All Fighters on Weight for WEC 51
Mike Whitman Sep 29, 2010
Two years ago, Jose Aldo was
a relative unknown. Today, he hit the scales as the best
featherweight on the planet.
The Brazilian weighed in at 145 pounds for his WEC 51 featherweight title defense against Manny Gamburyan (145), taking place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo. on Thursday. The remaining eight men scheduled to compete on the main card also hit their marks at Wednesday’s weigh-in.
Aldo, 24, entered the WEC two years ago as simply another prospect.
But after running off five straight victories in the organization,
including a win over Cub Swanson,
Aldo was finally awarded a title shot against American Top Team
product Mike Thomas
Brown. “Junior” snatched the title from the powerful wrestler
with a second round knockout at WEC 44 last November. Since that
victory, Aldo successfully defended his belt against former WEC
featherweight king Urijah Faber
at WEC 48 in April.
A stocky and powerful Armenian judoka, Gamburyan has won all three of his fights in the WEC. Like his opponent, “The Anvil” also holds a knockout victory over former champion Mike Thomas Brown. A pupil of Gokor Chivichyan and “Judo” Gene LeBell, Gamburyan made the cut to 145 after suffering back-to-back losses at lightweight in the UFC. Gamburyan holds six of his 11 career wins by submission and was the runner-up in season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” losing in the finale to Cesar Gracie student Nate Diaz.
WEC 51 will also feature a lightweight rematch between Jamie Varner (156) and Donald Cerrone (155.5). Cerrone and Varner’s first fight ended in controversy after an illegal Cerrone knee caused then-champion Varner to retire with two minutes left in the fifth round of their 155-pound title fight last year at WEC 38. The fight went to the scorecards, and Varner was awarded a split decision. Well-documented are Cerrone’s comments leading up to the rematch, in which he described Varner as a “fag” and expressed his desire to make his opponent “the first death in MMA.”
Also on the card, former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (136) looks to bounce back from back-to-back losses as he takes on the experienced Charlie Valencia (136). In addition, fan favorite Chan Sung Jung (146) will meet “TUF 8” contestant George Roop (145), and heavy-handed Leonard Garcia (146) will toe the line against WEC vet Mark Hominick (145). The event airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
WEC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Manny Gamburyan (145)
Jamie Varner (156) vs. Donald Cerrone (155.5)
Miguel Torres (136) vs. Charlie Valencia (136)
Chan Sung Jung (146) vs. George Roop (145)
Leonard Garcia (146) vs. Mark Hominick (145)
Tie Quan Zhang (154) vs. Pablo Garza (154)
Mike Thomas Brown (145) vs. Cole Province (146)
Chris Horodecki (155) vs. Ed Ratcliff (155)
Diego Nunes (145) vs. Tyler Toner (145)
Antonio Banuelos (136) vs. Chad George (135)
Nick Pace (135) vs. Demetrious Johnson (135)
The Brazilian weighed in at 145 pounds for his WEC 51 featherweight title defense against Manny Gamburyan (145), taking place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo. on Thursday. The remaining eight men scheduled to compete on the main card also hit their marks at Wednesday’s weigh-in.
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A stocky and powerful Armenian judoka, Gamburyan has won all three of his fights in the WEC. Like his opponent, “The Anvil” also holds a knockout victory over former champion Mike Thomas Brown. A pupil of Gokor Chivichyan and “Judo” Gene LeBell, Gamburyan made the cut to 145 after suffering back-to-back losses at lightweight in the UFC. Gamburyan holds six of his 11 career wins by submission and was the runner-up in season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” losing in the finale to Cesar Gracie student Nate Diaz.
WEC 51 will also feature a lightweight rematch between Jamie Varner (156) and Donald Cerrone (155.5). Cerrone and Varner’s first fight ended in controversy after an illegal Cerrone knee caused then-champion Varner to retire with two minutes left in the fifth round of their 155-pound title fight last year at WEC 38. The fight went to the scorecards, and Varner was awarded a split decision. Well-documented are Cerrone’s comments leading up to the rematch, in which he described Varner as a “fag” and expressed his desire to make his opponent “the first death in MMA.”
Also on the card, former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (136) looks to bounce back from back-to-back losses as he takes on the experienced Charlie Valencia (136). In addition, fan favorite Chan Sung Jung (146) will meet “TUF 8” contestant George Roop (145), and heavy-handed Leonard Garcia (146) will toe the line against WEC vet Mark Hominick (145). The event airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
WEC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Manny Gamburyan (145)
Jamie Varner (156) vs. Donald Cerrone (155.5)
Miguel Torres (136) vs. Charlie Valencia (136)
Chan Sung Jung (146) vs. George Roop (145)
Leonard Garcia (146) vs. Mark Hominick (145)
Tie Quan Zhang (154) vs. Pablo Garza (154)
Mike Thomas Brown (145) vs. Cole Province (146)
Chris Horodecki (155) vs. Ed Ratcliff (155)
Diego Nunes (145) vs. Tyler Toner (145)
Antonio Banuelos (136) vs. Chad George (135)
Nick Pace (135) vs. Demetrious Johnson (135)
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