Anthony Pettis wins by unanimous decision over Ben Henderson in WEC Lightweight Belt with the Showtime Kick!

Anthony Pettis wins by unanimous decision over Ben Henderson in WEC Lightweight Belt with the Showtime Kick!




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

WEC will merge with UFC

The timing could not have been more perfect for WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

UFC Presents: The Best of WEC [Blu-ray]






Long before UFC president Dana White announced on Thursday that the two promotions had merged, Henderson's sights were set on the largest stage in mixed martial arts.







For Henderson the plan was simple: defeat top contender Anthony Pettis -- the two are scheduled to meet Dec. 16 in Glendale, Ariz. -- then petition UFC officials for a roster spot.








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Competing in UFC was a no-brainer for "Smooth." It has always been his intent to be the world's best 155-pound fighter.







That goal is now within reach. If Henderson defeats Pettis, he gets a shot at UFC lightweight gold. Frankie Edgar will defend his UFC 155-pound title Jan. 1 against Gray Maynard in Las Vegas.







"My goal from the very beginning was to be the best fighter on the planet, and I will go wherever I have to go to get that done," Henderson told ESPN.com. "You and I know that the best fighters on the planet fight in the UFC, so I want to fight in the UFC."World Extreme Cagefighting, Vol. 10: Bragging Rights







Despite the respectable talent in its ranks, all WEC weight classes higher than 145 pounds have long been regarded as a notch below those in UFC. Not even the success former WEC standouts Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann and Carlos Condit have experienced in UFC changed the public opinion.







Henderson is aware that the general MMA fan base considers WEC fighters inferior to those in UFC. He doesn't share that view and is eager to prove it wrong.







"Any former WEC fighter would be lying if he said he didn't have at least a small chip in his shoulder of not having the mainstream recognition of a UFC fighter, especially when taking on a UFC 155-pounder," said Henderson, who is 12-1-0. "Now here is our chance to get that mainstream recognition, not so much in the 145 and 135 weight classes, because those are already considered the best in the world."







While mainstream recognition has eluded Henderson and other WEC fighters, mixed martial artists who currently compete in UFC are respectful of the talent that exists in their sister promotion.







The addition of WEC fighters has made life in UFC's lightweight division more difficult. Respect for the WEC's 155-pound division is so strong that no UFC fighter has expressed opposition to Henderson or Pettis receiving an immediate title shot.







The common opinion is that WEC lightweights won't be an easy out for anyone in UFC.







"They can compete in the UFC without a doubt," UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar told ESPN.com. "The guys at the top, Henderson and Pettis? I believe so."







Bonnar, who has called several WEC fights on Versus, believes timing is a key factor in the Henderson-Pettis winner landing a UFC lightweight title shot.








Before Benson Henderson can even begin thinking about challenging for the UFC lightweight title, he'll have to get by Anthony Pettis.



"As far as the title picture is concerned, some might say, 'Why don't they do what they did with [former Strikeforce middleweight/welterweight champ] Jake Shields and make [Henderson or Pettis] win at least one fight and maybe bring 'em in for a title shot?'" Bonnar said. "But when you look at the [UFC lightweight] division, after the Frankie [Edgar]-Gray [Maynard] title fight, there really isn't a clear-cut No. 1 challenger."







UFC lightweight Kurt Pellegrino agrees. He believes Henderson and Pettis are as deserving of a UFC title shot as anyone.







"All the top-10 lightweight fighters in the WEC are contenders in the UFC as well," Pellegrino told ESPN.com. "If Anthony Pettis is fighting for a title, he had to go through the ranks and beat people.







"His last fight was against Shane Roller, who is supposed to be this phenomenal wrestler and a Marc Laimon jiu-jitsu guy. Anthony Pettis wasn't even taken down by him -- that was Shane Roller's best quality," he said.







"If Henderson beats Pettis, then unify the belts. Let the winner of Edgar-Maynard and Henderson fight. If you have the belt in WEC and come into the UFC and beat everybody up, then you deserve to be the undisputed champion."







Landing a title shot is one thing; winning it is another. At least one man other than Henderson believes the current WEC champ will hold lightweight unification gold after the smoke clears.







"Ben has world-class wrestling credentials, he's shown that he has good jiu-jitsu and he can strike," Henderson's manager, Malki Kawa, told ESPN.com. "At the end of the day, if Ben beats Anthony Pettis, he will prove that he very much deserves a UFC title shot.







"He beats the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard winner hands-down. What is it that they have in their games that Ben doesn't? The only thing they have over him, and I respect both of them immensely, is their experience in UFC."







Henderson has every intention of becoming UFC lightweight champion, but that goal is on hold for the moment. A loss to Pettis, which isn't beyond the realm of possibility, will quash any UFC title aspirations Henderson currently harbors -- maybe permanently.







The WEC titleholder isn't looking past Pettis (11-1-0). Henderson considers this fight the most important of his career.







"I'm not thinking about the Edgar-Maynard fight at all," Henderson said. "I have Pettis to deal with; I have to make sure I am ready for that dance.







