World Extreme Cagefighting 34 Results
by Robert Sargent
While it started slow, WEC 34 ended with two of the best fights of the year, with Miguel Torres successfully defending his WEC Bantamweight Championship against Yoshiro Maeda and Urijah Faber defeating Jens Pulver in the main event.
Torres and Maeda put on submission clinics when they weren't throwing kicks and punches, while Faber showcased vastly improved striking against Pulver.
WEC Featherweight Championship
"The California Kid" Urijah Faber vs Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver
Faber showcased much improved striking skills in this fight, catching Pulver with a series of hard right hooks and using his left jab to keep Pulver out of range.Faber landed a hard right early in round one, followed by a head kick, and both fighters used knees in the clinch. Faber landed a series of right hooks and followed them up with knees, but slipped while throwing a kick. Very little happened on the ground and the fighters stood back up. After a brief stoppage due to an eye poke, Faber landed a right to the body and Pulver replied with two quick punches, then a knee. Faber landed another hard right, then a combination, and Pulver replied with a flurry of his own. Pulver briefly got Faber's back and tried for a takedown, but Faber countered with a spinning back fist. Pulver landed one more combination before the bell, but Faber takes the close first round.
A low blow to Pulver forced a brief stoppage early in round two, but neither fighter slowed in the pace of their striking. Faber scored a takedown and held Pulver down against the cage, but Pulver showed solid wrestling skills by getting back to his feet. Both fighters traded punches and kicks until Faber dropped Pulver with a left hook in the middle of the round. He then unleashed eight hammerfist strikes and a jumping knee, but Pulver perservered. Faber landed more hard right hooks and uppercuts, and Pulver remained standing. Pulver came back with a series of punches, punctuated by an uppercut, and Faber tried for a takedown. Pulver quickly got up and tried briefly for an Anaconda Choke, but Faber escaped and landed an uppercut, then a quick flurry. Faber landed assorted strikes before the bell and takes round two.
Pulver landed a head kick to start round three, then stuffed a takedown attempt and quickly recovered from a German Suplex from Faber. Pulver landed a solid uppercut and Faber replied with a right hook. More uppercuts from Pulver landed, followed by body kicks, and Faber backtracked. Faber attempted another takedown and Pulver reversed, landing sparse elbows from the top. Faber reversed and worked from Pulver's guard, as Pulver held on to nullify damage. The fight returned to the feet with one minute left, and Pulver's right eye had begun to swell. Faber landed a body kick and Pulver came back with a high kick before the end of the round. A very close round that could have gone either way.
Faber attempted a takedown early in the fourth round, but failed and ate a series of hard lefts for his efforts. Faber came back with an uppercut that evoked a smile from Pulver. Faber continued to mix up his strikes, using punches and a variety of kicks, while Pulver landed another uppercut. Faber scored with a hard left hook, then another soon after. The left hooks to the eye of Pulver caused the swelling to worsen. Faber landed more strikes and scored a takedown. The fight stayed on the ground for the remainder of the round, with Faber landing elbows and a few punches and Pulver doing his best to avoid damage. Faber takes round four.
The fighters embraced in a show of sportsmanship to begin round five, then went back to throwing punches. Faber defended a takedown attempt with an elbow strike. He continued to land left hooks to the swollen eye of Pulver, visibly affecting him. Pulver came back with a left hook that briefly stunned Faber, then evaded a takedown attempt. More left hooks landed for Faber, but Pulver caught him coming in with a trio of lefts to the head and body. Faber landed more lefts and Pulver's eye was clearly bothering him. A scramble late in the round resulted in Faber taking top position and winning the round in the process. All rounds were close ones, but Faber won all but perhaps one of them.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44) after five rounds. He improves to 21-1-0 and remains the WEC Featherweight Champion.
