He’s a Standup Guy: Faber Beats Pulver to Keep WEC Title
Jason Probst Jun 2, 2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Urijah
Faber (Pictures) showed a potent standup game
Sunday in outpointing Jens
Pulver (Pictures) to retain his World Extreme
Cagefighting featherweight belt, getting the biggest win of his
career in a fashion few envisioned.
Known for inventive moves and top-notch conditioning, Faber displayed both along with solid punches and clever defense. He nullified Pulver's vaunted knockout power and used creative setups to constantly keep the challenger guessing.
The five-round bout was spent mostly in standup mode, though the
two did hit the mat on five occasions. Pulver used a solid guard to
limit Faber's punches when the champ was on top, while Faber used
his trademark scrambling and good technique to get back to his
feet.
But the real surprise of the night was Faber's ability to fight in the standup game. For years he has mostly been a limited-striking stylist, content to take fights to the mat and blast opponents out or submit them. Tonight he out-struck a feared striker with a series of variations that mixed in right hands, kicks, feints and slick head movement to keep Pulver from regaining the initiative, though the former UFC champ did land some good shots in spots.
Neither fighter was in serious trouble during the bout, though both were stung hard once each. In the second, Faber landed a scorching right uppercut-left hook to drop Pulver, and Pulver tagged the champ with a pair of jolting lefts moments later, prompting "The California Kid" to immediately shoot for a takedown.
Faber also shot a few takedown attempts on Pulver that were impressively stuffed, as Pulver showed considerable upper-body strength in stopping them. But the difference was quickness, and Pulver, now 22-9-1, found himself a beat behind. Faber constantly switched angles and whacked him with good shots, then would switch again and get out of harm's way.
Coming into the fourth round, Pulver seemed to be slowing before he landed a good combination -- his best sequence of the fight. But Faber answered with a solid uppercut, kept working his game plan and cruised to the decision.
The judges scored the bout 50-45 and 50-44 twice. Sherdog.com scored it 50-45 for the champion, now 21-1.
"He's fast," Pulver said. "He can get in and out. He's quick. I would love to do [a rematch]. I would like to fight the best in the world. It's my first loss at 145."
WEC bantamweight boss Miguel Torres (Pictures) had high expectations awaiting his first defense, given his impressive submission victory over Chase Beebe (Pictures) to win the belt. Facing unorthodox veteran Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures), Torres went three full rounds in a hard-fought battle. Eventually the challenger's lumped-up right eye prompted referee Herb Dean (Pictures) to stop the match while Maeda was in his corner awaiting the fourth.
Striking from virtually every possible position in a rousing scrap, Torres also showed his dangerous submission game, threatening holds whenever Maeda had top position on the ground.
"I knew he was gonna be a tough striker. The first shot he busted me open, but I‘ve bled before," Torres said. "To wear this belt is a great honor."
While Torres' standup style is drawn along classical lines, Maeda, a southpaw and a textbook Muay Thai striker, would drop his hands and counter with unpredictable punches and kicks. Occasionally he landed a solid left hand down the pipe, but eventually the numbers caught up to him.
In the opening stanza, Torres was bloodied from a punch, then got taken down as Maeda caught a right kick and dumped him to the mat. Torres simply spun into a shoulder lock, though, and escaped as Maeda scrambled to avoid having his arm wrenched further. Later in the round, Torres used a slick kneebar attempt to convince Maeda that staying on the mat was probably not to his advantage.
Torres continued to work standup in the second. He mixed in kicks and punches, missing many but constantly keeping on the attack. At 3:45 in the round, Torres then landed a jarring one-two that sent Maeda stumbling back.
The champion followed with two solid jabs, only to eat a left hand, then both went to the ground in a scramble. Maeda attempted a toehold, followed by Torres countering with his own toehold attempt, but neither could secure a submission.
In the third, Torres worked over the challenger with punches as Maeda had clearly slowed down, and the bout was stopped after the round ended.
All in all, Torres showed his dangerous ground game will make him a tough guy to beat, especially given his ability to bang on the feet and impose his will from virtually every position.
Mark Munoz (Pictures) had a stirring WEC debut in front of his hometown fans, taking on 15-3 Chuck Grigsby. At a towering 6-foot-6, Grigsby had half a foot over his foe and looked massive for a 205-pounder. Munoz ate a solid right uppercut in the early moments of the round, and he feinted a couple of low shoots after Grigsby expertly stuffed his first attempt.
