featherweight champ, Mike Brown, and a loss to Tyson Griffin.
Faber has great striking mixed with great wrestling (20 of his 25 wins came via stoppage) and has the marketability the UFC needs to truly launch these smaller divisions.
Whatever the outcome is at UFC 132, the UFC walks away big winners with the big Faber vs. Cruz showdown in the 135-pound division’s history.
One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower …
One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.
Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower weight class divisions.
Enter Brian Bowles.
Looking to defend his title for a fourth time, Torres failed, knocked out by Bowles in the first round.
The jiu-jitsu ace didn’t rebound well either, tapping out to Joseph Benavidez last March.
The once highly praised Torres now seemed to be pushed to the back of everyone’s minds. How could opinion of his skill change that quickly?
Unfortunately forgotten by the fickle fans, Torres quietly bounced back, slowly accumulating two consecutive wins coming into tonight’s fight with Demetrious Johnson.
Lost in all the talk of Urijah Faber versus Dominick Cruz, the former WEC champion is looking to fly back onto everyone’s radar and enter title contention.
Let’s not forget, Torres was one of the most dominant champions while in the WEC, defeating the likes of Japanese superstar Takeya Mizugaki and Pride veteran Yoshiro Maeda.
A win over “Mighty Mouse” will definitely bring Torres more attention as he looks to plow through the UFC’s newly added bantamweight division.
If the former champion can keep up his winning ways, look for him to fight for the belt real soon.
Filed under: UFC, NewsEddie Wineland will take one more crack at Team Alpha Male when he faces Joseph Benavidez at the UFC’s show in Milwaukee, UFC on Versus 5, in August.
Wineland, the first bantamweight champion in WEC history, is coming off his fi…
Wineland, the first bantamweight champion in WEC history, is coming off his first loss in nearly two years, a unanimous decision setback against Alpha Male kingpin Urijah Faber at UFC 128 in March. Now he’ll take on Faber’s training partner. The UFC announced the verbal agreement at its website late Tuesday night.
Benavidez (14-2, 1-0 UFC) has won two straight since a split decision loss to bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz at WEC 50 last August. He submitted Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 52 in November, and in March, also at UFC 128, he beat Ian Loveland by unanimous decision on the preliminary card.
Wineland’s loss to Faber, in the co-main event at UFC 128, snapped a four-bout winning streak for the Northwest Indiana-based 135-pounder, who is also a full-time firefighter. Wineland (18-7-1, 0-1 UFC) had put together back-to-back Knockout of the Night bonuses in his last two WEC bouts before fighting Faber in their UFC debuts.
With the win over Wineland, Faber earned a shot at Cruz’s title at UFC 132 in July. After the fight, UFC president Dana White told MMA Fighting that had Wineland upset Faber, he likely would have been given a shot at Cruz, the only fighter in the division with a longer streak than Wineland going into the Faber fight.
While Wineland will be looking for some payback for the Faber loss, Benavidez, with a win, could find himself in an interesting situation. A victory over Wineland would be three straight for Benavidez, putting him right back into title contention. If Faber, who dropped from featherweight to bantamweight last fall, beats Cruz to win the title, talk would soon begin on whether the two close friends and teammates would fight each other.
The UFC late Tuesday also announced featherweights Leonard Garcia and Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, from Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” will meet on the Milwaukee card. And Jared Hamman will move up from welterweight to fight CB Dolloway at middleweight, the UFC said earlier this week.
UFC on Versus 5 will take place Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee. The card has filled up quickly, including a welterweight potential slugfest between Chris Lytle and former title challenger Dan Hardy; a lightweight bout between former WEC champ Ben Henderson and Jim Miller; and Stephan Bonnar, who spent time training in Milwaukee under Duke Roufus several years ago, against Karlos Vemola.
Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceThe five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of…
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.
Given the enormity of that upcoming stretch, it’s bound to produce much speculation, so Mike Chiappetta and I put on our thinking caps and tried to predict the outcome to four of its most pressing questions.
