WEC 30:

Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas

Todd Harris and Frank Mir welcome us to WEC Live from Las Vegas. They run down the card and we jump right into the action.

Miguel Torres (18-1) vs. Jeff “Little Papa” Bedard (10-0)

Bantamweight

Torres looks a little like Ralph Macchio in the promo. Look for a win by crane kick. Torres has a 3” height and 7” reach advantage. He is coming from the mean streets of Chicago…Indiana?

Round 1

Torres shoots, then pulls full guard. Bedard collapses Torres against the fence. A short pause as somebody’s fingers got stuck in somebody’s gloves. Back to the action. Both men are staying active in the guard. Torres tries elbows to Bedard’s back. Why? Torres with a half-armbar, transitions to a triangle and that’s enough to get a tap from Bedard. Mullet of the night award for Torres. He also showed great patience in the guard and waited for the wrestler to overextend himself and leave a limb dangling. A pretty basic BJJ victory.

Torres by submission via armbar at 2:30 in Rd 1.

Commercial break

Frank Mir interviews Torres, who does not have many insightful things to say, but agrees that it was a basic win.

Commercial Break

Jesse “Kid Hercules” Forbes (4-1) vs. Brian “The Beast” Baker (4-0)

Middleweight

In the promo, both seem confident about kneeing each other in the face.

Fairly even match, but does 186 still count as middleweight?

Forbes looks a little more intense on the staredown. Is it all a show?

Round 1

An early left hand floors Baker. Back on their feet, they exchange punches. Forbes gets caught with a nice shot and goes bonkers. Forbes tries battering Baker with a long flurry of hooks. Baker takes a few glancing blows, but defends well. They exchange in the middle, then move to cage, and Jesse shoots for takedown. Half guard at the cage quickly becomes side control for Forbes. Forbes has a weak guillotine. Baker grabs under a leg. Incredible slam by Baker. He literally turned Forbes on his head and dropped him like a scoop slam, while still in Forbes’ guillotine! Baker is now on top and moves to half guard. Forbes grabs a leg. They take a strange fall and Forbes has Baker’s back. Hooks are in but no choke. A second attempt but Baker tries to roll out. Baker is on top laying down bombs. Forbes is allowing him to posture. A few weak armbar attempts from Kid Hercules, but he will not get leverage in his current position. Baker passes to side control. He throws elbow strikes as the leg comes over. Was that a HEADBUTT I just saw from Baker?? Evidently the ref missed it, because there is no stoppage. Baker gains the mount, and starts landing good strikes. Forbes barely stays alive and rolls to his back. Dean’s patience is wearing thin. He expects to see Forbes put up more a fight to defend himself. He now lets Forbes know this verbally, telling him he has to fight back, but he still lies there and takes it. Dean’s patience finally runs out.

Baker by TKO via strikes at 4:15 in Round 1

Commercial Break as Dean is waiting to raise Baker’s hand.

They make the official announcement and interview Baker. No mention of the headbutt, but we all saw it. Nevertheless, a good showing from Baker.

Commercial break.

We are back live and Mir and Harris are pumping up Stann’s military status and his appearances on MTV and CNN. Basically they cut a whole promo on Brian Stann before another commercial. Poor Jeremiah Billington.

Commercial Break

“The Fighting Pride of the US Marine Corps, the All American” Brian Stann (4-0) vs. Jeremiah Billington (9-1)

Light Heavyweight

So many nicknames for Stann, but none are official aside from his rank in the Marines. Billington weighs 10 lbs less, is shorter, and has less reach. He also looks sloppy during his “shadowbox while we spray you with water” moment.

I like that Stann is a “freestyle fighter”.

Round 1

They tie up against the fence. Good knees in the clinch from Stann. Billington throws a short, sharp uppercut, but Stann POUNDS him back with a straight right. Pressing Jeremiah back to the cage, Stann uses shoulder bumps and knees to the thigh. Short punches from Stann, and a couple strong knees. Stann finds an opening and lights Billington up with a good punch. Billington fights back and gets in a good shot, but Stann continues his assault, landing a good knee followed by a stiff punch combo. The fight collapses to the ground. Billington would have full guard on Stann if he would LOCK HIS FREAKING ANKLES!!! Stann postures and stands. Stann doesn’t back off and lays into him with big punches, and the fight is called. A lot sooner than the Forbes fight, but it was obvious Billington was not seasoned enough to take much more.

