World Extreme Cagefighting 39 Results
by Robert Sargent
Culminating with what was expected to be a competitive WEC Featherweight Championship main event, WEC 39 instead concluded with a lopsided beating, as Mike Brown battered Leonard Garcia, then submitted him in less than two minutes.
The main card was marred by yet another horrendous performance from former WEC Lightweight Champion "Razor" Rob McCullough, who narrowly defeated Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks.
WEC Featherweight Championship
Mike Brown vs Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia
Widely expected to give Brown all that he could handle with his vicious power, Garcia was instead floored with punches and bloodied with strikes on the ground, before Brown locked on an arm-triangle choke that quickly ended the fight.Brown dropped Garcia with an overhand right less than 20 seconds into the fight, and Garcia was forced to immediately try to recover as Brown blasted him with punches on the ground. Garcia rolled over to try to escape punishment, but Brown was relentless with punches and short elbows that opened a huge cut on the top of Garcia's head. Brown took Garcia's back and tried to lock in a rear naked choke, but Garcia managed to fend him off. Garcia regained guard, but Brown continued to punish him with strikes from the top. Brown landed more big elbows from the top, then passed to mount and locked on an arm-triangle choke against the cage. Garcia tried to punch out of it, but was forced to quickly submit. An incredibly dominant and impressive performance for Brown, who will defend his title against former champion Urijah Faber in his next fight.
Winner: Mike Brown by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:56 of round one. He improves to 21-4-0 and remains the WEC Featherweight Champion.
Ricardo "The Bully" Lamas vs Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski
Dictating the pace for much of the fight, Lamas's takedowns and ground control allowed him to walk away with a clear-cut Unanimous Decision, though Palaszewski's submission attempts kept Lamas honest throughout.Palaszewski opened up the first round with leg kicks and quick punches, but Lamas caught a kick and scored a takedown. Palaszewski controlled Lamas's position and landed elbows from the bottom, then looked for a triangle choke. Lamas escaped and landed two huge punches from a standing position. Lamas continued to punch while standing, as Palaszewski fired back with upkicks. Palaszewski pushed Lamas off-balance with a kick and used the opportunity to stand, but Lamas clinched and looked for a takedown. Lamas got Palaszewski down, but Palaszewski tried for a Kimura. Lamas escaped and stood up, then peppered Palaszewski with a seires of punches. Palaszewski's left eye began to swell from the punches, and Lamas continued to punish him with strikes as Palaszewski stood up. Palaszewski landed two solid combinations before the bell, but round one was 10-9 Lamas.
The fighters traded kicks to begin round two, and Palaszewski rushed forward with a jumping knee. Lamas clinched against the cage and landed knees to the legs. Palaszewski replied with knees of his own, and Lamas scored a very brief takedown. Palaszewski tried to break free from the clinch with punches, but Lamas held on and took Palaszewski's back. Lamas then drilled Palaszewski with a kick to the head that he threw while standing behind Palaszewski and holding onto his waist. He followed up the amazing kick by throwing Palaszewski to the mat and landed punches from the top. Lamas continued to find great success in landing punches from a standing position over Palaszewski, but Palaszewski looked for another triangle. Palaszewski then switched to a Kimura attempt, but Lamas stood up and landed more punches. Lamas hammered Palaszewski with punches as both fighters stood up, and a solid exchange ended round two. 10-9 Lamas.
Lamas fired off kicks to the legs and head to begin the third round, then landed a crisp Superman Punch. Palaszewski landed a solid kick to the body that slowed Lamas down, but Lamas came back with a jumping knee that turned into a kick below the belt. Time was briefly called to give Palaszewski time to recover, and the fighters traded kicks again. Palaszewski began to string together punching combinations, then mixed in kicks, but Lamas caught a leg and scored a slam takedown. Lamas was unable to do much on the ground, but he stood up and landed a haymaker from the top. Lamas pressed Palaszewski against the cage and landed short strikes, but Palaszewski attempted to counter with a Kimura. Lamas landed strikes from the top, but Palaszewski stood up and the fighters clinched until the bell. Close round, but once again 10-9 Lamas.
