Aug 9, 2009 - 10:20:15 PM by Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist
FIRST FIGHT: LEONARD GARCIA vs. JAMEEL MASSOUH (Featherweight)
Thoughts: Garcia takes round one by virtue of a huge right hand that almost finished Massouh. Massouh shows he's durable though, as he was able to survive and even mount some offense later in the round. Second round was an awesome one for Massouh, as he had Garcia just about unconscious with a D'arce choke – in fact, I'm not sure why he let it go to take Garcia's back. That was a little confusing to me but the announcers didn't seem to mention how weird it was. Garcia dropped to his knees in passing out, which caused the hold to loosen a bit, but maybe Massouh thought Garcia had escaped on purpose? I don't know, but he could have ended the fight had he just re-affirmed his grip. Garcia was largely out on his feet for the rest of the round. As for what was unquestionably the deciding round, I'd give it to Garcia. He didn't do a lot of damage, but that wasn't for lack of effort. He was throwing desperate, telegraphed punches and kicks the whole round and few of them landed flush, but Massouh barely did anything outside of evading. That's not enough to win a round. I suppose you could call it a 10-10 round, but if one of the judging criteria is aggression, Garcia wins it hands down.
Result: Garcia by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Star Rating: (***) Good fight. Not fantastic – it would have been had the last round been a little more eventful, but certainly some nice drama in the first and second. Garcia won that fight on guts alone. He said he had nothing left in the second and third rounds.
Ramifications: Garcia begins his climb back up the featherweight ladder. Massouh has a tough situation, as he's faced two really good fighters and lost decisions in both of his WEC fights (his first fight was against Rafael Assuncao.) I don't know if he'll get another shot in the promotion, but it'd be hard to say he doesn't deserve it.
SECOND FIGHT: JEFF CURRAN vs. TAKEYA MIZUGAKI (Bantamweight)
Thoughts: My HD feed is acting up here and it cut out about a minute of the round, but I was really impressed by Mizugaki's takedown defense here. It's also worth noting that Mizugaki had the size advantage over a guy who was very successful at Featherweight. Really nice scramble toward the end of the round starting with Curran almost grabbing an armbar, and Mizugaki will take the round as he was able to land more effective ground and pound after getting the trip takedown on Curran. Second round is closer, and I'd give it to Curran. He used side kicks effectively and had the better boxing. He had a partially sunk guillotine toward the end of the round as well. The third round was fantastic. Curran was able to mount most of the offense in the round from the bottom position, which in and of itself is impressive. Then toward the end of the round he used a kimura to sweep and then transition into a triangle choke. Unbelievable sequence there by Curran. Mizugaki was able to hold on and somehow not tap, but Curran had to take that round. Had he been able to pull out the submission, that would have been a serious contender for Submission of the Year. I've got the fight going to Curran, 29-28.
Result: Mizugaki by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Star Rating: (***+) Great fight, but Curran got absolutely hosed. A robbery of epic proportions if you ask me.
Ramifications: I thought Curran was beginning to make a case for a run at the top of the Bantamweight division after a tough 135 lb debut, but he suffers a setback here. He could use a showcase fight after facing a murderer's row of opponents in his last four fights – Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Joseph Benavidez, and Mizugaki. He's gone 0-4 in that stretch, but he's been competitive in all of them (most of all against Mizugaki, and least of all against Faber.) Tough, tough loss for Curran.
THIRD FIGHT: DANNY CASTILLO vs. RICARDO LAMAS (Lightweight)
Thoughts: Tough to call the first round – not a ton of action and no one really got the upper hand. I don't usually call a round a draw, but this one probably was. In the second round, Lamas was on his way to taking the upper hand in the fight until Castillo threw a huge straight right hand that landed directly on the button. Lamas went down, Castillo followed, and Herb Dean called it a night.
Result: Castillo by TKO at 4:15 of round two.
Star Rating: (***) Kind of slow-paced and methodical until the thunderous right hand that ended the affair.
