Miguel Torres cut from Joseph Benavidez is huge and nasty (Pic). See the stitched final product over at MiddleEasy.com.
Props: Sherdog.com
Quoteworthy:
"This is the fight I've waited for since I got in the WEC. It feels great to get a win off him coming off his (Bowles) loss knowing he was going to come in determined and inspired and bring everything [he had]. I always thought I was going to win this fight, I always thought I matched up really good with (him). Honestly, a month before I told all my team mates 'I'm going to guillotine Miguel' . Whatever the WEC wants but I'd love to go in and avenge my only loss [to Dominick Cruz] and I thought it was a great fight we had before and I know I can go in there and beat him. My goal is to become world champion and he has the belt right now so I get to avenge a loss and reach my goal."
12-1 WEC bantamweight standout Joseph Benavidez, whose only defeat came during an action-packed 135-pound war with Dominick Cruz last August, talks about his dominant performance against former division champion Miguel Torres, who succumbed to a second round guillotine from the Team Alpha Male fighter at last night's WEC 47 event in Columbus. Now Benavidez wants to avenge his only loss and become world champion -- which he can now do with one fight following Brian Bowles TKO loss to Cruz on the same card. Who takes the rematch?
Since the UFC’s inception in 1993, there has been a constant struggle to legitimize the sport with the general public. Whether it is John McCain’s comments referring to it as a “bloodsport” or more recent homosexual remarks from legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum the sport has faced much criticism.
The mixed martial arts faithful have challenged these accusations and insults for years, but the stigma around the sport is still alive. The national television deals that Elite XC and Strikeforce signed and the UFC’s video game deal prove that the sport has began to reach the mainstream audience however there is still a long way to go.
There is still a common misconception among members of society that mixed martial artists are trying to “kill” or “mame” eachother inside of a cage and this is something that the sport has tried to get away from throughout the years.
Over the past two weeks however, unintelligent comments by a few high level UFC fighters have done little to help the sport escape the poor image so many people have.
In an interview with Mark Madden on WXDX Frank Mir Stated “I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That’s what’s going through my mind.”
Only a few days later, Marcus Davis states that he hopes Dan Hardy “dies of aids.” These are not the first death wishes that have came up in the UFC and likely will not be the last. Before their UFC 94 bout, B.J Penn stated during the primetime series that he wanted to kill Georges St. Pierre.
To be fair both fighters did apologize for their comments afterwards however this does not excuse the fact that it was said in public. Idiotic comments such as these do not only hurt the reputations of the fighters who say them, but it looks bad on the sport as well.
I completely understand that trash talking is part of the fight game. Like in professional wrestling, building up a fight is important because the sports success is so dependant on pay-per-view buys. Fights such as Ortiz vs. Liddell and Penn vs. St. Pierre are among the best sellers because of the animosity built up between the fighters.
When we look at other sports, idiotic remarks resulted in punishment either through suspension of severe fine. National Hockey League player Sean Avery was suspended six games in late 2008 because of a comment about other players falling in love with his “sloppy seconds.” Last year when Serena Williams threatened to shove a tennis ball down a judge’s throat she was fined $82,500 and another comment would have raised this to nearly $200,000.
Perhaps the most serious situation was with MLB pitcher John Rocker in 2000. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said he would not play for either of the New York teams because he would not want to take a train “through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids.” For these inexcusable comments, Rocker was suspended for the entire spring training and the first 14 games of the regular season.
Obviously there are many differences between mixed martial arts and any other professional sport. Not only does it take a completely different mindset to fight, but the amount of times a fighter competes per year in comparison with other sports is much less.
Perhaps suspensions are not an option due to fighters only getting paid for when they fight. When a football or hockey player gets injured or suspended during the season, they often still recieve compensation due to their contracts. Fighters are paid on a fight by fight basis. Simply put, if you are not fighting, you are not making money.
This is not acceptable behavior by world class athletes and perhaps its time that Dana White put his foot down. These fighters who come out and make public death threats or wishes need to be reprimanded for their actions or such activity will continue to happen and make the sport look bad. White needs to do something to curve this activity and set an example that death threats should be left out of the sport.
He's already get one in the bag after a unanimous decision back in 2009 ... will the trend continue?
Spoiler Alert: The event will be broadcast on tape delay on HDNet in North America next weekend.
Sengoku Raiden Championship held its inaugural event under the new promotional banner on Sunday, March 7. While the event lacked marquee names, the fight cards offered a few riveting finishes and only three of eight fights went to decision.
The event featured the middleweight title bout between the reigning champion, Jorge Santiago and Mamed Khalidov. Also, two of the fighters on the card delivered spectacular finishes that cemented their status as the top contenders in their respective divisions.
