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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief We're minutes away from WEC 39, live from Corpus Christi, Texas, and airing live tonight on Versus. We've got a big Featherweight Title bout on our hands tonight with Mike Brown defending against Leonard Garcia, so stick around throughout the night for this live on-going report for round by round thoughts on the show!
-We've got Todd Harris with "Lil' Evil" himself, Jens Pulver on commentary tonight. Pulver breaks down the attributes of Leonard Garcia and Mike Brown in the night's main event. The two both briefly touch on the remainder of tonight's card as well and we go to our first commercial break of the evening. Frank Mir will be missed on commentary tonight, for sure, but I'm very interested to see what Pulver brings to the table tonight. He's sat in on commentary in the past, but nothing recently so it will make for an interesting night.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: "RAZOR" ROB MCCULLOUGH VS. MARCUS HICKS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: McCullough suggest an explosion in the middle of the cage as both like to push the action. Hicks says as soon as it hits the ground he'll get his guillotine sunk in and end the fight. McCullough wants to end it violently and make a statement to the lightweight division that he wants his belt back. Big hometown backing from the crowd for Hicks, a few scattered cheers for "Razor" Rob.
ROUND ONE: Very tentative feeling out process for the first :45 seconds here. The crowd gets a little restless with no action a minute in. McCullough throws a short combo but nothing lands. Hicks explodes with an overhand left and pushed McCullough into the cage. Clinched on the cage McCullough throws some knees to the thighs of Hicks. Knee to the body from McCullough and he gets to the outside. No action and the ref separates them. Hicks lands a big overhand left as McCullough came in. mcCullough throws a right that lands. The crowds getting restless again. They're really not doing much of anything at the moment. McCullough throws a leg kick. He throws another one that's caught by Hicks and he gets pushed to the cage again. They're clinched again and not doing much of anything again. Hicks again with the overhand left and then he throws one to the body. Leg kick from Hicks gets answered with a body kick from McCullough. The round ends and the fans boo it mercilessly.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Hicks. Well that was an extremely uneventful first round. They're kind of canceling themselves out in this fight and it's not making for much action.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: More of the same to start round two and not much is going on. Hicks lands a big right hand that knocks McCullough down and he pounces and tries to lock on the guillotine. McCullough is fighting out of it though, and he finally pops up and throws a big flurry at Hicks. Hicks works his way up to the feet and they're back standing. Hicks lands a left as McCullough threw a kick that barely grazed low but Hicks got caught in the cup. Hicks recovered almost immediately and they restart. Hicks barely missed a big shot. McCullough pushed forward with a big punch and a body kick that hurt Hicks. He stalked him down to the cage and threw a knee up and Hicks grabbed him for the clinch. They trade knees to the body at the cage, but it's another stalemate again here. McCullough breaks the clinch and then lands a one two. He landed a hard shot and then another kick to the body of Hicks. Another high kick from McCullough gets blocked but still does asome damage. McCullough throws a big flurry of punches on the cage and Hicks weathers it to throw a big shot of hiw own. McCullough landed another combo. McCullough throws another big knee and Hicks lands another shot of his own as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 McCullough. Despite getting knocked down early, McCullough unleashed a ton of punishment in that round and landed a lot of shots. Much better second round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Back to the feeling out process to start this third round. Hicks comes in with a left that lands. The fans are booing again as nothing's happened through almost two minutes. McCullough threw a body kick. He threw a high kick that's blocked. Back to the feeling out process again. Hicks came in with a left hand again. Leg kick from McCullough. McCullough came in with a punch and a kick but backed off again. This is just a sparring match right now and the crowd is hating it. After the referee tells the fighters he'll call a no contest if they don't engage Hicks goes for a takedown but is unsuccessful. McCullough throws a few more shots. McCullough lands a body kick and a short flurry. Another body kick from McCullough. The round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 McCullough. Hicks did absolutely zero in that round, and McCullough didn't do much more. Seriously, that was awful and highly disappointing from both guys. The first round could have been ruled a draw and the third round wasn't much better. They showed some promise in the second but it all went away after that.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: McCullough by majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) This was just not good. There wasn't really a fight here. The second round had some back and forth action, including a near finish by Hicks, but then they went back to what they were doing in the first round, which was nothing. It was like both guys were too worried about getting caught so they weren't going to press forward. Just not a good fight at all.
