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| UFC Quick Quote: Jason MacDonald plans to dominate Demian Maia Posted: 04 Aug 2008 08:31 AM CDT
– Jason MacDonald details his gameplan at Sportsnet.ca for his upcoming middleweight tilt with Demian Maia at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9. “The Athlete” feels that if he can avoid the submissions of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz then he’ll likely have his hand raised at the end of the bout. Easier said than done. |
| Andrei Arlovski vs Josh Barnett official for Affliction: ‘Day of Reckoning’ October 11 Posted: 04 Aug 2008 06:40 AM CDT
Former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski (13-5) and Josh Barnett (23-5) will collide at Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 11. WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko was originally expected to defend his title against the “Pitbull” in the main event; however, a hand injury sustained in his win over Tim Sylvia will apparently keep the Russian off the card. Arlovski and Barnett were victorious in their Affliction MMA debuts at “Banned” from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19. Arlovski stopped Ben Rothwell via third round technicak knockout (strikes) and Barnett exacted revenge against Pedro Rizzo with second round knockout. Both fighters are riding impressive win streaks — Arlovski has four straight and “The Baby Face Assassin” has got three to his credit. It’s a monster showdown between arguably two of the top five heavyweight fighters in the world. And it will likely determine a number one contender to challenge for Emelianenko’s strap when he is fit to return. In addition to the main event between Arlovski and Barnett, middleweights Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort are also expected to clash at the promotions encore event, which is slated to be available on pay-per-view (PPV). (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Alberto” for the assist.) |
| WEC 35 recap: Condit and Varner retain, Cantwell crowned Posted: 03 Aug 2008 11:31 PM CDT
Once again, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) tonight delivered another action-packed card, proving that it is indeed among the top mixed martial arts promotions in the business. Two champions retained their belts, one didn’t and several up-and-coming fighters solidified their positions as potential threats down the road. WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit had perhaps his biggest test to date against Japanese import and skilled Judo player, Hiromitsu Miura. He threw everything but the kitchen at the former middleweight and Miura returned fire, putting “The Natural Born Killer” in some very dangerous — and rare — positions. Miura leveraged his Judo background to toss, sweep and trip the champion early and often. Condit was eager to showcase his stand up skills and Miura was kind enough to oblige. Condit — for the most part — got the better of the exchanges. That’s not to say, however, that Miura didn’t land some nice junk — he did some damage. And he really looked impressive when he was able to work his ground and pound. But Condit was able to survive and reverse most if not all of Miura’s attacks. He was slick on the ground as usual with his jiu-jitsu, but Miura was able to power out of all of them. By the time the fourth round came around, both fighters were clearly gassed. Miura dug deep and had Condit in trouble; however, he likely blew his load and had nothing left once Condit was able to get to his feet. In fact, Condit hit him with a weak-looking fly knee that sent him crashing to the canvas. He followed it up with some strikes, which Miura didn’t have the energy to defend. The referee at the point had seen enough and called a halt to the action. It was a great fight — Condit showed the heart of a champion and Miura showed he deserved to challenge for the 170-pound title. There’s no doubt that a rematch could be in the cards in the near future.
Steve Cantwell waited for his rematch with WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann. And it was well worth it. He decided to stand and bang with the “All American” despite getting knocked out when the pair first met. From the opening bell, both fighters were swinging for the fences. Cantwell appeared to be more accurate and the more diverse striker, mixing it up with some solid knees, kicks and punches. Stann, on the other hand, looked stiff and threw his punches with his head down. It should come as no surprise that he did not find his mark. What is a surprise is his conditioning — the former Marine was clearly wiped from the first round action. And in the second round Cantwell clipped him with a looping punch behind his left ear. It didn’t appear to be a devastating blow, however, Stann dropped like a sniper picked him off from the rafters. In fact, he didn’t do much to defend himself once he was on the canvas. Cantwell landed a few strikes and that was it — the WEC has a new 205-pound champion … again. Stann showed class at the end of the fight, wrapping the belt around the new champion. He might get another shot at reclaiming the strap sooner rather than later because the competition at light heavyweight is thin in the WEC. Indeed, we could very well see the rubbermatch between Cantwell and Stann sooner rather than later. Let’s just hope Stann is ready to go five rounds. In other championship action, 155-pound titleholder Jamie Varner