The WEC has come and gone, and those of us that attended were lucky to see what might be considered fight of the year. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Ben Henderson put on a display of amazing skills in stand up, grappling, and submissions. Ben Henderson winning by unanimous decision puts a hold on the match up everyone has been waiting for, Cerrone v. Varner II. The San Antonio crowd saw matches end in submissions, TKO’s, and decisions. Damacio Page, who had a family member pass early in the week, secured a ferociously quick submission victory over WEC newcomer Will Capuzano. In another match that was full of counters and striking Dave Jansen and Rich Crunkilton went the distance in a split decision for Jansen in his debut match. Mackens Semerzier was able to submit submission specialist Wagney Fabiano in his debut. “All I can remember is my jiu-jitsu coach saying ‘Don’t be afraid to go for the triangle if it’s there’… I got this fight on two weeks notice and now I’m so happy to be here,”Semerzier said. Anthony Njokuani controlled his opponent, Muhsen Corbbrey, and won a TKO that might have been a KO. WEC had people watching in and out of the cage, with UFC fighters Chuck Liddell, Nate Marquardt, and Paul Buentello. WEC also had their fighters in the stands, as well as Punk Ass and Sky Skrape of TapouT. The first major promotion to come to San Antonio, the WEC looks to try and come back to the city, hopefully within in the next year or so.
On October 3, 2009 TAMMA once again presented MMA at Cowboys Dance Hall, and again have outdone themselves. It was an event filled with thrills, chills, and a few surprises. The first fight was a strong bout between Arturo Flores and Michael Alexander, and what a way to start off the night, fantastic action by both competitors ending with a Flores submission win by arm bar over Alexander. In the heavyweight division we saw two up-and-comers in Jared Haile and Jeff Fross. Solid action, but in the end Jared Haile could not make it out of his corner between the second and third round. Thus reminding everyone what an important role conditioning plays in fighting; just as much as striking and grappling. Next we saw a wierd ending, with Steven Flores submitting Michael Goss with an arm bar, only to slip off Goss’s arm while he was tapping out. Both Flick brothers were on the card, but unfortunately only one of them would have a successful night. Jimmy Flick impressed the audience with a triangle choke on Amador Estrada in just :35 seconds of round number 1. There was also some controversy with an early stoppage of the fight in which Aaron Lanfranco TKO’d Andrew Sancho. Many in the audience thought that referee Mark Calo-oy called it too early, as the fighter was still moving position. What had many people talking, though, was the annihilation of Brandon Powers by “CJ” Vergara. In his amateur debut Vergara knocked out Powers in :33 seconds of the first round and impressed the audience and TAMMA’s very special guests, who stated Vergara is someone to keep an eye on. The second intermission was cut into by TAMMA’s guests of honor: the President of WEC Reed Harrison, WEC’s PR Director David Sholler, WEC fighter Will Campuzano, and UFC’s very own Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello.They all thanked the audience for the support of MMA in San Antonio and passed out free items including tickets to the October 10 show at the AT&T Center. In another fight that some fans thought was called early Lester Clark TKO’d Austin O’Riley in the first round. In what may have been fight of the night, Daniel Jolly vs. Michael Mitchell fought to a unanimous decision for Jolly. Early in the first round Mitchell looked completely dominating and in charge of the fight, but the headstrong Jolly collected himself and came back to win all three rounds. Improving his record to 3-0 now, Jolly had moved up to light heavyweight for this fight. Nick Helak of team No Pain scored a huge victory with a rear naked choke, :35 second in the first, on his opponent Matt Mazurek. Unfortunately, the referee could not see Mazurek tapping out. Mazurek lost consciousness, but was on his feet momentarily. The main event of the night featured Danny Flick vs. Andy Chiu for the Fly Weight Championship. This was the only fight to be called due to injury, as Flick may have pulled his shoulder in the first round. It was a shame to see a fight end this way as it looked to be an entertaining bout. Maybe we could see his brother Jimmy vs. Andy as both are now 5-0, for the title. It was a great night for fights. This card had everything from decision victories to KO’s. Look for another great set of fights on November 14th at Heroes’ Championship and on December 5th at Fight Fest 16. Until then, see you at WEC on Saturday October 10th. Raul Rangel
The first Zuffa venture to the city of San Antonio, WEC 43 will take place on Saturday Oct.10, at the AT&T Center. This is old news by now, but for those of you who haven’t heard, tickets start at only $25. Doors open at 5pm, and the fights start at 6pm. If you can’t make it, the fights will be live on Versus.
If you made it out to TAMMA’s Texas Fight Fest 15, then you had a good time. Also, you had a chance to meet native Texan fighters Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello, and Will Campuzano who will be debuting in the WEC at this Saturday’s event. We even got to hear a few promises and praises from WEC President Reed Harris and PR Manager Dave Sholler.
The WEC will be back at Cowboy’s Dance Hall on Friday for the official weigh-ins. This is another event not to be missed. There will be an opportunity to meet the fighters weighing in, and Frank Mir, WEC commentator and UFC superstar will be in attendance. WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown, and lightweight title holder Jaime Varner will also be there.
It’s a damn good week for MMA in San Antonio. The Tapout Tour will be in town Friday and Saturday. My guess is that they scheduled the event here so they could check out the WEC show. On Friday they will be at Image Trendwear at Rolling Oaks Mall with Jens “Little Evil” Pulver from 1-3pm, and on Saturday Nate “The Great” Marquardt will join at Black Fly at Ingram Plaza 1-3pm.
-Drew Wallen
THE WEC 43 FIGHT CARD
Main event:
155 lbs.: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (10-1) vs. Ben “Smooth” Henderson (9-1) for the WEC Interim Lightweight Title
Main card (Televised):
155 lbs.: Rich Crunkilton (16-2) vs. Dave Jansen (12-0)
135 lbs.: Damacio Page (11-4) vs Will Campuzano
145 lbs.: Raphael Assuncao (13-1) vs. Yves “Tiger” Jabouin (14-4)Under card (May not be televised):
155 lbs.: Anthony Njokuani (10-2) vs. Muhsin Corbbrey (7-3)
135 lbs.: Scott Jorgensen (6-3) vs. Noah Thomas
145 lbs.: Wagnney Fabiano (12-1) vs. Mackens Semerzier (3-0)
135 lbs.: Manny “The Mangler” Tapia (10-2-1) vs. Eddie Wineland (14-6-1)
135 lbs.: Coty “Ox” Wheeler (10-1) vs. Charlie Valencia (10-5)
145 lbs.: Deividas Taurosevicius vs. Javier Vazquez