[Commercial Break]
-Harris interviews Bantamweight Champ Miguel Torres on his upcoming title defense at WEC 40 on April 5th.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT TWO: JOSE ALDO VS. CHRIS MICKLE (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Aldo lands a kick early. He comes out with a shot that lands. Big kick to the body from Aldo. Mickle tries to come in but eats a shot. Aldo with another body kick. Mickle came in and got a punch in of his own. Aldo lands another shot. He gets in a big knee. Aldo lands another big shot and gets Mickle up to the cage. He throws a high kick that grazes Mickle's face. He unleashes a huge flurry on Mickle on the cage who turtles up standing and the ref comes in and stops the fight.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Aldo via tko at 1:39 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: I'd repeat what Aldo said after the fight, but his translator doesn't do a great job of translating.
STAR RATING: (*+) Not much to this one. Aldo proved he was the clearly better fighter and he barely breaks a sweat as he awaits his next challenge in the featherweight division. Another good showing for Aldo.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT THREE: MARCOS GALVAO VS. DAMACIO PAGE (BANTAMWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Page says he thinks he's got the ability to knock anyone out. Galvao says this one will be great for the fans and Page says it won't go the distance.
ROUND ONE: Page comes out with a gigantic right hand off the bat and unleashes an unrelenting attack on the cage. He continued throwing shots until he knocked Galvao down and he threw two more shots to his downed opponent and that's all she wrote there.
[Commercial break]
WINNER: Page via ko at :18 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**) Even though it took less time than Aldo's win, it was a much more impressive finish from Page. That was the textbook definition of a beat down right there. Great showing from Page.
POST FIGHT: Page said he knew if he stood with him he could take him out. He wished a speedy recovery to Galvao and hoped he'd be ok. Page said he's ready for whoever they throw at him.
RAMIFICATIONS: Page will be up there on the list of contenders in the Bantamweight division with that performance. That was dominant from the first shot and he did not stop until Gavao was done for good there.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT FOUR: BART PALASZEWSKI VS. RICARDO LAMAS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Lamas has a great attitude, saying he's faced guys with tons more experience than him and it hasn't phased him. He's got an uphill battle against Palaszewski tonight, but this should be fun to watch.
ROUND ONE: Bart lands a leg kick to the thigh early. There's a feeling out process going here but not to the point of McCullough/Hicks. Palaszewski lands a couple more leg kicks. Lamas lands a kick himself. Lamas catches a kick and takes Bart down, and Palaszewski looks for a guillotine. Palaszewski holds him in his guard and holds him for awhile. He tries to get a triangle on but Lamas gets out and lands a big shot to the face. Lamas tried to jump past Bart's guard but he got pushed off and Palaszewski got back to his feet. Lamas held onto a single leg against the cage. After working on him for a bit he finally got Bart down but Palaszewski tried to go for a kimura. He couldn't get it in. Lamas stood up and unleashed a flurry of shots as Palaszewski tried to hold him off. He's landing some nice shots but Palaszewski's taking the punishment and keeping himself alive. Palaszewski gets back to his feet and unloads with a flurry of his own as the round ends. Great end to the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lamas. This is a highly impressive debut so far for Lamas. He landed some very hard shots to the downed Palszewski in that round. Great action.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Lamas pushes forward immediately and lands a leg kick. Palasweski lands one of his own. Lamas shoots in but Bart sprawls nicely and stays on his feet and they clinch at the cage. Palaszewski throws some knees to the legs of Lamas. Lamas tried to go for a hip toss but Palaszewski holds it off and scrambles to his feet again. Lamas lands a nice knee to the body in the clinch. Lamas is throwing some shots that are landing. The crowd's getting restless on the action on the cage. Lamas took Palaszewski's back standing. He threw a kick from the back position that hit Bart in the face. Don't think I've seen that one before. Lamas got Palaszewski down again and tried to throw a bunch of shots as Bart is throwing up kicks. Lamas is landing a ton of shots and changing levels with his punches nicely. Palaszewski went for an armbar but Lamas held patient and got out of it. Palaszewski tried to grab another submission but Lamas stayed out of it again. Lamas lands a bunch of shots again and Bart lands a couple of up kicks in succession. As he tries to get back to his feet Lamas pounces with a bunch of shots but Palaszewski does make it back up to land a flurry of his own before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lamas. Again, another highly impressive round from Lamas, but Palaszewski is showing a great ability to take punishment. He's going to need to pull something out in this third round or the newcomer's going to take this fight.