retained his belt with an eye-opening first round technical knockout victory over the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks. Hicks was a serious threat to Varner because he is so compact and strong. He is also a worldclass Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist with decent stand up skills. And Hicks started the night off right with some big throws and a guillotine choke attempt, which seemed to throw off Varner early on. However, “The Worm” connected with two huge knees that appeared to turn the tide. From that point on he had Hicks on the brink of collapse with clean shots that went unanswered, however, he just wouldn’t go down despite the punishment. Finally, Varner was able to put on the finishing touches and, in the process, defend his title for the first time. He called out the winner of the fight between “Razor” Rob McCullough and Donald Cerrone in his post-fight remarks. That should be good. Rounding out the main card was a bantamweight brawl between Brian Bowles and Damacio Page. The two fighters set a frantic pace early on, throwing leather with reckless abandon. Bowles attempted numerous submissions, but Page was able to defend … almost. He went for a takedown and Bowles timed it just right, jumping and wrapping his limbs around Page in midair. Page’s arms were trapped and he had Bowles wrapped around his neck — there was nothing he could do … not even tap if he wanted. The referee noticed the situation and stepped in as soon as the fighters hit the mat. Another 10 seconds and Page would have gone to sleep. With the win Bowles keeps his perfect record intact and his sights set on an eventual title shot. In fact, WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres was all smiles ringside. Probably because a showdown with Bowles might be up next before the year expires. All in all this was a great night of fights. The production was solid and the announcers did a fine job — Frank Mir even had to take care of some business early on in the telecast, pushing aside someone who accidentally appeared in the foreground. Good stuff. And there’s even more to come on September 10 with WEC 36, which will feature the rematch between Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen, as well as Urijah Faber putting his 145 pound belt on the line against Mike Brown. To check out the WEC results and blow-by-blow commentary click here. |
| WEC 35 fight results, coverage and winners LIVE tonight! Posted: 03 Aug 2008 05:45 PM CDT
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 9 p.m. ET telecast on Versus. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 7 p.m. ET. Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the show to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion. Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after WEC 35. Without further delay, check out the latest WEC 35 results after the jump. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action!)
WEC 35 QUICK RESULTS: Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura via technical knockout (strikes) in round four to retain the WEC welterweight title WEC 35 BLOW-BY-BLOW LIVE MAIN CARD COMMENTARY: WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura (170-pound limit) First round: Condit tries a body kick and misses. He then lands a leg kick and two more body kicks. Miura charges in and lands a nice right hand. Both guys land leg kicks. Nice right hand from Condit and they clinch. Miura tries to throw Condit, but he stays on his feet and they separate. Condit lands another combo and some kicks and knees. Condit tries a straight kick and eats a big punch. Condit tries to land some knees with a Muay Thai clinch now and Miura gets a big judo throw and goes right to side control. Condit is working som punches and he spins and gets to his fett. Miura might have just let him up. Nice punch from Condit and Miura sweeps his leg sending Condit to the mat. Condit stands right up but get drilled by a hard leg kick from Miura. Condit with a big right hand. Miura looks for another takedown, but Condit defends. Condit is stalking Miura now with kicks and punches. Huge right hand from Condit that drops Miura. Condit jumps on him and immediately looks to secure a submission. He traps the arm and goes to work now with the elbows and punches. Miura tries to get out and Condit has an armbar now. Miura escapes and they’re back to their feet. Miura with anther judo throw and the round ends with Miura on top on the ground. That was a 10-9 for the champ. Second round: Condit whiffs on a high kick. Now a straight kick and an exchange with punches from both. Miura eats a punch and kind of gets pushed to the mat. Condit jumps on top and is in Miura’s guard. Condit is working the ground and pound. Miura looks for an arm bar, but Condit isn’t having it. Condit transitions to half guard. Condit is looking to pass to side control or mount and Miura is defending nicely. Really good control from Condit here. Now Miura tries to escape, but the crafty Condit gets full mount and starts raining down shots. Miura spins and gives up his back and Condit grabs an arm. If he can extend it, he’ll have it secured. Miura is out and into Condit’s full guard. Condit lands some lazy punches from his back. The ref stands them up. Nice right hand and body kick from Condit. Big left hand from Miura but he goes for another throw and Condit takes his back. Now Condit is on top in Miura’s full guard and thats how the round ends. Condit’s