But Munoz, an NCAA champ in 2001, secured a single-leg takedown from an improbable angle moments later. He worked his wily foe from the top, launching several wind-em-up right hands from the standing position, then getting back to his feet to attack once more. While flying through the grounded Grigsby's guard, Munoz landed a big shot to the delight of the crowd and finished with four hard right hands before the bout was stopped at 4:15 of the first round.
"I knew he had a lot of reach. In the beginning I was trying to test his reach. I didn't want to mix it up on my feet. I wanted to be creative on top, and that's what I did," said Munoz, who upped his record to 4-0.
A former assistant wresting coach at U.C. Davis, Munoz added that he wants to improve his standup and is looking to become a more complete fighter now that MMA is his full-time vocation.
Former WEC champ "Razor" Rob McCullough (Pictures) earned a split decision over Kenneth Alexander (Pictures) in a lightweight bout that never got out of second gear. Coming off his title-bout defeat to Jamie Varner (Pictures) last February, McCullough needed a win and got it, though it may not have been the kind of slam-bang bout fans would've expected.
"Coming off my loss, I'm just trying to reset my game. Kenneth's a soldier," McCullough said. "It was a close fight. I pulled it off. It's a step back in the right direction."
McCullough, 15-4, used movement and a consistent right leg kick to score. Alexander, 5-2 (1 NC), occasionally tried high kicks that mostly missed, while waiting for opportunities to shoot and bring the fight to the ground. However, McCullough consistently stuffed his takedowns, or, when planted on the mat, simply used the cage to stand back up. In the third, McCullough seemed stronger as Alexander virtually ditched standup and kept trying takedowns with little success.
The judges scored the bout 30-27 McCullough, 29-28 Alexander and 30-27 McCullough.
In a tussle of unbeaten lightweights, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone made quick work of Danny Castillo (Pictures). Cerrone picked up his eighth win, sinking in a nice armbar after Castillo took him down.
"Boo me, hate me, love me, I'm here. He was telling tap as I was pulling underneath him," Cerrone said after beating Castillo, a local fighter.
Undercard
Veteran Jeff Curran (Pictures) had his hands full with Mike Brown, whose wrestling was good enough to take the veteran down, but he couldn't do much to solve the stifling guard of "The Big Frog." Curran may have had a slight edge on the feet, though neither man landed many telling shots. In the end, Brown got the nod, 30-27 on all three cards. Sherdog also scored it in Brown's favor, 29-28.
Will Ribeiro (Pictures) edged out Chase Beebe (Pictures) for a split decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards, in a back-and-forth bantamweight battle. Neither fighter was in serious trouble, but Ribeiro's flashy standup attacks might have been enough to get the nod from the judges. Sherdog scored it 29-28 for Ribeiro.
In what was the best match of the undercard, Tim McKenzie (Pictures) rallied from the brink of defeat to choke out the tough Jeremy Lang after losing the first two rounds of their middleweight bout. Lang, coming into the bout at 12-0, used strong takedowns and kept McKenzie on the defensive. McKenzie kept active on bottom, using an elbow to open up a cut on Lang's head.
In the third, the Stockton-based crowd favorite landed a pinpoint flying right knee as Lang dipped to avoid it. McKenzie jumped on him, applying a standing guillotine, then dropped on top of him to finish the hold. With the crowd going nuts, McKenzie kept wrenching the submission, and with Lang gone limp, ref Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout.
Welterweights Alex Serdyukov (Pictures) and Luis Sapo fought at a languid pace until 50 seconds left in the round. Sapo slipped and Serdyukov pounded, pinning him against the cage and raining down strikes until the bell. Sapo was unable to continue.
In a boring featherweight bout that had the crowd booing, Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures) circled endlessly, loathe to engage Jose Aldo outside of a couple of weak single-leg takedown attempts. Finally, in the second, Aldo got the fight to the mat and landed a torrent of elbows and punches for the TKO.
Dominic Cruz (Pictures) outpointed Charlie Valencia (Pictures) in an all-standup 135-pound match. The rangy Cruz, a 5-foot-8 bantamweight, landed more strikes and showed a good chin as Valencia popped him with an occasional counter right hand. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Cruz, as did Sherdog.