Which fight are you most looking forward to during this stretch?
AH: There’s a ton of good ones to choose from, but I have to go with Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum on June 18. It’s amazing to think that by the time these two heavyweights meet in Dallas, it will be a week short of a year since Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko and 13 months since Overeem dominated Brett Rogers. Since then, we’ve been anxiously waiting for them to return to action, and I think Strikeforce did the right thing by matching them up in the first round of their heavyweight Grand Prix. Of course, Werdum beat Overeem in 2006, but I think it’s safe to say that both fighters have improved greatly (Overeem in particular) since that fight in PRIDE. This will also mark the first time Overeem fights a legit top-five heavyweight in years (perhaps ever?) so a lot of questions will hopefully be answered in a month.
MC: There are lots of great fights coming up during this stretch, including championship fights and others with title implications, but from a sheer entertainment perspective, I’m going with the Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago fight at UFC 130. Both men fight with aggressive styles, look for the finish, and with the added importance of this bout considering their respective places in the middleweight division, you can expect both to be at their best. Stann seems to have made the breakthrough leap into the elite, while Santiago wants to prove to UFC fans with long memories that he’s more what you’ve seen lately than what you saw back in 2006. Throw in a dash of Stann’s one-punch knockout power and a pinch of Santiago’s willingness to war, and you should have an instant classic.
Which fighter has the most to gain and which has the most to lose during this stretch?
AH: Again, there are many suitable answers to this question, but I think Dominick Cruz has the most to gain. Cruz has been fighting in the shadow of the UFC for the last couple of years, while dominating the WEC bantamweight division. He’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and at UFC 132, he’ll be looking to avenge the only loss of his career to his rival Urijah Faber. Not only will this fight mark the first UFC 135-pound title fight, but it will also mark the first time that two bantamweight fighters headline a UFC pay-per-view. A big win for Cruz could go a long towards getting the champion the attention he deserves.
As far as the one who has the most to lose, I’m going to pick Josh Barnett. “The Baby-Faced Assassin” hasn’t fought in the US since he beat Gilbert Yvel at Affliction 2 in January 2009. Since then, a mega-fight against Fedor Emelianenko was scrapped due to a positive steroid test, which forced Barnett to fight overseas. At the time the Emelianenko fight was supposed happen, Barnett was considered by many to be one of the three best heavyweights in the world. Today, many don’t have him in their top-10. So when the 33-year-old Barnett faces Brett Rogers on June 18, he will not just be fighting for the right to advance in Strikeforce heavyweight GP, he might also be fighting to keep his career relevant.
MC: Shane Carwin is the man with the most to gain. Think about how his circumstances have changed in just a couple of weeks. Before Brock Lesnar dropped out of UFC 131, Carwin was a fighter trying to rebound from a loss, and returning from a major injury, against a fighter, Jon Olav Einemo, that few fans were aware of. That’s the proverbial no-win situation. Suddenly, he’s thrust into a situation where he’s facing the heavyweight division’s No. 1 contender, and a win will vault him right into a title match. At 36 years old, a break like that must seem like a gift from the gods for Carwin.
I’ll be a bit more literal with the man who has the most to lose when I tell you it’s Tito Ortiz. Sure, Ortiz is nowhere near title contention, or even the top 10, but at UFC 132, he’s fighting for even bigger stakes: his job. The former UFC champ and promotional mainstay is fresh out of chances. Winless since Oct. 2006, it’s win or go home for the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who still has one of the highest base salaries in the promotion, $250,000 per fight. That’s a lot of scratch, and he’s not likely to find a contract anywhere else in the world that will pay him in that range if he loses to Ryan Bader and is cut.
3) Which fighter is most likely to launch himself into the UFC title picture?
MC: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. We already know that two upcoming fights — TUF 13 Finale’s Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida, and UFC 131’s Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin — will have some sort of title implications, so none of those men eventually fighting for a belt would constitute a surprise. But Jackson is something of a wild card.