"That's the only thing I am concentrating on right now. Whatever comes after that will take care of itself."







F. McNeil covers MMA and boxing for ESPN.com

Cruz Wins WEC Bantamweight Title ? Benavidez Wins againest Torres ...

Cruz Wins WEC Bantamweight Title; Benavidez Tops Torres

By F Curreri
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Those who labeled Dominick Cruz to be a light puncher must eat their words following his masterful performance night against WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles. The 4-to-1 underdog battered Bowles over two rounds with crisp punching combinations and leg kicks, and Cruz went back to his corner at the end of round two and did not return for a third round. The unbeaten champion told doctors his hand was broken and opted not to continue fighting, conceding his title to his tearful and overjoyed challenger.
“The first punch I threw in the fight I broke my (right) hand,” Bowles explained afterward. “It threw me off. I kind of started thinking about that instead of focusing on fighting. You know, I broke my hand in my last fight so I was thinking about that.”
Bowles, who had finished all eight of his foes leading up to his first title defense, was supposed to be the more explosive puncher. Cruz, meanwhile, was hailed for his elusiveness but had not knocked out or finished an opponent in his past four fights. But Cruz’s unorthodox, catch-me-if-you-can style continually frustrated Bowles, bloodied his nose and had him winging punches in a desperate attempt to try and put away his nimble adversary. But with each passing minute, Cruz’s domination seemed to grow, culminating with a potent four- or five-punch combination to Bowles’ head in the second round that sent the barrel-chested Georgian retreating and then down to the canvas courtesy of a hard Cruz leg kick.
Bowles had his moments, occasionally tagging Cruz with a hard right hand, but Cruz would just shrug it off and kept darting in and out. He kept the champ even more off-balance by scoring two takedowns. The Bowles who had been steamrolling opponents looked out of his element.
The ending was anti-climactic and stunning.
“We did it baby! You’re a world champion, baby!” Cruz’s cornermen yelled while hoisting him on their shoulders.
In the cage, Cruz choked up and thanked his biggest fan.
“This belt is for my mom, without her I wouldn’t be able to do this,” he said with the belt fitted around his waist. “Brian Bowles is very good. He’s got heavy hands; he popped me in the mouth a few times. I just had to move a lot. That was my gameplan.”
In other action Saturday night:
Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez
Joseph Benavidez notched the biggest win of his career, tapping out a blood-soaked Miguel Torres with a guillotine choke midway into the second round. The Team Alpha Male product had controlled much of the fight by landing solid punches and scoring two takedowns. Torres, who had stalked opponents in the past, opted for more of a stick-and-move strategy to utilize his significant reach advantage. Torres (37-3) had scored with leg kicks, heel strikes to the body, and seemed to be finding a rhythm with his jab when Benavidez (12-1) scored a takedown and then opened a deep gash on Torres’ forehead with a hard elbow.
As blood gushed from Torres’ head, covering his chest and face, Benavidez scrambled and locked in a deep guillotine choke, forcing the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former WEC bantamweight champion to tap out at 2 minutes 57 seconds of round two.
“I just went in there with a gameplan,” said Benavidez, who has now positioned himself for a possible shot at the WEC title. “I have been waiting for this fight forever. So I was totally prepared.”
Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
“Pulver! Pulver! Pulver!”
Jens Pulver walked into the Octagon tonight with a dark intensity that was powerful enough to make you think, “The old Jens is back.” The Jens of 2001. The Jens who once ruled the UFC’s lightweight division. Lil’ evil.
He had waited years to clash with Javier Vazquez. The stakes were high: The loser of their fight would likely be making his last appearance in the WEC. What followed was a thrilling three minutes and 40 seconds between an accomplished striker and a decorated grappler. Vazquez, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, scored a takedown; Pulver fished for a guillotine and eventually scored a reversal. Jens stood up, but his fellow southpaw scored another takedown on the former Boise State University wrestler. Vazquez took Pulver’s back but Pulver again reversed the position, prompting fans to spontaneously erupt in more “Pulver! Pulver! Pulver!” chants.
Pulver couldn’t get off many punches. Vazquez again took him down, passed guard, and trapped one of Pulver’s arms. From the so-called “Beatdown” position, Vazquez rained down some short elbows and punches, raising a large lump on Pulver’s forehead. Vazquez then transitioned to Pulver’s back, then to mount, and then trapped Pulver in a tight armbar.
A hush came over the pro-Pulver crowd. Some booed Vazquez and the outcome.
“I’m just as big of a fan of Jens Pulver as anybody else,” said Vazquez, who improved to 14-4. “I couldn’t have scripted it any better.”
Pulver held his right arm and winced. He jumped onto the Octagon post, pointed into the crowd, and blew a kiss and touched his heart. It was his thank you to the fans who continue to support him, even after losing five straight fights and seven of his past eight.
