In the WEC 34 featherweight title match, "California Kid" Urijah Faber dominated Jens Pulver in a five-round unanimous decision, but arguably it wasn't even the best fight of the night. Here we rank and review all 11 fights, most of which were not televised. Compared side-by-side with Elite XC's event this weekend, WEC stands out as the clear winner. The talent at Sacramento's Arco Arena rivaled the crowd's rowdiness, and Miguel Torres, Mark Munoz, Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver and Yoshira Maeda all showed up ready to fight, each displaying elite athleticism, courage and respect, for themselves, the sport and also for their opponents.
11) Lightweight Bout: Kenneth Alexander vs. Rob McCullough
McCullough defended well with the sprawl, and he defeated Alexander by split decision, but not before inflicting an illegal shot to the groin. I thought Alexander took the fight, but it was close and not controversial, in my opinion. It's a shame that the first televised fight of the night was also the worst fight of the night. The crowd was drunk, restless and unwilling to allow fights to develop before booing because of sparse action, but they were right to boo this fight. It was a real snoozer. There was hardly any action. Those who changed the channel definitely missed out, though, because the next three fights were three of the four best fights of the night. WEC 34 was overall a great event, and if you haven't seen the fights, watch the replay on Versus.
10) Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov
The luckiest fighter of the night award goes to Serdyukov. Sapo dominated throughout the entire first round, and it looked as though he would make quick work of the Russian fighter. But at the end of the first round, Sapo slipped and fell, and Serdyukov pounced, landing a flurry of punches with five seconds left that ended the fight. Sapo was unable to answer the bell, but if that had not been the case, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have quickly disposed of the Russian, who was outmatched thoroughly.
9) Featherweight Bout: Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran
Not really sure where to rank this one. It was tough for me to focus on the fight, partly because there wasn't much action, but mostly because the guy in front of me kept talking my ear off, complaining that MMA isn't nearly as good as boxing. (He's wrong, by the way.) If you don't like the sport, why don't you give up your seat to someone who cares? It was annoying, but at least he kept his mouth shut during the night's top fights. Brown won via unanimous decision. Curran, whose last fight was against Faber, has now lost two straight.
8) Will Ribeiro vs. Chase Beebe
The recipients of the blows in this fight looked like they were shot out of cannons. It was the first heavy kick action of the night (fifth fight overall), and at one point Beebe flew halfway across the ring thanks to the strong leg of Ribeiro, who in his WEC debut appeared to be the better overall fighter. The judges agreed but the decision was split. I was pretty surprised that it was not a unanimous decision.
7) Bantamweight Bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Charlie Valencia
Valencia gave up five inches to Cruz, and he couldn't overcome the reach disadvantage, losing via unanimous decision. Great officiating in this fight, which happened to also be the first fight of the night. There were a few times where it appeared as though the fight might be called, but the ref allowed the action to continue, and each time it proved to be the correct decision. Valencia was never in any real danger; however, he was also never really in contention. Cruz was simply too big and too strong, and he won via unanimous decision.
6) Lightweight Bout: Danny Castillo vs. Donald Cerrone
The quickest fight of the night. Thirty seconds into the first round. Cerrone won via an armbar against the local Sacramento fighter, who was making his post-busted-for-steroids debut. The crowd hated Castillo, who was gracious in victory. One of the things I love about MMA is the immense of respect fighters display for each other, not always before the fight, but usually in between rounds and always after the fight.
5) Featherweight Bout: Alexandre Nogueria vs. Jose Aldo
Nogueria is lucky to be alive right now. This was a vicious beating, and I'm surprised the fight wasn't called a few seconds earlier than it was. The defeat came in round two. Just brutal.
4) Light Heavyweight Bout: Chuck Grisby vs. Mark Munoz
This fight featured the knockout of the night. Grisby had to be picked off the mat like a scab, and he never made it out of the first round. Munoz unleashed hell, and they brought the stretcher into the cage following the fight. Eventually Grisby walked off on his own two feet, but not without some help.
3) Bantamweight World Title: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Miguel Torres
It's a shame this fight never made it to the fourth round. In between rounds three and four, the doctors recommended to the referee that the fight be stopped, and it was. Maeda's right eye was swollen shut, and he was the only fighter scheduled to appear at the post-fight press conference who did not show up. My guess is that he was in the hospital. To his credit, he was standing strong with Torres, who is a legend and nearly undefeated (one loss). Torres would have almost certainly won the fight had they continued, but it was not one-sided by any means. Maeda inflicted some damage, and showed a lot of courage, continuing to strike hard and fight aggressively, even though he was half-blind and in a world of pain. You could see the pain on his face when, in between rounds, the doctors worked on his cuts and bruises. Had this fight continued for another round, it may have been the best fight of the night. That's the only reason I bumped it down to #3. It's disappointing to see such a great fight stopped in between rounds like that. The best moment of the fight was when Torres was on his back, and he baited Maeda to come close, and then in one motion he jumped up and kicked him in the face, all with his back to the mat.
