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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
-Good opening video as always and Todd Harris introduces the show from The Joint at the palms in Las Vegas. Frank Mir is back on commentary tonight, and he breaks down Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles, calling Bowles perhaps the biggest challenge Torres has faced. They run down the rest of the main card as well. And we're going right to a fight with Garcia and Massouh already in the cage. Nice.
FIGHT ONE: LEONARD GARCIA VS. JAMEEL MASSOUH (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Garcia pops in with a good left jab after a short feeling out process. They're back to judging the distance. Massouh lands a hard leg kick. Garcia comes forward with a good right. They land simultaneous right kicks to the body. Massouh comes in with another leg kick. Massouh is doing a good job of backing off as Garcia comes forward. Massouh lands a good leg kick again. Garcia has a looping left blocked. Garcia drops Massouh with a huge right hand. That was massive. Massouh is allowed to continue on the ground and Garcia drops down on him. After a little bit of ground and pound Massouh starts to walk back up. Garcia lands a few knees before Massouh breaks him off. Massouh clinches and puts Garcia's back to the cage. He takes Garcia down and gets to side control. Garcia moves him to half guard. Massouh almost gets the mount and starts throwing some good short elbows. He's doing a good job with the ground and pound here. Massouh continued working the shots and dropped a bunch of punches on Garcia as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Massouh. Despite nearly getting knocked out, Massouh was pretty even in the stand up and stole the round with that late takedown and some very good ground and pound. Garcia may take it on some of the judges' cards, but it was that even of a round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Massouh lands a big leg kick again early in the round. Massouh shot in and Garcia grabbed a guillotine as he was taken down. Massouh pooped his head out and got into Garcia's guard. Garcia tried to shrug him off but Massoudh dropped back down into his half guard. Massouh worked the short forearms to the face from the half guard. Massouh goes for the D'arce choke from this modified half guard and gets himself back to his feet as Massouh still has the choke on. I think he may have been out and Mazzagatti may have missed it. Massouh tries to take his back and Garcia gets his wits about him and gets back up. Garcia threw a kick on his feet. Garcia landed a right hand. Massouh goes back to the leg kick and then clinches Garcia on the cage again. Massouh lands a good knee and a right hand. Garcia gets in a good knee. Garcia lands an uppercut and Massouh lands a left hook. The round ends with them on the cage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Massouh. He was really close to having this finished with that choke. I'm not so sure Garcia wasn't out. Good round for Massouh.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Garcia threw up a high kick to start the round. Garcia popped in for a combo but hit all air. Garcia popped again but ate a jab from Massouh. Massouh lands a body kick as well. Massouh tried to get in another leg kick and almost ate the big right from Garcia. Garcia lands a leg kick. Garcia powered a big right that Massouh blocked. Massouh lands a superman punch and gets Garcia's back to the cage. Leonard breaks free of it. He again tried to power up the right. Massouh popped him with a left again. Garcia landed a good left. He keeps trying to load up the right but it's not landing. Spinning back kick from Garcia sends Massouh back a bit. Massouh lands a leg kick. Garcia returns the favor. Again a loaded up right misses from Garcia. Garcia is swinging a lot but not connecting. Massouh lands a body kick and clinches Garcia to the cage. He lands a knee. Massouh breaks off with a couple of left jabs. He lands another jab that pops Garcia's head. Another jab lands. And another as Garcia misses. Big right finally connects. Massouh responds with another jab. Two straight leg kicks land from Garcia. Massouh lands another jab and then a leg kick at the buzzer that trips Garcia up. Garcia's frustrated.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Garcia. Another really close round. Massouh was popping Garcia with the jab but he wasn't very aggressive and really didn't do a whole lot. This is going to be an extremely close decision.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Garcia via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Garcia said he thought the fight was over after the big right hand. He said he had a rush of adrenaline and lost his energy for the second and third. He said Massouh was choking the piss out of him in the second round.
STAR RATING: (***) Excellent fight between these guys. Both nearly finished it, Garcia in the first and Massouh in the second, and it came down to how the first round was scored. Two and three were clear, but the overhand right in the first ended up winning the fight for Garcia afterall.
FIGHT TWO: JEFF CURRAN VS. TAKEYA MIZUGAKI (BANTAMWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Curran said he's excited to get out there, take him down and end the fight. Mizugaki said he's coming in as the underdog and he said he'll knock Curran out. He said he's going to steal all of Curran's fans. Curran says he's not stopping until he gets to the Champ Miguel Torres.