When he was standing in the octagon waiting for the judges’ decision against Lyoto Machida last November, he thought he had lost the fight, which would have resulted in a two-fight losing streak. The judges thought otherwise and he was awarded the decision victory. A win over Matt Hamill at UFC 130 would give him two straight, and four of his last five.
You might be asking why that should put him in the title picture. Champion Jon Jones, who is currently out with a hand injury, is expected to be ready to fight in late September or early October. The most likely opposition for him would come from August’s Rashad Evans-Phil Davis winner, but there is very little chance either man could be ready on such short notice. The UFC is not going to keep Jones on the sidelines if he’s ready to go, so who would get the title shot? Rampage, that’s who. He’s still a top five light-heavyweight, and if he beats Matt Hamill, he’ll probably punch his ticket to face Jones.
AH: I could go the easy route and pick the winner of dos Santos vs. Carwin, and Jackson is certainly a good choice too, but I’m going to go with Wanderlei Silva.
Silva is a huge fan favorite, and while injuries have forced him to only fight once in two years, a thrilling win over Chris Leben at UFC 132 would help generate a lot of momentum for him fight the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami. The UFC’s middleweight division could use a contender like Silva, and considering his past issues with “The Spider,” that would be an easy fight to promote. Of course, Silva’s age and injuries might stop him from ever seriously contending for a UFC title, but that’s more reason to give him that title shot sooner rather than later.
4) Is Urijah Faber‘s UFC 132 matchup against bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz his last chance to wear a major belt?
MC: Faber has been a big part of the title picture in the lower-weight divisions for years, but he lost his last two title matches in the featherweight division while in the WEC, and his bout with Cruz marks his third try to win a major belt in the last two years. If he loses again, it will be very difficult for the UFC to put Faber back into a title match anytime soon.
At 32 years old, Faber keeps himself in fantastic shape year-round, so I wouldn’t expect him to fade away in the near future, but it becomes difficult to promote title matches with athletes that keep losing in them. The public continually wants to see fresh challengers who are capable of pushing the champion. While Faber will continue to have a strong fan base, a third straight loss in title matches will cause many to believe he can’t get over the hump any longer. So chances are, this might be his first and last crack at UFC gold.
Faber still has some big-time performances ahead of him, but he’s going to need one of them against Cruz on July 2. If he loses, he will probably need to put together a lengthy winning streak and hope that Cruz holds on to the belt that entire time so the two can have a rubber match. That selling point may help dim any criticism about an 0-3 stretch in title bouts, but as we’ve seen in MMA, those types of parallel runs are quite unusual.
AH: It really all depends on how he looks. If he is dominated the way Jose Aldo dominated him last April, then this could very well be Faber’s last shot at a title. But considering the fact that the 135-pound division isn’t as deep as some of the other UFC divisions, I could conceivably see him going on a run to warrant another title shot even after a loss.
The thing to remember is that Faber is, by far, the biggest star in the lightweight divisions, and that probably includes the 155-pound division too. He’s on commercials with Kenny Powers and, along with a couple others, helped carry WEC for many years. I won’t argue with those who say he earned this title shot (and even the fight against Aldo) rather quickly off loses, but such is the life of a bantamweight or featherweight, but it MMA math aside, it just makes sense having him fight in this historic bout, just like it has always made sense for him to be fighting for the title in the past.
As the Extreme Sports channel continues to wind its repetitive way through a dozen WEC shows, we’re going to take a look at their 38th instalment, where Donald Cerrone challenged Jamie Varner for the lightweight title.
The 
Eddie Wineland
The five weeks from May 28 to July 2 are among the busiest calendar stretches that MMA has seen in years. During that time, nine major events will take place. There will be at least one championship on the line, a series of heavyweight fights will reshape the division’s hierarchy, new No. 1 contenders will emerge, and we’ll see the return of Gina Carano. Of course, there are always unexpected surprises that will pop up as well.