WEC 42 "Torres vs. Bowles" 8/9/09 Re-Cap

WEC 42 “Torres vs. Bowles”
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV

Todd Harris is joined by Frank Mir for commentary. Craig Hummer is the in-ring interviewer. The Main Event tonight is for the WEC Bantamweight Championship as one of the top P4P fighters in the world, Miguel Torres, defends his belt against Brian Bowles.

Featherweight Fight- Leonard Garcia (16-4) vs. Jameel Massouh (21-5)

Massouh is coming off a decision loss to Raphael Assuncao at WEC 40. Garcia is coming off of a first round submission loss to the Featherweight Champion, Mike Brown. Both guys are looking to get back to their winning ways tonight.

R1- Garcia is the more aggressive fighter early and lands a huge right hand at the two minute mark that floors Massouh. Garcia pauses and gives Jameel time to recover and then umps on top for some Ground and Pound. Back to their feet and Garcia lands some knees. Jameel comes back and gets a take down. Massouh did a good job of regaining his exposure and getting in some offense at the end of the round but Garcia hit the big shot of the round and popped right up at the end of the round after Massouh had been on top for about a minute. Garcia 10-9 after one round.

R2- Massouh went for a take down and Garcia grabbed a guillotine on the way down but couldn’t hold it. Massouh controls the first half of the round without doing any substantial damage. Massouh gets Garcia in a choke and Garcia gets to his feet and looked like he was going out but Massouh let go of the move and tried to take Garcia’s back and Garcia got loose. Garcia looks real wobbly right now. Garcia looked finished in the final minute of this round but Massouh just didn’t show the killer instinct and let Garcia live to fight another round. This is tied up 19-19 after two rounds. The winner of round three wins the fight.

R3- Garcia is once again being more aggressive in the first half of this round but neither guy has done enough to claim this round. Garcia hit a glancing spinning back kick. Garcia is throwing bombs as he’s looking for the knockout punch but isn’t connecting. Garcia is going to take this final round just based on effort. Massouh really had Garcia reeling after that choke but after that point he really lost his aggressiveness and never threatening Garcia. I’ve got Garcia winning this fight 29-28. Not a real impressive showing by Garcia but he showed a lot of heart in hanging on after barely surviving the choke and coming back to win the third and final round.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 Garcia, 29-28 Massouh and 29-28 Garcia.

Winner: Leonard Garcia by Decision (Split)

Bantamweight Fight- Takeya Mizugaki (11-3-2) vs. Jeff Curran (31-11-1)

Mizugaki is coming off of a great fight against Champion Miguel Torres in which Torres won by Decision. Mizugaki is the first fighter in WEC to take Torres to a decision. Jeff Curran is coming off a decision loss to Joseph Benavidez.

R1- Curran caught a Mizugaki kick and clinched him against the cage. Curran spent the better half of the round trying to take Mizugaki down with Mizugaki stuffing him the entire time. With two minutes left in the round Mizugaki got a take down and took Curran’s guard. Curran is active in his guard but he ate some decent shots from Mizugaki. Curran was able to go for an arm bar and get out of the guard. Curran took Mizugaki down but again ended up in Mizugaki’s guard. Good first round that I gave to Mizugaki due to the two take downs, take down defense and landing more strikes.

R2- Both guys are landing shots early in the round. Mizugaki got a take down half way through the round. Mizugaki landed some strikes from this position. Curran grabbed a guillotine but it was pretty much just for position and he was not in danger of finishing the fight. Mizugaki is up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Mizugaki got a take down to start the round. Curran fought an active round from the bottom. Curran landed a nice sweep into a triangle choke with 40 seconds left in the fight. Curran rolled him over and tried to put more pressure on Mizugaki but Mizugaki held on. Curran took this round but I’ve got Mizugaki holding on for the 29-28 win. Good fight and a great attempt at the end of the fight by Curran to try and steal the fight.

