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ENNIS: Coverage and Commentary on WEC 40
Apr 5, 2009 - 5:16:15 PM ENNIS: Coverage and Commentary on WEC 40

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I'm a bit delayed in getting this rodeo started, but it's time to get down to an exciting card from WEC. We've got the bantamweights on display tonight, most notably Miguel Torres, champion of the division and one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world. So enough talk. Here come the fights.

FIRST FIGHT: JAMEEL MASSOUH vs. RAFAEL ASSUNCAO (Featherweight)
We're getting fighter entrances tonight, and the arena makes it feel more like a big event than the sad little Hard Rock in Vegas does. I'm not opposed to fighter entrances per se, but when you've only got two hours of broadcast time including commercials, I don't think it's quite necessary. Kind of like how the Fight Night shows don't have entrances. It makes me think they're staging this show to feel more like a pay-per-view so that we get the idea that we're getting something free that's not usually free. It feels more like a UFC PPV with this sort of production, and that plays into their plans to take WEC to pay-per-view at some point. I think they should just fold all the weight classes into the UFC and make WEC a feeder promotion, but that's a subject for another day. (See? I had time to type all that during the entrances and intros.)

ROUND ONE: Assuncao clips Massouh early with a big overhand right and drops him – had that landed flush, this one would be over. Assuncao looks for a leg lock, but then Massouh grabs a heel hook of his own until Assuncao gets a toe hold and they separate. Great exchange right there. Nothing quite like dueling leg locks. Assuncao takes it back down and proceeds to land some nasty shots from the top. Another nice exchange as Assuncao almost lands a kimura, then is able to get out from under Massouh as the latter escapes. Really nice ground work by both guys, but Assuncao is clearly the better striker. As they get back to the feet, Assuncao is landing shot after shot, and Massouh isn't budging. I don't know if that's a punching power thing or a ridiculous chin on Massouh. Assuncao grabs a nice guillotine but doesn't have time to finish it as the round ends. Round one goes to Assuncao. Good stuff.

Boy, I hate those Enzyte commercials.

ROUND TWO: Assuncao starts the round with a nasty body-head punching combination, and Massouh is just walking through them. It looks like he may be starting to hurt Massouh a little, but still really impressive in the beard department for Massouh. More vicious shots by Assuncao. Massouh does the smart thing and goes for a takedown, but Assuncao grabs a guillotine in transition with an arm in. Nice defense from Massouh, backing Assuncao against the fence. Assuncao remains in pretty good position, but Massouh is able to escape. Massouh lands a kick to the body and gets cracked by a left at the same time. Nasty leg kick lands for Assuncao, and he lands another shot to the head. Big body kick by Massouh. Another right-left combo by Assuncao. He might think about attacking the body here. Massouh throws a high kick and slips, and Assuncao follows him down, landing in half guard. He lands a little bit of ground and pound before almost grabbing another guillotine as the second round ends. Another round for Assuncao.

ROUND THREE: Massouh looks to have woken up a little bit, prompting Frank Mir to wonder if he's a late starter. If you ask me, two rounds down is a bit too late to wake up. But I'm not a pro or anything. He seems to be engaging a little more here, but Assuncao is still getting the offense in. The fight goes to the ground with Assuncao in full guard. Massouh looks for rubber guard, but nothing doing as Assuncao passes into mount against the cage. Massouh bucks him off and gets into top position, but is unable to mount. Massouh gets into half guard and almost gets Assuncao's back, but he went for a kimura and slipped off, landing on the bottom with Assuncao in the full guard again. Assuncao gets out of guard and briefly gets Massouh's back, almost landing a rear naked choke, but Massouh escapes and they exchange quickly before the round ends. Third and final goes to Assuncao for the clean sweep.

RESULT: Assuncao by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

STAR RATING: (***) Lots of fun to watch, as Assuncao brought the heat and Massouh never wilted.

RAMIFICATIONS: Assuncao has definitely announced his presence in the featherweight division, so I'll definitely be looking forward to his next fight. I'm interested to see how he'd fare against a Jose Aldo or Wagnney Fabiano. Massouh was hardly a slouch in this one, and I'd like to see him in a fight against someone where the talent differential isn't quite so wide. Dude can certainly take some punishment.

