WEC 44 "Brown vs. Aldo" Re-Cap

WEC 44 “Brown vs. Aldo”
The Pearl
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 19, 2009

Todd Harris and Frank Mir are the announcers for the show. Joe Martinez is the ring announcer. The Featherweight Championship is on the line as Mike Thomas Brown will face explosive challenger Jose Aldo. Former WEC Lightweight Champion Rob McCullough will face Karen Darabedyan. In a fight of former UFC fighters Leonard Garcia will face Manvel Gamburyan in a Featherweight Fight.

Lightweight Fight- Will Kerr (8-1) vs. Kamal Shalorus (4-0-1)

This is the WEC debut for both fighters.

R1- Kamal hit a big punch that floored Kerr early. Kamal lands some good strikes and Kerr falls to his knees and the ref stops the fight. Good showing by Kamal as he looked good in the striking face of MMA but didn’t really look like he was tested tonight.

Winner: Kamal Shalorus by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:26

Lightweight Fight- Shane Roller (6-2) vs. Danny Castillo (8-1)

Roller lost back in April to current Lightweight Interim Champ Ben Henderson.

R1- Castillo got the first take down about half way through the round but he couldn’t hold Roller down. Castillo got another take down but Roller reversed it and nearly got a guillotine. Castillo got another take down with a minute and a half left in the round. Castillo 10-9.

R2- Castillo landed some good shots against the cage and then got a take down. Roller landed a couple knees and then got a take down. Roller grabbed a guillotine. Castillo gave up his back and Roller landed some good shots to the side of the head and ear. One round a piece after two rounds.

R3- Roller shot in but Castillo sprawled and got top position. Roller got a take down with two minutes left in the round. Roller locks in a choke and Castillo taps out. Pretty even back and forth fight, nice job by Roller in finishing the fight.

Winner: Shane Roller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R3 3:32

Donald Cerrone will fight Ed Ratcliffe on December 19th and they are interviewed ringside.

Tito Ortiz, Ben Henderson, and Urijah Faber are all ringside for the show.

Lightweight Fight- Rob McCullough (17-5) vs. Karen Darabedyan (8-1)

Karen is Judo and Taekwondo Black Belt who is on a 5 fight win streak. Karen is making his WEC debut.

R1- They are picking their spots early but are exchanging. McCullough looks a little tight and Karen more relaxed. Karen hit a good combo. McCullough landed a good body kick but Karen came back with a good punch that opened up a cut on McCullough. Karen landed some good shots at the end of the round and looks really good so far. Karen 10-9.

R2- Karen got a take down within the first minute of the round but couldn’t get anything before McCullough worked back to his feet. Both guys have small cuts near their eyes. Pretty even round other than the take down that could have been scored either way. Karen is up 20-18 on my score card.

R3- Pretty even and uneventful round to finish the fight. I’ve got Karen taking this fight by virtue of winning the first two rounds on my score card. Could be a split decision.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 Darabedyan, 30-27 McCullough, 29-28 Darabedyan

Wow. No way McCullough won that first round. It’s very rare that you see one judge score a fight 30-27 and another judge score a fight 30-27 in favor of the other fighter. Rounds 2 and 3 were very even.

Winner: Karen Darabedyan by Decision (Split)

Featherweight Fight- Leonard Garcia (17-4) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (11-5)

Garcia has a 5” height and 2” reach advantage. This is the Co-Main Event.

R1- Long feeling out process. Manvel came in for a take down and Garcia fed him a good right hand. Garcia is landing some strikes but nothing too bad. Manvel went for a take down but Garcia sprawled and then Manvel hit Garcia with two low blows. Manvel goes for a take down and Garcia did a good job of keeping the fight on the feet. Garcia hit a good kick but Manvel took it. Manvel shot again but Garcia landed a kick. Garcia 10-9.

R2- Garcia hit a couple strikes and then Manvel shot in for a take down but Garcia did a nice job of sprawling. Manvel missed an over hand right and slipped but because of it he was able to get a slam/take down on Garcia with a minute and a half left in the round. Manvel got in some shots on Garcia and stole this round so it’s even 19-19 after two rounds.

R3- Both guys are throwing punches with bad intentions to start the round. Garcia starts talking and wants a slugfest but it ends up with Manvel getting a take down. Manvel is going to take this round because he was in a dominant position for a lot of the round. I’ve got Manvel taking the fight 20-19 in a close fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Gamburyan

Winner: Manvel Gamburyan by Decision (Unanimous)

Featherweight Title Fight- Mike Thomas Brown © (22-4) vs. Jose Aldo (15-1)

At WEC 41 Jose Aldo destroyed Cub Swanson in 8 seconds with a flying knee. On that same card Mike Brown successfully defended his championship in a 5 round unanimous decision against former champion Urijah Faber.

R1- The first couple minutes they spend going back and forth with both guys landing some offense but nothing damaging. Aldo hits a good punch/kick/knee combo that hurts Brown but Brown clinched Aldo to give himself time to recover. Brown tried to get the fight to the ground but Aldo did a great job of sprawling. Aldo 10-9.

R2- Aldo hit some good strikes on Brown to open the round and Brown again clinched to stop the barrage. Brown went for a take down but Aldo shoved him down and jumped on top. Aldo hit some strikes and then took Brown’s back and just started leveling him with punches and the ref stopped the fight. New Champion and Jose Aldo is the truth.

Winner and new WEC Featherweight Champion: Jose Aldo by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:20