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| Rafael Assuncao vs Jameel Massouh on tap for WEC 40 on April 5 Posted: 02 Mar 2009 05:34 AM PST World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) recently added a featherweight fight between company newcomers Rafael Assuncao (12-1) and Jameel “The Sergeant” Massouh (20-4) to its WEC 40 event, which is set for the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill., on April 5. Assuncao — the 27-year-old brother of UFC veteran Junior Assuncao — was recently granted release from his contract with the Kentucky-based American Fight League (AFL) because of the upstart promotion’s inactivity since appearing on the radar last year. He chose to sign on with the WEC after being courted by other promotions, including Bellator Fighting Championships. The Brazilian will come into this bout riding a four-fight win streak, including an impressive showing with a first round knockout over 40+ fight veteran Joe Pearson in his last appearance at Ironheart Crown 12 in November 2008. He also holds notable victories over Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal, James Birdsley and others. His one career loss came by majority decision to former division number one contender Jeff Curran more than two years ago. He’s a young, well rounded prospect with a ton of potential. Assuncao, however, won’t get a cupcake in his first WEC fight. “The Sergeant” is a winner of his last four fights as well, including a unanimous decision win over Ryan Healy in November. He’s an aggressive fighter who has finished 80 percent of his wins before the final bell (nine by submission and seven via technical knockout). This should be a high paced bout between two talented fighters looking to impress the WEC fans with strong debut performances. WEC 40 will feature a main event 145-pound title fight between champion Miguel “Angel” Torres and challenger Takeya Mizugaki — a late substitute for the injured Brian Bowles. For the more on the WEC 40 fight card click here. |
| WEC 39 recap and final thoughts for ‘Brown vs Garcia’ Posted: 02 Mar 2009 03:58 AM PST WEC 39: “Brown vs. Garcia” from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, is in the books. And Mike Thomas Brown is still the WEC 145-pound featherweight champion. The American Top Team product successfully defended his title in dominating fashion over Greg Jackson trainee Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia. The champ connected on a hard right hand that floored Garcia very early on in the fight and followed that up with some brutal ground and pound. A bloodied up “Bad Boy” tried to recover, but the ridiculously strong Brown was relentless. It wasn’t long before he sunk in a fight ending arm triangle to collect his first successful title defense. However, the WEC’s featherweight division is perhaps the promotion’s deepest. And there are several high profile, young and hungry fighters chomping at the bit to get their shot. However, it’ll be ex-champ Urijah Faber who gets first dibs — they’ll like meet in a rematch sometime this summer.
One of those high profile, young and hungry fighters of the WEC’s 145 pound division mentioned above was also featured on the WEC 39 card. His name is Jose Aldo, and if you don’t know that name yet, get familiar. This guy is the real deal. He dismantled the heavily outmatched Chris Mickle in just over a minute to get his fourth straight (technical) knockout win under the WEC banner. Urijah Faber might be next in line for a title shot, but Aldo’s not far behind. His day will certainly come. Cross town Chicago rivals Ricardo Lamas and Bart Palaszewski battled it out in a lightweight bout on the main card as well. Lamas came in on super short notice, and Bartimus’ experience was supposed to be too much for the kid to overcome. Somebody forgot to tell that to Ricardo Lamas — his strength was a problem for Palaszewski. They spent a lot of time in the clinch and Lamas was able to win over the judges with his control. It was a big win for a fighter coming in with a lot stacked against him. We definitely haven’t seen the last of him in the WEC. In the other main card bout, former lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough out-pointed Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks on the judges scorecards for a lackluster majority decision win. Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t a whole lot of action in the fight. We’re used to seeing better performances from both guys. Nevertheless, a win’s a win for Razor Rob. There were plenty of other solid fights and exciting finishes on the under card as well. Here’s the full results from WEC 39: “Brown vs. Garcia:”
Next up for the sister promotion to the UFC is WEC 40: “Torres vs. Mizugaki” which will take place at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on April 5. Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will defend his title against Japanese newcomer Takeya Mizugaki in the main event. The event will mark the promotion’s first trip to the “Windy City,” which is also Torres’ hometown. |
| WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown no longer a one-hit wonder Posted: 02 Mar 2009 01:12 AM PST
-Defending WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown comments during the WEC 39: “Brown vs. Garcia” post-fight press conference on his dominant performance over Leonard Garcia in last night’s main event from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Not everyone was convinced that the American Top Team powerhouse was the real deal after he dropped a flashy Urijah Faber back at WEC 36, but it’s hard to dispute his place as champion after the one-sided shellacking he put on “Bad Boy.” Expect a rematch with Faber sooner rather than later, though the surging Jose Aldo - also victorious in dominant fashion - will soon be nipping at their heels. |
| Undefeated UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin featured on tonight’s Pro MMA Radio Posted: 02 Mar 2009 12:40 AM PST
UFC 96: "Jackson vs. Jardine" from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7, will feature undefeated heavyweight specimen Shane Carwin in his toughest test to date when he collides with former division number one contender Gabriel Gonzaga. The three time All-American wrestler will join us tonight at 9 p.m. ET on MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio to preview his match with “Napao” at UFC 96 as well as his road to the UFC and the challenge of working a full time job while pursuing a career in mixed martial arts. Hosted by Larry Pepe, Pro MMA Radio is professional, guest-driven program that features some of mixed martial arts biggest names. If you're looking for a radio show that revolves around a couple of MMA fans ranting and raving about everything that's already been covered ad nauseam, then Pro MMA Radio probably isn't for you. However, if you want to hear from actual fighters and industry insiders answering questions that are relevant to the current MMA scene, tune in every Monday night at 9 p.m. ET for our exclusive live feed. See you tonight at 9 p.m. ET! |
| WEC 39 bonuses and awards for ‘Brown vs Garcia’ Posted: 01 Mar 2009 10:17 PM PST
WEC 39: "Brown vs. Garcia" from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 1 has come to a close. The highly anticipated event, which featured the promotion's first trip to the "Lone Star State," was a success at the gate, drawing more than 6,100 fans and raking in $297,990 at the turnstiles. Several fighters on the card also made out like bandits with their respective performances. In particular, the defending WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown, who obliterated the promotion's number one contender, Leonard Garcia, with a suffocating performance in the main event of the evening. The American Top Team (ATT) powerhouse earned "Submission of the Night" for tapping out the "Bad Boy" with an arm-triangle choke as reported by Steve Cofield at Cagewriter. Johny Hendricks and Alex Serdyukov went to war for three rounds in the "Fight of the Night" and “The Angel of Death,” Damacio Page, nearly lived up to his nickname with a frightening “Knockout of the Night" that saw an unresponsive Marcos Galvao leave on a stretcher. Scary stuff. Regardless, it was a solid night of action that produced several exciting fights that aired live on Versus. And the fighters honored below more than deserved a little extra cold hard cash for their outstanding performances. Here are the special fight bonuses for WEC 39:
Each fighter received $7,500 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as they become available. For complete WEC 39 results and fight-by-fight coverage of the main card action click here. |
| WEC 39 results LIVE tonight for Brown vs Garcia! Posted: 01 Mar 2009 02:49 PM PST
WEC 39: "Brown vs. Garcia" — the promotion’s first trip to the “Lone Star State” — will take place TONIGHT (Sunday, March 1) from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The main card will air live on the Versus network beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET. Featured in the main event of the evening will be 145 pound champion, American Top Team product Mike Thomas Brown, as he defends his world title for the first time against Greg Jackson trainee Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia. As always, MMAmania.com will provide detailed coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 9:00 p.m. ET telecast on Versus. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 7:30 p.m. ET. Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the Versus telecast 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 39. Without further delay, see below for the latest WEC 39 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest fight updates!)