Judges score cards: 29-28 Mizugaki, 29-28 Curran and 29-28 Mizugaki

Winner: Takeya Mizugaki by Decision (Split)

Kind of interesting that we’ve had 2 fights and 2 split decisions so far.

WEC 43 will see Donald Cerrone fight Ben Henderson for the Interim Lightweight Championship. Both guys are cage side with Craig Hummer and they hype up their fight.

The TapouT guys are in the house for the fights tonight. So is Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown.

Lightweight Fight- Ricardo Lamas (6-0) vs. Danny Castillo (7-1)

At WEC 39 Lamas beat Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision. The only time I’ve seen Castillo fight was at WEC 34 where he lost by Submission to Donald Cerrone in thirty seconds of the first round. Castillo has a 2 inch reach advantage. Castillo is coming off a win on the under card of WEC 39.

R1- This has started out as a stand up fight between two wrestlers. This was a close and even first round. Lamas did a better job landing leg kicks and that might just give him round one.

R2- This round continues with both fighters on their feet. Castillo caught Lamas with a big right hand and Lamas went down and Castillo jumped on top and landed some Ground and Pound and the ref stopped the fight. This was a really close fight up until this point but that shot by Castillo was a big straight right hand to the chink and Lamas went down.

Winner: Danny Castillo by TKO (strikes) R2 4:15

Bantamweight Fight- Joseph Benavidez (10-0) vs. Dominick Cruz (13-1)

Cruz has dropped down in weight for this fight. Cruz’s only loss has come to Urijah Faber and is on a 3 fight win streak. Cruz has a 4” height and 3” reach advantage. At WEC 40 Benavidez defeated Jeff Curran by Decision.

R1- Benavidez landed a couple of strikes and then got tripped up when Cruz grabbed his leg on a kick. Benavidez is lightning quick and he hit a couple of shots on Cruz but Cruz was able to get a take down. Benavidez grabbed a guillotine and couldn’t clamp it in but used it to get back to his feet and separate himself from Cruz. Cruz got Benavidez to the ground again but couldn’t hold him down. Cruz got yet another take down but Benavidez scrambled and Cruz could not get in any offense. Good, close first round. Cruz got 3 take downs but didn’t do any damage when he had them. Benavidez was the aggressor and hit better strikes so I’ve got him taking the round 10-9.

R2- Both guys start out quick. Benavidez chases Cruz down with a flurry but Cruz caught Benavidez coming in a second time and then Cruz landed a flurry on Benavidez and Benavidez grabbed a guillotine and used it to stop the onslaught. Benavidez missed with a kick and went to the ground and Cruz came after him with some strikes and then landed a take down. Once again Cruz could not take advantage of his take down and they returned to their feet. Cruz ended the round with another take down. Cruz took this round so I’ve got the fight 19-19. Really fun fight so far.

R3- Cruz got a take down with three minutes left in the fight but once again gets nothing from it. Both guys are throwing shots but neither has distanced themselves in this round as we are coming down to the last 60 seconds. Cruz got a take down and Benavidez popped immediately back up. Cruz landed some shots and got a take down and hit some Ground and Pound. Cruz ended the fight on top of Benavidez. Really good fight and Cruz finished strong. Cruz will take this fight 29-28. Really good effort by both guys.

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

Winner: Dominick Cruz by Decision (Unanimous)

WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Torres (c) (36-1) vs. Brian Bowles (7-0)

Torres is on a 17 fight win streak and has defended his belt 3 times. Torres is coming off of a successful title defense at WEC 40 over Takeya Mizugaki. Bowles is coming off of a win at WEC 37 against Will Ribeiro by submission in third round. Torres has a 2” height and 5.5” reach advantage.

