WEC is looking to contend in the MMA marketplace. They are attracting world class talent (Paulo Filho) and with their Live contract on Versus, they are setting themselves up to do well in the marketplace. Sunday Night, at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, the WEC put on a spectacular show where only 1 televised matchup went more than one round.
Carlos Condit was looking to impress in his first title defense Sunday night, and he delivered with an impressive arm bar to submit Brock Larson at 2:21 of the first round.
With the World Extreme Cagefighting® welterweight belt on the line, the two 170-pounders came into the bout amidst contrasting styles, with Larson a powerhouse wrestler hoping to grind out a win over the dynamic champion. But “The Natural Born Killer” has a penchant for slam-bang submissions – often executed off the briefest of openings – and that proved the difference.
“I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu since I was 15 years old. I love arm bars and don’t get to use them a lot. I have about fifty percent of my wins by submission. I knew that I’m a lot stronger coming into this fight than I have been in the past,” said Condit, 23. “In the UFC, the welterweight division is stacked. We won’t get as much exposure because there’s so many of us. I’ve definitely thought about a unification bout. MMA fans debate who’s the best. Now we’ve got the opportunity because everybody’s under Zuffa. We can find out who’s on top.”
After a feeling-out process in the first 30 seconds, where neither man attempted an opening move, Larson shot in for a lower-leg takedown attempt, quickly closing the distance to bring the fight to the mat. But Condit sprawled perfectly, stuffing it, only to be taken down moments later as Larson took him down from a body lock.
However, with Larson’s imposing ability to wear opponents down with pressure and submissions, Condit stayed cool as he was pushed up against the fence, keeping tight with Larson and recovering guard as Larson initially threatened from side control. After eating a couple of short left hands, Condit quickly rotated on his back, swung his left leg across Larson’s face and cranked on the right arm. Larson, caught in the tight submission, couldn’t escape and resisted the submission for several seconds until tapping.
In the semi-main, Paulo Filho stayed unbeaten in 15 bouts with a first-round stoppage of Joe Doerksen to win the vacant WEC™ 185-lb. title. After stuffing a couple of Filho’s takedown attempts, Doerksen was on his back as Filho kept pressuring to take him down. Doerksen recovered and escaped back to his feet only to absorb a big flurry by Filho. Stunned, Doerksen absorbed the first string of blows but Filho simply kept firing away en route to a knockout win at 4:07 of the round.
Now holding the WEC belt, Filho felt happy with his performance after years of battling opponents in Japan.
“I wanted to win my fight and put on a performance for the American fans,” he said through an interpreter afterward. “I feel my game is better suited for the cage than a ring.”
Asked if he would consider taking on fellow Chute Boxe teammate Anderson Silva – currently the UFC middleweight champ – Filho said he would if the opportunity presented itself.
“A fight’s a fight,” he said. “If we fight, we can go out afterwards and have a pizza.”
In a hard-fought featherweight battle, Jeff Curran took a close decision of Stephen Ledbetter, winning the third round on all three judges’ cards to take the duke 30-27 and 29-28 (twice). Ledbetter absorbed a huge right hand in the first round but quickly secured a takedown, holding Curran down but being unable to improve position or land too many effective shots.
In the second, Curran began to up the tempo with some quick kicks from standup, only to have Ledbetter respond with takedowns. However, the veteran Curran showed a wily guard and with 25 seconds left in the round, sunk in a triangle choke that had Ledbetter in some trouble. In the final five minutes, Curran controlled Ledbetter with another triangle from the top position, more of a positional advantage than a likely submission, but used to land punches and win the round, and the fight.
With the victory, Curran positions himself for a potential title shot against featherweight champion Urijah Faber down the road.
“I’d be honored to fight Faber. He’s a stud,” said Curran.
In the opening fight of the televised portion of the card, Jamie Varner won by knockout at 4:08 of the first over Sherron Leggett. Using impressive slam takedowns and a high-pressure attack, Varner never let Leggett get untracked, though Leggett showed considerable gameness in fighting through increasingly rough circumstances. Varner used a series of big punches to get the stoppage.
Results from the non-televised undercard
Hiromitsu Miura KO 2 Fernando Gonzalez
In a rousing middleweight scrap, Miura and Gonzalez traded blows and takedowns in a fast-paced tilt. Miura showed superior ground skills in consistently being able to get the better position, eventually finishing with strikes from the mount.
Antonio Banuelos unanimous decision Justin Robbins
In a tactical bout, Banuelos held top position for most of the fight and controlled Robbins en route to a clear-cut decision. Judges’ scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
Eric Schambari unanimous decision Logan Clark
In a battle of unbeatens, Schambari ground out a tough victory over Clark by scores of 29-28 on all the judges’ cards. Schambari was often kept on the defensive even in top position by Clark, who used an active guard, trying to set up submissions and striking from the bottom. However, Schambari closed effectively down the stretch, riding out the mount position for the final three minutes of the fight to win the bout.
Steve Cantwell KO 1 Justin McElfresh
Cantwell scored a rousing win, using a fast left hook in the opening round to stun McElfresh, then opening him up with another one for a finishing flurry as his opponent fell down against the cage. The stoppage came 47 seconds into the match in a light-heavyweight fight.
Blas Avena submission 1 Tiki Ghosn
Avena scored an impressive win in the opening round with a rear-naked choke over veteran Ghosn. Scoring a strong takedown off the clinch, Avena quickly transitioned to mount position, sinking the choke for the finisher.