Mixed Martial B0nes

WEC 32 served up some really fine MMA goodness on VS TV. The three title defenses were the main meat of the event but the other action was tough and exciting in its own right. The guys fighting for belts were hungry and it showed as two out of the three titles changed hands that night. The one that didn’t wasn’t too much of a surprise as fighting in front of your home town audience will get that adrenaline flowing.

For those of us that like it, the matches were largely standup specials. A lot of punches and kicks were served and the fighters hung in there like the champs that they were/are/would be. So, let’s get to it and quickly because these tough little guys move fast and will take you down when you least expect it.

Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Leonard Garcia This fight ended pretty quickly. Hiroyuki and Leo matched each other kick for kick. Then Garcia said, “eff this” and started flinging right hand punches at Takaya. It was a matter of seconds before one found Hiro’s head and sent him to Fantasy Island. He tried to get up to complain about room service to Tattoo but the ref decided he’d had enough and stopped it at 1:31 in the first.

Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos These two guys slugged it out for three full rounds. It was a great display of standup goodness. When either fighter found an opportunity to take it to the ground or submit, it seemed as though they either couldn’t follow through or just didn’t know how to do it. Maybe it’s my newbie eye, but I saw a lot of submissions and rear naked choke opportunities gone to waste in this battle. It still was a helluva fight all the way to the final bell and beyond! The judges couldn’t decide who won as both Tapia and Banuelos made some great strikes and a few clinches. So, they threw their hands up and called it a draw… BOOOO!!!! went the crowd. We almost thought that was it but then the judges decided that 2+2 didn’t equal BOOOO!!! and recounted the cards. Manny got the decision and kept his unbeaten streak alive.

Lesson for the kiddies (and Antonio) here: DON’T leave it up to the judges!

Miguel Torres vs. Chase Beebe We all knew where this fight was going: Beebe wins easily against Torres. Oh but NO. Again, the standup game was featured in the beginning with a few kicks to soften each other up. Then Torres smacked Beebe upside his head. Chase was startled just enough for Torres to start working his submissions. Chase was able to wrestle free from most of them but it was too much for the Champ and he got caught by a guillotine-like choke out that relieved him of his Championship belt late in the first.

Jamie Varner vs. Rob McCullough Here was another “sure-thing” match. Razor Rob was the easy pick to retain his Championship. It looked that way for the entire three rounds of this match. McCullough fought off Varner’s takedowns and did some mean striking in the first round. Varner was just getting started though. The second match saw our Champ hang back for a breather round trying to figure out a way to last to the end. Jamie kept battling by punching repeatedly and landing body and head shots. In the last round, the Champ finally showed some life and knocked Varner’s mouthpiece out with a great right punch. Varner called “time” (Which I didn’t know you could do in the middle of a fight??!?) so he could get his icky mouthpiece back. I guess the taste of ring dirt didn’t agree with Jamie because he roughed up the Champ and sent him eating the canvas twice. It really looked like Rob was going to barely make it out of this one but Varner was the better man.

Carlo Prater vs. Carlos Condit The big featured match of the night was the Condit/Prater title match. Carlos was the hometown boy going after a Brazilian Jui Jitsu expert in Prater. He immediately went after Prater by kicking him low in his legs. Then Carlo fought back and took down Condit. That was his last mistake because then Condit worked his submissions and escapes. Prater managed to get loose from an armbar but then Condit found the guillotine and that was that. Tippity, tappity and score one for the hometown boy and the only Champ to stay at the top that night!

This is what MMA should be when we pay up the ying yang for UFC events. It could be the weight class or maybe the hunger that these guys feel because they are close but not at the top of the MMA food chain. I called them “little guys” at the top of this post but they are just regular Joe size like you and me. As they say in the fight world, “pound for pound” they are some of the toughest individuals to walk the Earth. Hopefully, they will be rewarded for their superior skills!

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The World Extreme Cagefighting League is putting on another show on VS TV, Wednesday, February 13. If it’s anything like the last WEC event, we’re in for a heluva treat. Top it all off with the fact that it is free, as in BEER, to watch if you have VS as a cable or satellite television station! There are three title defenses on the main card and a bunch of up and comers on the other cards. Since it is WEC, we’re going to be in a smaller octagon and we’ll be looking at lighter fighters. That may be a downer for some but I’ve got to say that these guys do NOT play around and stay in shape and in the fight. No waking guys up from the couch after a three year lay off in these fights. Even the lowly undercards are active not only in their training but their time in the ring as well. Well, as our Governator would say, “ENOUGH TYPE!”

Carlo “Neo” Prater vs. Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit These guys will be fighting for the Welterweight Championship. They both have similar records. 21-5-1 for Neo and 21-4-0 for NBK. The difference is Conduit is the Champion and he’s come home to fight. Will there be blood? For sure and some aiiish kicking to boot. This is a Brazil vs. USA match with Prater being the fighter with BJJ in his veins and Prater merely a good student of the art. I think the homecoming is going to set Carlos on fire and Carlo back to Brazil to eat some barbeque and wonder what went wrong.

Jamie Varner vs. Rob “Razor” McCullough Our second Championshop match features a striker in Razor versus a more complete fighter in Verner. Jamie’s record is 13-2-1 and his last three fights were won with submissions for the first two and a TKO for his latest. Razor has a well trodden record of 15-3. His records and titles span a number of different arts going from kickboxing to muay thai to K1 and, of course to his current WEC title as a lightweight. This will be a big challenge for Varner as he hasn’t faced someone with quite this pedigree. I’ll have to go with Razor here.

Miguel Torres vs. Chase Beebe The last Championship up for grabs is the Bantamweight Title. Chase, with a record of 13-1-0 is the current champion and he looks to stay that way against the jiu jitsu specialist Torres. Miguel’s record of 19-1 includes a recent fight with Jeff Bedard where Torres won by submission. This one is hard to call. I’ve taken the safe bet above by going with the current champion but in this case, I think a change is in order. I would say that Miguel’s experience will carry him through this fight and Beebe will have to give up a shiny belt buckle.

Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos Tapia has been on an unbeaten streak(9-0-1) and plans on continuing to lay the smack down. Tapia beat his last opponent by TKO at 3:17 in the second. Banuelos (15-4) is no slouch himself as he’s coming off an decision win. We’ve already seen one unbeaten record fall. I think another is in order. Sorry Manny.

Josh Grispi vs. Mark Hominick Josh is going to fight his first match with WEC competition. He’s a young punk kid at age 19 but he brings a record of 10-1. Hominick 15-7 will figure to welcome the young man into the WEC in fitting style: KO in the first.

Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia vs. Hiroyuki Takaya Bad Boy at 14-3 has come to the WEC to fight at his weight class of 145. Takaya with a 9-4-1 record, will try to send him back to eating bon bons and fighting at a heavier class. This may be the fight of the night. I think Hiroyuki will kick the Bad out of Garcia and down him in the third.

There are even more matches happening this coming Wednesday. For a freebie, we are really going to be filled to the gills with striking and submitting goodness. I don’t know what it is, but Zuffa seems to be doing a better job with this organization than the UFC. Hopefully, WEC doesn’t become the burning city of Rome that the UFC is. Dana, put down that fiddle and save the UFC!