“It’s over,” Pulver said. “I don’t know how many more times I can keep crying in front of y’all. I don’t know how many more times I can put y’all through this again.”
It had the somber mood of a retirement ceremony. Fans chanted “Pulver! Pulver! Pulver!” and
“You’re always a legend, Jens!”
So is this the end of the road for the 34-year-old fan favorite?
Pulver declined to say, holding true to his statements before the fight that he will not give a retirement speech or announcement in the cage, but will simply walk away from the sport without ceremony or notice.
L.C. Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
For three rounds, even the most passionate fight fan had to be thinking: Please make it stop. “It” being this clinchfest between two of the featherweight division’s toughest fighters. How to score round one? Toss a coin. The fighters spent almost the entire round in the clinch, landing some light blows and knees here and there. At gunpoint you should probably have given the round to Davis, since he seemed to land the more solid shots – the difference perhaps being a few of his foot stomps. Yes, foot stomps.
In round two, fans at Nationwide Arena were further victimized. Taurovicius, a Lithuanian who lives and trains in Long Island, New York, finally scored a takedown and did nothing on top. Sadly, that takedown won Taurosevicius the round on two judges’ scorecards, since little else of note happened.
The crowd broke into some boos, but the ugliness continued in the third round. Taurosevicius landed a solid right hand and then more clinching ensued. It was a fight that played out like a pummeling drills practice. The lull was briefly interrupted when Taurosevicius buckled Davis with a leg kick, but Davis followed up with a key takedown. Taurosevicius then tied up Davis in rubber guard and landed short punches. When it was all over, the judges scored a majority decision for Davis by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 29-29. Davis exalted in the ring and a lot of fans probably breathed a sigh of relief.
Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
For the opening four minutes of this bout, Darabedyan was pitching a shutout. He swarmed Bart Palaszewski with punches and forced him to retreat against the cage. He took “Bartimus” down and smothered him with ground and pound shots. Yet as the final 30 seconds of the round ticked away, Palaszewski pulled off a stunning armbar that ended the fight. The end came at 4:40 of round one, pushing Palaszewski’s record to 34-13. Darabedyan, who was coming off a big win over “Razor” Rob McCullough, fell to 9-2.
“He was clipping me,” a jubilant Palaszewski said. “(But) he kept leaving his arms out. My corner was yelling at me telling me to spin, go for the armbar or the triangle.”
Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George
Scott Jorgensen continued his march up the bantamweight rankings, moving to 5-1 in the WEC with a 31-second submission of Chad George.
The bout started, George shot on Jorgensen, and the former PAC-10 wrestling champ sprawled and secured ideal front headlock position and never let go.
“I capitalized quick,” Jorgensen said afterward. “I didn’t think I had it first, but then I got a little bit mean and got the tap.”
Chad Mendes vs. Erik Koch
In a battle of unbeatens, wrestling standout Chad Mendes used takedowns and top control to score a unanimous decision victory over the very scrappy Erik Koch. Though Mendes is said to possess considerable punching power, he wanted no part of a standup war with Koch, who repeatedly peppered him with punching combinations for the limited time he was on his feet. In fact, Koch held his hands dangerously low throughout the fight, inviting Mendes to charge him or shoot on him. It seemed that Koch was looking for a big knee or high kick, and in the third round – likely knowing he had dropped the first two rounds on the judges’ scorecards – he scored with a high kick that opened a deep gash over Mendes’ right eye that bled profusely and threatened to stop the fight. However, the doctor surveyed the cut and allowed it to continue, and Koch immediately loaded up on high kicks and punching combinations, particularly toward the right eye, in a desperate quest to stop the fight. Late in the fight, Mendes was able to score a takedown and suffocate Koch to earn the unanimous decision by scores of 30-27 across the board.
“I’m lucky they didn’t stop it. When you’re going against someone as good as Koch, you have to stick with what you’re good at,” said Mendes, a Division I runner-up wrestler in college. “I wanted to stand and bang, but that guy’s tough.”
Anthony Pettis vs. Danny Castillo
Following a referee break for a low blow, trainer Duke Roufus counseled his 24-year-old fighter, Anthony Pettis.
“Pump the jab and follow up with a kick,” Roufus instructed him.
Moments later, when the action resumed, lightweight Danny Castillo was lying unconscious on the mat. Just like that, at 2:57 of round one, Pettis’s night was over and he had rebounded from a disappointing split decision loss to Bart Palaszewski.
“This fight was important. I just lost a fight. I had some injuries that I had to take care of,” said Pettis, who claimed he was not fully recovered from shoulder surgery when he faced Bartimus.