Known for inventive moves and top-notch conditioning, Faber displayed both along with solid punches and clever defense. He nullified Pulver's vaunted knockout power and used creative setups to constantly keep the challenger guessing.
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But the real surprise of the night was Faber's ability to fight in the standup game. For years he has mostly been a limited-striking stylist, content to take fights to the mat and blast opponents out or submit them. Tonight he out-struck a feared striker with a series of variations that mixed in right hands, kicks, feints and slick head movement to keep Pulver from regaining the initiative, though the former UFC champ did land some good shots in spots.
"It's something I've always had," said Faber of his standup. "Jens
has power. I haven't had a chance to really showcase mine because
guys tend to take it down on the mat. He's such a legend in this
sport. He's one of my heroes. This fight meant so much to me.
There's no give in me. It's the first time I've ever gone five
rounds. It was a good test for me and proof of things I already
believed."
Neither fighter was in serious trouble during the bout, though both were stung hard once each. In the second, Faber landed a scorching right uppercut-left hook to drop Pulver, and Pulver tagged the champ with a pair of jolting lefts moments later, prompting "The California Kid" to immediately shoot for a takedown.
Faber also shot a few takedown attempts on Pulver that were impressively stuffed, as Pulver showed considerable upper-body strength in stopping them. But the difference was quickness, and Pulver, now 22-9-1, found himself a beat behind. Faber constantly switched angles and whacked him with good shots, then would switch again and get out of harm's way.
Coming into the fourth round, Pulver seemed to be slowing before he landed a good combination -- his best sequence of the fight. But Faber answered with a solid uppercut, kept working his game plan and cruised to the decision.
The judges scored the bout 50-45 and 50-44 twice. Sherdog.com scored it 50-45 for the champion, now 21-1.
"He's fast," Pulver said. "He can get in and out. He's quick. I would love to do [a rematch]. I would like to fight the best in the world. It's my first loss at 145."
WEC bantamweight boss Miguel Torres (Pictures) had high expectations awaiting his first defense, given his impressive submission victory over Chase Beebe (Pictures) to win the belt. Facing unorthodox veteran Yoshiro Maeda (Pictures), Torres went three full rounds in a hard-fought battle. Eventually the challenger's lumped-up right eye prompted referee Herb Dean (Pictures) to stop the match while Maeda was in his corner awaiting the fourth.
Striking from virtually every possible position in a rousing scrap, Torres also showed his dangerous submission game, threatening holds whenever Maeda had top position on the ground.
"I knew he was gonna be a tough striker. The first shot he busted me open, but I‘ve bled before," Torres said. "To wear this belt is a great honor."
While Torres' standup style is drawn along classical lines, Maeda, a southpaw and a textbook Muay Thai striker, would drop his hands and counter with unpredictable punches and kicks. Occasionally he landed a solid left hand down the pipe, but eventually the numbers caught up to him.
In the opening stanza, Torres was bloodied from a punch, then got taken down as Maeda caught a right kick and dumped him to the mat. Torres simply spun into a shoulder lock, though, and escaped as Maeda scrambled to avoid having his arm wrenched further. Later in the round, Torres used a slick kneebar attempt to convince Maeda that staying on the mat was probably not to his advantage.
Torres continued to work standup in the second. He mixed in kicks and punches, missing many but constantly keeping on the attack. At 3:45 in the round, Torres then landed a jarring one-two that sent Maeda stumbling back.
The champion followed with two solid jabs, only to eat a left hand, then both went to the ground in a scramble. Maeda attempted a toehold, followed by Torres countering with his own toehold attempt, but neither could secure a submission.
In the third, Torres worked over the challenger with punches as Maeda had clearly slowed down, and the bout was stopped after the round ended.
All in all, Torres showed his dangerous ground game will make him a tough guy to beat, especially given his ability to bang on the feet and impose his will from virtually every position.
Mark Munoz (Pictures) had a stirring WEC debut in front of his hometown fans, taking on 15-3 Chuck Grigsby. At a towering 6-foot-6, Grigsby had half a foot over his foe and looked massive for a 205-pounder. Munoz ate a solid right uppercut in the early moments of the round, and he feinted a couple of low shoots after Grigsby expertly stuffed his first attempt.
