WEC: “Faber vs. Pulver” 6/1/08
This is the first “live” WEC show that I’ve seen so this should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to Faber/Pulver and also seeing Miguel Torres.
Lightweight Fight- Rob McCullough (15-4) vs. Kenneth Alexander (5-2-1)McCullough seems to be the favorite in this one as he’s a former Lightweight champ. Alexander has been training with Urijah Faber. Frank Mir adds that Alexander has a victory over McCullough earlier in his career. Alexander’s nickname is “The Black Ninja” and he’s 29 years old. Rob McCullough’s nickname is “The Razor”. Alexander has a reach advantage in this fight. Alexander is from Sacramento so he gets a good pop when he is introduced. McCullough doesn’t get anywhere near the response despite being a former champ.
R1- Long feeling out process. Alexander went for a take down about a minute in but McCullough ends up with the take down. Alexander gets out without sustaining damage. McCullough finally throws a combo about 2 minutes in but then Alexander tags him with a punch. Alexander goes for a take down but is denied again. McCullough blocks a kick. Three minutes in and very little damage done by either fighter. They clinch and are against the cage. McCullough gets out of it. Alexander goes for another take down but McCullough ends up taking Alexander down. McCullough has a cut under his right eye. A really conservative first round. Neither guy really got in any sustained damage but Alexander did open up a cut on McCullough despite having several of his take downs thwarted by McCullough.
R2- They start off a little quicker this round as they are actually throwing punches and kicks to start the round. Alexander takes down McCullough but McCullough does a good job getting back to his feet quickly. Both guys fighting very conservatively, almost like they don’t want to make the first mistake. Alexander gets a take down at 40 seconds as McCullough missed a knee but Alexander can’t hold him down. Alexander with another take down at 20 seconds. This has been a really close fight that’s probably 19-19 on the judges score cards. Neither guy can claim they are winning this fight so whoever takes this next round I think will take the fight.
R3- Neither guy really pushing the action at the beginning of this round. The fans aren’t really digging this fight so far although it’s not a bad fight just not much action. McCullough lands a good kick and has kind of taken the role of aggressor in this round in that he’s controlling the cage. McCullough hits a knee. McCullough hits Alexander with a knee to the groin and he crumples. We are going to get a five minute break here. They are back after a minute or two and we are at under 2 minutes with no clear cut winner. They are clinched and then they release. McCullough goes after Alexander with a knee. Alexander gets a take down with 45 seconds left. McCullough gets back up with no damage done. I think McCullough won this round although not really convincingly. I’ll give the fight to McCullough just due to him being the aggressor for the last two rounds and thwarting almost all of Alexander’s take downs. The fans didn’t really dig this match and it really to me looked like two guys fighting not to lose instead of fighting to win. The loser of this match has nothing to complain about because they simply didn’t finish the fight with the intention of winning.
Judges score: McCullough 30-27, Alexander 29-28- wow that’s a weird difference but like I said besides round three (which I thought McCullough won) nobody clearly won a round. Third and final judge scores the fight 30-27 for McCullough.
Winner: Rob McCullough by Decision (Split)
Kind of a blah start to the show as neither guy really looked like they wanted to win the first fight.
Chuck Liddell, Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva are in attendance at the fight.
They interview Light Heavyweight Champ Jamie Varner at ringside. Varner says that his heart is with Jens but he’s picking Faber to win.
Light Heavyweight Fight: Mark Munoz (3-0) vs. Chuck Grigsby (15-3)Both of these guys are newcomers to the WEC. Munoz is a National Champion wrestler from Oklahoma State. Grigsby has a 6 inch height advantage. Grigsby’s nickname is “The Reverend”. Munoz gets a good pop at introductions as he’s hailed as fighting out of Sacramento.
R1- Grigsby is really lanky. Munoz shots in for a take down but Grigsby denies him. Grigbsy lands a couple of shots. Munoz gets a tough take down on Grigsby and had side control but Grigsby easily moved him to full guard. Munoz just doing nothing on the top. Grigsby just misses an arm bar. Munoz comes down with a couple of punches and then does it again and gets half guard. Munoz in side control and hits some punches. Munoz coming down on Grigsby with more punches. Munoz hits some more punches and the ref calls this one. Munoz took a while to get going but eventually found his strength in this fight and took out Grigsby. I think this fight was more of Grigsby not being very good rather than Munoz being good but I guess we will see if that is true in the future.