WEC 39 QUICK RESULTS: WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown defeats Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia via submission (arm choke) at 1:57 of round one WEC 39 MAIN CARD FIGHT COVERAGE: WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown (20-4) vs. Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia (12-3) Fight recap: Round 1: A huge right hand from the champion floored Garcia less than a minute into the fight. Brown pounced on him and reigned down some brutal ground and pound, opening up a nasty gash on Garcia’s face. He couldn’t lock in a rear naked choke when Garcia gave up his back, but after more ground and pound he was finally able to secure a deep arm choke that Garcia had no choice but to tap out to. Wow! Dominating performance from the champion. Final result: WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown defeats Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia via submission (arm choke) at 1:57 of round one -end- Jose "Junior" Aldo (13-1) vs. Chris Mickle (26-11-1) Fight recap: Round 1: Aldo was looking to make the highlight reel early on in this one, attempting flying knees, roundhouse kicks and numerous lightning quick combinations that had Mickle confused and off balance. “Mad Dog” was clearly outmatched from the get go, and Aldo easily finished him off. Final result: Jose "Junior" Aldo defeats Chris Mickle via technical knockout (strikes) at 1:39 of round one -end- Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski (30-11) vs. Ricardo Lamas (5-0) Fight recap: Round 1: Bartimus chased Lamas for the first minute of the round while working in a few hard leg kicks before being taken to the mat. Lamas stayed on top working ground in pound in Palaszewski’s guard for a while unitl Bartimus managed to get back to his feet. Lamas maintained the clinch and worked relentlessly for another takedown before he finally got it with about a minute left in the round. He worked some nice ground and pound from there before Palaszewski got back to his feet where he flurried nicely to end the round. Close round, Lamas 10-9. Round 2: Lamas initiated the clinch right away in round two. There was good action from the clinch, too, from both guys, Lamas with the dirty boxing and Bartimus with the knees. Lamas was able to take Palaszewski’s back and eventually scored another takedown. From there he continued the ground and pound asault while fending off submission attempts from Palaszewski. Lamas landed several shots to end the round, but Bartimus stood his ground until the bell. Definitely Lamas’ round though. Round 3: Lamas came out looking strong to start the last round, but Bartimus had plenty of energy as well. They went toe to toe on their feet for a little bit with Palaszewski winning most of the exchanges with punches and kicks. After a while Lamas had enough though and picked Palaszewski up and slammed him to the mat. Bartimus tried to get back to his feet, but Lamas maintained control from the top position. He landed more ground and pound from there to basically close out the round and secure the win. Final result: Ricardo Lamas defeats Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski via unanimous decision -end- "Razor" Rob McCullough (16-5) vs. Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks (8-1) Fight recap: Round 1: After a long feeling out process, Hicks lunged forward with a wild left hand and initiated a clinch. There wasn’t much action from there either as the ref was forced to separate them. After taking a couple of leg kicks Hicks shot in for another takedown attempt. McCullough continued to show solid takedown defense though. He stayed on his feet and closed the round out working more leg kicks. Not much action at all during the first frame, but Hicks was a little more aggressive and probably took the round. Round 2: The action was kicked up a notch right away in the second round. Hicks floored McCullough about 30 seconds into the round and looked to have the former champ in trouble with a deep guillotine choke. But somehow McCullough escaped. He recovered beautifully and turned the tides on Hicks with a slick reversal and some hard ground and pound. He got back to his feet and started dominating the exchanges from there as well. He used a versatile attack with knees, kicks and punches that had Hicks hurt on more than one occasion. Definitely McCullough’s round. Round 3: Not much action to start the round. Hicks looked almost as if he was just looking for that one big punch, while Razor Rob was stalking but being cautious as well. About half way through the round McCullough started working the kicks to the body and legs more frequently. Hicks kept his distance, mixing in single punches, but he never got into a grove in the round or the fight. I score the fight for Razor Rob. Final result: "Razor" Rob McCullough defeats Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 29-28) -end- |
| Bad Boy for life: A conversation with WEC 39 headliner Leonard Garcia Posted: 01 Mar 2009 10:57 AM PST
WEC 39: "Brown vs. Garcia" is set to go off from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, tonight live on the Versus network beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET. Featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown will defend his title for the first time since knocking off superstar Urijah Faber back in November. He'll face the heavy-handed Greg Jackson trainee, Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia in the night’s main event. Garcia made a name for himself at UFC 69 when he went back and forth for three rounds with Roger Huerta in a brawl that was awarded "Fight of the Year" by the promotion. Garcia lost the decision that night, but certainly left his mark as a scrappy and talented fighter. Feeling a little too small to compete with the endlessly talented roster of fighters in the UFC's lightweight division, he made the move to the Zuffa-owned WEC in order fight at his more natural weight of 145 pounds. That decision to this point has worked out great for the Lubbock, Texas native. In his two fights under the WEC banner, he's put down top ten fighters Hiroyuki Takaya at WEC 32 and Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver at WEC 36 - both by first round knockout. Garcia has undoubtedly earned his spot as the number one contender and his shot at the division crown. But as he explains, he couldn’t have done it without the support of one of the best training camps in