But Munoz, an NCAA champ in 2001, secured a single-leg takedown from an improbable angle moments later. He worked his wily foe from the top, launching several wind-em-up right hands from the standing position, then getting back to his feet to attack once more. While flying through the grounded Grigsby's guard, Munoz landed a big shot to the delight of the crowd and finished with four hard right hands before the bout was stopped at 4:15 of the first round.
"I knew he had a lot of reach. In the beginning I was trying to test his reach. I didn't want to mix it up on my feet. I wanted to be creative on top, and that's what I did," said Munoz, who upped his record to 4-0.
A former assistant wresting coach at U.C. Davis, Munoz added that he wants to improve his standup and is looking to become a more complete fighter now that MMA is his full-time vocation.
Former WEC champ "Razor" Rob McCullough (Pictures) earned a split decision over Kenneth Alexander (Pictures) in a lightweight bout that never got out of second gear. Coming off his title-bout defeat to Jamie Varner (Pictures) last February, McCullough needed a win and got it, though it may not have been the kind of slam-bang bout fans would've expected.
"Coming off my loss, I'm just trying to reset my game. Kenneth's a soldier," McCullough said. "It was a close fight. I pulled it off. It's a step back in the right direction."
McCullough, 15-4, used movement and a consistent right leg kick to score. Alexander, 5-2 (1 NC), occasionally tried high kicks that mostly missed, while waiting for opportunities to shoot and bring the fight to the ground. However, McCullough consistently stuffed his takedowns, or, when planted on the mat, simply used the cage to stand back up. In the third, McCullough seemed stronger as Alexander virtually ditched standup and kept trying takedowns with little success.
The judges scored the bout 30-27 McCullough, 29-28 Alexander and 30-27 McCullough.
In a tussle of unbeaten lightweights, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone made quick work of Danny Castillo (Pictures). Cerrone picked up his eighth win, sinking in a nice armbar after Castillo took him down.
"Boo me, hate me, love me, I'm here. He was telling tap as I was pulling underneath him," Cerrone said after beating Castillo, a local fighter.
Undercard
Veteran Jeff Curran (Pictures) had his hands full with Mike Brown, whose wrestling was good enough to take the veteran down, but he couldn't do much to solve the stifling guard of "The Big Frog." Curran may have had a slight edge on the feet, though neither man landed many telling shots. In the end, Brown got the nod, 30-27 on all three cards. Sherdog also scored it in Brown's favor, 29-28.
Will Ribeiro (Pictures) edged out Chase Beebe (Pictures) for a split decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards, in a back-and-forth bantamweight battle. Neither fighter was in serious trouble, but Ribeiro's flashy standup attacks might have been enough to get the nod from the judges. Sherdog scored it 29-28 for Ribeiro.
In what was the best match of the undercard, Tim McKenzie (Pictures) rallied from the brink of defeat to choke out the tough Jeremy Lang after losing the first two rounds of their middleweight bout. Lang, coming into the bout at 12-0, used strong takedowns and kept McKenzie on the defensive. McKenzie kept active on bottom, using an elbow to open up a cut on Lang's head.
In the third, the Stockton-based crowd favorite landed a pinpoint flying right knee as Lang dipped to avoid it. McKenzie jumped on him, applying a standing guillotine, then dropped on top of him to finish the hold. With the crowd going nuts, McKenzie kept wrenching the submission, and with Lang gone limp, ref Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout.
Welterweights Alex Serdyukov (Pictures) and Luis Sapo fought at a languid pace until 50 seconds left in the round. Sapo slipped and Serdyukov pounded, pinning him against the cage and raining down strikes until the bell. Sapo was unable to continue.
In a boring featherweight bout that had the crowd booing, Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures) circled endlessly, loathe to engage Jose Aldo outside of a couple of weak single-leg takedown attempts. Finally, in the second, Aldo got the fight to the mat and landed a torrent of elbows and punches for the TKO.
Dominic Cruz (Pictures) outpointed Charlie Valencia (Pictures) in an all-standup 135-pound match. The rangy Cruz, a 5-foot-8 bantamweight, landed more strikes and showed a good chin as Valencia popped him with an occasional counter right hand. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Cruz, as did Sherdog.
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