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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief The NHL All-Star game has just finished and we're getting closer to tonight's live WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone event. Stick here through the night for our round by round breakdown of the fights and stick around throughout the week for reviews and fall out coverage for both of this weekend's events.
-After a 10-minute delay due to the All-Star game over-run and Sports Soup, it's time for the show!
-Craig Hummer and Frank Mir introduce the show. They break down Varner and Cerrone as well as the rest of the card.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: JOSE ALDO VS. ROLANDO PEREZ (FEATHERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Aldo says he thinks Rolando's a good fighter, but he's coming up against a great fighter. He said he'll knock him out in the first round.
ROUND ONE: Aldo with a hard kick early. Perez comes in with a light flurry. Perez lands a right. Big leg kick from Aldo. Nice right and another leg kick from Aldo. Aldo pushes in and lands a couple of punches. Perez throws a leg kick. Another hard leg kick lands from Aldo. He gets in a side kick and then another hard outside leg kick. He unleashes a flurry of punches and then a flying knee. Perez throws a couple of leg kicks of his own. Another really hard leg kick and Perez counters with a combo. He tries to throw a combo with a high kick to no avail. Inside leg kick from Perez. Hard outside leg kick from Aldo. Aldo with a hard straight jab. He walks Perez down but Perez throws a combo to back him off. Another hard leg kick from Aldo. Double lefts from Aldo followed with a hard right. Perez countered again with a quick combo. High kick followed by a couple fo punches from Aldo, and Perez is bleeding from the bridge of his nose. Perez continues to press forward and Aldo throws a knee that knocks Perez down. He follows it up with a couple of punches and that's it. Aldo ran out of the cage and up the steps of the arena into the crowd.
WINNER: Aldo via tko at 4:15 of the first round.
[Commercial Break]
STAR RATING: (**+) Very fun fight to start off the night. Perez was taking a ton of punishment and still moving forward trying to create something of his own. He came in and ate a knee and that was that. Aldo was impressive once again here in a great performance.
POST FIGHT: Aldo said he was trying to make the crowd happy by running out into the stands. He said he's ready to face anyone in the featherweight division.
[Commercial Break]
-We get a preview video for WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia. Leonard Garcia and Mike Brown are interviewed at cage side. Garcia says his home state is Texas and he's going to do what he's got to do. Brown said he took a month off to recover but he's been training still the whole time. He said he keeps a strong gameplan and tries to hit everything out of the park.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT TWO: MIKE CAMPBELL VS. DANILLO VILLEFORT (WELTERWEIGHT)
PREFIGHT: Campbell says he's going to make Villefort his first victim and he wants everyone to know he's for real. He calls a knockout in the second round. Villefort promises he'll win the fight. Villefort's got a six inch reach advantage in this one.
ROUND ONE: Campbell starts with a high kick. Villefort throws consecutive kicks himself, one high one low. Big kick to the body from Campbell. Campbell grabs the leg of Villefort and takes him down with some punches. Villefort tried to wrap Campbell up and Campbell stood up and slammed him. Villefort is continuing to go for a leg on the ground and Campell keeps rolling out. Finally they stand back up and Campbell lands a shot. Villefort slips and he's is told to stand up. He lands a nice high kick. Campbell gets a big shot in and Villefort slips up again. Campbell followed him down and Villefort got top position after going for a knee bar. Campbell rolls himself out and gets back to the feet. Villefort threw a big high kick but Campbell ducked out of the way. Villefort grabbed him to use a judo throw and he moved to the mount. Campbell tried to roll out and Villefort took his back. Campbell is trying to cover up but he's got nowhere to go. He's in bad shape and can do nothing but cover his head so the ref stops it.
WINNER: Villefort via tko at 3:53 of the first round.
[Commercial Break]
STAR RATING: (***-) Fast paced, highly exciting back and forth one round fight. Villefort's got a great ground game, but Campbell almost overpowered him with strikes in the middle of that round. Great fight.
POST FIGHT: Villefort said he is proud to be there. He thanked his family for the help and support. The crowd was booing Villefort.
-Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda was voted the WEC fight of the year for 2008. That was my vote.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT THREE: SCOTT JORGENSEN VS. FRANK GOMEZ (BANTAMWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Gomez throws a kick to start off. Jorgensen comes in with a punch, a kick and then he shoots in. He grabs a guillotine as Gomez sprawls but he can't hold it in. They wrestle a bit more and Jorgensen gets the guillotine back in stands up with the hold locked on against the cage and that's all she wrote.
WINNER: Jorgensen via submission at 1:09 of the first round.
[Commercial Break]
STAR RATING: (**) Very impressive showing from Jorgensen. That was some great wrestling and then he locked in the beautiful standing guillotine against the cage for the finish. Another really short, but good fight on this card.