Ramifications: Castillo was destroyed in his WEC debut at the hands of Donald Cerrone, but he's looked good since then, winning three straight. He'll probably get a bigger fight on the main card next time out. Lamas was making only his second WEC appearance after taking a unanimous decision against Bart Palaszewski in his debut, and he'll make a return appearance as well. Neither of these guys are world class strikers, but they both pack some power when they connect.
FOURTH FIGHT: JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ vs. DOMINIC CRUZ (Bantamweight)
Thoughts: Really close round in he first – Cruz got a nice takedown into the mount from a body lock, but Benavidez immediately gave up his back and was able to escape and stand. Very nice scrambling ability shown by Benavidez, and it was an incredibly tough round to call. I'd probably give it to Cruz, but I wouldn't argue giving it to Benavidez. The second round saw Cruz hurt Benavidez with a couple of combinations in the middle of the round, but he was unable to capitalize as Benavidez has crzy escaping and defending ability. The reach advantage for Cruz, however, is proving hard to overcome on the feet. Benavidez threw a lot of unorthodox strikes to try and close the distance, but he didn't really land anything that made an impact. I'm giving the second to Cruz as well. The third was close, but I'm thinking Cruz is just doing more. Benavidez somehow never decided to try and take the fight to the ground and employ the ground and pound that worked so well for him against Jeff Curran. Cruz was able to do what he wanted toward the end of the round, taking Benavidez down and flattening him out. I think Cruz did enough for a clean sweep here.
Result: Cruz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Star Rating: (***+) Very entertaining fight, though I wonder about Benavidez's game plan coming in, with him never taking it to the ground.
Ramifications: Cruz is now more than likely the number one contender in the division, and rightfully so. Benavidez has been incredibly hard to figure out, and Cruz used his length to pick him apart and take him down toward the end. That was what he needed to do, and he did it. Benavidez isn't going anywhere, mind you. He's a Urijah Faber disciple, and a very tough guy.
FIFTH FIGHT: MIGUEL TORRES (Champion) vs. BRIAN BOWLES (Bantamweight Title Fight)
Thoughts: Bowles let Torres know about his power within the first 90 seconds of the fight, stunning the champion with a big right hand. Torres fired back, though, and let it be known that he was not going down easy. Bowles was able to get the fight to the ground shortly thereafter, laying some ground and pound on the champ, but Torres weathered and landed some nice upkicks. Toward the end of the round, Torres came in and landed a big right hand that led to a nice combination, but Bowles landed a big right hand from close range that put Torres on his back. Torres, stunned, briefly looked for an armbar before Bowles caught him with another downward right hand that put the lights out. He continued to land more punches to the unconscious Torres before being pulled off by Josh Rosenthal. Stunning, unbelievable knockout.
Result: Bowles by KO
Star Rating: (****)
Ramifications: Wow. I'm pretty much speechless right now. In nine years and 39 fights, no one has stopped Miguel Torres. And now here comes Brian Bowles, veteran of only seven fights coming into the bout, and he completely destroys one of the great fighters in the world. Unbelievable. I don't think it can be understated how huge this upset is. Torres was one of the sure things in MMA. He was grouped in with today's dominant champions – Silva, St. Pierre, Penn, and Torres. His only loss up until this fight was a decision loss that he later avenged by first round armbar. And make no mistake – this was no lucky punch. Brian Bowles is the real deal. I can't wait for an inevitable rematch. Bowles will beat Cruz in his first defense, and Torres will crush whomever he faces next, and it's on. But for now, all the credit in the world goes to the new Bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles. His eight-fight run, and especially the last four, has to be among the most impressive runs ever. He's never been the distance in a fight thus far. Is Miguel Torres the only one who can potentially stop him? Can even Torres do it in a rematch? Great stuff coming in the next few months for WEC. Stay tuned, folks.
Overall Thoughts
This was another solid outing from WEC. The time constraints continue to haunt them, and I continue to wonder why they don't just schedule the shows for at least 2.5 hours, if not three. But the fights, as always, were high-quality, including what has to be considered a top pick for upset of the year alongside Thiago-Koscheck. That was just unreal stuff. I've said it many times before – if you're not watching WEC and you're an MMA fan, you're only cheating yourself.
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