2) Featherweight World Title Bout: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
This fight will go down in MMA history as a watershed moment in the career of Faber, who before WEC 34 had never been considered a superior striker. But Faber stood toe-to-toe with Pulver, who somehow managed five rounds with the champ. There was no doubt who won the fight, and there was no suspense prior to the unanimous decision; however, Pulver had a chance up until late in the final round, when Faber took Pulver to the mat with less than a minute remaining, at which point it became clear that no knockout punch was forthcoming. That's what made this fight so great. The potential for a Pulver knockout. With his powerful left hand, he could have ended the fight with one punch, so even though he was being dominated, the fight literally was not over until it was over. Faber displayed tremendous defense, elusiveness, and only took one unnecessary risk (that I could see). This fight will be replayed on TV many times; unfortunately, the best fight of the night may never be televised because it was on the undercard, and also because it went a full three rounds.
1) Middleweight Bout: Jeremy Lang vs. Tim McKenzie
This was the fourth fight of the night, and the first time the crowd tasted blood. Lang had every chance to win this non-televised battled against the mohawked Tim McKenzie, who was within defeat's grasp a number of times early on. In the first round, McKenzie was unable to mount any offense save for a single blow with his elbow, which he delivered with his mat to the back. Maybe it was a lucky shot, maybe not, but without that blow, this fight may have ended in the first round. In the second round, McKenzie faced more trouble. He escaped not one but two guillotine holds, each of which appeared to be on track to end the bout. How he escaped from either is beyond my comprehension. He was choked to the brink of consciousness, and each time he managed to escape. He escaped the second hold, mounted Lang, and pounded away. He landed a kick to the face near the end of round two, and it was the first sign that the momentum was shifting. At the beginning of the third round, Lang responded with an illegal knee to the groin. Immediately following that blow, Lang went for the shoot, ostensibly to attempt a third and final guillotine. But McKenzie sprawled, gained the upper hand, and triangle-choked Lang limp in the blink of an eye. It was an amazing comeback, and it's a shame this fight may never be seen by the masses. "I cannot believe what I just witnessed," is what I said as the crowd erupted following the referee's stoppage. My colleague Andrew, who was sitting next to me and who has been following MMA closely for three or four years, turned to me and said, "That may have been the best fight I've ever seen."
The photo below is of Pulver immediately following his defeat.
11) Lightweight Bout: Kenneth Alexander vs. Rob McCullough
McCullough defended well with the sprawl, and he defeated Alexander by split decision, but not before inflicting an illegal shot to the groin. I thought Alexander took the fight, but it was close and not controversial, in my opinion. It's a shame that the first televised fight of the night was also the worst fight of the night. The crowd was drunk, restless and unwilling to allow fights to develop before booing because of sparse action, but they were right to boo this fight. It was a real snoozer. There was hardly any action. Those who changed the channel definitely missed out, though, because the next three fights were three of the four best fights of the night. WEC 34 was overall a great event, and if you haven't seen the fights, watch the replay on Versus.
10) Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov
The luckiest fighter of the night award goes to Serdyukov. Sapo dominated throughout the entire first round, and it looked as though he would make quick work of the Russian fighter. But at the end of the first round, Sapo slipped and fell, and Serdyukov pounced, landing a flurry of punches with five seconds left that ended the fight. Sapo was unable to answer the bell, but if that had not been the case, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have quickly disposed of the Russian, who was outmatched thoroughly.
9) Featherweight Bout: Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran
Not really sure where to rank this one. It was tough for me to focus on the fight, partly because there wasn't much action, but mostly because the guy in front of me kept talking my ear off, complaining that MMA isn't nearly as good as boxing. (He's wrong, by the way.) If you don't like the sport, why don't you give up your seat to someone who cares? It was annoying, but at least he kept his mouth shut during the night's top fights. Brown won via unanimous decision. Curran, whose last fight was against Faber, has now lost two straight.
8) Will Ribeiro vs. Chase Beebe
The recipients of the blows in this fight looked like they were shot out of cannons. It was the first heavy kick action of the night (fifth fight overall), and at one point Beebe flew halfway across the ring thanks to the strong leg of Ribeiro, who in his WEC debut appeared to be the better overall fighter. The judges agreed but the decision was split. I was pretty surprised that it was not a unanimous decision.
