WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia 12/3/08 Re-Cap

WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia 12/3/08

Bantamweight Fight- Joseph Benavidez (8-0) vs. Danny Martinez (12-2)

Benavidez was last seen in DREAM in July and got a submission victory in Round One against Junya “Kodo” Kudo. This is the WEC debut for both fighters. Kim Winslow is the ref (just thought I’d point that out as I’ve never seen a woman ref for a MMA fight before- not that there is anything wrong with that!). Benavidez trains with former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

R1- Benavidez connects with some early strikes. Martinez came in and Benavidez hit him with some nice shots before Martinez was able to lock him up. Martinez is looking good early with quick strikes and combinations. Benavidez hit a good roundhouse to the body that looked like it hurt Martinez. Martinez backs Benavidez up against the cage and gets a take down but Benavidez gives up his back and gets to his feet and Martinez has him in a clinch but Benavidez gets out of it. Martinez went for a take down but Benavidez took him down with a Judo Throw and finished the round in a dominant position. Benavidez definitely looked like the better fighter in round one as he took it 10-9.

R2- Benavidez seems to be the quicker fighter and is looking more for his offense. Benavidez is getting in quick strikes on Martinez whenever Martinez comes in for strikes. Benavidez hit a knee but Martinez shrugged it off. Benavidez getting more aggressive as the round is coming down to the one minute mark. Martinez went for a take down and got it but Benavidez got back to his feet with no damage. Benavidez takes this round so he’s up 20-18.

R3- Benavidez using a lot of leg kicks to keep Martinez at bay early in this round despite Martinez being more aggressive than in the first two rounds. Benavidez hit a flying knee and then a nice kick to Martinez but Martinez is staying on his feet. Benavidez is looking good. The only thing he seems to be lacking is knockout power. Martinez got in some offense under the one minute mark. This round was closer but I’ve still got Benavidez winning it and taking the fight 30-27. Very impressive showing for Benavidez. He showed that he was a very versatile fighter and looks to only lack knockout power. Martinez showed heart and a good chin but ultimately was not a match for Benavidez.

All judges score the fight 30-27.

Winner: Joseph Benavidez by Decision (Unanimous)

WEC 38 will take place on January 25th and will have a re-match of Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver as well as a Light Heavyweight title fight between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone. It will be live on Versus.

They interview Jamie Varner and Urijah Faber at ringside between fights.

The TapouT crew is in the house. So are Chuck Liddell, Carlos Condit and Stephan Bonnar.

Bantamweight Fight- Brian Bowles (6-0) vs. Will Ribeiro (9-1)

Riberio was an Olympic Boxer for Brazil but also has good Muy Thai and Jiu Jitsu. Bowles fights out of Athens, Ga and is more of a wrestler with good submissions. Bowles has heavy hands and good conditioning. This is hyped as a contender’s match with both guys looking towards a title shot down the road, possibly against the winner of Torres/Tapia. Riberio is coming off of a split decision against Chase Beebe.

R1- Bowles charges in for the first action of the fight and lands a good combination. Ribeiro clinches him to stop the onslaught. Ribeiro hit a good spinning side kick. Bowles regroups and hits some strikes. Pretty even fight so far. Ribeiro goes for a take down but Bowles grabs a guillotine and rolls him over. He gives up the hold and takes Ribeiro’s back. Bowles takes Ribeiro’s guard. Bowles takes this round due to the take down reversal and submission attempt at the end of the round. Bowles is up 10-9 after one round.

R2- Ribeiro hits a kick but Bowles grabbed it. Ribeiro ends up on top but gets hit with an up kick. Ribeiro briefly gets guard but then lets Bowles up. Bowles shot in and got a take down. Bowles has him in half guard but isn’t getting in much damage. The ref stands them up with half a minute left in the round. Both guys throw some punches and then Bowles gets another take down. Close round but Bowles got two take downs. Bowles is up 20-18 so far through two rounds.

R3- Bowles hit a good counter punch after Ribeiro hit a kick. Ribeiro went for a take down but Bowles again landed a guillotine and Ribeiro tapped out. Nice finish by Bowles. Bowles looked really good in this fight.

Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R3 1:11

Featherweight Fight- Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (10-1)

Tamura is from Osaka, Japan and is a very well rounded fighter. Fabiano comes out to the theme to Rocky! He is a BJJ Black Belt. This is the WEC debut for both Tamura and Fabiano.

R1- Fabiano quickly goes for a take down and gets it. Fabiano tries to pass but Tamura is doing a good job denying him. Fabiano passes guard into the mount. Fabiano lands a couple of light elbows and Tamura puts him back in half guard. Fabiano gets a couple elbows towards the end of the round. This was a very technical ground battle. Fabiano takes the round 10-9 but didn’t inflict much damage on Tamura.

R2- Tamura lands a knee to open up the round and then Fabiano hits some strikes and then gets a take down about 20 seconds into the round. Tamura puts Fabiano into the rubber guard but Fabiano fights through and takes half guard. Fabiano hits decent some strikes and lands a good elbow. Mazzagatti stands them up with one and a quarter minutes left. Fabiano gets another take down with about a minute left in the round and has side guard. Fabiano got in some strikes and went for an arm bar but the bell rang. Fabiano took this round and is up 20-18. This has been a very technical fight so far with not a lot of action.

R3- Tamura pulls guard and had a guillotine. Fabiano uses his legs to walk up the cage and relieve some of the pressure from the hold and ended up in side control. Fabiano moves into a mount position and then takes side control on the other side of Tamura. Fabiano has opened up a cut on Tamura’s forehead. Fabiano gets an arm choke and gets a submission victory with about 20 seconds left in the fight.

Not a very exciting fight but Fabiano’s BJJ was very impressive. As Frank Mir said, Fabiano is definitely going to need to open up his arsenal and be “more exciting” if he wants to move up the ladder. Fabiano did show great BJJ and control of his opponent.

Winner: Wagnney Fabiano by Submission (Arm Choke) R3 4:48

WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Torres © (34-1) vs. Manny Tapia (10-0-1)

Tapia is very durable, has heavy hands and is well versed in submissions. Both guys come out to Mariachi music. Torres is a BJJ Black Belt who can finish from any position. Torres has a large 9 inch reach advantage and a 4 inch height advantage.

R1- Torres catches Tapia off balance early with a jab. Torres hits a lightning quick kick on Tapia. They go back and forth during the middle of the round with Tapia gaining more confidence. Torres goes for a rolling front kick (see: Jushin Thunder Liger) but misses. Tapia gets a flurry in at the end of the round. Close first round but I’ve got to give it to the champ as he seemed to hit on more strikes and effectively used his jab throughout the round.

R2- Both guys land some shots early in the round. Torres charges and connects with a spinning back fist. Torres connects with a big right hand about half way through the round and Tapia goes down. Torres jumps on top and Tapia takes a defensive posture. Tapia gets back to his feet. Torres lands a lightning quick left and then a right and jumps on to of Tapia and looks to finish and he does finish. That was a great flurry by Torres to win this fight. Torres looked really good in this fight.

Winner and still champion: Miguel Torres by TKO (strikes) R2 3:04

Another good show from WEC. Torres looked fantastic as the defending champ. I’m interested to see more Wagnney Fabiano and see if he can mix it up with some of the better Featherweights in WEC. Bowles had a great showing and Benavides looked really good as well.