WEC Bantamweight Championship
Miguel Torres vs Yoshiro Maeda
This fight was an all-out war with Fight of the Year written all over it, as both fighters landed hundreds of strikes and put on very impressive submission displays on the ground, with an eye injury ending Maeda's night after round three.Maeda caught an early kick from Torres and threw him to the ground, landing two punches before Torres could get back up. This seemed to anger Torres, who rushed forward with a flurry of kicks and punches, then clinched and landed a knee. Torres was cut on the forehead, but continued to press forward. Maeda caught another kick and fell into Torres's guard. Torres went for an omoplata, then an armbar, and Maeda squirmed free. Torres landed an assortment of kicks and Maeda tried an axe kick. Both fighters landed punches, kicks and knees in a wild exchange, then Maeda scored a takedown. Back on the feet, Maeda attempted some wild haymakers and missed. Torres landed kicks and knees in the final 30 seconds. Very close round.
Both fighters landed punches early in round two, with Maeda pushing Torres to the mat and unleashing three quick kicks to the legs. Torres responded with an up-kick to the face and Maeda smiled. Torres landed a head kick and Maeda came back with a quick combination. The next 20 seconds were non-stop strikes, with both fighters landing kicks, punches and a knee. Torres came forward with punches and knees in the clinch, then landed uppercuts, but Maeda fired back with punches and scored a takedown. Maeda went for a toe hold, so Torres did the same. The crowd cheered wildly as both fighters looked for the submission finish. Torres escaped and tried to take Maeda's back, but Maeda drilled him with two reverse elbows to the nose, stunning him. Torres was bleeding badly as both fighters stood up, but he locked on a side guillotine choke and got mount position, then landed elbows before the bell and stole round two.
The pace was slowed slightly in round three, but both fighters continued to land punches. Maeda's right eye began to swell badly from the punches, but he landed a hard punch of his own. Torres came forward with a wild flurry, then used his jab to continue to punish Maeda's eye. By the middle of the round, Maeda's eye was completely closed. Torres continued to use knees and body kicks to keep Maeda guessing, then both fighters engaged in two wild striking battles. Maeda managed to get Torres down with 90 seconds left, battering him with hammerfists and avoiding submissions. Back on the feet, Torres landed more shots to Maeda's right eye, causing him to wince, but Maeda kept going. Both fighters landed a kick before the bell, and Torres takes the close round due to damage dealt.
During the break between rounds, the referee and doctor agreed that Maeda could not continue, due to the severe swelling of his eye, and the fight was stopped. Unlike the doctor stoppages at the EliteXC event the night before, this was a very good stoppage and Maeda made absolutely no effort to argue. Both fighters embraced and showed class after the fight, which was an incredible battle.
Winner: Miguel Torres by TKO (Doctor Stoppage - Swollen Eye) at 5:00 of round three. He improves to 34-1-0 and remains WEC Bantamweight Champion.
Mark Munoz vs Chuck "The Reverend" Grigsby
Grigsby, a gigantic light heavyweight at 6'6" with a huge reach advantage, could not use his size to control the fight, and an ill-timed kneebar attempt led to Munoz knocking him unconscious with punches.Munoz faked a number of takedown attempts early in the round, then eventually scored a partial takedown and Grigsby defended. Grigsby landed strikes and Munoz began to backpedal. Another takedown attempt from Munoz eventually yielded success and he landed strikes from the top. It was clear that neither fighter was overly skilled on the ground, but Munoz found a tactic that worked, as he repeatedly stood up and then rained down haymaker shots to the face of Grigsby. He used this tactic to pass Grigsby's guard repeatedly, then defended a Kimura attempt from Grigsby and landed more punches. After two more diving punches from Munoz, Grigsby tried for a kneebar, but Munoz drilled Grigsby with four quick punches that knocked Grigsby out.