Castillo (8-3) scored a takedown early in round one, but then retreated and let Pettis back to his feet, perhaps because Pettis is slippery and tricky on the ground. Choosing to stand with Pettis (9-1) would prove a mistake, marking the California’s second straight loss in the WEC. The high kick that Castillo fell victim to was a dead-on, full blast shin to the face and chin.
Leonard Garcia vs. George Roop
A questionable referee point-deduction cost George Roop victory in an emotionally-charged, wildly entertaining scrap with veteran Leonard Garcia that was worthy of Fight of The Night. In a fight that both gamers needed to win badly, Roop walked into the Octagon with a swagger and looked nothing like a man who only two months earlier had been battered by Eddie Wineland and nearly knocked out. That bout was Roop’s first at bantamweight, and the 6-footer declared the experiment over and with a meager 700-calories-a-day behind him he delivered what just might have been the finest performance of his career against one of the most dangerous featherweights in the game.
Round one was a dandy and it would be hard to condemn anyone who scored it one way or the other. Both men scored with kicks, with Garcia seemingly trying to set up his monstrous right hand. Out of nowhere, Roop – known primarily as a striker – leaped in with a textbook double-leg takedown and penetrated in a manner reminiscent of one of Brock Lesnar or Josh Koscheck’s takedowns (this is the same George Roop who didn’t attempt a single takedown against Wineland). Garcia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, seized the opportunity to slap on a tight guillotine choke onto Roop’s giraffe-like neck. Garcia was persistent, squeezing for a minute or more, but Roop fought free. Garcia eventually returned to his feet but not before Roop scored with a few shots on top.
Back on their feet, Roop continued with his leg kick assaults and Garcia answered with a solid right hand. Roop responded by clipping the Greg Jackson protégé with a right hand and a front kick, prompting the iron-chinned Garcia to shake his head, “no,” signaling that the blow didn’t faze him.
After a first round that was a coin-toss, Roop started the second stanza by cracking Garcia with two more solid right hands. Garcia charged forward, winging punches, and Roop gestured for him to bring it. Roop landed another clean shot, stopping Garcia in his tracks, and soon put Leonard on his back yet again with another textbook double leg. Garcia again attempted a guillotine in vain. With Garcia on the bottom, Roop attempted a knee that appeared to hit Garcia in the chest. The ref, apparently believing the knee was to the head area, immediately stood both men up and warned Roop.
Back on their feet, Roop clipped Garcia with another crisp right hand, then a jab. Garcia answered with a solid left jab, but Roop all three judges would score the second round for the transplanted Las Vegan.
In the third round, Garcia scored with a leg kick good, and then another. Roop scored with a partial high kick and again scored a double leg takedown and penetrated clear across the cage. Garcia soon got back to his feet. Roop scored with a punch and Garcia let loose a fistic flurry of his own.
Then came a pivotal moment in the contest: Roop landed a kick in Garcia’s groin area, causing Garcia to wince. It was not one of the harder low blows any seasoned MMA fan has witnessed. Garcia didn’t need 30 seconds to regroup and seemed fine. But the ref deducted a point from Roop.
When the action resumed, Roop again scored a takedown. Garcia got back to his feet and scored with a right hand.
The judges’ scores were all over the board. One scored it 29-27 for Roop. Another saw it as 29-27 for Garcia. And yet another deemed it 28-28, making the fight a split draw.
Fans greeted the announcement with a heavy chorus of boos.
“It was just a fun fight,” Garcia said. “I say let us go one more round and figure it out.”
“We can go another two (rounds),” Roop said. “Let’s make it a championship fight and give the fans what they want to see.”
Courtney Buck vs. Fredson Paixao
Do not let Fredson Paixao take you down. Do not let Fredson Paixao pass your guard and take your back with both hooks in. Because when those three things happen, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion is likely to choke you unconscious, which is exactly what he did at 2:39 of the first stanza to Courtney Buck. It was a brief and predominately tentative affair until Buck (6-3) attempted a leg kick and Paixao (9-3, 1 no contest) pounced for a quick takedown, setting into motion the fateful conclusion.
It was Paixao’s first win in the WEC following a decision loss to Wagnney Fabiano and a no contest against Cole Province.
Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir
Lamas revved up the Ohio crowd early with a wicked knee that wowed almost everyone in the arena and left Casimir staring up at the big screen projector to discover what had happened to him minutes earlier. A competitive standup battle dramatically ended when Lamas faked an attack and charged at Casimir, who dropped in for a takedown and absorbed a brutal head-snapping knee that sent Casimir’s mouthpiece flying and knocked the soft-spoken Frenchman out cold. The fight was called at 3 minutes 43 seconds of round one, improving Lamas to 8-1, 3-1 in the WEC. Casimir, a submission specialist who made his organizational debut and had won 15 of 16 previous bouts, fell to 19-6-2.

