Video of the Day - Varner v. Fickett

Here is Jamie Varner fighting Drew Fickett at XFC 16 - High Stakes, which took place on 2/10/12 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Zuffa Double Dose Preview

Here are the rumored match-ups for a stacked Sunday and Monday of mixed martial arts actions. WEC has a 155 pound title unification match between Jamie Varner and Benson Henderson on Sunday. The event airs live on Versus Sunday night.

The UFC has a main event of TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz against TUF 5 cast member and currently undefeated Gray Maynard on Monday. The event airs live on Spike Monday night.

Ultimate Fight Night 20

Nate Diaz vs. Gray Maynard
Evan Dunham vs. Efrain Escudero
Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson
Brad Blackburn vs. Amir Sadollah
Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva
Jesse Lennox vs. Rick Story
Nik Lentz vs. Thiago Tavares
Mike Guymon vs. Rory MacDonald
Kyle Bradley vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Gerald Harris vs. John Salter
Nick Catone vs. Jesse Forbes

(Nate Diaz pictured)

WEC 46

Jamie Varner vs. Benson Henderson
Raphael Assuncao vs. Urijah Faber
Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Charlie Valencia
Bryan Caraway vs. Mark Hominick
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Clint Godfrey
George Roop vs. Eddie Wineland
Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler

(Urijah Faber pictured)

WEC 38 Results

Charlie Valencia def Seth Dikun via Decision (Unanimous)
Jesse Lennox def Blas Avena via KO (Knee and Punches) R2, 0:41
Scott Jorgensen def Frank Gomez via Sub (Guillotine Choke) R1, 1:09
Dominic Cruz def Ian McCall via Decision (Unanimous)
Edgar Garcia def Hiromitsu Miura via KO (Punches) R1, 1:18
Benson Henderson def Anthony Njokuani via Sub (Guillotine) R2, 0:42
Jose Aldo def Rolando Perez via KO (Knee and Punches) R1, 4:15
Danillo Villefort def Mike Campbell via TKO (Punches) R1, 3:53
Urijah Faber def Jens Pulver via Sub (Guillotine Choke) R1, 1:34
Jamie Varner def Donald Cerrone via Technical Decision (Split) R5

Fight of the Night: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
Knockout of the Night: Jose Aldo
Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber

WEC 38 Preview

WEC 38 will take place this Sunday, January 25th in San Diego, California. There are 10 fights scheduled and hopefully more than four make the live Versus telecast. With no Super Bowl for another week, it will be great to watch some live MMA.

MAIN CARD

Champ Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone- This fight is for the WEC LW Championship. Jamie Varner (15-2) is riding a four fight win streak, defeating Razor Rob McCullough for the title, defending against Marcus Hicks and beating Sherron Leggett in his first WEC fight. Varner also defeated Jason Gilliam in the UFC, last losing to Hermes Franca. Varner utilizes excellent wrestling, boxing, and superb cardio to win fights.

(Jamie Varner pictured)

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (9-0) was initially trained as a muay thai fighter before transitioning to mma. Despite the stand-up pedigree, 8 of Cerrone's wins have come by way of submission. Varner should look out for a potential triangle choke as Cerrone has 5 on his resume. Cerrone was the focus of a Tapout show where he defeated Anthony Njokuani.

(Cowboy Cerrone pictured)

Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver- This is a repeat of an epic five round fight that Faber won via unanimous decision at WEC 34 defending his featherweight belt. Faber is eager to erase a loss to Mike Thomas Brown that occured at WEC 36. Faber has victories over Jeff Curran, Charlie Valencia, Chance Farrar and Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett.

(Urijah Faber pictured)

Jens Pulver (21-10) is riding a two fight losing streak, last losing via TKO to Leonard Garcia. His last victory was over Cub Swanson at WEC 31. Pulver will likely try to keep the fight standing and try to knock out Faber. The former UFC lightweight has victories over Joe Stevenson, Caol Uno, Dennis Hallman, BJ Penn, and Stephen Palling.