round again 10-9. Third round: Nice right hand from Miura. Condit shoots and Miura tries to defend and turn it into a throw of his own. He slips and Condit takes his back. Miura spins and Condit looks for a kimura. Now he has a deep guillotine from full mount. He lets it go, but still has mount. He’s working the ground and pound from there. Condit looking for an arm now, but maintains his position. He traps an arm and lands a few more shots. Now a lot of lazy elbows from Condit. Nice reversal from Miura and he takes the top position and found his second wind to land some nice punches. Condit closes his guard and defends. Nice punches now from Miura and Condit is feeling those. Nice ground and pound from Miura and Condit is in trouble. Somehow Condit stands up and he’s throwing wild punches and kicks now. Wild flurry and both guys eat shots. Miura tries to grab Condit as he’s falling and Condit jumps on top. He has a north south position now and then takes his back. A tired Miura spins and Condit has full mount again. He’s landing some big elbows and punches, and Miura is hurt. He spins and gives up his back. Condit looks for a rear naked, but a tired Miura defends. The round ends with Miura trying to hold on and keep Condit from choking him out. What a great round and great fight this is. Close round. Could go either way. How about 10-10. Fourth round: Nice left hand from Miura. Condit charges and lands a knee, but eats some big shots from Miura. Condit is hurt bad. Miura could end this here, but Condit is somehow hanging on. He has Miura’s leg now and Condit gets it to the ground. Condit is on top now. Nice sweep from Miura and he’s on top now in half guard. Very nice ground and pound from Miura, and Condit is looking for a knee bar. Miura stands and escapes and Condit now has a closed full guard. The referee stands them up. They’re exhausted. Nice punches from Miura, he slips and there’s a wild exchange in the center of the cage. Condit tries to toss him to the ground and he gets him there. He takes full mount right away and is controlling the fight now and trying to recover. Miura reverses on a tired Condit and Miura is raining down some nasty ground and pound. The champ is in trouble again. Somehow Condit hangs on and gets back to full guard. Miura rests for a few seconds and then is right back to the ground and pound. Miura stands up and Condit follows. Condit throws a wild kick and Miura grabs his leg. Condit falls, but takes Miura’s back. He’s landing punches from there. The ref tells Miura to defend himself, but he’s dog tired. Condit continues to land punches to both sides of Miura’s head and Miura is done. The ref has to stop the fight. What a great fight!! Definitely a fight of the year candidate. Final result:Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura via technical knockout at 4:43 of round four to retain the WEC welterweight title -end- WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell (205-pound limit) First round: Nice stare down. Cantwell looks intense! Here we go. Nice exchange with both guys landing something. Cantwell tries and misses a head kick. Leg kick from Cantwell. Stann charges in and eats a big punch from Cantwell. Another left hand from Cantwell. Stann with a nice leg kick and avoids another high kick attempt from Cantwell. Cantwell charges and there’s a wild exchange now. Big shots from both guys and finally Cantwell shoots in for a leg and they clinch. Great exchange right there! Both guys look to be recovering in the clinch now as not much is happening. Herb Dean tells them to work and Stann pushes out of the clinch. Nice one two from Cantwell, and Stann answers with the same combo. Cantwell charges now and he’s landing some nice shots. Stann sneaks a few in himself before they get clinched up again. Nice elbow from Cantwell from the clinch. Stann punches out and they separate. Leg kicks from both guys. Stann looks tired. Cantwell tries a superman punch and slips. Stann looks to take advantage and starts raining down punches. Somehow Cantwell absorbs the punishment and makes it to the bell. Close round, I’m going to have to give it to Cantwell 10-9. Second round: Leg kick from Stann. Cantwell answers with one of his own. Stann with another low kick. Looks to be low, and Herb Dean gives Cantwell a break. Unintentional so no point deduction. Leg kick again from Stann and he blocks a counter combo from Cantwell. Cantwell charges in and Stann blocks and pushes out. Nice leg kick from Stann. Big kick to the body from Cantwell!! Stann is backed up against the fence now. Cantwell is trying to take it to him, but Stann grabs him and they’re in the clinch. Cantwell pushes out and Stann charges with some punches. Cantwell stays in the pocket and lands some of his own. Cantwell shoots and Stann easily stuffs it. Both guys are tired. Nice knees and punches from Cantwell. Stann is covering up, but he punches out. Nice kick from Cantwell. Stann is in trouble with his back on the cage. Cantwell is landing shots, but Stann is still on his feet. Big right hand now from Cantwell and the champ is down. Cantwell jumps on his back and lands three or four more shots before Herb Dean can step in and stop the fight. Steve Cantwell is the new WEC light heavyweight champion. Final result: Steve Cantwell defeats Brian Stann via technical knockout at 4:01 of round two to become the new WEC light heavyweight champion -end- WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks (155-pound