Winner: Mark Munoz by TKO (punches) R1 4:15
Lightweight Fight- Donald Cerrone (7-0-1) vs. Danny Castillo (5-0)Both of these guys are undefeated. This is Danny Castillo’s WEC debut. Castillo gets a much better reception than does Cerrone due to being the hometown guy. Tons of hometown guys so far as there has been one in all of the first three fights. So far the hometown guys are 1-1 tonight.
R1- Cerrone hits a good knee to the body and then misses on a kick and Castillo takes him down. Cerrone with an active guard and is aggressively going for a submission but Castillo gets a couple of punches in. Cerrone grabs an arm bar and Castillo taps quickly. Cerrone looked really good from the guard position.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by Verbal Submission (Arm bar) R1 0:30
Welterweight Carlos Conduit is at ringside and they interview him about his title defense on August 3rd.
Bantamweight Title Match: Miguel Torres © (33-1) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (23-4-2)This is one of the two fights I’m really looking forward to tonight as I am eager to see Torres. Maeda comes out to “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. Torres trained under the late Carlson Gracie. Torres has a big reach advantage of 8 inches. This is labeled as the “Co-Main Event”.
R1- Maeda grabs a Torres kick and takes him down as Torres slips a little bit. Torres is all over Maeda after this with kicks, knees and punches and he’s got Maeda back peddling quickly. Great flurry by Torres. Torres rushes and hits a knee. Maeda catches Torres again when Torres tries a kick and takes him down but Torres grabs him arm and Maeda escapes. Torres with some good kicks. Torres is cut. Maeda lands a knee and Torres lands a punch and they are mixing it up good. Lots of action. Torres tries to pull guard and is kicking Maeda with his heel from the guard position. Lots of action in a really fun first round. Torres got cut but he also got in more offense and I think he took round one but it wasn’t a blowout as Maeda held his own and showed some good skills.
R2- Torres gets pushed down a couple of times and hits Maeda with a big up kick. Lots of gamesmanship in this fight as they are egging each other on. Torres with some knees on the fence and a nice punch. Maeda comes back with some shots. Both guys really throwing. They go to the mat and Maeda going for a leg lock and has a toe hold. Both guys have toe holds on the other guy. Torres also kicking Maeda. They are out of that position and Maeda hits an elbow. Torres goes for a triangle but Maeda gets out. Torres with some punches on the cage and grabs a guillotine and takes Maeda down. Now he has full mount and is hitting some elbows. Torres has his back with 10 seconds left and is hitting punches. Strong finish for Torres gives him this round also. So I’ve got it Torres 20-18 so far. Great fight so far. The first three fights were kind of blah but this one is really delivering.
R3- Torres opens up the round with some jabs and knee. Torres hits Maeda with a nice punch and gets a good flurry. Maeda though seems to comeback every time he gets in trouble. Maeda’s face is getting swollen under his right eye. Torres with a nice knee. Torres is looking really good in this round. Torres with a roundhouse kick. Maeda comes back and lands some punches and Torres misses with a big kick. Maeda starting to look a little tired but still fighting back. Maeda with a take down and get some good punches in. Torres now working the guard and getting in some offense from the guard position. Maeda’s right eye is almost closed and Torres pops him with a nice left. Another round to Torres in my book as he’s up 30-27 now but the fight is a little closer than the score indicates although Torres is starting to distance himself as he’s inflicting more damage and Maeda’s eye is closed.
During the commercial break Herb Dean steps in and stops the fight due to the condition of Maeda’s eye. Great fight that ends somewhat flat due to the ref stoppage.
Winner: Miguel Torres by Ref Stoppage and still champion
Featherweight Title Match: Urijah Faber © (20-1) vs. Jens Pulver (22-8-1)Pulver’s undefeated at this weight and a former UFC champ. Faber is hyped as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. Faber is sporting corn rows tonight. Faber is definitely the crowd favorite as he’s another hometown guy. The stats are real even for both of these guys.
