WEC 45 “Cerrone vs. Ratcliff”
The Pearl at the Palms
Las Vegas, Nevada
December 19, 2009
Todd Harris and Frank Mir are the announcers for the show. Joe Martinez is the ring announcer. The Main Event is Donald Cerrone against Ed Ratcliff in a match-up of Lightweight Contenders.
Bantamweight Fight- Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2) vs. Scott Jorgensen (7-3)
At WEC 43 Jorgensen stopped Noah Thomas by TKO three minutes into the first round. Mizugaki last fought at WEC 42 and beat Jeff Curran by a Split Decision. Mizugaki has a 3.5” reach advantage.
R1- Jorgensen caught Mizugaki with a punch right out of the gate and then grabbed a guillotine but could not hold the submission. Jorgensen landed some big punches about three minutes into the round and Mizugaki went down but Mizugaki again survived. Jorgensen 10-9.
R2- Jorgensen got a take down in the first 30 seconds of the round. Jorgensen landed some good strikes with about two minutes left in the round. Mizugaki is showing a lot of heart and putting up a fight but so far it’s been mostly Jorgensen in control. Jorgensen 20-18.
R3- Pretty even round. Jorgensen got a take down about half way through the round but then Mizugaki returned the favor. Mizugaki got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Mizugaki takes this round but Jorgensen will win the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all three score cards
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by Decision (Unanimous)
Bantamweight Fight- Joseph Benavidez (10-1) vs. Rani Yahya (15-4)
Benavidez dropped a decision to Dominick Cruz in his last fight at WEC 42. Miguel Angel Torres joins the announce crew during this fight.
R1- They throw some leather early and Benavidez dropped to his knees briefly but I couldn’t tell if it was due to a slip or a punch. Benavidez hit a big time right hand and then jumped on top with some Ground and Pound and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:35
Featherweight Fight- Brandon Visher vs. Courtney Buck
This fight is brought to us thanks to Joseph Benavidez quick finish in the last fight. This is a fight from the pre-show. Buck has a 4” height and 4” reach advantage.
R1- Both guys swinging wildly to open up the fight and both guys landed good shots. Visher got a take down about 30 seconds into the round. Back to their feet and both guys throwing some more leather. Mir comments that this is the type of fight that the guys in the back don’t like to see because these guys might take their “Fight of the Night” bonus if they keep up this performance. Visher hit a good looping right hand that hit Buck near the back of his ear. They scrambled and Visher ended up on top. Mir is basically saying that Buck is horrible on the ground and is doing a lot of things wrong. Visher has taken the mount on Buck. Buck gave up his back and Visher landed some more strikes and then Buck rolled over and Visher landed some vicious hammer fists and won the fight.
Winner: Brandon Visher by KO R1 4:45
Lightweight Fight- Anthony Njokuani (12-2) vs. Chris Horodecki (13-1)
At WEC 40 Anthony beat Bart Palaszweski by TKO in the second round. Anthony has a 6” reach and 6” height advantage. This is Horodecki’s WEC debut.
R1- Anthony really came on about three minutes into the round. He nailed a judo throw and then Horodecki got up and started to retreat and Anthony meet him with a kick to the face. Anthony jumps on top and lands some Ground and Pound and Mazzagatti jumped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Anthony Njokuani by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:33
Bantamweight Fight- Brad Pickett vs. Kyle Dietz
We get another pre-show fight. Dietz has a 2” reach and 2” height advantage. This is Pickett’s WEC debut.
R1- Pretty good first round but honestly I’m having a tough time telling these guys apart. Mir sides toward Pickett taking the first round.
R2- Both guys come out swinging and Pickett is able to get Dietz on the ground. Pickett was able to finish the fight off toward the end of the round with a choke.
Winner: Brad Pickett by Submission (Peruvian Neck Tie) R2
Lightweight Fight- Donald Cerrone (10-2) vs. Ed Ratcliff (7-1)
Cerrone lost his last fight in a close decision to Ben Henderson in an Interim title fight (I actually had Cerrone winning the fight 48-47). Ratcliff’s lone loss was to Marcus Hicks via guillotine choke. Cerrone has a 3” height and 1.5” reach advantage.
R1- Right off the bat they clinched and Cerrone tried to pull guard but Ratcliff stood up. Ratcliff hit a good punch that buckled Cerrone’s knees. Ratcliff landed a leg kick that tripped up Cerrone. Both guys landed some strikes against the cage and then Cerrone got a clinch and landed some strikes. Cerrone started to pick up some steam towards the end of the round but he hit two low blows on Ratcliff. Herb Dean took a point away from Cerrone. Cerrone got a take down at the end of the round and clamped in a guillotine but couldn’t finish before the bell rang. Ratcliff started off quickly but Cerrone really controlled the second half of the round and I think he did enough to steal the round. With the one point deduction that makes the score 9-9 after one round.
R2- Cerrone landed a good jab/knee combo and is in control of his round but he landed another low blow. Cerrone lost another point and he came out gang busters after the fight started back up. Ratcliff caught a kick and was able to briefly get Cerrone to the mat. Ratcliff grabbed Cerrone’s back but Cerrone got out by grabbing a kimura and then grabbed a guillotine but could not finish with it before the bell sounded. I’ve got Cerrone winning this round but due to the point deduction I’ve got the fight 18-18.
R3- Cerrone went for the glove tap and Ratcliff went for the flying knee right at the bell. Cerrone lands some good strikes in the first minute and he eggs on the crowd. Cerrone lands a mount but Herb Dean stands them up because he says Cerrone grabbed the fence and he makes him give up the advantageous position. Cerrone got Ratcliff’s back and took him down. Cerrone grabs a reverse triangle and then grabs Ratcliff’s leg and put it behind his arm but Ratcliff escaped the move. Cerrone again to the back and clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and Ratcliff fought hard but eventually had to tap out. Good fight.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 3:47
The next WEC show looks really good with Varner/Henderson and Urijah Faber and Mike Brown also on the card:
January 10- Sacramento, Ca
Lightweight World Title Fight- Jamie Varner © vs. Ben Henderson
Featherweight Fight- Urijah Faber vs. Raphael Assuncao
Lightweight Fight- Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
Featherweight Fight- Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
Featherweight Fight- Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
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