FIGHT FOUR: URIJAH FABER VS. JENS PULVER (FEATHERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Faber says more than anything Pulver needs to change something up because he beat him last team. Pulver said he needs to get in Faber's grill. Faber said he needs to finish it this time. Pulver said he knows he'll get him in a situation where he can throw bricks. Faber said he's going to climb the ladder to get back his belt.
ROUND ONE: Faber pushes forward and misses a straight kick. Jens catches a kick from Faber and drops him but Faber throws an upkick and gets back to his feet. He gets a takedown of his own but then they stand it back up. They exchange a flurry and then Jens lands a nice right. Faber pushes in and they clinch. That goes nowhere and he throws a right kick. Faber hurts Pulver with an unbelievably nasty body shot. He follows up with a ton of shots against the cage and Pulver sprawls. Faber pounces and locks in the side guillotine for the victory.
WINNER: Faber via submission at 1:34 of the first round.
[Commercial Break]
STAR RATING: (***) Too short to be much more, but with the big fight feel behind it that was an extremely exciting minute and a half. Everything's going quick tonight, but it's all been enjoyable. That was exactly the type of performance that Faber needed to get back to Championship form, and that loss to Brown may have been a good thing for him as he can learn from that and be even more dominant. Whether it's a rematch with Brown or a title fight with Garcia it's going to be one hell of a Featherweight Title bout coming our way this summer.
POST FIGHT: The crowd gives a round of applause to Pulver and Faber gives him a hug. He covers his head in his hat a bit. Faber plays up to the crowd and thanks the California crowd. He thanks Jens again. They showed the replay again and wow. He broke Mike Brown's rib in his loss in November and he may have done the same to Jens here. Mike Brown is shown in the crowd and the crowd boos him. Faber said he wants his belt. Jens comes in and thanks the crowd for the reception. Jens said he's starting to wonder himself if he's still relevant in this division. He breaks down as he says this is what he loves to do. He tells his family he loves them. He says he's feeling like a really old 34 year old man, but he's not done. "Fuck that, I'm not done," he said without a censor. That's great to see from him. You can't help but enjoy watching guys like Pulver in and out of the cage. Hopefully he's got some more left in him and this isn't the last we see of "Lil' Evil."
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT FIVE: JAMIE VARNER VS. DONALD CERRONE (WEC LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE BOUT)
PRE FIGHT: Mir breaks down each fighter again. Varner says he likes fighting the guys who are undefeated. "If they don't know what it's like to lose, I like to be the one to teach them." Varner says he plans on running over this guy. Cerrone says he's going to walk out a Champion, but Varner said he's going to knock his ass out. Mir and Hummer play up Cerrone's training with GSP in Montreal.
ROUND ONE: Varner comes in and lands a right and Cerrone responds with a body kick. Definite feeling out process here. Cerrone gets in a couple shots as Varner comes in. They exchange leg kicks. Varner comes in with a body kick. They both step in and trade a couple of blows. Varner lands a hard right that throws Cerrone back. Varner throws a few more and then shoots in and takes Cerrone down. Cerrone tries to pull the rubber guard and Varner picks him up and slams him but Cerrone blocks it. Varner finally breaks loose of the rubber guard and starts unleashing a ton of shots from the top. Varner tried to pass but Cerrone blocked it. Varner stood up and dropped two hard bombs. This is a lot of punishment that Cerrone is taking here. He's got a welt the size of a golfball on his forehead. Varner continues the ground and pound but Cerrone's surviving. He adds some elbows to the punishment as Cerrone is still trying to grab something. Varner stands up again and drops some more bombs. Varner slips up and Cerrone gets to his feet with twenty seconds and throws a knee on the cage. He adds one more knee before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Varner. What a way to start a Championship bout. That was awesome. Great back and forth to start, great ground and pound from Varner and Cerrone survives to land a couple of hard knees at the end of the round. Hell of a start to the fight.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Cerrone throws a nice high kick and adds two more kicks to the body before Varner takes him down. Varner had side position but Cerrone pulled himback into his guard. Varner throws another set of bombs but Cerrone manages to roll out and get up again. Varner barely missed a big right hand. Cerrone stalked Varner down and threw a kick. Varner comes in with a couple of shots and Cerrone throws a kick. Body kick lands from Varner. Cerrone gets in a left jab. Cerrone tracks down Varner again and Cerrone throws a kick. Varner catches it and gets on top again. Varner postured up again and unleashed some heavy hands again. He tries to roll up Cerrone again but he ends up standing again. They trade kicks again. Cerrone lands a jab. Varner is backing away quickly as Cerrone stalks him down. Varner lands a couple of big shots. Cerrone goes for another high kick. He comes with a combo of his own but nothing gets through. Varner lands another right. They trade shots again. Varner again barely misses the big overhand right. Varner shoots in again and gets another takedown. Cerrone grabs a triangle with almost no time left in the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Varner. Crazy pace again. Closer than the first round, but Varner had the takedowns and did damage on the ground. Cerrone would have finished it with more time at the end, he had that triangle locked.