7) Bantamweight Bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Charlie Valencia
Valencia gave up five inches to Cruz, and he couldn't overcome the reach disadvantage, losing via unanimous decision. Great officiating in this fight, which happened to also be the first fight of the night. There were a few times where it appeared as though the fight might be called, but the ref allowed the action to continue, and each time it proved to be the correct decision. Valencia was never in any real danger; however, he was also never really in contention. Cruz was simply too big and too strong, and he won via unanimous decision.
6) Lightweight Bout: Danny Castillo vs. Donald Cerrone
The quickest fight of the night. Thirty seconds into the first round. Cerrone won via an armbar against the local Sacramento fighter, who was making his post-busted-for-steroids debut. The crowd hated Castillo, who was gracious in victory. One of the things I love about MMA is the immense of respect fighters display for each other, not always before the fight, but usually in between rounds and always after the fight.
5) Featherweight Bout: Alexandre Nogueria vs. Jose Aldo
Nogueria is lucky to be alive right now. This was a vicious beating, and I'm surprised the fight wasn't called a few seconds earlier than it was. The defeat came in round two. Just brutal.
4) Light Heavyweight Bout: Chuck Grisby vs. Mark Munoz
This fight featured the knockout of the night. Grisby had to be picked off the mat like a scab, and he never made it out of the first round. Munoz unleashed hell, and they brought the stretcher into the cage following the fight. Eventually Grisby walked off on his own two feet, but not without some help.
3) Bantamweight World Title: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Miguel Torres
It's a shame this fight never made it to the fourth round. In between rounds three and four, the doctors recommended to the referee that the fight be stopped, and it was. Maeda's right eye was swollen shut, and he was the only fighter scheduled to appear at the post-fight press conference who did not show up. My guess is that he was in the hospital. To his credit, he was standing strong with Torres, who is a legend and nearly undefeated (one loss). Torres would have almost certainly won the fight had they continued, but it was not one-sided by any means. Maeda inflicted some damage, and showed a lot of courage, continuing to strike hard and fight aggressively, even though he was half-blind and in a world of pain. You could see the pain on his face when, in between rounds, the doctors worked on his cuts and bruises. Had this fight continued for another round, it may have been the best fight of the night. That's the only reason I bumped it down to #3. It's disappointing to see such a great fight stopped in between rounds like that. The best moment of the fight was when Torres was on his back, and he baited Maeda to come close, and then in one motion he jumped up and kicked him in the face, all with his back to the mat.
2) Featherweight World Title Bout: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
This fight will go down in MMA history as a watershed moment in the career of Faber, who before WEC 34 had never been considered a superior striker. But Faber stood toe-to-toe with Pulver, who somehow managed five rounds with the champ. There was no doubt who won the fight, and there was no suspense prior to the unanimous decision; however, Pulver had a chance up until late in the final round, when Faber took Pulver to the mat with less than a minute remaining, at which point it became clear that no knockout punch was forthcoming. That's what made this fight so great. The potential for a Pulver knockout. With his powerful left hand, he could have ended the fight with one punch, so even though he was being dominated, the fight literally was not over until it was over. Faber displayed tremendous defense, elusiveness, and only took one unnecessary risk (that I could see). This fight will be replayed on TV many times; unfortunately, the best fight of the night may never be televised because it was on the undercard, and also because it went a full three rounds.
1) Middleweight Bout: Jeremy Lang vs. Tim McKenzie
This was the fourth fight of the night, and the first time the crowd tasted blood. Lang had every chance to win this non-televised battled against the mohawked Tim McKenzie, who was within defeat's grasp a number of times early on. In the first round, McKenzie was unable to mount any offense save for a single blow with his elbow, which he delivered with his mat to the back. Maybe it was a lucky shot, maybe not, but without that blow, this fight may have ended in the first round. In the second round, McKenzie faced more trouble. He escaped not one but two guillotine holds, each of which appeared to be on track to end the bout. How he escaped from either is beyond my comprehension. He was choked to the brink of consciousness, and each time he managed to escape. He escaped the second hold, mounted Lang, and pounded away. He landed a kick to the face near the end of round two, and it was the first sign that the momentum was shifting. At the beginning of the third round, Lang responded with an illegal knee to the groin. Immediately following that blow, Lang went for the shoot, ostensibly to attempt a third and final guillotine. But McKenzie sprawled, gained the upper hand, and triangle-choked Lang limp in the blink of an eye. It was an amazing comeback, and it's a shame this fight may never be seen by the masses. "I cannot believe what I just witnessed," is what I said as the crowd erupted following the referee's stoppage. My colleague Andrew, who was sitting next to me and who has been following MMA closely for three or four years, turned to me and said, "That may have been the best fight I've ever seen."
The photo below is of Pulver immediately following his defeat.
Vote this post up or down:
View Comments (25)