WEC 46 MMA fight Urijah Fabor returns !

Cagewriter will have full coverage of the WEC lightweight title fight between Ben Henderson and Jamie Varner from Arco Arena in Sacramento. WEC 46 also marks the return of former featherweight champs, Mike Brown and Urijah Faber. With Faber, a Sacramento-native on the card, the WEC expects a crowd in excess of 9,000.




"I feel like I am a little bit faster, and a little bit all over stronger," Faber told News10 in Sacramento. "But for me it is more than just being big, it is about being athletic."



Faber is returning from a seven-month absence. He suffered a broken right hand and a dislocated thumb on his left hand in a loss at WEC 41 to Mike Brown.


Jamie Varner (155) v. Ben Henderson (154.5) - WEC lightweight title

Raphael Assuncao (146) v. Urijah Faber (145.5) - Featherweight

Dave Jansen (156) v. Kamal Shalorus (155) -Lightweight

Mike Brown (146) v. Anthony Morrison (146) - Featherweight

Mackens Semerzier (144.5) v. Deividas Taurosevicius (146)- Featherweight



NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD

Akitoshi Tamura (135) v. Charlie Valencia (134) - Bantamweight

Wagnney Fabiano (136) v. Clint Godfrey (135.5) - Bantamweight

Bryan Caraway (146) v. Mark Hominick (146) - Featherweight

George Roop (135.5) v. Eddie Wineland (135.5) - Bantamweight

Will Campuzano (136) v. Coty Wheeler (136) - Bantamweight

WEC 45 highlights , who is going to win ? Cerrone or Ratcliff ? or Strikeforce: Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez ?

WEC

Donald Cerrone isn’t going to be named mixed martial arts Fighter of the Year, except, perhaps, by his family.
He probably won’t get a vote for it, either. He needs a win over Ed Ratcliff on Saturday at WEC 45 at The Pearl at The Palms simply to end the year with a break-even mark.
But if you’re the type that likes jaw-dropping action just about every time out, then Cerrone is most definitely your man.
More From Kevin Iole

Cerrone entered 2009 with a 9-0 record, 10-0 if you count a 2007 victory that was erased and changed to a no contest when he tested positive for a diuretic. He goes into the Ratcliff fight with a 10-2 record, but there are few fighters on the World Extreme Cagefighting roster other than featherweight champion Jose Aldo who are more routinely exciting than Cerrone.
His loss to Ben Henderson in October is being hailed by some as the 2009 Fight of the Year. His controversial defeat to bitter – perhaps hated – rival Jamie Varner in January was Fight of the Night and was another one that was stunning in its brutality.
And he closed 2008 with a Fight of the Night effort in a win over “Razor” Rob McCullough.
Yet, as much as he’s become a crowd favorite, the crowd has little impact upon him as he’s fighting. He’s a fierce competitor who is constantly looking for a finish and that, more than trying to get a rise out of the audience, is what fuels him.
“I think I more feed off my opponent than anything else,” Cerrone said. “When I feel him getting weaker and tired, I’m more motivated to push harder and keep going forward. I really don’t feed off the crowd. You don’t even know the crowd’s there, to be honest. It’s crazy.
“It’s hard to explain. You see them when you walk out, but once you start fighting, you have no idea (that they’re there). You’re so into the zone and focused on what you’re doing you don’t realize it.”
His fight with Henderson was an MMA classic that featured all aspects of the sport: There were huge punches and kicks landed, numerous submission attempts and fast scrambles.
Henderson won a close decision that was hotly disputed. Cerrone, a blunt speaker who never hesitates to say what’s on his mind, oddly didn’t disagree.
He said he thought Henderson won the fight, despite public sentiment that disagreed. In his view, the bout came down to how the first round was judged. Cerrone had a series of near-submissions, but Henderson managed to fight all of them off to survive.
“With the judging now, if you’re a wrestler and you’ve taken someone down and you control him, they’ll give you the fight,” Cerrone said. “It’s weird, but it’s like they don’t give you any points for submission attempts, points for getting up. It’s like a weird scoring system. It’s something they need to work on. But shoulda, woulda, coulda. There’s nothing I can do about it now.
“I had my 25 minutes to do what I could. I’m not going to complain and say I should have won. I’m going to be a humble guy and say, ‘Ben, good job. I think he won it,’ even if I don’t totally agree with it.”
One thing he’s certain of is the fact he’ll defeat Ratcliff on Saturday. He didn’t mince words in his assessment of how the fight will go.
Ratcliff, he said, isn’t in his league as a fighter and he’ll prove that on Saturday.
“I can pretty much win this fight anywhere,” Cerrone said. “My wrestling is better than his, my jiu-jitsu is way better than his and my standup, I’ve been doing it way longer than him. I don’t feel like he poses a threat to me in any area. I feel like I can end the fight pretty much where I want.”
He’ll get a much stiffer test if and when he gets the chance to meet Aldo, the dynamic featherweight champion. Cerrone isn’t planning a full-time move to 145, but said he can make the weight and would like to challenge several of the top featherweights.
That could set the possibility that he’ll fight for both the lightweight and the featherweight belt in 2010.
“That would be awesome,” Cerrone said. “But the bottom line in all of this is that I think it’s about big fights, more than anything else. I don’t want to fight guys that mean nothing. I want to take risks, to fight guys who are dangerous and who will get people talking. My whole motivation in this is to challenge myself and fight the best guys in the world.”

or

Strikeforce

When Strikeforce announced nearly one year ago its deal with Showtime and CBS, Josh Thomson, the promotion’s lightweight champion, was in the position to make himself a national star.
One year and two broken ankles later, Thomson has to chalk up 2009 as a learning experience.
“I learned that my career could be over at any time, and that you have to save your money,” said Thomson, who gets back into the cage on Saturday night for the final Showtime MMA event of the year. “It was frustrating. I was hoping to fight on CBS this year.”
More From D. Meltzer


