Condit & Beebe Capture Titles, Faber Defends at WEC
Condit Taps Alessio
LAS VEGAS, March 24 - World Extreme Cagefighting returned for a
second time to Las Vegas and it's a safe bet that tonight's card
was by far one of the best in the organization's history.
Not a single fight left the fans dismayed, as all but one ended either via knockout or submission. Three titles were on the line and some of the world's best little guys stood toe-to-toe, impressing even the most ardent critics in attendance.
Carlos Condit (Pictures) and John Alessio (Pictures) both promised fireworks and triumph in the days leading up to their WEC welterweight championship showdown, but only one had to walk away as the victor.
The packed Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino roared its approval throughout the contest, as both men's pre-fight prediction of memorable action became true. But it was Condit who walked away with the vacant championship by scoring a dramatic submission victory with just one second remaining in the second frame of the five-round clash.
Alessio controlled the action for the most part leading up to the end of the fight, but it was Condit who triumphed when he seized upon a mistake by Alessio that paved the way toward victory. Scoring several superb takedowns in the first two rounds, Alessio left Condit no choice but to try his best to defend the tackles, yet the young fighter from Albuquerque couldn't figure out how to properly sprawl.
Or so it seemed.
"I knew he'd be tough and try for the takedown every chance he had," Condit told Sherdog.com after the fight. "I knew to play it cool and take my time. It was a matter of time before I'd be able to land my knees and I knew he wouldn't be able to finish me."
Condit tried to deliver his dangerous knees, but Alessio's takedowns were too keen to be defended in the early going. As the fight wore on, it appeared that Alessio, who was as calm as could be, was slowly chipping away at a victory.
Condit worked at a feverish pace from the outset while Alessio was content to relax and utilize his own game plan. Everything had been working almost perfectly for Alessio until he let Condit escape from the canvas late in the opening stanza.
Once back on their feet, Condit began to unfurl every strike in his arsenal. While nothing landed flush against Alessio's head, it was apparent that Condit was going to be in front of Alessio for a long time.
Midway through the second round, a sweeping left hand and right kick glanced Alessio's jaw, which forced him to score a body-lock takedown. On the way down, Condit put Alessio off-balance and on his back. The takedown that inadvertently backfired was a sign of change as once the fight returned to the stand-up aspect, the momentum had swung entirely in Condit's favor.
"It was just a matter of time before at least one of my knees landed clean," Condit added. "I knew at least one or two hurt him and once I had him hurt, I tried to take him out. Whether it was with a knockout or submission, I got him."
The lanky Condit delivered furious punches from the outside and crunching knees in the clinch, two of which crashed onto Alessio's jaw, causing the Canadian to stumble.
Losing his balance, Alessio grabbed onto the bloodthirsty Condit in an attempt for another takedown. Condit turned that into a Kimura and eventually rolled it into a rear-naked choke, forcing the stubborn Alessio to tap out with one second remaining in the round.
"I didn't know if he knew how much time was left," the new WEC champion said. "I was hoping to get him to tap because I knew the round was going end any second. I don't think he knew he had only a second or else I don't think he would have tapped. He's a tough, tough guy but I knew coming in that I'd walk away with the title."
Urijah Faber (Pictures) entered his co-feature match against unbeaten Dominic Cruz (Pictures) as the heavy favorite. Faber was supposed to defend his WEC featherweight title and promised to end things well before the allotted five rounds. He was right. Faber scored a stellar first round submission win to retain his title and hopefully land a chance to fight Japan's "Kid" Yamamoto.
"Hey, I told everybody that I wasn't going to lose this fight," Faber told the media afterward. "He is a tough dude, but I know that I am the best in the weight class and one of the best pound-for-pound. There are a ton of great fighters out there and I'll fight whoever the WEC puts in front of me, but ‘Kid' is who I want."
Faber started the fight off by throwing a high right kick at Cruz's head, but the strike only glanced his chin. Faber then proceeded to deliver a dazzling display of punches and kicks from virtually every angle, though nothing landed cleanly enough to take out Cruz.
It wasn't all Faber, though, as Cruz delivered a few solid strikes of his own and eventually scored a swift single leg take down. However, that takedown wound up being his undoing.
Faber immediately latched on a guillotine choke and when he couldn't secure the tapout right away, he rolled his challenger onto his back and secured the guillotine from the full-mount. Cruz had no choice but to tap, the end coming at just 1:38 of the first round.
