Tag: Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber Out of WEC 50 With Knee Injury

(Damn, as if the constipation wasn’t bad enough…)
Urijah Faber’s scheduled bantamweight debut against Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 50 (August 18th, Las Vegas) has been canceled, due to a knee injury that Faber suffered in training on Monday. The Californ…

Urijah Faber WEC injury
(Damn, as if the constipation wasn’t bad enough…)

Urijah Faber‘s scheduled bantamweight debut against Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 50 (August 18th, Las Vegas) has been canceled, due to a knee injury that Faber suffered in training on Monday. The California Kid confirmed the bad news via Twitter earlier today, and told Heavy: "Somebody was going to take me down during training. They swept me and I heard a loud pop. They said it would be six weeks before I could train again, but it may heal even faster."

According to MMAJunkie, a replacement will not be found for Mizugaki. Tough break, but on the bright side, it’s a miracle that Faber can even walk at all at this point. WEC 50 will be headlined by the bantamweight title (re-)match between Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez.

WEC 50 Fight Card: Dominick Cruz vs. Joseph Benavidez

Filed under: WECThe WEC 50 fight card will be headlined by Dominick Cruz’s WEC bantamweight title defense against Joseph Benavidez on Aug. 18 at the Pearl in Las Vegas.

The two previously met one year ago at WEC 42 and the fight resulted in Cruz deliv…

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The WEC 50 fight card will be headlined by Dominick Cruz‘s WEC bantamweight title defense against Joseph Benavidez on Aug. 18 at the Pearl in Las Vegas.

The two previously met one year ago at WEC 42 and the fight resulted in Cruz delivering Benavidez the only loss of his career.

Also, Benavidez’s Alpha Male team captain, Urijah Faber, makes his bantamweight debut against contender Takeya Mizugaki.

The WEC 50 fight card is below.

MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Sandro, Grispi Both Impress

Filed under: DREAM, WEC, Sengoku, Rankings, Featherweights, JapanOn Sunday in Japan, Marlon Sandro needed just 38 seconds to knock out Masanori Kanehara at Sengoku 13. On Sunday in Canada, Josh Grispi needed just 2:33 to choke out LC Davis at WEC 49.

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Marlon SandroOn Sunday in Japan, Marlon Sandro needed just 38 seconds to knock out Masanori Kanehara at Sengoku 13. On Sunday in Canada, Josh Grispi needed just 2:33 to choke out LC Davis at WEC 49.

If you love MMA and want to see the best fighters in big fights, it’s disappointing that Sandro and Grispi got so little attention for what they accomplished on Sunday. Sandro’s fight wasn’t televised at all on North American television (it will air on tape delay Friday night on HDNet), while Grispi’s fight was the No. 3 bout on a fight card that got weak ratings on Versus. There are still a whole lot of people who follow MMA but don’t know who Sandro and Grispi are.

And they don’t know what they’re missing: Two of the Top 10 feathwerights in the world. See where they rank below.

WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez Made Official for Aug. 18

Filed under: WEC, NewsThe WEC on Monday officially announced its August card, WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, which will take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Aug. 18.

WEC vice president Peter Dropick made the announcement on …

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The WEC on Monday officially announced its August card, WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, which will take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Aug. 18.

WEC vice president Peter Dropick made the announcement on a media call for Sunday’s WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus event, and the promotion put out a press release shortly after that.

The main event will feature a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz (15-1, 5-1 WEC) and challenger Joseph Benavidez (13-1, 4-1 WEC), a rematch from a fight last August at WEC 42. Cruz won that fight, then won the 135-pound belt by beating Brian Bowles at WEC 47 in March. This will be his first title defense. On the same card in March, Benavidez became the first fighter to submit former champion Miguel Torres, earning the title shot in the process.

The co-main event is notable for former featherweight champion Urijah Faber‘s debut at bantamweight. Faber (27-4, 8-3 WEC) recently announced his decision to try his hand at 135 pounds. He’ll take on Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2, 2-2 WEC), a stiff test in his first fight after dropping down.

WEC’s August 18 Card Will Feature Urijah Faber’s Bantamweight Debut, Cruz/Benavidez Title Rematch

(Cruz and Benavidez’s first meeting last August: Dominick may have gotten the nod for Octagon control, but Joe definitely had the mad-dogging advantage. Photo courtesy of SI)
Next Sunday’s WEC 49 might be low on marquee fights, but th…

Dominick Cruz Joseph Benavidez WEC 42
(Cruz and Benavidez’s first meeting last August: Dominick may have gotten the nod for Octagon control, but Joe definitely had the mad-dogging advantage. Photo courtesy of SI)

Next Sunday’s WEC 49 might be low on marquee fights, but the organization will be making up for it in a big way at their August 18th show, which is slated to go down in Las Vegas. As reported yesterday, former featherweight champ Urijah Faber will make his bantamweight debut at the event, following a 2-3 stretch in his last five fights — including an agonizing loss to Jose Aldo in his last title challenge. Faber’s opponent is expected to be Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2, 2-2 WEC), who made his WEC debut in a memorable five-round war against Miguel Torres last year, and has since picked up decision victories against Jeff Curran and Rani Yahya. Faber has stated in the past that he cuts very little weight to make 145 pounds, and a drop to 135 wouldn’t be a problem for him.

Headlining the card will be an even more important bantamweight scrap: Dominick Cruz‘s first title defense against Faber’s teammate Joseph Benavidez, who Cruz previously outpointed at WEC 42. Cruz became champion in March thanks to a brilliant striking performance against then-champion Brian Bowles. Benavidez earned his title shot by choking out Miguel Torres at the same event, and hopes to avenge the only loss on his record. The 8/18 show — which we’ll refer to as WEC 50 until further notice — will be broadcast on Versus.

Semi-related: The day before he handles color-commentary duties for WEC 49, Kenny Florian will be working the booth for the TUF 11 Finale.