(Jens Pulver pictured)

Other Bouts

Mike Campbell vs. Danilo Villefort
Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Njokuani
Edgar Garcia vs. Hiromitsu Miura
Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
Frank Gomez vs. Scott Jorgensen
Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun

WEC 35 Results

Carlos Condit def. Hiromitsu Miura by TKO at 4:43, R4- This fight was an absolute war. For almost four rounds, the fighters traded big combinations. Miura was able to execute some outstanding judo throws, but could never mount much offense. Condit ran through a litiny of submission attempts, but none ended up working. Miura was able to get sweeps and reversals. After three extremely hard fought rounds, Condit landed a nice knee to Miura's temple in the end of the fourth. A couple more strikes and the bout was called, Condit the victor.
*An instant fight of the year canidate.
*Condit retains WW Belt.

Steve Cantwell def. Brian Stann by TKO at 4:01, R2- The first round saw Cantwell throwing more precise strikes to Stann. Stann ate numerous shots early and often. In the second, it was too much and the fight was stopped.
*Cantwell is the new LHW champ.

Jamie Varner def. Marcus Hicks by TKO at 2:08, R1- The match was an action filled 2 minutes. Hicks got inside on Varner in the clinch before getting a takedown. But after a failed guillotine attempt, Hicks was caught with some nasty knees, punches and eventually the fight was called.
*Varner retains LW Title

Brian Bowles def. Damacio Page by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, R1- Bowles ate some punches before attempting a takedown. Page then attempted to get a double leg, but Bowles locked in a guillotine choke for the victory.

Josh Grispi def. Micah Miller by TKO at 0:50, R1- Grispi fired some nasty low kicks dropping Miller to the ground. Afterwards, Grispi landed a huge overhand right that crumpled Miller to the canvas. Miller protested the stoppage, but the replay showed Miller's knee bending at an awkward angle as he went to the ground. I would have called it.

Brock Larson def. Carlo Prater by KO at 0:37, R1- After a very brief amount of circling, Larson unloaded a nasty left hand that sent Prater to the ground. Larson followed with a couple more punches before the bout was called.

Not Shown:
Blas Avena def. Dave Terrel by TKO at 1:07, R1
Shane Roller def. Todd Moore by Submission (Guillotine) at 3:00, R1
Mike Budnik def. Greg McIntyre by Submission (Triangle) at 3:21, R3
Scott Jorgensen def. Kenji Osawa by Unanimous Decision

WEC 35 Preview

This Sunday, three belts will be on the line at WEC 35. The announced match-ups include some great fights. I would like to see the Brock Larson v. Carlo Prater match-up make the live broadcast.


WW Champ Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura- Condit has been on a 7 fight win streak, including 4 in the WEC and 3 in Pancrase. In the WEC, Condit has defeated Kyle Jensen, Brock Larson, Carlo Prater and John Alessio. Miura has two straight wins in the WEC after a loss in the 185 division to Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

LHW Champ Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell- I would have liked the WEC to bring in a "new" opponent for Brian Stann as he has already TKO'd Cantwell in the first round. I'd like to see Stann tested on the ground at some point. Cantwell does have two straight wins in the WEC.

LW Champ Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks- I would expect this fight to be the best fight on the card. Hicks is undefeated at 10-0, and really does look like a wrecking ball. Varner is coming off a great performance against Razor Rob to win the LW belt. He is an excellent wrestler and striker, with two straight wins in the WEC and one in the UFC. Hicks has some excellent submissions, but Varner will probably have the reach advantage and try to keep the fight standing.

Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page- Anyone who enjoys the Tapout show will probably be rooting for Damacio Page. Page has two straight wins in two years since his 2006 loss to MMA legend Genki Sudo. Bowles at 6-0 has won all his fights by submission or KO.

Josh Grispi vs. Micah Miller- Submission specialist Micah Miller has won two straight since his decision loss to Cub Swanson. Grispi is on an 8 fight win streak with one win in the WEC.

Undercard
Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater
Blas Avena vs. Dave Terrel- This is NOT the one that fought in the UFC.
Todd Moore VS. Shane Roller
Mike Budnik vs. Greg McIntyre
Scott Jorgensen vs. Kenji Osawa

WEC 32 - Must Watch TV

For those who missed the WEC 32 card, check it out at Ultimate MMA videos (MMA Friends on right side) or wait for Versus to replay it 6-10 times over the next couple months. It was a solid card from top to bottom with vicious KO's and submissions throughout the night. Two belts changed hands and one stayed put.