limit) First round: Right hand from Varner and Hicks clinches. Varner has him against the cage now. Varner looks for a knee and Hicks grabs his leg and gets a slam. Varner works back to his feet, but Hicks is right on him and gets another takedown. Varner is looking to get back to his feet again, but this time gets caught in Hick’s signature guillotine choke. Varner somehow escapes. Hicks shoots again and gets another slam, but again Varner is right back up. Head kick from Varner, and now Varner has a Muay Thai clinch and he lands two huge knees. Hicks looks stunned for a second, but looks to have recovered. Big shots from Varner and Hicks drops and is deep deep trouble. Varner is all over him, but the ref is letting the fight go on. Hicks somehow gets to his feet, but he’s still eating big shots from Varner. Finally Hicks goes down again and now Mazz steps in and Jamie Varner retains his lightweight belt with a first round technical knockout. Good action! Final result: Jamie Varner defeats Marcus Hicks by technical knockout (strikes) at 2:08 of round one to retain the WEC lightweight title -end- Damacio Page vs. Brian Bowles (135-pound limit) First round: Page comes forward first and eats a couple punches. He then tries a big kick and misses. He slips on another charging kick attempt and Bowles jumps into Page’s guard. Page is working some elbows and punches from his back with a closed guard. Bowles is able to stand, and he’s trying a guillotine now. It looks pretty tight, but Page slips out and reverses to get the top position against the fence. Page is unsuccessfully trying to pass the guard and instead opts to stand up allowing Bowles to his feet as well. Bowles misses on a big right and eats a combo from Page. Bowles stays on the aggressive with charging combos, but Page keeps firing back with kicks and punches of his own. Nice body kick from Page. You can tell Bowles felt that one, and he almost immediately shoots for a takedown. Page sprawls and then picks Bowles up for a slam, but gets caught in a deep guillotine with both arms trapped. He tries to squirm out, but Bowles has it too deep and Page has to tap out at 3:30 of round one. Final result: Brian Bowles defeats Damacio Page by submission (guillotine) at 3:30 of round one -end- Josh Grispi vs. Micah Miller (145-pound limit) First round: Grispi misses a leg kick. Tries another and Miller slips. Grispi is standing over him now and tires a couple kicks. Now he backs off and lets Miller up. He lands another leg kick and then throws a nice combo of punches. A couple more leg kicks and Miller charges in and eats a huge right hand!! He drops immediately and he is out. He stands up and has no idea where he’s at or what happened. Herb Dean tries to tell him the fight is over, but Miller is obviously on queer street. Final result: Grispi defeats Miller via technical knockout (strikes) in round one -end- |
| Hose and Baroni wins highlight Icon Sport ‘Hard Times’ Posted: 03 Aug 2008 04:34 PM CDT
Middleweight champion and local fan favorite, Kala “Kolohe” Hose was in action in a non-title bout against Rolando Dominque, and Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni also competed on the card in a 175-pound catchweight fight against Ron Verdadero. Hose (7-2) was coming off the second loss of his career in June at Elite XC: “Return of the King” to Robert McDaniel by first round submission (rear naked choke). That contest was also a non-title affair, which led to some questions of why Hose — who won the title from Baroni in March — wasn’t defending his belt. He took even more flack when this fight with Dominique was announced as a non-title match, too. For a company that stripped Robbie Lawler of the same title early this year for inactivity, it’s a little strange that its allowing the title to sit idle for two fights now. It almost seems obvious that the Hawaii-based promotion just want its local hero to be the champ for as long as possible. Regardless, Hose came away with a second round technical knockout win on Saturday night, improving his record to (7-2) with all of his wins coming via TKO. Hopefully, the next time we see Hose in action he’ll have his gold on the line.
His debut fight at welterweight was three weeks ago at Cage Rage 27: “Step Up” against Scott Jansen. He made quick work of Jansen with a first round knockout, looking very sharp at the lighter weight. Last night Baroni met Ron Verdadero at a catchweight of 175 pounds. And again Baroni looked good, making quick work of his opponent with another first round technical knockout. Two wins in a row for Baroni is a nice change of pace from losing five of seven prior to that. Even though the competition wasn’t exactly top notch, Baroni was a guy whose confidence was probably at an all time low before these two wins. A-level competition or not, a win is a win, especially for Baroni, who is looking to fight is way back into some high profile fights. There was another fight on this card with the vacant 140-pound North American title on the line between Mark Oshiro — who is referred to as the bantamweight Chuck Liddell — and Bao Quach — who came in on an eight fight winning streak. Both of these guys are local favorites for the islanders, and this was a highly anticipated match up for them. In a hard fought three round battle, Quach was able to win over the judges for a unanimous decision, pushing his streak to nine in a row. Check out the rest of the results for Icon Sport: “Hard Times” after the jump.