SECOND FIGHT: SHANE ROLLER vs. BEN HENDERSON (Lightweight)
We're going to be an hour into the broadcast before this fight starts. Why are we getting entrances again? WEC shows are usually so crisp and neat, but this just feels bloated. Love the venue and how we're getting a look at it, but the peripherals just aren't needed. Also, Shane Roller is totally stealing Tyson Griffin's entrance music with "Eye of the Tiger."

ROUND ONE: Roller drops Henderson early in the first with a glancing shot and grabs what looks like a tight guillotine, but he lets it go. I wonder if that wasn't as tight as it looked. I think Henderson may have slipped a bit after getting clipped, too. They're back to the feet now, clinching against the fence. Henderson gets a trip takedown, but Roller gets right back up. He may want to rethink that though, as Henderson catches him with a couple of clean punches and puts him down. Roller grabs the legs but is unable to sufficiently defend himself, and the fight is called. Roller isn't happy, but he was not doing enough to keep it from being stopped. Really, really impressive showing by Henderson.

RESULT: Henderson by TKO at 1:41 of Round 1

STAR RATING: (***-) Pretty quick, but you can't ask for much more in less than two minutes of fighting.

RAMIFICATIONS: This is only Henderson's second WEC fight, but he looked extremely impressive in taking down Roller, who is a touted blue-chipper himself. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a title shot with another win. Marcus Hicks, maybe? Danny Castillo? Should be interesting to see. And don't shed many tears for Roller. He's not going anywhere. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see him on another main card some time sooner rather than later.

THIRD FIGHT (Prelim): Anthony Njokuani vs. Bart Palaszewski (Lightweight)
Note: First names will be used here for typing purposes.

Bart took this fight on short notice in order to get back on the horse after losing his last fight, not to mention at a heavier weight than he'd usually like to fight.

ROUND ONE: Anthony has a clear reach advantage here, and he's using it to pick Bart apart. Bart knows this and looks for a takedown. Really nice takedown defense by Anthony there, and he delivers some knees to the guts. Anthony continues to land the jabs as the fight gets back to the feet, setting up some nice hooks and overhand shots. After some more of the same, Bart is floored by a counter right hand, taking both men by surprise. Anthony follows him down and lands some ground and pound, but he's unable to finish and the fight is stood up again with just under a minute left. Bart gets a nicely timed takedown at about 0:45. Bart is clearly resting, and Anthony is clearly not experienced on the mat, as he could easily make Bart work, using his length to make life difficult. But he's just hanging out with a not-quite-body triangle as the round expires. Easy round for Anthony.

ROUND TWO: Anthony drops Bart with another big body kick-right hand combination. Really nice shots. The stoppage may have been a tad early since Bart had his hands up, but it wasn't going much longer anyway. Nothing truly wrong with that stoppage.

RESULT: Njokuani by TKO at 0:27 of Round 2.

STAR RATING: (**+) A bit of a mismatch as Palaszewski had no answer for Njokuani's reach, especially not having had time to prepare for it.

RAMIFICATIONS: Not much here. Njokuani stays in the promotion with a win over a guy he should beat, and Palaszewski gets a pass having taken the fight on short notice at a heavier weight.

They must not be expecting the last two fights to go the distance, having shown a prelim that went more than a round with less than an hour of broadcast time to go. Not that I'm complaining of course…I'm just sayin. This next one should be fascinating. Faber's pupil against the veteran dropping weight for a new start. Especially interesting since Benavidez likes submissions, but Curran will be crazy tough to tap.

FOURTH FIGHT: JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ vs. JEFF CURRAN (Bantamweight)

FIRST ROUND: Nice striking defense by both men early. You don't always see that in MMA. Benavidez lands a nice elbow inside the clinch. They separate and Benavidez lands a nice uppercut. Benavidez comes in for a flying knee, and Curran times it perfectly, nailing him with a straight right hand. Benavidez keeps his feet though, and they clinch. Nice dirty boxing-Greco display by both men against the cage. Shades of Randy Couture. Nice uppercut by Curran after they separate, and Benavidez lands a big leg kick. Curran catches a kick and abandons it, opting to stay on the feet. Benavidez makes him pay, flooring him with a solid left hand. Benavidez works from the guard, and Curran latches on, not allowing him to posture up. Benavidez gets back to the feet and kicks Curran's legs. He lands a nice downward punch and won't let Curran up. Nice upkick by Curran. The round expires in a bit of a stalemate, and that was a close round that goes to Benavidez.