Josh Thomson expects to go the distance when he faces Gilbert Melendez.(MMAWeekly)
His opponent at San Jose’s HP Pavilion is also a familiar one: Gilbert Melendez, who Thomson (16-2, 1 no-contest) meets in a rematch to unify Strikeforce’s split 155-pound title.
The two were good friends three years ago, trained together and never expected to fight each other. But they ended up as the top two lightweight fighters in the company and it became a natural match to make.
Melendez said that he’s not the type of person who can fight a friend, so he cut off the friendship.
“I have to dislike my opponent,” Melendez (16-2) said. “I’m not the guy who is going to high-five my opponent during the fight. It’s not me.” Thomson also learned a lesson about patience outside the cage that Melendez likely learned inside during their first match.
The first meeting between the two on June 27, 2008, also in San Jose, ended up as the biggest win of Thomson’s career. A significant underdog against a consensus-top 10 fighter at the time, Thomson was able to pick apart Melendez and negate his wrestling for five rounds in winning a straight 50-45 decision.
While watching the fight, it seemed like Thomson knew every move Melendez was going to make and when. Thomson had the edge in every aspect of the bout, handing Melendez the first and only one-sided defeat of his career.
“I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities that night,” said Melendez. “I had trouble sleeping because of it.”
But if Thomson’s instincts and premonitions were a key to winning the last fight, he said those same instincts tell him this fight is going to be nothing like the first one.
“I think it’s going to be way different,” said Thomson, known around MMA circles as “The Punk,” a nickname he admitted he probably once deserved but, at 31, is one he no longer embraces. “It will be nothing like the first fight.”
The only similarity is that he expects Saturday’s fight to go the distance.
“I think it’s going all five,” he said. “He’s super hard to knock out [Melendez has never been knocked out or submitted in his career]. He’s got a good chin. He’s got conditioning. I think my ground game is better than his. I got his back and was working for a choke in the fourth round (of the first fight).
“There’s a good chance it’ll go five rounds,” said the 27-year-old Melendez. “But I’ll be looking to finish. I’m not looking at sticking and moving and looking to win rounds. I’m going to throw every punch with bad intentions, with the idea of knocking him out.”
“What I learned from the last fight, if I’m going to be in this sport, I have to bring my ‘A’ game every time,” said Melendez, who trains out of his own gym in San Francisco. “Josh took it to me every round last time. Now I’m going to be more prepared. What I learned was I want to be a fighter and if I want to be a true fighter, I have to bring my ‘A’ game every time.”
Just minutes after their first match ended, Melendez asked for a rematch and Thomson said he was willing. With Thomson being a San Jose native and Melendez, who grew up in Southern California, but has lived in San Francisco for years, it was natural to bring the match back to San Jose, and it was set for April 11, when Strikeforce and Showtime did the first show on their contract.
Ten days before the fight, Thomson broke his fibula in training. He underwent surgery and had a plate and eight screws inserted. Thomson thought he had made a quick comeback and had signed for the next San Jose show, on August 15, on the Gina Carano vs. Cris “Cyborg” Santos undercard. But in late training, the fibula broke in a new place, just above the top screw, which he attributes to a rushed comeback in hopes of not missing such a high-profile show.
It has been 15 months since Thomson’s last fight. He admits when asked about potential ring rust that there is nothing you can do in training to replicate a real fight with thousands of people watching. But he’s modified his training. Thomson has eliminated most of his running to avoid unnecessary stress on the bad leg, trying to get his cardio from riding an Airdyne Exercise bicycle and lots of swimming. He also eliminated kicking hard in training until three weeks ago. But, he added, if he loses, none of this will serve as an excuse.
“I don’t want the media to make any excuses if I go out there and he beats me fair and square,” said Thomson. “I don’t want people thinking he beat me because I had all this time off or ring rust or whatever. I’m telling you right now, I’m 100 percent. I’m ready to fight. And if he beats me, it’s because he was the better fighter that night. There is nothing else to it. I want to make that clear to the media now, and to everyone who talks to me, and to all my friends, and even to the guy who comes up to me in an alley way and says something to me. I’m 100 percent. I’m ready to fight, and I’m ready to bring my title home.”
While Thomson was out of action, Melendez overwhelmed Rodrigo Damm to become interim lightweight champion. When the unification match in August fell through, Strikeforce brought in Mitsuhiro Ishida, who had handed Melendez his first career loss, via a close decision, on the 2007 New Year’s Eve show in Japan.
Melendez dominated Ishida in the rematch, winning via stoppage in the third round. But while he retained the interim belt, he never considered it a real championship, and wouldn’t even wear it to the ring in his last fight.
“That was awesome,” Melendez said about avenging his first loss. “I wanted to get them one off my chest for almost two years.”
But he said this is different, as he considered Ishida a fight that was close and he could have won, while admits he was completely dominated by Thomson. He also noted with Ishida, there was a simple game plan of keeping the fight standing, whereas Thomson you doesn’t have an obvious weakness to exploit.
Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker has talked about having the winner face Shinya Aoki, the lightweight champion of Dream, who is generally regarded as Japan’s top lightweight.
“The Japanese fighters don’t seem to do as well when they fight here,” said Thomson, about a match, where if he would win, would vault him up to near the top of most rankings in the division. “I match up well with him. I don’t think he can take me down and he can’t stand up with me.”ufcyahoo.com

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WEC : 42 Miguel Torres Vs Bowles delivers WEC Upset ?