Full fight results and recap after the jump.
Kicking off the main card, the Sengoku Fighter Development program prospect, Shigeki Osawa utilized his bread-and-butter wrestling to overpower Kyung Ho Kang. The former amateur wrestling dynamo suffered the first loss of his career against Ronnie Mann at Sengoku 11 last November. Against Mann, he looked stifled as he mostly steered away from wrestling. This time, he returned to a familiar realm and outpointed Kang with a relentless medley of suplexes and ground-and-pound.
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu prodigy, Leonardo Santos earned his first victory in SRC against the Pancrase veteran, Kiuma Kunioku. Santos, the younger brother of WEC bantamweight, Wagnney Fabiano, used his superlative grappling skill to gain dominant position on the ground. After securing mount, he breezed to submission victory via rear naked choke at 3:06 of the opening frame.
The Cage Force featherweight champion, Yuji Hoshino, also notched his first victory in SRC. After suffering a first-round knockout loss at the hand of Marlon Sandro in his promotional debut, he bounced back with a submission victory over KOTC Canada veteran, Nick Denis. Denis, the smaller of the two, displayed his arsenal of strikes in the first round; Hoshino countered by utilizing his size and wrestling ability to put him on his back. In the second round, Hoshino locked up a tight guillotine choke to force a tapout. With the victory, Hoshino catapults himself into the mix of top featherweight contenders in SRC.
In the lone heavyweight (and the most facetious) bout of the night, Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao pounded out Henry "Sentoryu" Miller in the second round. Though Nakao could not finish Sentoryu with the ultra-destructive "TK clutch" he hyped before the fight, win is a win for the fighter who most likely will be remembered more for his amorous antic against Heath Herring than for any accomplishment as a fighter. Next....
The featherweight King of Pancrase, Marlon Sandro could not have made a more thunderous case for a shot at the SRC Featherweight title. The Nova Uniao product needed only nine seconds to accomplish the utter destruction of Tomonari Kanomata: A single right uppercut left Kanomata motionless on the canvas. Once derided by some as the "featherweight Ricardo Arona" for his inability to finish fights, Sandro has now knocked out three of his last four opponents in the first round.
He is now arguably the frontrunner for the shot at the title, which Masanori Kanehara will defend at the next SRC event on June 20.
Following Sandro's highlight-reel knockout, the Venezuelan wild man, Maximo Blanco brought his usual, high-octane violence. While the World Victory Road brass chose Chang Hyun "Armbar" Kim to test Blanco's defensive grappling, "Maxi" stormed Kim from the opening bell with haymakers and kicks. Leaving Kim on the defensive, Blanco scored a devastating KO at the 70-second mark. Only nine fights into his career, the Lightweight King of Pancrase is a force to seize the SRC Lightweight title.
In the meantime, the SRC Lightweight champion, Mizuto Hirota walked into the ring to announce that he will vacate his title. With his plastered right arm serving as a harrowing reminder of Shinya Aoki's bone-crushing hammerlock submission on New Year's Eve, Hirota told the crowd that he expects to return to the ring in September. with the belt up for grabs, Kazunori Yokota and Jorge Masvidal stand out as the top contenders and Blanco is not far behind.
In the co-main event of the night, the resurgent Akihiro Gono welcomed the Swedish prospect, Diego Gonzalez, to SRC. Gonzalez held his own against the Pride and UFC veteran, landing effective punches throughout the first two rounds. Gono countered with leg kicks, and in the final round, hurt Gonzalez with a flurry of strikes and knees from the clinch. In the end, Gono's experience and fighting instinct prevailed, as the judges ruled 30-27x2, 30-29 in his favor.
In the main event of the night, Jorge Santiago laid his middleweight title on the line in a rematch against Mamed Khalidov. In their first encounter last November, Khalidov staged a shocking upset, catching Santiago off guard with a hammer fist off his back. This time, Santiago cautiously fought off wild strikes from Khalidov and secured kimura toward the end of the first round. He stayed busily from his guard in the second round, almost wrenching Khalidov's arm off with omoplata.
While Khalidov gained momentum in the third round with relentless attack from the top, Santiago persisted with submission attempts. Khalidov started to fade in the fourth round and while Santiago could not finish the tough KSW veteran, he cruised to unanimous decision victory. The judges awarded him 48-47, 48-47, and 49-47 on the score card.