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: They both hug it out to start the third round and then Varner draws a line in the sand, but in the cage. Cerrone lands a nice right. Cerrone again stalks down Varner as Varner backs away, until Varner pops out. Cerrone lands a body shot after a slip. Things have slowed down a bit. Right as I say that Varner rocks Cerrone with a few shots and then Varner shoots in for another takedown. Varner cut Cerrone with that last flurry. Varner tries to lock in a guillotine but Cerrone gets his head out and then he's on top. Varner walks up the wall and their back to their feet. Cerrone's having trouble seeing out of the left eye. Varner throws a big right hand. Cerrone's really having trouble seeing out of the left eye now. Varner lands a couple of shots. Cerrone throws a kick. Cerrone's eyes are swelled up tremendously. He tries to throw a couple shots. They trade a few blows and Cerrone throws another high kick. Varner comes in with another couple of shots. He missed the overhand right again but lands on a straight right. Varner shot in again and took Cerrone down. Varner tries to throw a couple more shots as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Varner. The pace slowed a bit there in that round but Varner did a ton of damage to Cerrone. I really hope it doesn't get stopped due to that cut here, but this is just an incredible fight right now.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND FOUR: Varner connects on a big high kick early. They trade a couple of shots again. Cerrone lands a big body kick. Cerrone with a nice jab. Varner pushes forward but doesn't land. Cerrone pushed forward again as Varner backpedaled. Cerrone went for a flying knee but Varner moved to the side. Body kick lands from Varner. Cerrone gets in a body kick. Cerrone lands a couple of more shots with jabs and kicks. Varner shoots in again and gets another takedown. Varner lands a hard elbow. He steps up and lands another big right to the downed Cerrone. Cerrone throws a couple of heels into the back of Varner from his back. The crowd has gotten impatient with any lull after the crazy first few rounds. Cerrone kicks Varner off and he stands back up. Cerrone keeps pushing forward and then Varner shot in for another takedown. Cerrone tries to throw some up kicks as Varner stands up to throw a shot. Cerrone is trying to throw some shots from the bottom and Varner pass to the half guard. Cerrone pushes him back to the guard.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Varner. It was another really close round, but that one didn't have much going on. Varner didn't try to do much on the ground but he landed a few good shots there.
ROUND FIVE: One more hug to start the round. Varner shot in again early and got another takedown. Cerrone tried to throw a couple up kicks again with no success. They trade shots in Cerrone's guard. Cerrone did a bit of a kick back somersault to get back up to his feet. Varner lands a nice left. Cerrone shoots in and gets a takedown of his own. Varner tries to get up and Cerrone throws a knee that grazes his eye. He said he can't see. Varner's on the ground and it looks like the fight's going to be called. That's an awful way to have this fight end. They've called it an unintentional foul and it's going to go to the judges scorecards. No matter how this ends, they'll need to rematch. Varner is emotionally saying he's sorry to everyone for the way this is ending. Varner's pissed, saying he's sorry, he can't see. He continues to apologize to Cerrone.
WINNER: Varner via split decision.
STAR RATING:(***+) That was on it's way to being the first classic of '09 before the unfortunate finish. Through four rounds it was great but it loses points with the finish. The rematch will be big, because that was awesome until the end.
POST FIGHT: Varner said he's better than that. He said he broke his hand in the second round and took a knee while he was on the ground. We get the third or fourth f-bomb on the show from Varner here. Cerrone got a big ovation. He said he was seeing double in the second or third round. Varner said as soon as he gets cleared from the athletic commission they'll do it again.
-Well that's another show in the books for the WEC, and that was one of their best shows since last summer. Were it not for the finish this would have been up their with the first Faber/Pulver card. Urijah Faber responded exactly how he needed to following his first loss in years back in November, and he'll be ready for the winner of Brown/Garcia in March. Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone put on one hell of Championship bout before that errant knee caught Varner's eye. He was genuinely sorry for the way that ended and like a Champ let Cerrone know he's getting a rematch as soon as possible. I can't wait to see them try this again, because it was great to watch while it lasted. Thanks for sticking around for our report tonight and keep an eye out during the week for our reviews and coverage of the fallout from this show as well as last night's Affliction "Day of Reckoning" pay-per-view. Also on tap this week will be our previews and predictions heading into next Saturday's monumental UFC 94: Penn vs. St. Pierre event.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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