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Why The WEC Delivers
By: Jeff Sherwood
When was the last time you watched an MMA event that had six decisions, and you still came away feeling great about the show?
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Let’s take a closer look at WEC 51. Six decisions, two submissions (both chokes), one TKO and two huge knockouts. We witnessed two former WEC champs get back on the winning track: Miguel Torres and Mike Thomas Brown were very impressive in their victories. We saw the WEC featherweight champ defend his title for the second time in dominating fashion. The Hyped up Tie Quan Zhang came in and got the job done despite some concerns about his prior competition.
Let’s not forget the rematch that will become a rubber match -- which I would no doubt pay to see. (Actually, I would pay to see Donald Cerrone fight against anyone.)
That card has me pondering how the WEC seems to deliver with each of its shows. Here are my thoughts on why: -
WEC 51 Postmortem: Eight not Enough for Aldo, Torres Revived
By: Jake Rossen
Jose Aldo file photo: Sherdog.com
Every time I see Jose Aldo perch himself on the top of the cage and perform a back-flip, I cringe.
It would be an incredible waste of ability to see the guy trip, fall, or land in a way that interrupts what’s becoming a very notable career. The commissions might want to consider fixing that, possibly by shooing offenders off with brooms.
Maybe Aldo is putting himself in a little bit of trouble with the acrobatics because he’s not getting too nervous in the fight itself. For the eighth consecutive time in the WEC, Aldo more or less made a meal out of an opponent, stunning Manny Gamburyan with an uppercut Thursday and then knocking him unconscious with ground and pound. Gamburyan had no chance of getting him down and failed to discover any tricks for getting inside Aldo’s range. Has the guy ever even been in radical trouble? If he has, it hasn’t been worth remembering.
Every time a dominant champion is established, the same question comes up: do audiences like seeing a man operating clearly above his competition, or do they grow bored if the suspense is leaking out of the bouts? Considering the purpose of titles is to find the best, it makes more sense that people would enjoy a clear and concise answer. Aldo is providing it.
The follow-up: when champions are this dominant, do they get too complacent? Anderson Silva, with 12 wins in the Octagon, has turned in several bizarre performances; Georges St. Pierre walked into a fight with Matt Serra giving him only the same respect fans did, which wasn’t much. If Aldo ever develops similar boredom, he’s vulnerable. If he insists on using the cage as a pommel horse, he might one day feel very stupid. Either way, Aldo’s biggest threat in the WEC’s featherweight division will probably remain himself. Read more -
WEC 51 Primer
By: Jake Rossen
Jose Aldo (left) file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
Watch mixed martial arts for any length of time and you’ll discover how dizzying its effects can be on your enthusiasm. A fight like Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic/Frank Mir, which dogged the weekend, can sink hearts; Thursday’s Jose Aldo/Manny Gamburyan match is likely to make everyone forget all about it.
Aldo is in that amazing physical and emotional space where he’s old enough to have power and skill but young enough to not realize he’s mortal. He’s fast, he’s aggressive, and his “strategy” consists of not appearing to have any strategy. He just moves and reacts faster than everyone he fights. One day, he’ll be defeated and his ego will leak. Until then, he’s not going to put on a bad show.
The same is true for the WEC itself, which is populated almost exclusively by fighters who can’t depend on overwhelming physical strength: that usually means a surplus of technique without the cage-clinching that’s becoming a significant part of big-guy MMA.
What:WEC 51, an 11-bout card from the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colo.
When: Thursday, Sept. 30 at 9 p.m. ET on Versus
Why You Should Care: Because Gamburyan is a fireplug with feet that’s done an incredible job since dropping to 145; because, dumb Twitter comments aside, Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner bring out the best in one another; because Miguel Torres is trying to halt a recent career slide and hungry fighters usually equal exciting fighters; and because anything has to be better than Filipovic/Mir, including a loss of signal. Read more -
Torres Awarded Key of East Chicago
By: Mike Fridley
Miguel Torres was honored with the “Key to the City” of East Chicago, Ind., in a Friday, June 4 ceremony.
