- Seemed like we got more fights (7) than normal. Wonder what the count is for previous WEC cards?
- Jens looked to surprise Javier Vazquez with leg kicks, but all it did was get him onto the ground faster. I'm hoping this was his last fight, for his own good. His last win was nearly 3 years ago and his last competitive fight was 2 years ago.
- All WEC bantamweight contenders should have taken notes on Benavidez's strategy against Miguel Torres. Combo into takedowns and keep the pressure on in his guard.
- I have no idea what they do with Torres right now.
- Bowles did the right thing, given the situation he was in. He was clearly not prepared for Cruz's style and strategy and probably would have lost the decision. With his hand not completely effed up, he now has the opportunity to recover sooner, and possibly get an immediate rematch. We'll see how generous the WEC is feeling when they do the matchmaking.
- If he doesn't get the rematch, I think Benavidez/Bowles should be next for #1 contender.
- Bonnar was a refreshing change of pace from Mir. He has less bias when he commentates and isn't as easily excited as Frank.
Showing posts with label wec. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wec. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
WEC 45 - Aldo vs. Brown
Gonna switch up the format a bit and try and keep these shorter and start from the top down.
Easier for you guys to move on if you get bored and to get to the good stuff sooner.
Nothing ground breaking in this card except a new FW champ is crowned.
Jose Aldo defeats Mike Brown via TKO
What should have been a spirited competition between 2 top level FW's was in reality, a spectacular beatdown by the new champ, Jose Aldo. This kid is so good that he hasn't really had the match go anywhere he hasn't wanted it to be taken. His speed and reflexes have been overwhelming all his opponents. He's got the unique ability to throw strikes with such speed and accuracy that's frankly unheard of, in a cage fight. He's doing stuff straight out of a gym training session.
MTB didn't really have anything in his arsenal to neutralize Aldo, and I really think his strength and wrestling are good enough to take on most of the FW division. His pitter-patter jab wasn't really useful and I was looking for the 1-2 into a double leg to get some offense going.
At least something to distract Aldo long enough to get him down and work his top game.
It's a forgone conclusion that they need to do Aldo and Faber, just a matter of when.
Manvel Gamburyan defeats Leonard Garcia via Decision
I was expecting a KO from Garcia because he certainly had the timing and power to overwhelm Manny. "The Anvil" executed his standard gameplan: strike to clinch, and go for the throw and GNP. His strength in the clinch definitely proved the tide turner. He didn't really connect and hurt Garcia standing (even when "Bad Boy" dropped his hands) but he did enough to control him standing and on the ground.
Karen Darabedyan defeats Rob McCullough via Decision
Strictly a kickboxing affair, with not much else thrown in for flavor.
"Razor" Rob looked a bit flabby here and it showed in the later rounds when he slowed down. As usual, he comes out with some crisp, technical, strikes. But it wasn't enough once Karen got his timing down with Rob's kicks. Neither man really showed any killer instinct that a standup guy should really have, especially against another striker.
Sorry, cutting it short here.
Eager to move on to UFC 105.
Easier for you guys to move on if you get bored and to get to the good stuff sooner.
Nothing ground breaking in this card except a new FW champ is crowned.
Jose Aldo defeats Mike Brown via TKO
What should have been a spirited competition between 2 top level FW's was in reality, a spectacular beatdown by the new champ, Jose Aldo. This kid is so good that he hasn't really had the match go anywhere he hasn't wanted it to be taken. His speed and reflexes have been overwhelming all his opponents. He's got the unique ability to throw strikes with such speed and accuracy that's frankly unheard of, in a cage fight. He's doing stuff straight out of a gym training session.
MTB didn't really have anything in his arsenal to neutralize Aldo, and I really think his strength and wrestling are good enough to take on most of the FW division. His pitter-patter jab wasn't really useful and I was looking for the 1-2 into a double leg to get some offense going.
At least something to distract Aldo long enough to get him down and work his top game.
It's a forgone conclusion that they need to do Aldo and Faber, just a matter of when.
Manvel Gamburyan defeats Leonard Garcia via Decision
I was expecting a KO from Garcia because he certainly had the timing and power to overwhelm Manny. "The Anvil" executed his standard gameplan: strike to clinch, and go for the throw and GNP. His strength in the clinch definitely proved the tide turner. He didn't really connect and hurt Garcia standing (even when "Bad Boy" dropped his hands) but he did enough to control him standing and on the ground.
Karen Darabedyan defeats Rob McCullough via Decision
Strictly a kickboxing affair, with not much else thrown in for flavor.
"Razor" Rob looked a bit flabby here and it showed in the later rounds when he slowed down. As usual, he comes out with some crisp, technical, strikes. But it wasn't enough once Karen got his timing down with Rob's kicks. Neither man really showed any killer instinct that a standup guy should really have, especially against another striker.
Sorry, cutting it short here.
Eager to move on to UFC 105.
Monday, October 19, 2009
WEC 43 Cerrone vs. Henderson
I feel bad for people that don't get the Versus channel.
They're forced to search the internet for cards like this after people like me tell them they NEED to watch this card. Or they miss a fantastic card with fighters under 155 lbs., that would get anyone hooked on the little guys.