R1- Bowles rocked Torres at about the one minute mark with a right hand but Torres punched his way out of trouble. Bowles got a take down at the two minute mark. Torres was able to hit some up kicks and was able to get back to his feet at the two minute mark. Torres hit a big right hand and followed it up with a flurry of punches but Bowles was able to counter and get Torres down and land a big punch on Torres and he landed several punches and ended the fight. Big time upset! Great fight by Brian Bowles as he took a good shot from Torres and was able to find a right hand threw Torres’ flurry and then finished it on the ground. Big time win for Bowles.

Winner and new champion: Brian Bowles by KO 3:57

WEC 40 4/5/09 Re-Cap

WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki 4/5/09
Chicago, IL
UIC Pavillion
Versus

Over the last year WEC has put out the best MMA product for my money and the great news is that you can watch WEC for free on Versus. Hopefully WEC’s string of solid and exciting shows continues tonight as Pound for Pound Top 10 fighter Miguel Angel Torres will be in action defending his Bantamweight Title. Todd Harris is the lead announcer and his partner is once again Frank Mir (last show Jens Pulver filled in). Torres is defending against Mizugaki. I haven’t seen him fight but Mir puts him over as a Top 5 fighter in his division.

Featherweight Fight- Raphael Assuncao (12-1) vs. Jameel Massouh (21-4)

Assuncao is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt who also has strong Muay Thai. Massouh is a well rounded fighter who has 10 submissions in his career. Both fighters are making their WEC debut. Massouh has a large 5’ height and 5’ reach advantage.

R1- Assuncao hit a good shot at the one minute mark that knocked Massouh down. Assuncao took his guard but Massouh got a heel hook and Assuncao got out and took Massouh’s guard again. Assuncao got another take down towards the end of the round and then got a guillotine right at the end of the round. Assuncao is up 10-9 after one round.

R2- Pretty close second round until Assuncao grabbed a guillotine at about the two minute mark. Assuncao finished up the round on top of Massouh and took this round 10-9 as well.

R3- Assuncao hit a good combo at the beginning of the round and then controlled on the ground for the first half of the round until Massouh flipped him over. Assuncao quickly got back into the dominant position. Assuncao wins this fight 30-27 on my score card. Overall, it was a decent fight with a good first round.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three cards

Winner: Raphael Assuncao by Decision (Unanimous)

Next up they show a hype video for the re-match between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber on June 7th for the Featherweight Championship. They come back from the hype video and Mike Brown and Urijah Faber are at ringside and Todd Harris interviews them to hype up the fight.

They show a tribute video for Charles “Mask” Lewis.

Brian Bowles, Donald Cerrone and Jens Pulver (w/child) are shown sitting together.

Lightweight Division- Shane Roller (5-1) vs. Ben Henderson (8-1)

Henderson is on a 7 fight win streak with most of his wins coming by submission. Roller comes out to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” Roller is a 3x Division 1 Wrestling All American but has as many knockouts as he does submissions. Roller has a slight 2’ reach advantage.

R1- Roller hit a nice right and then caught Henderson in a guillotine but couldn’t finish him. Henderson got up and got the advantage and hit some good strikes and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Great come back by Henderson as he was in a ton of trouble in the opening minute of the fight.

Winner: Ben Henderson by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:41

Lightweight Fight- Bart Palaszweski (30-12) vs. Anthony Njokuani (10-2)

Anthony has a 5.5’ reach advantage and a 3’ height advantage. Bart is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Chicago.

R1- Bart got a take down about a minute into the fight but couldn’t keep him down. Njokuani stuck Bart with a straight right as he was avoiding a punch and Bart went down. Njokuani landed some brief Ground and Pound but then the ref stood them up. Bart got a take down with about half a minute left in the round. Close round, I’ve got Njokuani 10-9.

R2- Njokuani hits Bart with a great combo at the beginning of the round and just takes him out. Njokuani does a back flip and a break dance spin to celebrate. Right hand, left kick, right hand. Nice flurry by Njokuani.