R1- Faber runs in and gets a couple of shots. They are clinched and Faber hits a couple of knees. Faber hits a good punch. Faber misses with a kick and slips and Pulver jumps on top of Faber. Faber gets up with no damage. Faber accidently pokes Pulver in the eye. So far this fight has mostly been Faber as his speed seems to be tough for Pulver to catch up to so far. Both guys are getting in some shots now but Faber still seems to be landing more. Faber with a nice right hand and then a combo and a high kick that was blocked. Faber hits a body kick but Pulver grabs his back but can’t get anything. Pulver with a combo. Faber with a combo and then another punch. Good first round. Faber takes this one as he controlled the fight from a stand-up position and landed a lot better quality shots. At this point Faber looks a lot quicker and more conditioned. Pulver’s gonna have to make some adjustments between rounds. Faber 10-9.
R2- Faber rushes in early and hits Pulver with a low kick, so they pause the fight. Faber goes in and takes Pulver down. Faber hitting some elbows. Pulver does a real good job avoiding damage and the fight is back on their feet. Pulver is just having difficulty catching up to Faber. Faber rocks Pulver with a punch and Pulver is stunned and goes down to his knees. Faber just all over Pulver with hammer punches and trying to finish. Pulver somehow gets back to his feet but Faber nails Pulver with several shots and Pulver is hurt but is holding on somehow. Pulver with a couple of punches. Faber takes Pulver down but Pulver gets the advantage but Faber takes his back and then they clinch on the cage. Faber with a good punch and then a combo. Pulver with a couple of shots. Really good round. Faber got in a bunch of good shots and towards the end of the round kind of had that “what do I need to do to finish this guy” look on his face. Pulver is taking a ton of punishment so far but is hanging in there and fighting back. Faber 20-18.
R3- Pulver opens up with a nice kick. Faber comes back with a side kick. Faber shoots in but Pulver sprawls out and Faber sneaks around to his back and slams him down but Pulver jumps back up. Great fighting sequence. Faber with a good combo and Pulver comes back with a good uppercut. Faber with two good clean shots. Pulver with a kick and a good punch and Faber looks a little hurt. Faber bounces back with a series of body kicks. Faber shoots in but Pulver sprawls again. Pulver with a couple of elbows. Faber moves into Pulver’s guard and hits a couple of elbows. Pulver is taking some damage on his face. Faber hits an elbow as the ref stands them up. Faber with another side kick. Three rounds are in the books. I’ve got Faber taking all three round so that puts him up 30-27 but Pulver is still in this fight. Pulver has taken a ton of punishment but has also gotten in some shots on Faber that have hurt and stunned him he just hasn’t been able to capitalize.
R4- Faber rushes Pulver but overruns him and slips and gets caught with some hard shots. Faber comes back with two really nice punches. Pulver with a side kick to the head. Faber with a good over hand right. Faber landing some good shots. Faber hits two nice lefts. Pulver just taking the punishment. Faber takes him down and lands a big elbow and another. Faber continuing to land some good shots. Faber takes this round also and I’ve got him up 40-36 on the score card.
R5- They off this round with almost a hug as they meet in the center of the ring for the fifth and final round. Pulver stops a take down early. Faber’s conditioning is just fantastic. He’s looking almost as limber as in the first couple of rounds. Faber landing some combos. Pulver coming back with not hitting with anything substantial. Faber with a knee. Faber with a couple of shots and Pulver comes back with a good punch. Faber keeping him at bay with some jabs. Pulver gets in a couple of shots on the cage. Faber with a knee. One minute left and Faber continuing to jab at Pulver’s right eye. Faber ends the fight with a take down and in control.
Great fight. Faber won every round in my book but Pulver just showed a ton of heart as he took a bunch of punishment and kept coming. Faber showed tremendous speed and conditioning and took some good shots from Pulver and was able to recover and control this fight and win by a good margin. Judges score cards show 50-45, 50-44, 50-44 in favor of Faber.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Decision (Unanimous) and still champion.
Overall, this was a really good show due to the final two matches which were both top notch in my book. The show started kind of slow with three fights that really didn’t show anything but the last two fights really put this show over the top. I highly recommend everyone checking out Faber/Pulver and Torres/Maeda.