[Commercial Break]
-They run down the Bantamweight division from the Champ to the contenders. I love this feature they're doing now, running down all the challengers, giving a clear picture of where everyone stands.
ROUND ONE: Mizugaki lands a leg kick to start the round. He pushes Curran back. Curran lands a leg kick. Mizugaki throws a kick and Curran catches it. He tries to drag him to the ground and Mizugaki threw some hard shots to the side of the head with his back on the cage. Curran held tight to the single leg as Mizugaki held off the takedown attempt. Curran is still holding onto the leg and Mizugaki throws elbows to his back and punches to the body as he drops to his knees. Mizugaki keeps throwing body punches. Curran keeps trying for this single leg and Mizugaki is still keeping himself controlled against the cage. Curran lets go of the single leg and Mizugaki turns him around and puts his back on the cage. Mizugaki throws some knees to the legs and body, and he gets a takedown on Curran. Curran closes his guard as Mizugaki pops up and lands some hard shots. He postures up and drops a big right before Curran can tie him up. Curran popped up for an armbar and as Mizugaki popped out he grabbed an ankle and used that to follow Mizugaki to his back. He nearly got the hooks in from Mizugaki's back but Takeya turned into his butterfly guard. The round ends in that position.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Mizugaki. Curran went for that single leg hard but Mizugaki punished him for it and got the takedown himself. Good start for Mizugaki.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Curran lands a good two punch combo. He then gets a straight kick in as Mizugaki came forward. Another combo lands from Curran. Mizugaki lands a leg kick. Curran throws a good straight kick to the leg of Mizugaki. Curran throws a side kick. Mizugaki lands a punch and Curran pops in with a combo. He gets in a nice side kick. They both come in and trade shots with Mizugaki getting the better of that exchange. Curran grabs the clinch and Mizugaki pushes him to the cage. Mizugaki tosses Curran against the cage and takes him down. He postures up with a good right. Curran is actively trying to get out of this spot as Mizugaki postures up and lands a couple of hard punches to the face. Curran starts throwing shots from his back. He throws a kick to the body as well. He tried to throw the heel kick to the back. Curran gets the butterfly guard and almost grabbed a triangle. Curran grabbed a guillotine and tried to close his guard to lock it in. Mizugaki held on however and threw a few body punches as the round came to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Curran. He got taken down again but was much better on the feet and was very active on the bottom. This one's another that'll be close.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: They come out swinging and each lands a punch. Curran tried to load up with a right and it turned into takedown attempt. Mizugaki held him off on the cage and then turned him around and took him down. Mizugaki lands a body-head punch combo. Curran almost grabbed a triangle again and then tried again for the guillotine. Mizugaki postured up and landed a good right. Curran threw some hard kicks to Mizugaki's gut off his back and threw a punch at him. Mizugaki tried to posture up and Curran knocked him back into the guard with a kick to the leg. Curran is defending and is very active but Mizugaki is trying to keep control. Curran throws a couple more punches from the bottom. Mizugaki gets a shot in. Curran lands some more punches from the bottom. Curran lands an elbow to the head. He's doing all this from his back and Mizugaki's not landing much here. Curran rolled over with a kimura and swept Mizugaki into a triangle and tried to get the arm. He turned Mizugaki over and had the triangle from the top. Mizugaki rolled it back over and survived to the bell. That was an amazing finishing sequence from Curran.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Curran. The last sequence sealed it for him. He was working from his back and landing punches and then nearly had Mizugaki finished at the end.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Mizugaki via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Wow. That's more than disappointing for Curran, who would have submitted Mizugaki with an extra ten seconds. Mizugaki said the only thing that got him out of the triangle was his heart. He said he thinks he got one step closer to another title shot but still needs to see what happens to Benavidez.
STAR RATING: (***-) Excellent finishing sequence to cap off a mostly exciting fight. I had Curran winning that fight and honestly thought he was going to take it, he looked good off his back and Mizugaki couldn't do anything with it in the third. Unfortunate for Curran but a big win for Mizugaki.
[Commercial Break]
-We get a video preview for WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson before going to a cageside interview with the two. Ben Henderson said his stand up has gotten a lot better since having eye surgery a couple months ago. Cerrone gave a breath of disgust at the mention of Varner's name and said he's working his takedown defense for the fight against Henderson.