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Lamas lands a big leg kick to begin the round. He lands a superman punch nicely. He comes in again and eats a knee from Palaszewski. Lamas lands a shot low as he jumped for a knee that turned into a kick. Bart was good to go and they stand again. Palaszewski throws a high kick and tries to walk Lamas down. Nice left hand lands from Palaszewski. Lamas catches another leg kick and shoots in. He brings Palaszewski up to the cage, and he lifts him for a slam. That was nice. Lamas postured up again and Bart tried to throw an up kick to get back to his feet. Lamas threw the leg aside and landed another big shot. Lamas is content with holding control on the ground here. Bart again tried to go for a kimura to no avail. Lamas postures up again and threw some shots. Palaszewski got himself back up to his feet one more time but was held right on the cage once again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lamas. The big slam and ground control took the third straight round for the newcomer. Great debut for Lamas here.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Lamas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Lamas said taking this fight on five days notice he was a bit nervous on coming in against Palaszewski, but figured if he could get it to the ground he'd have the advantage.
STAR RATING: (**+) That was a good, but not great, three round fight. Lamas was highly impressive in not only his WEC debut, but a fight in which he had five days notice on. Great performance out of him.
RAMIFICATIONS: A disappointing setback for Palaszewski, who was supposed to fight Rich Crunkilton to determine a number one contender in the lightweight division. Now, that spot may go to Lamas who immediately put himself among the "elite" as far as the WEC's lightweight division is concerned. The kid's got a on of potential as he's still only got six fights under his belt now.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: MIKE BROWN VS. LEONARD GARCIA (FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PRE FIGHT: Brown says he needs to show everyone why he is the Champion and he's looking to knock out Garcia. Garcia says it's time for the "true champion" to come get the belt.
ROUND ONE: Brown lands a huge right early that drops Garcia and he pounces immediately. He unleashes a flurry as Garcia tries to get into a better position. He rolls and Brown takes his back. He tries to get a choke in but Garcia battles out of it and gets back around and pulls guard. Brown postures up and throws some shots and a few elbows. Brown passes nicely and gets and arm triangle locks in and he forces Garcia to tap. Amazing.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Mike Brown via submission (arm triangle) at 1:51 of the first round to retain his Featherweight Championship.
POST FIGHT: Garcia said no excuses, he got hit with a good shot. He apologized to the Texas fans multiple times and said he'd do better next time. Brown gave it up to the Texas fans and dropped an F-bomb saying he loved the sport. He said he stuck to his gameplan and did what he does every fight. He said Leonard's a world class fighter, and unfortunately for him it was not his night. He said he would love to fight Urijah again.
STAR RATING: (***) Extremely impressive showing from the defending Featherweight Champion. I did not see that coming at all, but what a great showing from the Champ. The right hand was awesome and his work on the ground to keep pounding out until getting that great pass into the mount and the arm triangle was great. Just an awesome, definitive title defense for Mike Brown.
RAMIFICATIONS: Well, for Mike Brown, he proved he's a legit Champion. With the way Urijah rebounded against Jens Pulver after his loss to Brown I think their rematch is going to be epic. He won't allow himself to get caught and Brown will be ready to continue proving his abilities to people. That one will be an awesome rematch when it goes down. For Garcia, he'll be back up the ladder sooner rather than later, but this is a setback. Completely unexpected, but he got dropped with that first right hand and just wasn't able to hold off Brown's relentless assault.
Well that's yet another live event in the rearview mirror. Not the best WEC event tonight, but a few great performances did shine through tonight and the main event Title defense by Brown did not disappoint, even if it went an entirely different way than I think anyone expected. Stick around for more on this show as the week rolls on as well as our UFC 96 coverage picking up as we head to that pay-per-view event next Saturday. Thanks for checking us out again here on MMATorch.com!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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