WW Champ Carlos Condit vs. Carlo Prater - Condit (22-4) and Prater didn't stay on their feet for long as Prater almost immediately used a lateral/hip toss to get Condit on his back. Prater was unable to do much damage from the top, and Condit worked for submissions. After a failed guilotine from full guard and arm bar attempts, Condit was able to secure a tight guilotine forcing the stoppage in the first round. Condit now has four straight wins in the WEC and avenged his first loss.
Winner- Condit - (Guillotine Choke) R1 3:48

LW Champ Rob McCullough vs. Jamie Varner - Razor Rob just did not look on his game and Varner was full of energy. The first round saw Varner trying continously for the takedown and Razor defending well. But he wasn't putting much punishment on Varner for his failed attempts. In the third round Varner switched his strategy and started to box with Razor. After Razor landed a couple big shots knocking out Varner's mouthpiece, he didn't finish Varner off. Ref Steve Mazagoti gave time to Varner to put the mouthpiece back in and Varner came out firing and got the TKO over Razor in the third round. New LW Champ- Jamie Varner (14-2, 3 straight stoppage victories).
Winner- Varner- TKO (Punches) R3 2:54

BW Champ Chase Beebe vs. Miguel Torres- Both fighters fired off kicks before the fight went to the ground. After Torres landed a couple elbows from the bottom, Beebe absorbed a vicious upkick while trying to back off. When the fight went to the ground again, Torres, sporting a sweet mullet, was able to go from shoulder lock, to omaplata, to anaconda choke, to a modified guilotine/reverse rear naked choke. The sequence was awesome. It was pretty sweet, and Torres seems like the real deal. New BW champ- Miguel Torres (21-1), 14 straight victories, 2 in the WEC.
Winner- Torres- (Modified Guillotine Choke) R1 3:59

Leonard Garcia vs. Hiroyuki Takaya- Leonard Garcia (11-3) seemed a little too small for the UFC's 155 weight class, and at 145 he looked fast and powerful. He fired bombs at Takaya, and eventually connected dropping Takaya to the mat and followed up with another head shot.
Winner- Garcia- TKO (Punch) R1 1:31

Antonio Banuelos vs. Manny Tapia- Tapia wins via split decision. It was originally called a split draw, but there was a scoring mistake. Not much to talk about in this one.
Winner- Tapia- Decision (Split)

Under Card

Mark Hominick vs. Josh Grispi- W- Grispi- (Rear-Naked Choke) R1 2:55
Del Hawkins vs. Coty Wheeler- W- Wheeler- (Flying Armbar) R2 1:57
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Charlie Valencia- W- Maeda- KO (Body Kick) R1 2:29
Chance Farrar vs. Micah Miller- W- Miller- KO (Punch) R1 1:39
Scott Jorgensen vs. Damacio Page- W- Page- Dec. (Unanimous) R3 5:00

*Looking at the undercard, they better put the two KO's and the two submission victories on an upcoming Wrecage show.

**I can't believe the crowd actually boo'd during the Razor v. Varner match. It was an exciting fight! There were only two decisions on the entire card, which was one of the WEC's best. True MMA fans do not boo!

WEC 32 Tonight - Three Title Fights

The WEC (Zuffa owned) is starting to get extremely packed with talent in the lower weight classes. The increase of talent probably is a sign that the UFC needs to get a featherweight and bantam weight class. Also, like I have always said, the UFC and WEC needs to show more fights on their broadcasts. How many movie review trailers can they cram into two or three hours?

Main Card

WW Champ Carlos Condit vs. Carlo Prater - Condit came in weighing 167 and is riding a 6 fight win streak, including 3 in the WEC. Prater beat Condit in 2004, and is on his own 3 fight win streak.

LW Champ Rob McCullough vs. Jamie Varner - Razor Rob has been impressive in his two WEC fights crushing Kit Cope and Richard Crunkilton. Razor is riding a 9 fight win streak. Varner has two wins in a row since his loss in the UFC to Hermes Franca.



BW Champ Chase Beebe vs. Miguel Torres - Beebe has six wins in a row, with his last 2 coming in the WEC. Those wins were by unanimous decision. Torres has 12 wins in a row, all but one by a stoppage.

Antonio Banuelos vs. Manny Tapia
Leonard Garcia vs. Hiroyuki Takaya

Under Card

Mark Hominick vs. Josh Grispi
Del Hawkins vs. Coty Wheeler
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Charlie Valencia
Chance Farrar vs. Micah Miller
Scott Jorgensen vs. Damacio Page