all of mixed martial arts. “We have a pretty good team out here. Greg Jackson is my coach and trainer. We train at Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s the same camp as GSP, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, myself, "Cowboy" Cerrone, Damacio Page and Dwayne Ludwig. I'm physically really ready. It's just the fact that you're fighting for a title. It's kind of a bitter sweet thing. It's really good, but then you get really nervous too. It's working out good though. I'm training really hard. I have a really good camp. Now I am just focusing on getting my weight down and I think it is going to be a good night for me." WEC 39 marks the first trip to the "Lone Star State" for the Zuffa-owned promotion, and Garcia couldn’t be happier. While Corpus Christi is not exactly right around the corner from Lubbock, any Texan worth his weight in spurs will tell you it’s all the same. "I live here. Me and ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone are renting a house down here. We rent it all year round but we have a really good relationship with the landlord lady and we kind of have it as a camp house. When people come in from out of town they all stay here. It's a good place to have and the rent is cheap so it works out perfect when we have to be here three to four months at a time. My little brother moved down here also. He had his first fight and he came down here and ended up moving all his furniture down. It's a lot better because I get to keep an eye on him, make sure he’s doing right. My youngest brother, he actually stayed back. He has a management position at his job and he just likes to watch us fight. He’s not really interested in becoming a fighter so he stays home and helps pay the rent on the house that we all own together down there. So he is there in a three bedroom house all alone. But he’s got a girlfriend now, so it's all good." While at first glance, the “Bad Boy” moniker that Garcia embraces would appear to come from his bad intentions inside the cage, but it actually stems from a popular logo that was an early sponsor for UFC fighters that Garcia watched as he cut his teeth in the early days of the sport. "Back in the early 90's when I started fighting, all the UFC guys used to wear BADBOY shorts. You know, it had the eyes and some how, some way when I was like 16 or 17, I just graduated from high school and I got a BADBOY tattoo. You know the little eyes, the little mouth, and the same logo as on the shorts. I got it on my arm. I just liked the logo man. They have since offered [me a sponsorship] but I have been with TAPOUT for so long. It’s kind of one of those things where I try to be really loyal. It would be cool to be sponsored by BADBOY, but my loyalty lies with TAPOUT. Those two are kind of like UFC and Affliction, they are at each other's throats. There is no way BADBOY would allow TAPOUT or TAPOUT would allow BADBOY to logo their stuff on them." That sort of competitive fire resonates with the 29-year-old Garcia, who is no stranger to sports. Aside from playing high school football, Leonard of course was a lightweight scrapper in the UFC 155-pound division in the not-too-distant past. All for the sake of competition, says Garcia. "For me it is the competitive part of it. You know, you get ready as a team. You do everything together up until that point. Even the walk up the tunnel is a team thing. But when the bell rings it's you and him. There is no other sport that is that competitive. It's a one-on-one deal. There is no one else that is going to be able to help you out. It's just you, and you have to rely on everything you’ve done with your team to come out as a winner, but in the end it is all up to you. So that is what I love about it, just the fact there is no one to blame but yourself. I think that is the best way because I used to played football throughout high school growing up and there would be times when we would lose a game and I played really well but somebody else would do really bad and I would think to myself ‘Man if he would have done his job we would have won’ and that would eat me up. Now it is just up to me so it doesn't eat me up unless I lose." And losing in front of his hometown crowd is not an option. Still, Garcia recognizes the very real threat in front of him. Being able to dethrone former featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber seemed like an impossible task, until Mike Thomas Brown brushed off the hype and answered a flashy elbow with a crushing right. "Mike Brown is a really strong wrestler, decent stand-up. He’s well rounded. He is pretty much the toughest opponent I have faced in my whole life. Coming into the fight I just want to make things harder for him. He is comfortable wrestling. I want to make the wrestling tough for him. I want to try to out-wrestle him, move away from him, keep him off his game and make him uncomfortable. So if he wants to wrestle, I want to make it the hardest wrestling match he’s ever been in. Of course my go-to thing is striking. I love kickboxing. Without giving up too much of the game plan I definitely want to try and out wrestle him. Everybody knows when we start the fight we start out on our feet so I'm hoping to get a kickboxing match out of him also." Like Roger Huerta, who Leonard became close friends with following their fight at UFC 69, Garcia has nothing but respect for Brown and could see them becoming friends outside of the cage - even if they have to destroy each other inside it. "Under different circumstances, if we trained at the same camp, I think me and Mike would be one of the closer guys. We would probably be great friends. He would be one of the top guys on my list to call over and hang out with. He is a really good guy. The thing is, we are in the business of fighting and we have to fight each other, it’s already slotted. We’re going to be friends after the fight, there’s no bad blood between us. But we are definitely going to come after each other. He has something that I want and he wants to keep what he has. It’s a great sport that we can be friends and have camaraderie like this and still go in there and try to rip each other's heads off." And it all goes down tonight. Remember, MMAmania.com will provide live coverage of the action beginning with the 9:30 p.m. telecast on Versus as well as up-to-the-minute quick results of the entire undercard. For our complete WEC 39 archive click here. |
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