8. Jorge Santiago Def. Mamed Khalidov via Decision 3-0
7. Akihiro Gono Def. Diego Gonzalez via decison 3-0
6. Maximo Blanco Def. Chang Hyun "Armbar" Kim via KO Round 1
5. Marlon Sandro Def. Tomonari Kanomata via KO Round 1
4. Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao Def. Henry "Sentoryu" Miller via TKO Round 2
3. Yuji Hoshino Def. Nick Denis via submission (guillotine choke) Round 2
2. Leonardo Santos Def. Kiuma Kunioku via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1
1. Shigeki Osawa Def. Kyung Ho Kang via Decision 3-0
* For some strange reason, the promotion did not grant reporters access to the venue, thus rendering them unable to give updates. Bloody Elbow, Sherdog's Jordan Breen, amongst others scoured the cyberspace in order to bring live results and updates. Kudos to those who have contributed to live coverage in any way - if you're reading this, you know who you are!!
WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz" from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.
To the tune of $10,000 each.
The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 22 fighters on the card. And it may not surprise you which combatants are leaving the “Buckeye State” with a little extra green.
In addition to their base salaries, the WEC awarded preliminary card competitors Leonard Garcia and George Roop "Fight of the Night" for their three rounds of thrilling non-stop action that ended in a draw.
Another award-winning fight that came from the undercard was Anthony Pettis vs. Danny Castillo. "Showtime" made "Last Call" in the first round, stopping Castillo via stunning head kick and capturing "Knockout of the Night."
The event's final bonus came from Joseph Benavidez, who busted open former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres before strangling him into "Submission of the Night" with a second round guillotine choke.
Here are the special fight bonuses for WEC 47:
Fight of the Night — Leonard Garcia vs. George Roop
Knockout of the Night — Anthony Pettis
Submission of the Night — Joseph Benavidez
Again, each fighter received $10,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible.
For complete WEC 47 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.
WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz" from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, has come to a close.
And once again a WEC champion has fallen as Brian Bowles was unable to answer the bell for the third round during his first-ever title defense in tonight's main event against Dominick Cruz.
Bowles suffered a broken hand early in the fight and the injury was too severe to go on after the first ten minutes. Don't let that fool you though, he was well on his way to being beaten soundly by a faster, more aggressive and smarter challenger before the doctor ever made his decision.
Cruz beat the former champ to the punch in just about every exchange, hammering Bowles with combinations and devastating leg kicks. He was faster, he had a better gamplan, and he basically had complete control of the fight the entire way through, frustrating Bowles with his speed and unorthodox striking.
He's going to be a hard guy to figure out for a lot of 135 pounders in the WEC and there are some great match-ups out there for him, including a rematch with the winner of tonight's co-main event.
That man, up and comer Joseph Benavidez, had little trouble taking out the man who last year at this time was widely believed to be the best bantamweight fighter on the planet, Miguel Torres.
Torres, who was coming off the first loss of his WEC career, looked tentative and hesitant to engage with the lightning quick fireball from Team Apha Male. Benavidez took advantage of that and was able to land sporadic power punches and timely takedowns throughout the first round and a half of the fight.
It was midway through the second when the kid finally took over. After a smooth takedown, Benavidez opened up a gnarly gash on Torres' face. Within seconds, the former champ was absolutely covered in blood and before he could even wipe the mess out of his eyes, the advantageous Benavidez had locked in a fight ending guillotine choke.
So now, after thirty seven professional starts, Torres has been knocked out and submitted for the first time in his life in number thirty eight and thirty nine. This is uncharted waters for him, to say the least.
It's going to be interesting to see how he bounces back. His legacy likely depends on it.
For Benavidez though, this was without a doubt the biggest win of his career, and with the only loss on his resume being a close decision to Cruz last summer, he'll likely be standing across the cage from the newly crowned champion for a rematch a lot sooner rather than later.
Former UFC lightweight champion and MMA pioneer, Jens "Little Evil" Pulver, climbed back into the cage for the first time in nine months tonight, looking to erase the memory of four straight losses in the WEC. Standing in his way was ground technician Javier Vazquez, who had his own chip on his shoulder stemming from back to back split decision losses.
Vazquez wanted no part of the scorecards this time, however, and he wasted no time getting to work on the ninth submission of his career. Once the action hit the mat, Vazquez took the fight over in dominating fashion. His transitions looked effortless and a textbook armbar from a full mount position was the fight ender.
"Little Evil" gave a heartfelt speech afterward, thanking Dana White, his family and his many fans for helping him to achieve a story book career. He refused to admit that this was his last fight, but five straight losses will probably end up making that decision for him.
L.C. Davis was able to pull out a hard fought majority decision by the skin of his teeth tonight, handing Deividas Taurosevicius his first loss since joining the WEC last year. Most of the fight was contested from the clinch, and although it wasn't the prettiest fight, Daivs was apparently effective enough from there with his dirty boxing to pull out the win in the eyes of the judges.