FIGHT THREE: RICARDO LAMAS VS. DANNY CASTILLO (LIGHTWEIGHT)
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Castillo strikes first after a short feeling out process. Lamas lands a good left jab. Castill throws a shot that misses and then clinches. Lamas turns him around and they spin out and separate. Lamas missed a big right. He pops in with a jab as they each circle each other. Castillo pops in for a combo but nothing lands. Lamas barely misses a high kick. Castillo sticks Lamas with a couple jabs and adds a left hook after. Castillo lands a good body shot. Hard leg kick lands from Lamas. After a short circling spot Castillo lands a leg kick. They each trade another leg kick. Lamas pushes forward with a combo and landed a high kick nicely. Castillo got after Lamas with a combo. Another running leg kick lands from Lamas. Good left hook. Castillo pops in with a left and combos with the straight right and Lamas grabs him to clinch. They exchange knees before Castillo breaks out of it. Lamas with the leg kick again. They trade jabs. Big leg kick from Lamas that nearly drops Castillo before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lamas. His big shots landed harder than did Castillo's, and there wasn't a whole lot else to the round. They were feeling each other out for much of it, and both missed on shots.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Castillo starts with a leg kick. They trade shots and Castillo lands a good flurry. Castillo shoots in at the one minute mark and Lamas shrugs it off. Lamas gets a good body kick in and avoids the counter. Not a whole lot going on here yet almost two minutes in. Lef kicks in succession from Lamas. Lamas lands a big right hand and holds off the takedown attempt from Castillo. Good combo ending with a head kick from Lamas before he steps back. Leg kick again from Lamas. Castillo gets a two punch combo in and Lamas lands a punch and kick combo. Castillo starts a combo and Lamas counters with a big shot himself. Nice exchange. Leg kick from Lamas lands again. Castillo comes in with a hard body shot. Lamas comes right back out and lands a big body kick. Castillo landed a huge right hand that spun Lamas around. Castillo followed him as he stumbled to the ground and he finished him off with a flurry of punches. That was a bullet.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Castillo via TKO at 4:15 of the second round.
POST FIGHT: Castillo said Lamas was a tough opponent. He said he's like a machine, his team programs him to use those combos and that's what he went out and did.
STAR RATING: (**) There wasn't a whole lot going on in that one until the finish. They were pretty neutral in the stand up and neither were bringing it to the ground, but until that bullet shot neither was connecting on anything of consequence and there was a lot of feeling out going on. Big punch from Castillo though and a very good win.
FIGHT FOUR: JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. DOMINICK CRUZ (BANTAMWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Benavidez said he's not looking past Cruz, but there comes a point where he knows the Title shot is in his reach. He said he feels like there's more of the guys to hit when he faces tall lanky guys. Cruz says he's going to knock Benavidez out.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Cruz comes right to the center of the cage and looks like a giant compared to Benavidez. Benavidez lands a good leg kick. He gets a body kick in as Cruz stays in the center. Benavidez pops in with a right hand. Cruz catches a kick and drops him with a punch but Benavidez popped right up. Benavidez gets in with another right to the face. Cruz lands a good straight jab. Benavidez pops in with a flurry and Cruz slinches and takes him down. Cruz gets into the half guard. Benavidez pops up and tries to grab a guillotine. Cruz was forced to stand to get out of it. He throws a kick that gets blocked. Benavidez ducks a punch and lands a left. Another combo from Benavidez as Cruz lands a shot. Benavidez comes in with an uppercut. Very fast paced stuff here. Benavidez ducks under a punch and they clinch. Cruz trips up Benavidez but they both popped up. Cruz used his height to push Benavidez down right into the mount. Benavidez gave up his back and scrambled out, putting Cruz's back on the cage. They separate with 30 seconds left. Cruz lands a body kick. The round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cruz. The takedowns were the difference, even though Benavidez did a great job scrambling, as they were very even on the feet.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Benavidez comes in with a big flurry 30 seoconds in. Cruz lands a good straight punch and goes on the offensive himself. Benavidez covers up and clinches him on the cage. They separate again. Benavidez feigned a shot, ducked and landed a good left. Benavidez lands another quick combo. Cruz lands a straight right. Benavidez slips and Cruz tries to go for the kill, chasing him around the cage with punches before grabbing him and taking him down. Benavidez gets himself back to his feet though. Benavidez goes for a spinning back fist and barely misses. He slips and gets caught with a shot and then goes in for a single leg. Cruz holds him off and they separate again. Cruz lands a good left hook. Benavidez lands one himself. Good high kick right punch combo lands for Cruz. They've slowed down a little bit after a torridly paced round. Benavidez missed another spinning back fist. Cruz shot in quick and got a takedown with 15 seconds left. That'll cement the round for him.