Faber's win was impressive and he called out Yamamoto, a star in K-1 HERO'S, as soon as the fight ended. Faber proved why he is one of the most highly touted fighters in the world at 145 pounds, and proved his pound-for-pound worth by easily subbing Cruz.
"I am planning on keeping this title for a long, long time," he exclaimed. "If anybody is watching tonight and you want to get this title, you better train as hard as you can. Keeping training your asses off because I never leave the gym. The only way I will lose is if somebody works harder to me and that is a fact."
In the evening's first WEC title fight, 135-pound challenger Chase Beebe utilized his wrestling prowess to pound out a hard-fought and well-deserved unanimous decision to take home the WEC bantamweight belt over defending champion Eddie Wineland (Pictures).
Wineland started out having his way with Beebe as he moved swiftly around the ring and peppered the challenger with punches from the outside. However, the tides changed in Beebe's favor as he scored a single-leg takedown early in the second round. Wineland was able to defend the attacks but eventually was fully mounted.
Beebe wasted little time in dishing out a punishing series of elbows and punches, almost scoring a stoppage in the second round. Wineland fended off most of the incoming attrition but there was no doubt that Beebe had not only won the round clearly, he also seized complete control of the action.
Wineland tried to keep the fight standing in the third, but he was unable to sprawl and defend the takedown attempts from the aggressive Beebe, who dished out a savage platter of ground-and-pound and wound up cutting the champ's forehead and near his left and right eyes.
Wineland's right ear was suffering from a nasty case of cauliflower, only to see it literally burst wide open from a vicious left elbow from Beebe. When the elbow landed on the ear, it actually burst open and blood sprayed across the canvas about four feet.
The damage inflicted upon Wineland in rounds two and three were merely a microcosm of the entire battle, as Beebe seemingly had his way with striker. While Beebe couldn't secure any submissions and he couldn't score the stoppage, he dominated the fight from the second round on.
In the final minutes of the battle, it was obvious that Wineland needed a dramatic knockout and he pressed the action as best he could, but time was the ultimate enemy and the clock eventually ran out. All three ringside judges favored Beebe via tallies of 48-47 and 48-46 (twice). Sherdog.com also saw it 48-46 for Beebe, who became the new WEC bantamweight champion.
Not a single fight left the fans dismayed, as all but one ended either via knockout or submission. Three titles were on the line and some of the world's best little guys stood toe-to-toe, impressing even the most ardent critics in attendance.
Carlos Condit (Pictures) and John Alessio (Pictures) both promised fireworks and triumph in the days leading up to their WEC welterweight championship showdown, but only one had to walk away as the victor.
The packed Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino roared its approval throughout the contest, as both men's pre-fight prediction of memorable action became true. But it was Condit who walked away with the vacant championship by scoring a dramatic submission victory with just one second remaining in the second frame of the five-round clash.
Alessio controlled the action for the most part leading up to the end of the fight, but it was Condit who triumphed when he seized upon a mistake by Alessio that paved the way toward victory. Scoring several superb takedowns in the first two rounds, Alessio left Condit no choice but to try his best to defend the tackles, yet the young fighter from Albuquerque couldn't figure out how to properly sprawl.
Or so it seemed.
"I knew he'd be tough and try for the takedown every chance he had," Condit told Sherdog.com after the fight. "I knew to play it cool and take my time. It was a matter of time before I'd be able to land my knees and I knew he wouldn't be able to finish me."
Condit tried to deliver his dangerous knees, but Alessio's takedowns were too keen to be defended in the early going. As the fight wore on, it appeared that Alessio, who was as calm as could be, was slowly chipping away at a victory.
Condit worked at a feverish pace from the outset while Alessio was content to relax and utilize his own game plan. Everything had been working almost perfectly for Alessio until he let Condit escape from the canvas late in the opening stanza.
Once back on their feet, Condit began to unfurl every strike in his arsenal. While nothing landed flush against Alessio's head, it was apparent that Condit was going to be in front of Alessio for a long time.
Midway through the second round, a sweeping left hand and right kick glanced Alessio's jaw, which forced him to score a body-lock takedown. On the way down, Condit put Alessio off-balance and on his back. The takedown that inadvertently backfired was a sign of change as once the fight returned to the stand-up aspect, the momentum had swung entirely in Condit's favor.