Winner: Anthony Njokuani by TKO (Strikes) R2 0:27

Bantamweight Fight- Jeff Curran (31-10-1) vs. Joseph Benavidez (9-0)

This is the “Co-Main Event.” Benavidez last fought in WEC in December and had an impressive unanimous decision victory over Danny Martinez. Previous to that he submitted Junya Kudo in the first round of a DREAM fight. Benavidez trains with Urijah Faber and Faber is in his corner for this fight. Jeff Curran is the more experienced fighter and is the home town fighter in this fight. Curran’s last fight was a decision loss to Featherweight kingpin Mike Brown. Curran has a 4’ reach and 2’ height advantage. This is a big step up for Benavidez.

R1- Really good and competitive first round. With a minute and a half left Benavidez catches Curran and knocks him to the mat and jumps on top. Benavidez took round one 10-9.

R2- Both guys are throwing some really quick punches. Curran went for a Superman punch and struck out and Benavidez quickly took Curran’s guard but couldn’t get anything so they stood up at the two minute mark. Curran pulled guard but missed the guillotine, Curran then went for a different sub and then a triangle but could not land any of them and Benavidez took side control. This round could go either way, virtually a toss up. Curran probably gets some points here for trying to finish the fight with a flurry of submissions.

R3- Benavidez got a take down about a minute and a half in by chopping Curran’s leg out from under him with holding onto his other leg. Benavidez stays on top of Curran for the last minute of the fight. Curran went for a triangle but couldn’t get it. Really good fight, the first two rounds were great. I’ve got Benavidez 29-28.

Judges score the fight: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Benavidez

Winner: Joseph Benavidez by Decision (Unanimous)

Bantamweight Title Fight: Miguel Angel Torres © (35-1) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (11-2-2)

Torres looked fantastic in his last defense against Manny Tapia and had a FOTY candidate in his fight before that against Yoshiro Maeda. This will be the first time that I’ve seen Mizugaki fight. Mizugaki is aggressive, likes to stand and has dangerous Ground and Pound. Torres has a large 6.5” reach and a slight 2” height advantage. Torres is the hometown fighter in this fight and gets a heroes welcome to the cage.

R1- Both guys really swinging freely early in this fight. Really strong and even first round that was a virtual toss up. I give it to Mizugaki as he controlled the early part of the round and finished strong. Torres looked to get more comfortable and find his range with kicks more as the round went on.

R2- They mixed it up pretty good for the first minute of the fight with Torres slipping a couple of times but Mizugaki not wanting to follow him to the mat. Torres starts to land some good punches in the middle of this round. Torres looked really good in the second half of this round and wins this round. So I’ve got the fight 19-19 at this point but round one was a virtual toss up.

R3- Mizugaki opened u a small cut on Torres’s forehead and they paused the fight to check the cut. They both really open up after the pause in the fight and then Torres starts to push the pace but Mizugaki answers with a barrage of his own. Good, very close round with neither fighter showing dominance. Torres seemed to land the better shots. I’ve got him up 29-28 in a very close fight so far.

R4- Torres went for a take down but Mizugaki stuffed it and stood back up rather quickly. Torres seems to be grasping control of this fight as he’s stuffing Mizugaki against the cage. Torres misses on a knee bar attempt but when they stand back up he uses his jab effectively. Torres rocked Mizugaki with a right hand and he went back but absorbed the punch nicely. Torres really started to take control of this fight in this round. I’ve got Torres up 39-37 going into the final championship round.

R5- Miguel gets Mizugaki up against the cage and unloads with a good combo but Mizugaki absorbs the punches. Torres hasn’t lost any speed on his jab even in the later stages of this fight. Torres is just too quick and has too much cardio at this point of the fight. Mizugaki is tired but is hanging in there. Both guys slug it out at the end of the fight and this one is going the distance. Really strong fight. I’ve got Torres winning and retaining his title by the score of 49-46.

Judges score cards say: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 in favor of Torres.

Winner and still WEC Bantamweight Champion: Miguel Torres by Decision (Unanimous)