SECOND ROUND: Nice leg kick by Benavidez, but Curran grabs the leg and tosses him aside. They continue to exchange with neither man getting the better. Benavidez ducks a Superman punch and the fight goes to the ground. Benavidez works from the half guard, but Curran is able to bring him back to full. Benavidez stands and throws downward shots a couple of times, but Curran escapes back to the feet. Curran thought he had a guillotine and pulled guard, but there was nothing there. Curran then almost locks in an omoplata and then a triangle, but Benavidez escapes and gets into side control. He tries to mount, but Curran bucks him and sweeps him into full guard. They work their way back up briefly and Benavidez looks for a guillotine. He can't keep it but is able to land some nasty elbows form the half guard. Benavidez goes back to delivering downward punches, and Curran lands some kicks to the body in the meantime. Nice shot by Benavidez, but he eats a big upkick as the round ends. Great round, and I have no idea who won it. I'll give it to Curran just to make it even, because the third round should decide a fight this close.

ROUND THREE: They exchange strikes and Curran catches a kick, almost taking it to the ground, but Benavidez avoids the takedown. Curran almost lands a big head kick, but Benavidez avoids that as well. Benavidez catches a kick and sweeps the leg, landing in full guard. He looks for ground and pound but gets his best shot in with an uppercut as the fight gets back to the feet. Curran stalks Benavidez, but Benavidez continues to come at Curran with the occasional flurry. Curran gets a takedown but Benavidez gets back up, then transitions into a takedown on Curran. Benavidez works from the full guard. Nice shots to the body by Benavidez, and things are getting nasty inside the guard. Curran almost lands a triangle with 10 seconds left, and the round ends. Good grief, that's a tough fight to call. I might give a slight edge to Benavidez, but I wouldn't argue against Curran winning that one. Great fight.

RESULT: Benavidez by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (****-) Full of action and never dull. That's the kind of fight that makes me not argue against 5-round non-title fights. I'm not generally in favor of them, but fights like this make me think.

RAMIFICATIONS: Bantamweight just keeps getting more interesting. If the next title shot isn't set, I'd love to see Benavidez fight Brian Bowles, and Curran take Rani Yahya or Chase Beebe (if he's still with WEC.) Benavidez is still young, and a win over Curran at this point is hard to understate.

FIFTH FIGHT (Bantamweight Championship): TAKEYA MIZUGAKI vs. MIGUEL TORRES (Champion)

The pacing tonight is really puzzling. They obviously didn't care about keeping the broadcast within two hours, so why not just schedule it for three? Some people who set this event to record on their DVRs are going to be upset when they don't even get the beginning of the main event recorded. (That's why I set every sporting event to record for 60 minutes after the scheduled stopping time, but that's just me.) Anyway, it's just strange.

ROUND ONE: I love how excited Mizugaki is for this fight. You can tell he's pumped. And Torres looks like a killer. Mizugaki misses an overhand right to start, and misses a hook. He lands a couple of nice shots in the ensuing exchange, and Torres covers up. He gets a nice parting shot. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one go to the ground. Mizugaki looks for some punches but can't reach the champ. He catches up and lands some nice shots inside. Torres is unfazed and continues to keep his distance. Nice movement by Mizugaki and Torres gets the Thai clinch briefly before Mizugaki pushes him down and walks away. A statement by Mizugaki. Nice head kick lands for Torres. Torres looks to land the jab from a distance. Stick-and-move tactics employed bythe champ, but Mizugaki catches him with a nice shot. Torres evades further punishment as they clinch. Nice combination by Torres. Torres lands a kick to the body and eats a punch. They exchange body punches and Torres lands another pair of kicks. Torres baits Mizugaki by backing into the cage and Mizugaki bites, landing a couple of punches before Torres takes it to the ground, but Mizugaki escapes as the round ends. Mizugaki came to fight, folks. Round one is tough to call, but I'd probably give it to him. By a hair.

ROUND TWO: Mizugaki continues to wade in with punches, and I think Torres is still feeling him out. Torres looks to dole out punishment inside but backs off and slips. Mizugaki lets him up. They exchange again, and Mizugaki may be getting the better of the exchanges. Nice right hand by Torres as Mizugaki gets a clinch. Torres separates and wilts Mizugaki briefly with a right hand. Nice right hand by Mizugaki, and he lands a body shot. The theme here seems to be that Mizugaki is getting the last punch in during the exchanges. Torres has a heck of a chin, but he's taking some shots. Nice right hand by Torres, and he lands a nice left as well. Mizugaki backs up a bit. Straight left hand snaps Mizugaki's head back, and they clinch agains the cage. Torres smells blood. Knees by Torres, and standing shoulder strikes. Knees to the body by Torres. Mizugaki lands a nice uppercut and a right knee. Left hook by Torres lands, and Torres is starting to get the better of the exchanges. Thai clinch by Torres, and he lands some knees to the body. Clinch against the fence at the end of the round, and Torres ends it with an exclamation right hook. Torres takes that round.