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The 29-year-old former WEC bantamweight champion was born and raised in the city, and owns a facility in Northern Indiana that specializes in mentoring the area’s youth. City officials honored the Carlson Gracie protégé with “Miguel Angel Torres Day” for his “dedication to bettering the community.”
“It was truly an honor to be recognized by my hometown,” said Torres in a press release sent by the WEC. “East Chicago is a community filled with hard working people and I am proud to represent this city.”
Photo courtesy: The Times of Northwest Indiana -
Torres a New Man Following Bowles Fight
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Mir and Torres Head to Sityodtong
By: Jake Rossen
Joe Harrington/Sherdog.com
A week after Kenny Florian announced a semi-amicable parting of the ways with longtime mentor Mark DellaGrotte, the Boston-settled trainer told Fighter’s Only that he’s already moved on: DellaGrotte will be opening his doors to Frank Mir and Miguel Torres.
“I just picked up Frank Mir, he is going to be working with us,” he said. “I have a great relationship with Frank, he is going to be my new project. And Miguel Torres is coming to see us.”
New faces and bodies to resist training apathy is always a positive. (Unless you become a gym-hopping nomad. Then it’s bad.) Mir showed very good striking against Antonio Nogueira, and if he can continue to hone those skills, he might have opponents reconsidering their chances on the ground. (Mir trained with DellaGrotte prior to the second Lesnar fight, but didn’t remain upright long enough for it to matter much.) Read more -
Bowles’ $28K Leads WEC Payouts
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Newly minted World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Brian Bowles left Las Vegas with more than just the gold wrapped around his waist.
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The 29-year-old pocketed an event-high $28,000 after he blistered Miguel Torres in the WEC 42 main event on Sunday, according to figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and WEC representatives. Bowles’ haul included a $9,000 win bonus and $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus. Torres, who lost for the first time in almost six years, took home $26,000 after being knocked unconscious 3:57 into round one.
Bowles (8-0) dropped Torres with a short counter right hook, followed him to the ground and teed off with power shots, most of which found their intended marks. The defeat snapped a remarkable 17-fight winning streak for Torres (37-2). -
Primer: WEC 42
By: Jake Rossen
As far as the WEC is concerned, the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter isn’t aligned with Strikeforce and isn’t the product of a Cold War laboratory: he’s Miguel Torres, and he fights Sunday against a man who could be his very violent equal.
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The 135 lb. Torres has gone largely unchallenged since taking the WEC’s bantamweight belt in February of 2008. He’s defended it three times, has lost only once in his career, and has used much of his athletic prime learning trade skills instead of proper benching form.
Opponent Brian Bowles has only been fighting for three years to Torres’ nine; he holds a perfect finishing record (7-0), is equally self-assured, and does not appear to be at all intimidated by Torres’ relative celebrity or reputation. There are no real guarantees in prizefighting, but the only way this fight would be anticlimactic is if someone forgets to wear a cup. -
5 Questions for a Big Event Weekend: UFC 101 and WEC 42
By: Jake Rossen
If you don’t get answers to these questions by 1 a.m. on Monday morning, call and ask for a refund from your cable company. I’m sure they’ll understand.
Anderson Silva can deal with Forrest Griffin’s striking. But can he deal with his size?
Stranger things and all that, but it is unlikely the muscular striking style of Forrest Griffin will prove to be much of an issue for Anderson Silva, who practices muay Thai like it’s his religion. If this becomes a kickboxing match, Griffin will find himself having lots of time to learn what brand and wattage of bulb the house lights use.
But if he can bully Silva into the fence and force the middleweight champion into wasting energy in scrambles, carrying Griffin’s weight, he may find himself on the proper end of a decision Read more -
WEC 42 Call Notes: Heat Builds for Torres-Bowles
By: Brian Knapp
Seven fights into his professional career, Brian Bowles believes himself ready for the myriad of challenges one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters will throw his way.
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The unbeaten Bowles will tackle World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres in the main event at WEC 42 on Aug. 9 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The 29-year-old Georgian admits his resume does not carry the normal experience of a major title challenger.
“Ideally, you’d like to have more fights,” Bowles said during a teleconference on Tuesday. “I took some fights against some tough guys and won those and won them handily.”