In mixed martial arts, every second of every fight is like overtime in a hockey playoff game. Every fight can end at any moment. Miguel Torres found that out Sunday when he met Brian Bowles at the Hard Rock Hotel for the World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight championship. Torres was raining blows upon Bowles and backing his unbeaten challenger to the cage when, almost out of nowhere, Bowles let loose a right hook. In an instant, Torres was in a heap on the canvas and referee Josh Rosenthal was yanking Bowles off of him, completing the WEC’s second major upset in a year. Last year, Mike Brown accomplished a similar feat when he blew out the highly touted and heavily favored Urijah Faber in a featherweight title bout. Bowles won his belt by technical knockout at 3:57 of the first round, ending Torres’ 17-fight winning streak and definitively putting an end to any discussion that Torres should be considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. “I was on top a long time and it’s hard to keep pushing,” said Torres, who fell to 36-2. Bowles, now 8-0, is a wrestler who had torn through the best the WEC had to offer but was still a considerable underdog to Torres, who entered the fight at No. 4 in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings. From the moment the fight first became a possibility, Bowles exuded confidence. Torres had one of the most complete skill sets in MMA and his gym feats were legendary. There were reports that he was knocking down middleweights and was sparring evenly with heavyweights in his training camp, but Bowles never let it get to him. Even as he prepared to make the often long and lonely walk to the cage, Bowles was placid and confident. “I kind of confused myself back there, because even when it was time to go out to fight, I wasn’t nervous,” Bowles said. “I thought I had to psyche myself up.” But Bowles thought of elite fighters like ex-UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who never let his emotions get to him, and he maintained his cool demeanor. It paid off big-time when he was in the middle of a firefight with Torres bearing down for the kill. Torres is, by trade, a jiu-jitsu expert, but he also has great hands with knockout power in each. He landed several flush shots to Bowles’ chin, backing the one-time police officer toward the cage. It was the kind of scene seen many times in a Torres fight, the moment before he ended the bout. But instead of crumbling, Bowles set his feet and ripped off a right hand that probably ended the fight by itself. Torres dropped instantly to the mat and the fight had turned 180 degrees. Bowles pounced and landed 10 or 11 flush shots to the head before Rosenthal halted the carnage. The turnaround was stunning in its swiftness. “This is why we fight the fights,” WEC general manager Reed Harris said. “ … The level of competition is so high that anything can happen on any show.” Torres had to carry the promotion and was a familiar presence on the interview circuit, pitching the WEC in particular and MMA in general. He’s one of the most insightful, well-spoken fighters in the game, and he is frequently sought after by the media. But Torres suggested on Sunday that the demands on his time somehow contributed to his defeat. He said life will change for Bowles now that he holds the belt. “No excuses,” Torres said. “Brian is going to be a good champion, but he’ll see that the responsibilities that go along with being the champion are not easy.” Bowles, who had an ice pack on his left hand which he believed may have been broken, is willing to find out what it’s like. He’s legendary at his gym for his work ethic and has frequently been compared to ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin for his meticulous preparation. There may be more gifted fighters, but few are going to outwork Bowles. Bowles is hardly the most charismatic champion in the world, but the power in those fists will speak volumes. “He throws a lot of heat,” Torres said in admiration. “He has a lot of power in those hands.” Bowles listened to Torres speak with a placid look on his face and his head bowed. He wasn’t flamboyant or outspoken as a challenger, and now, after the biggest win of his career, he wasn’t about to change. He was asked how he planned to celebrate, but shrugged. He was going for X-rays and then said he’d hang out with his teammates. “I’m just going to enjoy this,” Bowles said, “and then get back to work.” The WEC has yet another blue-collar, power-punching champion in its stable. This one scored a dramatic and significant win just as when it looked like he was in trouble. Harris couldn’t have been thrilled to see his top draw get knocked out in the first round, but he paid tribute to a sport in which anything is possible at any time. “Things like this happen,” Harris said of the major upset. “It’s why MMA is so exciting. It’s why people watch. Anything can happen. A guy can lose every round and pull a submission out of nowhere. This kind of thing is what makes it such an exciting sport.” please comeback to view !

WEC fight Urijah Faber Vs Mike Brown

With the biggest fight in the history of the featherweight division coming up on Sunday, the question is what looms in the business future for World Extreme Cagefighting and the company’s most marketable fighter, Urijah Faber.

Sunday could be one of those perfect scenarios which only fall together on rare occasions. The former longtime champion and the company’s most popular fighter is attempting to regain the 145-lb. championship from the man who defeated him, Mike Brown, in his hometown of Sacramento.

But this rare instance of the top two fighters in the world in their division battling for the title isn’t getting the exposure that the ability of the two fighters and the stakes of the battle deserve.

It’s not anything lacking in the fighters or the story, but the lack of the initials “U-F-C” – the insignia that, at this point, seems to determine whether the majority of mixed martial arts fans are going to pay attention.