Sydney Silva defeats Hideto Kondo in Round 1 by submission (arm bar) |
| WEC 35 predictions and preview Posted: 03 Aug 2008 11:38 AM CDT
It’s been more than two months now since WEC 34, which was highlighted by an “old vs. new” five round featherweight war between Urijah “The California Kid” Faber and Jens “Little Evil” Pulver. That show was a success when compared to the network debut for Elite XC on CBS, which took place during the same weekend. With three titles on the line (welterweight, light heavyweight and lightweight), and some sick under card action set to take place, WEC 35 has the makings to be just as exciting as WEC 34 was … if not more. To get you ready for another solid weekend of mixed martial arts action with WEC, we’ve detailed each of the main card fights and provided some predictions as well. Here we go:
WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit (22-4) vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4) Miura has won his last two fights for WEC, his most recent of which, a first round knockout against Blas Avena, was his first at 170 pounds. Making the move from middleweight will give Miura a size and strength advantage in this fight. Whether that will make a difference against a technician the caliber of Condit is the question for the Japanese fighter. If you look at the champ’s fight history, he’s had little to no trouble with bigger, stronger and more controlling opponents. He handled Brock Larson, who is an absolute beast, in half a round. He submitted Frank Trigg in the first round once upon a time. He submitted John Alessio, Carlo Prater and the list goes on and on. With that said, Miura has never been submitted in a fight. He’s been knocked out three times and lost a decision once, but has never tapped out. That certainly could change against a guy like Condit, who has 12 career wins by submission. But even if Miura’s submission defense holds against “The Natural Born Killer,” he’ll still have to deal with Condit’s underrated Muay Thai game, which has netted him nine career knockouts. It’s a pick your poison with Carlos Condit. He hasn’t been able to showcase his stand up arsenal too much recently because he’s been scoring early submissions, but that doesn’t mean the guy doesn’t have a solid all around game. This fight could be that chance for Condit to display his versatility. Either way, I don’t see Miura making it out of the first round. In fact, I think Condit will serve him up his first career submission. Final prediction: Condit via first round submission WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann (6-0) vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1) Stann won the light heavyweight gold by dispatching Doug Marshall relatively easy with a first round technical knockout back in March. In fact, all six of Stann’s professional mixed martial arts wins have been by first round knockout, one of which was against Steve Cantwell in March of 2007 just 41 seconds into the fight. With that being Cantwell’s lone loss in his young career, he’ll be looking for revenge tomorrow night. Whether he gets that revenge against a monster like Stann is another story. But Cantwell says he feels he should have won their first fight despite only lasting 41 seconds. “I should have won the first time. He just had a lot of things going for him. This is going to be my fight. It's my redemption,” said Cantwell. It’s good to have confidence, and a solid gameplan, but like it’s said in this sport, “everybody has a gameplan until they get hit.” However, the same can be said to the champ. Steve Cantwell is also a large man who can hit you very hard. The two stood toe to toe last time, and Stann’s power prevailed, but that doesn’t mean it can’t go in Cantwell’s favor this time. Either way, this is going to be a fun fight. There’s no way this fight makes it past round two, if that, and those are the type of fights that favor Brian Stann. I got the champ retaining his belt in this one. Final prediction: Stann via first round knockout WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie “The Worm” Varner (14-2) vs. Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks (8-0) Jamie Varner defeated “Razor” Rob McCullough back in February to win the WEC lightweight gold. A win over a fighter like “Razor” Rob is certainly a nice feather in one’s cap, but it doesn’t get any easier defending your belt once you win it. Marcus Hicks is an animal, or a “wrecking ball” as his nickname suggests. He has stormed through the competition in his three WEC fights, defeating Ed Ratcliff, Scott McAfee, and Sergio Gomez each by guillotine. He has definitely earned this title shot with his dominating presence inside the cage. This is an interesting match up of submission style fighters who can also bang. Varner is riding high on confidence, but Hicks isn’t short in that department either. “I think we match up pretty good, but at the end of the end of the night I'm sure I'm going to win,” said Hicks of his opponent. Varner is almost ten years younger than Hicks, yet has twice as many fights. The champ certainly feels like his experience will help him pick apart the dangerous Hicks. Here’s what he had to say about his opponent:
This fight could win fight of the night. There will be no shortage of action, that’s for sure. Hicks is a little too powerful and a little too explosive for Varner to finish, unless he can wear him out and allow his cardio to prevail in the later rounds, but there’s no reason to suggest Hick’s cardio isn’t solid, we just haven’t had an opportunity to see it put to the test yet. With this being a five round championship fight, there’s a decent chance we’ll see that tomorrow night. My gut feeling says Varner will know how to deal with this guy, and he’ll pull out a tough, hard fought win, but I’m going with who I feel is the more talented fighter, and that’s Marcus Hicks. Regardless, this should be a war! Final prediction: Marcus Hicks via second round submission Brian Bowles (5-0) vs. Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page (10-3) Bowles has defeated two very solid opponents (Charlie Valencia and Marcos Galvao) inside the WEC cage. He’s a twenty eight year old fighter who looks to have all the tools to be a force in the bantamweight division. His opponent Page has a little more experience, and a slight size advantage coming from fighting at 155 pounds previously. He too looks like a good prospect at 135 pounds for WEC. He boasts a nice all around game with finishing abilities both on the feet and on the ground. This should be an exciting match up, but one I have Brain Bowles winning. “The Angel of Death” is no pushover, but Bowles has looked close to unbeatable at times lately. He’s got great strength and movement, and he understands the game like a fighter who has thirty career fights, not five. We’re looking at another fight of the night candidate here, but Bowles is destined for a shot at Miguel Torres’ title sooner or later. I don’t see Page sidetracking him with a loss at this point. Final prediction: Bowles via second round technical knockout Josh “The Fluke” Grispi (8-1) vs. Micah Miller (9-1) Younger brother of UFC fighter, Cole Miller, Micah has made a small name for himself over the past few months. He had a setback last year with a loss to Cub Swanson, but has been impressive since with two solid wins over Steve Kinnison and Chance Farrar. Like his brother, he’s tall and lanky, with good submissions and a nice striking game with crisp kicks and punches. He’s a match up problem for a lot of fighters at 145 pounds, including the tough as nails, Josh Grispi. “The Fluke” beat Mark Hominick in his WEC debut in February with a first round rear naked choke. He has a wide variety of ways to finish a fight as well, with four knockouts and four submissions to his credit. In fact, Grispi has never been out of the first round in any of his fights. I would say Grispi is the more aggressive fighter, but Miller is the better technician. If Miller can weather the early storm and take the fight into the second and third rounds, his chances increase, but if Miller allows himself to be overwhelmed by the attack of Grispi, he could be in trouble. I just don’t think Micah can come into this fight with a slow start and beat Josh Grispi. This is another tough call, but I like Miller. Final prediction: Miller via second round submission The under card of this event is littered with former number one contenders and some great match ups as well. Here’s a look at the rest of the card for WEC 35: 170 lbs.: Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater This should be another very good event for WEC, who has been steadily raising the bar as far as expectations go. With three title fights and a number of other quality, show stealer type of matches, this card cannot disappoint. Remember to tune in tomorrow night to Versus at 9 p.m. ET, and don’t forget to check MMAmania.com early and often for all your WEC 35 coverage. |
| Shocking news: Amir Sadollah gets tasered (Video) Posted: 03 Aug 2008 10:47 AM CDT |
| MMA Quick Quote: Brian Stann is not scared Posted: 03 Aug 2008 10:36 AM CDT
– Brian Stann tells the Washington Post about his days in combat on the battlefields of Iraq and how those experiences have helped him become an undefeated WEC light heavyweight champion. “All American” will put his newly-won 205-pound title on the line for the first time tonight against Steve Cantwell at WEC 35 from "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. |
| WEC weigh-in results for title tripleheader tonight Posted: 03 Aug 2008 09:55 AM CDT
And out of the field of 20 fighters only one — Marcus Hicks — had some minor troubles. “The Wrecking Ball” came in one pound over the 155-pound limit for his fight against lightweight champion Jamie Varner. He eventually shed the extra baggage and is good to go. Here are the official WEC 35 weigh-in results:
**Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. WEC 35 will air tonight on the Versus network at 9 p.m. ET, featuring a whopping three title defenses. MMAmania.com will provide up-to-the-minute quick results of all the main card action, as well as the latest updates from the preliminary bouts. Definitely come check us out! |
For Baroni (12-10), this was his fourth fight this year and his third in the last three months. After losing the first two of those fights this year, “The New York Badass” decided to make the move from middleweight (185 pounds) to welterweight (170 pounds).
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