Note that the matches reviewed are from the replay of the event.
1. Damacio Page defeats Will Campuzano via Submission
If the Tasmanian Devil were a fighter, he would fight like Damacio.
Except I think Damacio drinks more Red Bulls before his matches. He also has less fur and better back control.
Speaking of back control, I'd like to hear what the heck Campuzano was thinking giving his back up like a tree to a koala?
2. Raphael Assuncao defeats Yves Jabouin via Decision
GSP-lite vs. the "good" Assuncao brother.
And being the best of the brothers was just enough to beat Yves.
They had some good, short bursts of exchanges in the pocket. Yves looked to be the better one on the feet with his fancy spin moves and crisp strikes, but I think both of them landed a pretty even number of clean strikes. Yves was also moving around with good angles but he also moved forward a lot when he threw any strikes. What's the point of moving at awkward angles but not using them to your advantage? Raphael threw some pretty awful, wild haymakers but it was more than enough to stifle Yves on the feet. Throw in a dash of bjj and you've got an easy decision victory for Assuncao.
3. Dave Jansen defeats Rich Crunkilton via Decision
Kudos to WEC newcomer Dave Jansen for beating a veteran in Crunkilton. "Cleat" had no answer for Dave's takedowns and constant pressure and movement.
Both could do with a trip to Thailand to work on their striking to complement their wrestling base.
4. Benson Henderson defeats Donald Cerrone
This was a classic striker vs. wrestler matchup with a twist. Both guys were equally skilled in another area that complimented their base area very well. Cerrone has excellent Muy Thai and an outstanding bottom submission game - 90% of his wins were via submission.
"Smooth" has the mirror opposite, complimentary skillset to Donald's. While only a purple belt in bjj, he's got ridiculous submission defense. So much so that in his next fight when they list his 3 main traits, one of them should be "unsubmittable". I was dumbfounded when Mir mentioned that Ben had submitted black belts in competition matches. This would explain his Mr. Miracle-like escapes and counters to Cerrone's submission attempts.
The other thing that Ben was great at was his standing offense while Cerrone was on his back. "Cowboy" did NOTHING to defend against the punches to his head and abdomen. I wasn't sure why Cerrone wasn't more active with his feet with upkicks or heel kicks and the like.
Too bad this match wasn't in a Dream event because "Cowboy" would have definitely been awarded the match. The Dream judges award the fighter the win based on the match as a whole and less on individual rounds, like boxing.
And lastly...FIND THIS CARD AND WATCH IT.
Later,
~S
They're forced to search the internet for cards like this after people like me tell them they NEED to watch this card. Or they miss a fantastic card with fighters under 155 lbs., that would get anyone hooked on the little guys.
Note that the matches reviewed are from the replay of the event.
1. Damacio Page defeats Will Campuzano via Submission
If the Tasmanian Devil were a fighter, he would fight like Damacio.
Except I think Damacio drinks more Red Bulls before his matches. He also has less fur and better back control.
Speaking of back control, I'd like to hear what the heck Campuzano was thinking giving his back up like a tree to a koala?
2. Raphael Assuncao defeats Yves Jabouin via Decision
GSP-lite vs. the "good" Assuncao brother.
And being the best of the brothers was just enough to beat Yves.
They had some good, short bursts of exchanges in the pocket. Yves looked to be the better one on the feet with his fancy spin moves and crisp strikes, but I think both of them landed a pretty even number of clean strikes. Yves was also moving around with good angles but he also moved forward a lot when he threw any strikes. What's the point of moving at awkward angles but not using them to your advantage? Raphael threw some pretty awful, wild haymakers but it was more than enough to stifle Yves on the feet. Throw in a dash of bjj and you've got an easy decision victory for Assuncao.
3. Dave Jansen defeats Rich Crunkilton via Decision
Kudos to WEC newcomer Dave Jansen for beating a veteran in Crunkilton. "Cleat" had no answer for Dave's takedowns and constant pressure and movement.
Both could do with a trip to Thailand to work on their striking to complement their wrestling base.
4. Benson Henderson defeats Donald Cerrone
This was a classic striker vs. wrestler matchup with a twist. Both guys were equally skilled in another area that complimented their base area very well. Cerrone has excellent Muy Thai and an outstanding bottom submission game - 90% of his wins were via submission.
"Smooth" has the mirror opposite, complimentary skillset to Donald's. While only a purple belt in bjj, he's got ridiculous submission defense. So much so that in his next fight when they list his 3 main traits, one of them should be "unsubmittable". I was dumbfounded when Mir mentioned that Ben had submitted black belts in competition matches. This would explain his Mr. Miracle-like escapes and counters to Cerrone's submission attempts.
The other thing that Ben was great at was his standing offense while Cerrone was on his back. "Cowboy" did NOTHING to defend against the punches to his head and abdomen. I wasn't sure why Cerrone wasn't more active with his feet with upkicks or heel kicks and the like.
Too bad this match wasn't in a Dream event because "Cowboy" would have definitely been awarded the match. The Dream judges award the fighter the win based on the match as a whole and less on individual rounds, like boxing.
And lastly...FIND THIS CARD AND WATCH IT.
Later,
~S
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