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cruz. Benavidez looked good early but Cruz took over in the stand up department. Crazy fast pace to this one, but neither is connecting on much.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Benavidez lands a good body punch. Cruz slips up with a high kick and Benavidez lands a kick himself. Cruz gets back to his feet. Benavidez lands a combo. He comes in and goes for that spinning back fist again. They trade big kicks and Cruz tripped Benavidez with his. Cruz gets another takedown and gets into side control but Benavidez walked himself up the cage. Cruz stalks Benavidez down and lands a combo after catching a kick. They trade combos, Cruz lands a kick to the head and Benavidez landed a right. Cruz again with a takedown but Benavidez popped himself back up. Cruz with a good left hook. They trade shots. Cruz landed another high kick and got another takedown. He got Benavidez's back with 20 seconds left. Benavidez scrambled and avoided being finished but he looked defeated as the horn went off.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cruz. It was even until the last minute, and really the entire fight was an extremely close one.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Cruz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Cruz asked the crowd if they think he's the number one contender. He said he'll have to look for Torres's strengths and try to make him uncomfortable if he faces him.
STAR RATING: (**+) It looked a lot more exciting than it really was. It was very fast paced but neither was connecting on much of what they were throwing, the striking percentages were really low for that fight. Still, it was a fun, fast paced bout, and the height advantage of Cruz was of great benefit to him in this one.
[Commercial Break]
-Ok, it's now 10:04 CST, and this card was scheduled to 10 on Versus. They continue to do this with their live events, and with the main event not even having begun yet DVR's have stopped recording the event. They need to either fix the timing of their cards or set their slot to three hours for these events because if people are planning on watching this on DVR later they won't even have the fight they were wanting to see. Ridiculous.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: MIGUEL ANGEL TORRES VS. BRIAN BOWLES (WEC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PRE FIGHT: Torres sayd he doesn't just fight to win, he fights to break his opponent's will. Bowles says his overall game is better. Torres says he can say what he wants but none of it's going to happen. Bowles said this could put him in a position to be the man. Torres says he doesn't think of what's in behind him or in front of him, he only sees Brian Bowles.
ROUND ONE: Torres takes the center and walks down Bowles. Definitely feelign each other out here, both are tentative. Torres throws a body kick. He then lands an inside leg kick. Bowles rocks Torres with an overhand right that almost drops him. He comes in and Torres responds with a couple of punches to send Bowles back and we've got a fight. Torres came in and clinched Bowles on the cage. Bowles spun Torres' back to the cage and took him down. Bowles popped up with a couple of elbows. Torres starts throwing heels to the legs of Bowles. He threw some good upkicks after going for a triangle. Bowles dropped down with a good right. Bowles finally backed off and Torres popped to his feet. Bowles now in the center tried to chase Torres down. Torres came in and landed a good left jab. Torres throws a high kick that gets blocked. Bowles came in and Torres landed a hard flurry and started chasing him down. Bowles lands a big shot that drops Torres and he lands a big right on the downed Torres that looks to knock him out. He drops another three or four shots and Torres is out cold. Oh my God! I can't believe that just happened. Bowles landed the right as Torres was chasing him and landed a bunch of left punches on the ground and we've got a new WEC Bantamweight Champion.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Bowles via KO at 3:57 of the first round to become WEC Bantamweight Champion.
POST FIGHT: Bowles said he convinced himself he could beat him. He said he came in calm and put all the fear of the Champ to the side. He said he was rattled a bit and swung a good hook as Torres came in. Bowles said he wanted this belt, now he's got it and he wants to keep on defending it.
STAR RATING: (****+) That's a must see fight if there ever was one. Brian Bowles just knocked out one of the very best fighters in the world in his eighth fight after he was on the ropes. The new Champ has got ridiculous power in that frame and he becomes the only person to ever stop Miguel Torres. That's for sure one of the biggest upsets we've ever seen.
-That's all for the latest WEC on Versus. The next one is right around the corner in September, so until then keep checking back here for the fallout from this amazing upset and everything leading into the next events this month. Thanks for sticking with our coverage tonight here on MMATorch.com!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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