WEC 40 Chicago Results

Despite a snowstorm that kept some away, I was in attendance for WEC 40. There was a solid line-up of fights and they were entertaining throughout. I had seats that were up a few rows in the lower bowl, giving me a good sight line for the event. I saw Manny Tapia, Clay Guida and Raphael Assuncao up on the concourse, but it was a little tough to get a picture.

Miguel Torres def Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous dec- Torres and Mizugaki threw punches, kicks and knees non-stop for the entire 25 minute fight. Anytime Torres looked to connect with a punch, Mizugaki landed a kick. They battled hard throughout the fight, as chants of "Torres" could be heard throughout the arena. Torres attempted to bring Mizugaki to the ground, but he was just not having any part of Torres on the ground.
*Torres and Mizugaki win Fight of the Night.

(Torres in his corner before the fight)

Joseph Benavidez def Jeff Curran via unanimous dec- Curran came out as the hometown favorite, but the crowd didn't carry him in the fight. Benavidez landed the stronger kicks and punches of the fight to get the victory. His kicks landed sharp as you could hear the smacks in the audience. The action was fast and furious, but Benavidez had Curran's number.

(Benavidez throwing a kick)

Ben Henderson def Shane Roller via TKO (strikes) R1, 1:41- This proved to be one of the only come from behind performances on the card. Roller came out strong landing a combination that dropped Henderson. Roller then locked in a guillotine, but he didn't quite have it. Henderson then got to his feet and landed a left and a right to the temple which flattened Roller. He tried to grab onto Henderson's legs, but as the punches kept coming the bout was called.

(Roller goes for the guillotine)

Raphael Assuncao def Jameel Massouh via unaninous dec- Despite giving up a few inches, Assuncao was able to dominate the fight for all rounds getting a 30-27 score on all the judges scorecards. Assuncao was able to get the better of the fight with punches and kicks, and also got takedowns and submission attempts. Massouh almost came back near the end of the fight, but it was too little, too late.

(Assuncao giving up some height)

Anthony Njokuani def Bart Palaszewski via TKO (strikes) R2, 0:27- Bart Palaszewski suffered another setback losing his second straight fight in the WEC. The first round saw Bart eat a couple punches before getting a takedown. Njokuani got up almost instantly, and started throwing more cominations. In the second, Njokuani worked his jab before landing a big right hand dropping Palaszewski.
*Njokuani wins KO of the Night.

(Njokuani finishing off Palaszewski)

Dominick Cruz def Ivan Lopez via unanimous dec- Cruz dominated the fight with punches, kicks and takedowns. Cruz had good ground and pound throughout the fight getting dominant positions. In the third round, as Lopez was shooting for a leg during a scramble, Cruz accidently kneed Lopez in the head. With Lopez on the ground reeling back and forth, the fight was called. As the ref judged it an inadvertant knee, they went to the judges cards who scored it for Cruz.

(Lopez attempting to punch Cruz)

Wagnney Fabiano def Fredson Paixao via unanimous dec- Fabiano controlled the action throughout the fight en route to a 30-27 decision. Fabiano was able to get takedowns, ground and pound, throw good leg kicks and attempt some submissions. Fabiano also opened up a cut on Paixao's head early on.

(Fabiano ground and pound)

Rani Yahya def Eddie Wineland via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:07- It was not Eddie Wineland's night as Rani Yahya basically steamrolled right past him. Yahya ate an elbow on a takedown attempt, got Wineland's back, sunk in the hooks and choke and it was lights out.
*Yahya wins Submission of the Night bonus

Akitoshi Tamura def Manny Tapia via unanimous dec- This fight was a hard fought war that was much closer than the 29-28 seen on all the judges scorecards. For all three rounds, both fighters traded punches, kicks and knees. Anything that Tapia did, Tamura had an answer. The bout stayed standing the entire time with neither fighter doing a ton of damage.

(Manny Tapia taking pics with fans)

Rafael Dias def Mike Budnik via unanimous dec- In the first fight of the night, Dias was the aggressor getting takedowns at will. Budnick attempted a couple submissions, but wasn't really doing much. Dias almost had a north-south choke in the second, but it wasn't secured tight enough.

(Budnick attempting a leg lock)

WEC 37 Preview

WEC 37 will be playing prior to the Ultimate Fighter doubleheader. The event will feature a match between two of the best 135 pounders in the game with Miguel Torres putting his title on the line against Manny Tapia. Below are the announced bouts.

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia (BW Title)- expect a scrappy and hard fought match between these two young stars. Torres is lightning quick with excellent grappling. He also has a good muay thai game, with dangerous elbows. He has 15 wins in a row with 3 straight in the WEC. His big wins have come over Chase Beebe, Jeff Bedard, Joe Pearson, and Yoshiro Maeda in a fight of the year fight.

Tapia is known for his boxing and ground and pound offense. He will throw wild and powerful strikes, and may look for the big punch against Torres. This will be Tapia's first fight since a knee injury put him on the shelf for 12 months. His big wins have come over Antonio Banuelos, Shad Smith and Brandon Foxworth.

Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro- The winner of this fight will likely move to the number one contender at 135. Bowles is 6-0, going 3-0 in the WEC so far. His three wins in the WEC came over quality fighters in Damacio Page, Marcos Galvao and Charlie Valencia. Ribeiro is 11-1 with a recent split decision win over Chase Beebe.

Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura- Fabiano (10-1) was the IFL's only 145 pound champion. He is extremely fast with a fantastic submission game. He went 6-0 in the IFL with 5 submissions and a KO over Shad Lierley. Tamura is a Shooto veteran with wins over top fighters Takeshi "Lion Takeshi" Inoue and a recent win over Ruminato Sato.

Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez- Benavidez is a strong prospect with an 8-0 record, with a recent win at Dream 5 over Junya Kudo. Martinez has a record of 12-2, with three straight wins.

Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks- Johny Hendricks is a former NCAA Champion wrestler with lightning fast takedowns. Hendricks won the 2005 and 2006 championships at 165 pounds. He placed second in 2007. Haskins will want to keep the fight standing or look for a submission off his back. Haskins has a 4-1 record. Hendricks is 3-0 with two TKO's and a D'Arce choke victory.

PRELIMS (UN-TELEVISED)

Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski- This is IFL star Bart Palaszewski's first bout in the WEC. The hard puncher will be looking for a knockout. Karalexis had three wins in the WEC before losing to Ed 9mm Ratliff.
Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik


(Miguel Torres pictured)

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!