Winner: Mark Munoz by KO (Punches) at 4:15 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
"Razor" Rob McCullough vs Kenneth "The Black Ninja" Alexander
This was a very poor and slow-paced fight, with neither fighter willing to commit to strikes, and McCullough, the former WEC Lightweight Champion, looked anything but worthy of holding a title, as he escaped with a Split Decision.Alexander had defeated McCullough in a previous meeting in 2002, but he did next to nothing to try to repeat that feat in this fight. He tried for a takedown one minute into round one, but McCullough reversed. The fighters stood back up and Alexander landed a head kick. Alexander landed two more punches and faked a takedown attempt. A front kick and two punches landed for Alexander. The crowd began to boo as neither fighter was doing anything. Alexander landed two more head kicks and McCullough replied with weak punches. After a clinch, McCullough stuffed a takedown attempt and partially landed a flying knee, but was cut below his right eye. Both fighters landed one punch before the bell. Alexander should have won the round, but only one judge saw it that way.
Alexander got McCullough down briefly in round two, but could do nothing with it. Both landed sloppy strikes on the feet, with Alexander using jabs. McCullough began to taunt Alexander, but McCullough was doing absolutely nothing and the crowd booed. A head kick from Alexander landed near the middle of the round. Alexander landed an uppercut and McCullough replied with a leg kick. Both fighters landed sparse strikes for the next minute, with Alexander appearing to have a slight advantage. McCullough attempted another flying knee, but missed. Alexander scored a takedown before the bell, and should have won this round as well, but two judges again somehow awarded it to McCullough. The crowd booed again.
Round three was more of the same, with both fighters landing weak kicks and a few punches. McCullough stuffed a takedown attempt and Alexander nailed him with a knee. McCullough did a terrible job of cutting off angles, letting Alexander move around at will and land strikes as he pleased. McCullough eventually landed a knee and the fighters clinched, doing very little, then Alexander was hit with a knee to the groin. The fight was briefly halted, then restarted and neither fighter showed any aggression. Alexander landed a head kick and a left hook, and both fighters landed a knee in the clinch. Alexander scored a takedown in the final minute, but McCullough got right back up. McCullough stuffed another takedown attempt and both fighters landed wild strikes just before the bell.
Again, Alexander should have won the final round, but the judges disagreed and two somehow awarded all three rounds to McCullough, who looked woefully out of shape and was lucky to escape with the decision victory. The crowd booed the decision heavily.
Winner: Rob McCullough by Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-0.
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone vs Danny "Last Call" Castillo
Cerrone made short work of Castillo in this battle of undefeated fighters, eliciting a verbal submission early in round one.Cerrone landed a knee to the body early on, but Castillo scored a takedown. Cerrone tried for an omoplata and Castillo escaped, landing two punches from the top. Cerrone trapped Castillo in an armbar soon after, however, and despite Castillo's best efforts to escape, he could not and verbally submitted.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by Verbal Submission (Armbar) at 1:31 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
Mike Thomas Brown defeated "The Big Frog" Jeff Curran by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. Brown is a very underrated fighter, with other notable wins over former TKO and UFC star Mark "The Machine" Hominick and EliteXC standout Yves Edwards, with all four of his losses coming against very tough competition. Brown improves to 17-4-0 with the win.Will Ribeiro defeated Chase Beebe by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. This marks two straight losses for Beebe, the former WEC Featherweight Champion. Ribeiro improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
Tim "The Wrecking Machine" McKenzie defeated Jeremy Lang by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 0:40 of round three. Lang had dominated the entire fight until a knee hurt him and he fell into the choke, suffering his first professional defeat in the process. McKenzie improves to 12-5-0 with the win.
Alex Serdyukov defeated Luis Sapo by TKO (Corner Stoppage) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 8-4-0 with the win.
Jose Aldo defeated Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira by TKO (Punches) at 2:32 of round two. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
Dominic Cruz defeated Charlie Valencia by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-0 with the win.
This card was one of the best that the WEC has put on to date, and exactly what MMA needed after the debacle the night before.