Stann by TKO due to strikes at 3:07 of Round 1

Commercial Break

We get the official result.

Stann interview is good. He will continue fighting as long as he is successful. Based on his performance tonight, that could be quite a while. Harris mentions there are celebrities in the house…like the Tapout crew. Oh yeah, and Jens Pulver, Clay Guida, and Joe Stephenson. And Chuck Liddell.

Commercial Break

They break down the weight classes and current champions. Good idea. Help the casual fan get a grip on who’s who in the WEC. They have an interview with the most exciting fighter in the WEC, Urijah Faber. I miss a lot of what he says, because I can not help but look at Hermes Franca lurking in the background. What, no interview with a former UFC title contender? They have another endless parade of UFC/WEC fighters in the crowd before we go to break.

Commercial break

Blas “The Disciple” Avena (1-1) vs. Joe Benoit (5-0)

Welterweight

Round 1

Avena rushes Benoit at the bell. Benoit tries a late shot, but Avena sinks in a guillotine. Benoit’s face is turning red really fast. Avena pushes his hips up, cranks the neck harder and that’s it.

Avena by Tapout due to Guillotine Choke at 0:29 of Round 1

Commercial break.

They show Rob McCullough warming up. Wow, who is McCullough’s trainer? Rrowr.

Rani Yahya vs Chase “The Rage” Beebe (Champion)

Bantamweight Title

Mention of the Bantamweight Title gets no reaction from the crowd. I wonder how much Beebe makes from Tapout, since it looks like they are his ONLY sponsor? As an aside, I can’t help but notice that “Yahya” and “Beebe” both sound like childish euphemisms for genitalia. Steve “The ‘Stache” Mazzagati tells them to “Hook ‘em up” and we are ready to go.

Round 1

The two have a quick exchange in center ring and Yahya drops to the ground. Beebe gives chase. Yahya has a weak grip on a leg for a kneebar. Beebe laboriously twists out of it. Yahya has a leg again from the ground, pushes to the cage, and gets the takedown. No real advantage for Rani in this position, and Beebe gets away. They do some squirming around center ring and move against the fence. Yahya has a guillotine with no hooks in and Beebe gets away. Beebe pulls half guard and Yahya transitions to side control. They are against the fence and Yahya spins north/south then back to side control, then he stands, then drops into Beebe’s guard. Yahya is moving at a blinding pace right now. Yahya spins, attempts a choke, drops it, stands and has Beebe against the cage. All of that happens in the course of about two seconds. They are clinched against the cage and Yahya puts his legs on Beebe’s hips and drops flat to the ground. Yahya is still moving fast, but not accomplishing much. He looks like he is beginning to run out of steam. Beebe throws a right, grabs Rani’s back, briefly has side control, then slips inside Yahya’s guard. Rani gets control of an arm, but loses it. Yahya slides his guard up to attempt a submission, but Beebe smothers it. Yahya grabs an arm again and sweeps to a north/south choke but Beebe is saved by the bell. Amazing first round. I score it for the challenger by a hair.

Commercial Break

Round 2

Yahya shoots and Beebe sneaks in a guillotine. He loses it but stays on top. Yahya tries to grab a leg but Beebe keeps moving. They are locked up against the cage and Chase throws a punch. Another transition and Beebe is in Rani’s guard. Beebe rolls to break free of the hold Yahya has on his leg, basically teabagging him in the process. Yahya rolls out from underneath him. Beebe throws down a few punches to the face, then takes side control. He grabs Rani’s back, and easily gets both hooks in. He reaches under and tries to grab his neck. He fumbles at rear naked choke attempts for a while, but is generally unsuccessful. He is really offering no distraction at all, so they just keep weaving hands over and under each other for a minute or so. Beebe finally throws some punches. Chase gets an arm in but lets go. Yahya looks like he’s got nothing left. Beebe rolls him over and tries another choke. Yahya defends. A Third attempt is blocked. Beebe needs to throw more punches as Yahya looks at the clock. Beebe tries to roll to a mount but slips into guard. Yahya’s pace has slowed considerably. Beebe is throwing some ineffective punches. Yahya tries to control an arm. The action moves to the cage. Both are staying active, but doing nothing all that effective. Beebe tries to collapse guard and Yahya grabs an arm. That would have been a good opportunity for an armbar, but I do not think Rani had the energy to make it happen. Beebe tries to mount once more and there is the bell. Beebe takes the round easily.

