WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz March 6th, 2010 Versus/The Score (9:00PM EST) 135lbs. Bryan Bowles (C) vs. Dominic Cruz 135lbs. Miguel Torres vs. Joe Benevidez 145lbs. Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vasquez 155lbs. Deividas Taurosevicius vs. L.C. Davis 155lbs. Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan 145lbs. Leonard Garcia vs. George Roop 135lbs. Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George 145lbs. Chad Mendez vs. Eric Koch 155lbs. Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Pettis 145lbs. Courtney Buck vs. Fredson Paxiao 155lbs. Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) There is so much going on in March that this event is getting overlooked, IMHO. Torres/Benevidez alone is worth watching the event for.
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) Can't wait, WEC is pretty sweet. BTW Speed -- Is there any truth to the rumor that WEC 48 might be PPV with a bunch of their big name fighters, mainly Aldo and Henderson defending their belts?
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) WEC 48 will be on PPV at the same price point as UFC PPV's (regular def and high def, $45 and $55). Card so far (Apr. 24th): 145lbs. Jose Aldo (C) vs Urijah Faber 155lbs. Ben Henderson (C) vs. Donald Cerrone 145lbs. Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan 135lbs. Antonio Banuelos vs. Damacio Page 155lbs. Anthony Njokuani vs. Shane Roller 145lbs. Tyler Toner vs. Brandon Visher Looks pretty great but I'm not looking forward to paying for it...
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) Brian Bowles (134.5) [Num 1] vs. Dominick Cruz (134) [Num 4] Miguel Torres (134.5) [Num 2] vs. Joseph Benavidez (135) [Num 5] Javier Vazquez (145) vs. Jens Pulver (145.5) Deividas Taurosevicius (145) [Num 14] vs. L.C. Davis (144.5) Karen Darabedyan (156) vs. Bart Palaszewski (155) Preliminary Bouts: Scott Jorgensen (135) [Num 6] vs. Chad George (135.5) Chad Mendes (145) vs. Erik Koch (144) Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5) Leonard Garcia (145) [Num 13] vs. George Roop (145.5) Fredson Paixao (144.5) vs. Courtney Buck (145) Ricardo Lamas (155) vs. Bendy Casimir (155.5)
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) Frank Murrrr is in training for UFC 111 so he won't be commentating tonight. Taking his place will be Stephan "Barely hanging on to my UFC career" Bonnar.
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) Dominick Cruz def. Brian Bowles by TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 5:00, R2 Joseph Benavidez def. Miguel Torres by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:57, R2 Javier Vazquez def. Jens Pulver by submission (armbar) at 3:41, R1 LC Davis def. Deividas Taurosevicius by majority decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28) Bart Palaszewski def. Karen Darabedyan by submission (armbar) at 4:40, R1 Scott Jorgensen def. Chad George by submission (guillotine choke) at :31 seconds, R1 Chad Mendes def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision ( 30-27 on all cards) Anthony Pettis def. Danny Castillo by KO at 2:17, R1 Leonard Garcia and George Roop fight to a draw (29-27) (29-27) (28-28) Fredson Paixao def. Courtney Buck by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:39, R1 Ricardo Lamas def. Bendy Casimir by KO (knee) at 3:43, R1
Re: WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz (Mar. 6th) The WEC always delivers. Right now it is the best MMA product going. The advantage they have is a small and talented roster. They don't have to give a million different guys fights and therefore they can make the matches they want on every event. That's not to say all the fights they put on are stellar, but for free shows the WEC does better than Strikeforce, UFC Fight Night, and others. I thought the main event was stunning. Bowles came out looking tentative and I guess we know now that his hand was shattered. Makes you wonder when Urijah Faber and many others can fight for five rounds with a broken hand but Bowles cuts it short after only two rounds. I don't think he was getting dominated by any means but Cruz was up two rounds to none. In the second round Bowles was looking fatigued and I'm sure his lead leg was feeling it. It just wasn't going to be a good night for Bowles and just like that we go from a dominant champ to a fiery upstart to a relatively unknown champ. The bantamweight division is really taking shape. Speaking of which Miguel Torres looked horrendous. I almost wish Frank Mir was commentating because it would've been the quietest eight or so minutes in history. Torres changed up his training but he didn't look comfortable at all. If Bowles was tentative, Torres was cowardly. He barely engaged with Benavidez. It was Joe's fight to win and he made the most of it. How Torres can get outstruck so badly when he had nearly a full foot reach advantage is beyond me. He made the least of his talents tonight but full credit goes to Benavidez who looks to be the next challenger at bantamweight. Scott Jorgensen will probably fight Torres next. Antonio Banuelos has a fight booked on the next card; he's in the mix too. What can be said about Jens Pulver? We already knew his career was done. Now it seems he knows. The sport has passed him by. He's now lost five straight and seven of eight... continuing on now seems masochistic. He needs to find some other way of channeling his competitive fire. Fighting in the WEC is not good for his longevity. He seems to be a genuine and motivated person--I don't know if coaching/training is something he is already doing but he should probably look that way. Vazquez looked good but I don't know if he's really got much to offer the top featherweights. Anthony Pettis's knockout will be on the 2010 highlight reel for sure. The sound the head kick made reminded me of Gonzaga on Cro Cop. LC Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius should've been a draw, IMHO. Those guys canceled each other out entirely. I'm pumped for Aldo vs. Faber and Henderson vs. Cerrone 2.
$10,000 "of the night" bonuses went to... George Roop & Leo Garcia (fight) Anthony Pettis (knockout) Joe Benavidez (submission)
This was a pretty good night of fights, but Benavidez owning Torres was amazing. Once the blood started gushing out of Torres, it instantly was captivating of how badly lopsided the fight was. I never saw Torres fight before Bowles, but he hasn't looked that great in the 2 fights I've seen. Aldo-Faber I can't wait to see, and I might try to go to it since it's in Sacramento.
Payouts... Televised Card: Dominick Cruz ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Brian Bowles ($12,000) Joseph Benavidez ($14,500+$14,500+$10,000=$39,000) def. Miguel Torres ($26,000) Javier Vazquez ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Jens Pulver ($14,000) LC Davis ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Deividas Taurosevicius ($9,000) Bart Palaszewski ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Karen Darabedyan ($4,000) Preliminary Card: Scott Jorgensen ($8,000+$8,000=$16,000) def. Chad George ($3,000) Chad Mendes ($4,000+$4,000=$8,000) def. Erik Koch ($3,000) Anthony Pettis ($3,000+$3,000+$10,000=$16,000) def. Danny Castillo ($9,500) Leonard Garcia ($14,000+$10,000=$24,000) fought George Roop ($3,000+$10,000=$13,000) to a split draw Fredson Paixao ($2,000+$2,000=$4,000) def. Courtney Buck ($3,000) Ricardo Lamas ($5,000+$5,000=$10,000) def. Bendy Casimir ($3,000) Pay seemed a little light this time around... amiright?