"It was just a matter of time before at least one of my knees landed clean," Condit added. "I knew at least one or two hurt him and once I had him hurt, I tried to take him out. Whether it was with a knockout or submission, I got him."
The lanky Condit delivered furious punches from the outside and crunching knees in the clinch, two of which crashed onto Alessio's jaw, causing the Canadian to stumble.
Losing his balance, Alessio grabbed onto the bloodthirsty Condit in an attempt for another takedown. Condit turned that into a Kimura and eventually rolled it into a rear-naked choke, forcing the stubborn Alessio to tap out with one second remaining in the round.
"I didn't know if he knew how much time was left," the new WEC champion said. "I was hoping to get him to tap because I knew the round was going end any second. I don't think he knew he had only a second or else I don't think he would have tapped. He's a tough, tough guy but I knew coming in that I'd walk away with the title."
Urijah Faber (Pictures) entered his co-feature match against unbeaten Dominic Cruz (Pictures) as the heavy favorite. Faber was supposed to defend his WEC featherweight title and promised to end things well before the allotted five rounds. He was right. Faber scored a stellar first round submission win to retain his title and hopefully land a chance to fight Japan's "Kid" Yamamoto.
"Hey, I told everybody that I wasn't going to lose this fight," Faber told the media afterward. "He is a tough dude, but I know that I am the best in the weight class and one of the best pound-for-pound. There are a ton of great fighters out there and I'll fight whoever the WEC puts in front of me, but ‘Kid' is who I want."
Faber started the fight off by throwing a high right kick at Cruz's head, but the strike only glanced his chin. Faber then proceeded to deliver a dazzling display of punches and kicks from virtually every angle, though nothing landed cleanly enough to take out Cruz.
It wasn't all Faber, though, as Cruz delivered a few solid strikes of his own and eventually scored a swift single leg take down. However, that takedown wound up being his undoing.
Faber immediately latched on a guillotine choke and when he couldn't secure the tapout right away, he rolled his challenger onto his back and secured the guillotine from the full-mount. Cruz had no choice but to tap, the end coming at just 1:38 of the first round.
Faber's win was impressive and he called out Yamamoto, a star in K-1 HERO'S, as soon as the fight ended. Faber proved why he is one of the most highly touted fighters in the world at 145 pounds, and proved his pound-for-pound worth by easily subbing Cruz.
"I am planning on keeping this title for a long, long time," he exclaimed. "If anybody is watching tonight and you want to get this title, you better train as hard as you can. Keeping training your asses off because I never leave the gym. The only way I will lose is if somebody works harder to me and that is a fact."
In the evening's first WEC title fight, 135-pound challenger Chase Beebe utilized his wrestling prowess to pound out a hard-fought and well-deserved unanimous decision to take home the WEC bantamweight belt over defending champion Eddie Wineland (Pictures).
Wineland started out having his way with Beebe as he moved swiftly around the ring and peppered the challenger with punches from the outside. However, the tides changed in Beebe's favor as he scored a single-leg takedown early in the second round. Wineland was able to defend the attacks but eventually was fully mounted.
Beebe wasted little time in dishing out a punishing series of elbows and punches, almost scoring a stoppage in the second round. Wineland fended off most of the incoming attrition but there was no doubt that Beebe had not only won the round clearly, he also seized complete control of the action.
Wineland tried to keep the fight standing in the third, but he was unable to sprawl and defend the takedown attempts from the aggressive Beebe, who dished out a savage platter of ground-and-pound and wound up cutting the champ's forehead and near his left and right eyes.
Wineland's right ear was suffering from a nasty case of cauliflower, only to see it literally burst wide open from a vicious left elbow from Beebe. When the elbow landed on the ear, it actually burst open and blood sprayed across the canvas about four feet.
The damage inflicted upon Wineland in rounds two and three were merely a microcosm of the entire battle, as Beebe seemingly had his way with striker. While Beebe couldn't secure any submissions and he couldn't score the stoppage, he dominated the fight from the second round on.
In the final minutes of the battle, it was obvious that Wineland needed a dramatic knockout and he pressed the action as best he could, but time was the ultimate enemy and the clock eventually ran out. All three ringside judges favored Beebe via tallies of 48-47 and 48-46 (twice). Sherdog.com also saw it 48-46 for Beebe, who became the new WEC bantamweight champion.
