WEC 43 Thoughts

Goddamn, I love this promotion. I really hope whatever financial issues it is encountering are resolved. I can understand how a major MMA promotion not named "UFC" could struggle, and there are a lot of arguments out there for the dissolution of WEC into it's big brother.

If ever there was a statement made to keep this promotion alive and well, it came Saturday night. Even the lightweight division, which I feel doesn't hold the same merit as UFC's 155 lb. division, shone as bright as ever in the way of yet another fight of the year contender.

WEC is an excellent promotion. I'm conflicted about merging its weight divisions into the UFC. Sure, it will give the fighters more exposure, but how much when you have four additional divisions to promote? How do you balance those scales?

A topic for another time. Onto the fights!

Angel of Breath. Cheesy starter, but that's what Damacio Page was as he applied that choke on Will Campuzano. A hot start that ended just as quickly as it started just over a minute into the first round. Page continues to ascend the ranks and make a strong statement for himself as a future bantamweight title contender. He also just handed Campuzano his first career loss. Though coming to a fighter of Page's caliber, that's hardly a slam on the newcomer.

To the Wire. The Assuncao/Jabouin fight was nice and competitive between both guys. Jabouin clearly won the first round by knocking down Assuncao twice, but Assuncao's positional advantages and submission attempt in the subsequent rounds locked this victory for him. Both Rafael Assuncao and Yves Jabouin looked solid throughout. I don't agree with one of the judges giving Jabouin all three rounds, unless he/she really ranks defense above control. Bizarre.

I Could Barely Pronounce your Name Before. Now I'll Never Forget it. Wow, this has gotta be a contender for upset of the year. Mackens Semerzier just made a name for himself by submitting a guy with a 12-1 record (now 12-2), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, the last IFL featherweight champion, a guy who has trained with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, taught Georges St-Pierre some BJJ trickery, and also just happens to be the third best featherweight in the world. Y'know, behind the guy with the title and kid from California. That was impressive. Was it a Serra-esque fluke or the arrival of something big in WEC? I can't wait to find out.

The Streak Stays Alive. Dave Jansen and Rich Crunkilton really gutted it out in a solid three-round tilt. Both guys were clearly breathing fumes at the dead end, but man did they stick it out with each other. Crunkilton looked tired at the end, but other than that showed no signs of cage rust after a lengthy lay-off. Good effort by both guys. Incidentally, what was up with the referee missing the obvious low blow/reaction and then standing Jansen up over and over again? Is he trying to top Steve Mazzagatti for bad calls?

Damn. Scott Jorgensen looked absolutely nasty in his TKO win over Noah Thomas. It was short, sweet and brutalicious. Nice escape from a triangle choke that hearkened to Anderson Silva's win over Travis Lutter... only not as effective, clearly.

And that was for the Interim Title! With their sixth title fight this year, WEC managed to produce their third fight of the year contender alongside Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki and Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber II. These guys put on a clinic, utilizing every possible element in MMA's various arts, and pushing each other to the limit. Honestly, this could have gone either way on the scorecards. The second and third rounds clearly went to Henderson, who controlled very well from in the guard and landed some solid shots. The latter rounds were owned by Cerrone, who stepped up his game and got more prolific with his ground game and submission attempts. Who won the first round? Such a tough question, as it could easily be considered a draw... I go with Henderson, though. Why? While Cerrone attempted several submissions, Henderson spent a greater amount of time vertical, trying to rain down blows from above. An argument could be made either way. But even Cerrone himself has admitted he felt Henderson won the fight. I'd be hard-pressed to argue a better fight for the calendar year, thus far. Aside from the aforementioned WEC title fights, the only other one that even comes close is Sanchez vs. Guida. Amazing performances. Amazing resilience. Both guys deserve all the accolades they receive for that gem. As for Jamie Varner... he may not have the Cowboy riding into town, but he still has a fight on his hands.

All in all, a night of very competitive, entertaining fights with some surprising finishes. This is a card that any promotion would be proud to put on, and it makes a massive case for WEC to continue living independent of UFC. I'll be watching that main event over and over for quite a few months to come.

As for the main card fights themselves, I whiffed on the main event but called the correct winners for each of the other fights. Here are the stats:

Event Total: 3-1 (0.750)
Career Total: 16-9 (0.640)

Now with the announcement of WEC's intentions to run monthly fight cards starting with November's card, which is headlined by Mike Brown's third title defense against Jose Aldo, I'm really excited. I plan on soaking up these free fights as often as possible, and stand by my claim that WEC has consistently put on the most entertaining fights this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for UFC's little brother, and hope it stays strong.

Especially after a night like this!