In the opening fight of the Versus telecast, former International Fight League standout Bart Palaszewski took home his first win inside the WEC cage, overcoming an early onslaught from a surging Karen Darabedyan to earn a submission finish late in the first round via armbar.
The loss brings a seven fight winning streak to an end for Darabedyan.
In under card action, former featherweight number one contender Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia had another disappointing showing, fighting to a draw with TUF 8 alum, George Roop.
That's a wrap from the "Buckeye State."
To check out the complete results and our coverage of the event click here.
Next up for the WEC is a return trip to the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California on Saturday, April 24 for the promotion's first ever pay-per-view event. WEC 48 is set to feature both featherweight champion Jose Aldo and lightweight champion Ben Henderson defending their titles for the first time against Urijah Faber and "Cowboy" Cerrone, respectively.
Former 145 pound champion Mike Thomas Brown will also be on hand to battle UFC veteran Manny Gamburyan. Damacio Page, Antonio Banuelos, Anthony Njokuani, Shane Roller and others are also expected to compete.
Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more on that developing fight card and all your WEC news and notes. For "Bowles vs. Cruz" live results and play-by-play click here.
Fast-rising Korean featherweight prospect, Chan Sung Jung has signed a six-fight deal with WEC, according to Sherdog.com.
22 year-old Jung has accumulated 10-1 record since making his professional debut in June 2007. After initial stint in South Korean circuits, he fought in the Japanese-based DEEP where he earned victories over Michihiro Omigawa and Fanjin Son.
He leaped into limelight last year as a participant in Sengoku's featherweight grand prix where he choked out Shintaro Ishiwatari in a fierce slugfest before dropping a controversial decision to the eventual champion, Masanori Kanehara. He then rebounded with a victory over Matt Jaggers at Sengoku 9.
Jung, who carries a bizarre moniker of "Korean Zombie," most recently fought in a kickboxing bout at an "It's Showtime" event in Czech Republic. Squaring off against the former Lumpini stadium champion, Pajonsuk SKV, he scored a highlight-reel knockout with spinning backfist; unfortunately, Jung's ignorance of the promotion's ban of spinning backfist under its rule set nullified his victory and resulted in disqualification.
With his WEC debut, Jung follows in the footsteps of Dong Hyun Kim and Yoshihiro Akiyama to increase the Korean presence in Zuffa-owned promotions. According to his representation, he may fight in WEC as early as April 24 at WEC 48, the promotion's first Pay-Per-View card, headlined by the featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber. Though his opponent has yet to be confirmed, rumors suggest that Cub Swanson may welcome him into WEC.
"I don’t want to knock anything that Cesar and my camp has done, but I don’t really want to have anything to do with Jose ... He’s not someone I want in my life. I don’t want to help a guy out who has constantly screwed everyone over who has been close to him. I like Hershel Walker and I’d like to see Hershel kick his (expletive), but if he was fighting under my team that would make me feel a little weird, so I don’t know how I feel about that. Being a friend and fan of Hershel and having a guy that I think is kind of a scumbag coming to my gym ... I guess that’s Cesar’s decision. I don’t want to knock his decision, but I certainly wouldn’t let him come into my gym."
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and one of Cesar Gracie's most accomplished students, Jake Shields, tells MMAWeekly that he doesn't approve of his mentor's decision to allow the steroid stool-pigeon into their gym to learn mixed martial arts for what seems like a means to a quick Jose payday. Canseco has been lobbying hard for a Herschel Walker fight despite Scott Coker promising that Strikeforce wasn't in the Jose Canseco business -- but is there a market for him somewhere else?
Props: Wisconsin Combat Sports
Quoteworthy:
"Several boxers have stepped up and said that we are no good at striking and they would knock us out, and James Toney is no different. He’s the first one that is willing to step up and put his money where is mouth is though, and I’d love to welcome him into MMA. There is no reason boxers can’t be successful in MMA. However, they need to learn, just as I did as a wrestler, that there are a lot of different techniques to learn. Or else they will be a fish out of water if they ignore those skills."
Five time UFC Champion Randy Couture isn't so quick to dismiss the chances of a professional boxer making a successful transition to mixed martial arts -- even a 41-year-old portly pugilist named James Toney -- who joined the Zuffa roster earlier this week. "The Natural" is looking for interesting fights in the twilight of his career and has talked openly about facing Rich Franklin and Lyoto Machida -- and even "Lights Out." Any Maniacs out there have a preference of who the Hall-of-Famer fights next?
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz."
If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main WEC 47 results post and not this one.
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