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Though WEC is a subsidiary of the same Zuffa corporation that runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Faber (22-2) is not as well known as Georges St. Pierre despite being equally marketable. Unlike the UFC’s champions, Brown (21-4) isn’t mobbed by fans everywhere he goes. It’s not a slight on WEC as much as it is the reality of the sport.

There will probably be more than a million people buying next month’s UFC 100 on pay-per-view, but the majority of those people will not be watching Sunday night’s free fight that, on paper, is every bit as good as any fight on that UFC card.

There were business reasons for how this situation developed. WEC, a small California promotion operating out of a casino near Fresno, was purchased by Zuffa at the end of 2006 – largely in the guise of being a completely different company so Zuffa could make a deal with the Versus network.

At the time, Versus was looking to make a deal with the International Fight League. The IFL had raided several key executives from UFC, and when UFC president Dana White is in a promotional war, he doesn’t exactly play by the Marquis of Queensbury rules. UFC had an exclusive contract with Spike TV, so the purchase of the WEC promotion allowed White to block the IFL from Versus without violating his deal.

From the start, the decision was made that the WEC would become the home to smaller fighters, and the organization lucked into the fact the Fresno promotion’s featherweight champion, Faber, possessed a star quality that few in the game have. That was great for both sides two years ago, since there was no avenue in the United States for anyone lighter than 155 pounds to make real money.

“Without the WEC, if you were a 145-pound fighter, you had to look at fighting as just a hobby,” Brown noted.

Faber, in particular, has come a long way in those two years. At UFC 73 – held at the Arco Arena during the summer of 2007 – when Faber was shown on the big screen in his hometown, well, crickets chirped almost as loud as the stunning lack of reaction. One year later, when Faber defended his title in the same building against Jens Pulver, he received a reaction comparable to the biggest stars in the sport. Faber vs. Pulver actually sold more tickets than the UFC event the year before, and nearly filled the arena with 12,682 fans, setting a record for a featherweight fight.

Now, when Faber is shown at a UFC event, the fans react like he’s one of the top fighters in the sport.

But his most recent fight, a second win over Pulver, on Jan. 25 – ending with a guillotine in just 1:34 – was viewed by 700,000 viewers. That’s less than half the number who watched The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Wednesday night. And that was the second biggest TV audience in WEC history, although Sunday’s number should be significantly higher.

With Faber as the challenger in his home arena, that attendance record is expected to fall. More then 10,000 tickets were sold by midweek, and if it doesn’t end up as a sellout, it will come just a hair shy.

If one year ago, starting with the first Faber vs. Pulver fight, you had put these same two fighters and their weight class on UFC pay-per-view shows, Sunday’s fight would be one of the biggest fights of the year to the general public. As it is, it’s only that to those who follow the sport closely.

“Well, I’d be getting paid a lot more if this was on pay-per-view,” Faber said. “But more people are going to see the fight on free television. But I hope pay-per-view is in the near future.” It’s Faber who over the past two-plus years has put the division on the map, with a combination of skill and hard work in the gym and – being one of the most charismatic fighters in the world – working tirelessly in promoting.

After his loss of the championship to Brown on Nov. 5 in Hollywood, Fla. (just minutes away from Brown’s home base in Coconut Creek), Faber flew to Mexico to promote a tape-delayed airing of the fight, talking to media and fans as if he was still champion, talking endlessly about getting ready for a title defense that he had already lost.

“I do a lot of interviews,” he noted. “I’ve been starting at 6 to 7 a.m., and then go back to sleep. I do a lot of promotional stuff. It’s part of the game. When you’re getting established, you have to do that.”

But at 30, the clock on his prime years is ticking – though he’s almost four years younger than Brown. He talks about the day when a featherweight fighter can earn the kind of money in MMA that a boxer at the same level or top pro athlete would earn. And some day, it’s inevitable that something close to that will happen. Whether it will be quick enough for Faber after paving the way to share in the spoils at the end is the question.

His chances, as well as those of featherweights around the world, increase markedly if he gets the championship back – and even more if he and his opponents in the division were to be exposed within the UFC brand.

As for the fight, it will be Brown’s power, both in grappling and one-punch power, against Faber’s speed and scrambling ability. The wild cards are Faber’s creativity and unorthodox offensive moves, and conditioning by the time it gets to the late rounds.

“I think I got out of position,” said Faber, who is a very slight favorite to regain the title after suffering his first loss at featherweight. “I knew exactly what I was doing. I did a spinning back elbow and got caught with a big punch.

“The last time I got caught for being careless. I sort of live by the sword and die by the sword.”

Besides his usual training regimen of four- to five-hour daily sessions, Faber went back to lifting weights, trying to increase size and power against Brown. The champion is stronger than most lightweights, and a physical monster against most featherweights.

“I’ve added a bit of weight in my legs. I’m eating a little better. Other than that, it’s the same stuff. I’ll probably have added two pounds of muscle, but that’s a big difference at this weight. I think I’ll have a little more power.”

“I felt fine in the clinch,” he added. “He’s a big guy for featherweight. I didn’t feel like he was overpowering me.”