Commercial Break

Round 3

Both fighters come out slowly. Yahya feints a superman punch and goes for a shot instead. Beebe defends well. They clinch against the fence and Yahya pulls guard. Beebe keeps control on top. Chase is smothering most of Rani’s movement. Yahya is clinging desperately to a leg. Beebe needs to shake him off with more punches. He lands a few weak shots and Yahya tries to spin away. Beebe finds a hole and lands good liver punches. Yahya spins away and pulls Beebe into half guard. Rani instinctively throws his legs up for armbar but nobody’s home. Beebe is a step ahead of the game at this point. He takes Rani’s back and sinks double hooks. Chase throws a few punches and continues looking for an open neck. Beebe’s punches making Rani’s nose bleed so he sinks the rear naked attempt deeper. Yahya blocks so Beebe throws more leather. Weak punches are doing mild damage. Beebe holds Rani’s back until the bell. I give that round to the champ by a landslide.

Commercial Break

Round 4

Yahya starts off with some good leg kicks that buckled Beebe’s knees a bit. A Left hook drops Yahya but he clinches against the fence. Yahya goes for a single leg but Beebe is putting on a takedown defense clinic tonight. Beebe has his back and looks for another choke but moves to a mount. He is blocked but he settles for side control. Chase continues throwing punches between transition attempts. He rubs an elbow into his skull and Yahya starts getting anxious. Beebe keeps throwing more punches in Yahya’s guard. Yahya tries to control the wrists, but Beebe frees up and throws more punches. It really couldn’t hurt Yahya to punch just once. Beebe lands a good shot against the cage. Beebe tries another pass and is back in guard. Yahya tries to sweep but Beebe gets side control. Mir keeps talking up Rani Yahya’s jiu-jitsu skills, and saying how big of an upset it would be if Chase submitted him. Beebe locks in an arm and drops some elbows. Beebe tries to rip Yahya’s arms away but failed. The bell rings and Beebe easily takes another round.

Round 5

Yahya looks half asleep in his corner. The round opens with more good leg kicks from Rani. Why he isn’t doing that more often I’m not sure.  A shot from Yahya but Beebe defends. Beebe tries to grab a guillotine but Yahya spins away. Chase is in Rani’s butterfly guard and is staying active. More fists from Beebe. Chase stands briefly, but drops back into Yahya’s guard. Another pass attempt failed. Beebe is throwing punches more frequently now. The pair move to the fence and Beebe makes multiple pass attempts. Beebe slides up a bit in Rani’s guard and throws more fists. Good shots against the fence. By this point I’m seriously wondering if Rany is incapable of offense. With ten seconds remaining Beebe tries desperately for a finish, but will have to settle for a decision victory. I score it 49-46. Evidently two of the three judges agree with me. One scores it 49-45. Did Beebe score a 10-8 round somewhere I’m not aware of?

Chase Beebe by Decision to retain the Bantamweight Title

Commercial Break

“Razor” Rob McCullough (14-3)- C/ Richard “Cleat” Crunkilton (17-1)

Lightweight Title

Round 1

Razor catches a right body kick from Crunkilton and counters with a right hand. McCullough lands sharp punches, but Cleat lands some shots of his own. Looks like Crunkilton has decided to go toe-to-toe with Razor. McCullough lands a hard right and drops Crunkilton, who tries to back away and gets caught with another hard straight right. They clinch against the cage and Razor lands some punishing knees. Cleat is still trying to stand and scrap and is eating some very hard, very calculated rights. A big right snaps Crunkilton’s chin and Herb Dean has seen enough. The fight is over.

“Razor” Rob McCullough by TKO via strikes at 1:29 in Round 1 to retain the Lightweight Title

Analysis:

WEC put on a good showing in spite of Jens Pulver missing the action due to a knee injury. With the exception of the Yahya/Beebe fight, a lot of these matches seemed lopsided. Rani had good defense to keep himself from being submitted, but that was really all he had. He could not mount any legitimate offense, and was worn down by the third round. Beebe on the other hand, showed some incredible wrestling skills, but was too tentative with his punches to finish the fight.