ROUND THREE: Left hand by Torres as Mizugaki closes in. Torres is finding his rhythm. Mizugaki lunges twice and misses. Body kicks by Torres and a nice leg kick as Mizugaki answers with a flurry. Nice knee by Mizugaki and Torres answers with a punch. Right hand by Torres, and he almost looks for a guillotine. Mizugaki may be starting to get tired, but he's not wilting yet. Nice left hook lands for Mizugaki. Straight right by Torres, and he dodges a lunging shot by Mizugaki. They stop the fight to clear blood from the head of Torres for some reason, because it doesn't look like a lot of blood at all. Action resumes. Right hand by Mizugaki, and the flurries seem a bit more frenzied now, with Torres perhaps trying to end this thing before they can call it from the cut. Right hand and an elbow by Torres. Knee to the head by Mizugaki, and they circle for most of the rest of the round. Torres takes that one, but not by much. I love how he stares Mizugaki down at the end of each round.

ROUND FOUR: For the record, this is the first time Torres has been to the fourth round in 38 fights. Nice uppercut by Mizugaki to start the round. The go down briefly and Mizugake stays standing. Torres gets back up and almost immediately pulls guard. Mizugaki gets to the half guard and stands back up. Torres definitely wants this fight on the floor. He fakes a punch and looks for a takedown, but not a very impressive attempt. They clinch and Torres lands three nice elbows. Another elbow by Torres as they separate. Mizugaki continues to look for the uppercut. Straight right hand by Torres, and they clinch again. Torres is still getting the better of the exchanges as he lands some more elbows in the clinch. Mizugaki lands a knee, but Torres steps in with a nice right hook. More standing elbows by Torres against the fence. Mizugaki gets behind Torres, and Torres flips out of that position, trying to get to the floor again, but Mizugaki remains standing. Nice right-left combo by Torres looked to have stunned Mizugaki, but he recovers quickly. Nice body kick followed by punches for Torres as the fourth round winds down. Torres wins this one with another mean-spirited staredown.

FIFTH ROUND: Mizugaki lands a left hook as Torres moves away. Torres pulls guard but Mizugaki doesn't go down. Brutal flurry by Torres with four or five punches connecting. Nice knee by Torres and Mizugaki lands a punch going away. Head kick by Torres, and he slips and goes down, but Mizugaki of course does not follow. Jab snaps the head of Mizugaki back. Uppercut by Mizugaki, and they clinch. This is where Torres has been winning the fight, and he continues to punish Mizugaki inside. Elbows and body shots coming from the champ as Mizugaki tries for some Thai knees, but Torres escapes. Body punch by Mizugaki. They clinch against the fence again, with Torres looking for knees. Nice shot by Torres going away. Mizugaki seems not to have much left, but he is not going anywhere. Mizugaki beckons Torres and Torres answers with a punch. The final round ends with a nice flurry followed by a tie-up that sees Torres land more punishment inside the clinch. Torres takes this round as well, and that was a classic title fight. Absolutely fantastic.

RESULT: Torres by Unanimous Decision (49-46 2x, 48-47)

STAR RATING: (****+) It doesn't get much better than that, people. This was not a five-round beatdown, and the fight was closer than it showed on the cards. The fact that Mizugaki was actually crying after the fight shows how close it actually was. Fight of the year so far in my book, if you want my initial reaction.

RAMIFICATIONS: Torres adds to his legacy with a classic win. Every champion needs to be taken to the limit at some point, and Torres has done that now. And take nothing at all away from Mizugaki. That guy came to fight, and he gave Torres the toughest challenge he's had during his WEC tenure. Mizugaki will be a welcome addition to the WEC bantamweight division.

All in all this was quite a card of free fights, curious pacing aside. The WEC shows rarely disappoint, and this one lived up to the expectation that the previous ones have set. I'll be back with more fight coverage sooner rather than later. Until then, enjoy the fights.