As promised the WEC’s 47th show, Bowles vs. Cruz was an explosive affair. Blood, sweat, and tears stained the cage as the show went on. A new champion was crowned, a former champion destroyed, and a legend retired. WEC 47 shown on free TV delivered for the fans as always. More importantly, the fights proved to fans that in this sport anything can happen. At any given moment a fight may end, a star can be born, and a career can be forever broken. Upset was the theme of the night as the two underdogs in the Co-Main and Main Event of the evening prevailed.
The night began with a highly anticipated bout between Armenian born up and comer Karen Darabedyan who took on tough-as-nails IFL veteran Bart Palaszewski. Karen trains with world class grappling instructor Gokor Chivichyan out of the Hayastan Grappling gym in North Hollywood. The bout began with Darabedyan throwing a plethora of jabs and right crosses stunning Palaszewski, then he promptly dropped down for a takedown and continued to hammer Palaszewski on the ground. It looked as though the referee would stop the fight until Palaszewski swiveled his hips and slapped on a slick armbar. Karen fought it and attempted to escape but it was too deep and he had no choice but to tap. This fight showed the potential of Karen Darabedyan but more importantly showed his inexperience as a 23 year old fighter. Bart Palaszewski on the other hand showed great composure and calm under pressure and displayed why he was the veteran coming into the fight.
Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis fought a very technical three round fight, and garnered boos from the crowd of 8,345 Ohio fans. Most of the fight was fought in the clinch with each fighter trying to outmuscle the other. These two were very evenly matched and I myself saw the fight as a majority draw.
The third bout of the night saw MMA legend Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver return to cage after four consecutive losses. He fought the crafty Cuban-American and always soft-spoken Javier Vasquez. The two exchanged in the beginning of the first round with Vasquez later taking Pulver down and securing a full mount. Pulver did attempt to reverse Vasquez but was unsuccessful.Vasquez secured an armbar from mount and cranked it until Pulver was forced to tap. It seemed as though Pulver had injured his arm badly, it was later stated that nothing was broken. After the fight Jens thanked the fans and sobbed as he waved goodbye to sport he helped pioneer. At the post-fight press conference the fighters in attendance commented on the impact Lil’ Evil had on the sport. If Jens has retired, he has done so a legend.
The Co-Main Event saw former Bantamweight Champion Miguel Angel Torres take on Team Alpha Male’s Joseph Benavidez. Torres had a tremendous reach advantage on the shorter stockier Benavidez. Coming off a first round KO from Brian Bowles, Torres looked to climb back to the top with an impressive win over the always fast paced and hungry Benavidez. Benavidez had other plans, the two began slowly, sizing each other up with Benavidez landing the cleaner strikes. In the second minute Benavidez faked a big overhand right and shot in for a clean double leg takedown. From there he worked a furious ground and pound and sliced Miguel’s head open with a well placed elbow. The gash was so gigantic that it blurred Miguel’s vision, as he tried to sit up Benavidez sunk in a perfectly timed and tight guillotine choke to end the fight. Pictures from the hospital later showed that Torres’s cut was so deep, the white of his skull was clearly visible. It is expected that Benavidez will take on the Dominick Cruz in a rematch for Cruz’s newly awarded Bantamweight title.
In the Main Event, Brian Bowles looked to make his first defense of the Bantamweight title he had won from Miguel Torres in August of 2009. In the first round the taller and lankier Cruz used superior footwork and angles to tag Bowles, easily taking the first round 10-9. More of the same came in round two, again Cruz utilized his reach with much better angles and head movement. Bowles seemed to be looking for that one power punch he landed on Torres, but Cruz was nowhere to be found. As the second round ended the WEC went for a commercial break but swiftly returned to the fight as it was announced that Bowles could not continue due to a broken hand. Cruz was awarded the Bantamweight title and celebrated his triumph with his mother beside him in the cage, capping off another fantastic WEC show. Fans should expect more of the same when it comes to the WEC. However, my question is whether fans will be willing to dish out the 50 dollars for the next WEC making their debut on Pay Per View. Only time will tell.
Arman Farhangdoust
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March 8 2010
MMA Rankings:
Heavyweight:
1. Fedor Emelianenko - Strikeforce
2. Brock Lesnar - UFC
3. Frank Mir - UFC
4. Cain Velasquez - UFC
5. Shane Carwin - UFC
6. Junior Dos Santos - UFC
7. Alistair Overeem - Dream
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - UFC
9. Brett Rogers - Strikeforce
10. Todd Duffee - UFC
Light Heavyweight:
1. Lyoto Machida - UFC
2. Mauricio Rua - UFC
3. Gegard Mousasi - Strikeforce
4. Quinton Jackson - UFC
5. Rashad Evans - UFC
6. Randy Couture - UFC
7. Dan Henderson - Strikeforce
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - UFC
9. Jon Jones - UFC
10. Brandon Vera - UFC
Middleweight:
1. Anderson Silva - UFC
2. Dan Henderson - Strikeforce
3. Chael Sonnen - UFC
4. Demian Maia - UFC
5. Vitor Belfort - UFC
6. Jake Shields - Strikeforce
7. Wanderlei Silva - UFC
8. Rich Franklin - UFC
9. Jorge Santiago - Sengoku
10. Mamed Khalidov - Sengoku
Welterweight:
1. Georges St. Pierre - UFC
2. Jon Fitch - UFC
3. Thiago Alves - UFC
4. Josh Koscheck - UFC
5. Paulo Thiago - UFC
6. Dan Hardy - UFC
7. Paul Daley - UFC
8. Nick Diaz - Strikeforce
9. Matt Hughes - UFC
10. Matt Serra - UFC
Lightweight:
1. BJ Penn - UFC
2. Frankie Edgar - UFC
3. Shinya Aoki - Dream
4. Kenny Florian - UFC
5. Gilbert Melendez - Strikeforce
6. Gray Maynard - UFC
7. Tyson Griffin - UFC
8. Eddie Alvarez - Bellator
9. Ben Henderson - WEC
10. Kamal Shalorus - WEC
Featherweight:
1. Jose Aldo - WEC
2. Mike Thomas Brown - WEC
3. Urijah Faber - WEC
4. Bibano Fernandez - Dream
5. Mark Hominick - WEC
6. Manny Gamburyan - WEC
7. Joe Warren - Dream
8. Joachim Hansen - Dream
9. Javier Vasquez - WEC
10. Joe Soto - Bellator
Bantamweight:
1. Dominick Cruz- WEC
2. Joseph Benavidez - WEC
3. Brian Bowles - WEC
4. Miguel Torres - WEC
5. Damacio Page - WEC
6. Jeff Curran - WEC
7. Antonio Banuellos - WEC
8. Rani Yahya - WEC
9. Abel Cullum - King of the Cage
10. Manny Tapia - Free Agent
Pound-for-Pound:
1. Fedor Emelianenko - Strikeforce
2. Georges St. Pierre - UFC
3. BJ Penn - UFC
4. Gegard Mousasi - Strikeforce
5. Anderson Silva - UFC
6. Lyoto Machida - UFC
7. Jose Aldo - WEC
8. Dominick Cruz - WEC
9. Mauricio Rua - UFC
10. Urijah Faber - WEC
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