Winner: Ricardo Lamas by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 6-0-0.
Jose "Junior" Aldo vs Chris "Mad Dog" Mickle
Continuing his reign of terror in the WEC, Aldo made short work of the veteran, Mickle, in taking less than two minutes to score an impressive TKO victory.Aldo looked to land flashy kicks early in round one, and the fighters traded punches and low kicks. Aldo landed a stiff kick to the body and followed up with a leg kick that buckled Mickle. Seconds later, Aldo countered a shot attempt from Mickle with a vicious knee to the chest. Mickle, in pain, backtracked to the cage. Aldo partially landed a head kick, then teed off on a turtling Mickle with a barrage of punches until the referee waved off the fight. Aldo is definitely a future title challenger in the WEC.
Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO (Punches) at 1:38 of round one. He improves to 14-1-0.
"Razor" Rob McCullough vs Marcus "The Wrecking Ball" Hicks
In what has become sadly typical of all of his recent fights, McCullough put on an atrocious and boo-inducing performance in this fight, which begs the question as to how he ever became WEC Lightweight Champion in the first place. Fortunately for him, Hicks did essentially nothing in the latter half of the fight, and McCullough walked away with an incredibly lacklustre Majority Decision.McCullough, who was booed heavily before the fight even began, did little to enamour himself to the fans, as the fighters cautiously circled each other for a lengthy period of time in round one. After 55 seconds of nothing, McCullough attempted a quick flurry that missed. The referee asked for action, and Hicks responded with a quick combination and a clinch. The referee separated the fighters and they returned to throwing sparse strikes. Hicks scored with an overhand left hook and McCullough replied with a leg kick. Most fans around the cage already looked bored, as the fighters clinched against the cage again. Once more, the fighters were separated, and Hicks landed another left hook. Both landed kicks at the same time, and McCullough landed one more kick before the horrid round ended. Hard to even score with so little action, but 10-9 Hicks.
Round two began with more of...absolutely nothing. McCullough threw a leg kick and was dropped by a left cross from Hicks. As McCullough attempted to recover, Hicks locked on a guillotine choke. McCullough escaped and landed some solid strikes from the top, but Hicks got back to his feet. McCullough finally began to show some life, but time was called after he landed a low blow to Hicks. Following the break, the pace slowed again, as Hicks looked for occasional haymakers and McCullough missed with combinations. McCullough landed a kick and knee to the body, and the fighters clinched against the cage. McCullough separated from the clinch with a quick flurry and a kick, and both landed punches in an exchange. McCullough continued to batter Hicks with kicks and punches, and Hicks could only fight back with single strikes. Hicks cut McCullough late in the round, but McCullough finished strong. Much better round, and a good recovery for McCullough. 10-9 McCullough.
While round two was promising, round three reverted to complete and total inactivity, as the fighters went back to circling each other and throwing nothing but weak jabs. A full minute passed without a single punch landing. Hicks began to score with short punches, but even the referee's imploring for action was not enough to motivate either fighter. McCullough threw a head kick that partially landed, and Hicks replied with one left cross. McCullough landed a couple of kicks to the body, as the crowd booed. The referee warned that he would rule the bout a No Contest if the fighters didn't engage, which was the highlight of the fight. A handful of short exchanges filled out the remaining minute of the fight before it mercifully came to an end. Terrible, terrible fight.
While McCullough emerged as the "victor," he has looked positively dreadful in his last four fights, and Hicks's unwillingness to mount any offence should hopefully ensure that neither fighter ever competes on a WEC card again.
Winner: Rob McCullough by Majority Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-29) after three rounds. He improves to 17-5-0.
"The Angel of Death" Damacio Page vs Marcos "Louro" Galvao
Finishing the fight in lightning-quick fashion, Page knocked Galvao out cold with punches just 15 seconds into the first round, but the fight was overshadowed by the WEC's failure to show the unconscious Galvao even one time as he was attended to by medical personnel. Fortunately, he would be okay after being taken from the ring on a stretcher.Page walked forward and immediately landed a huge right haymaker just seconds into the fight. He grabbed hold of Galvao and blasted him with more big punches, as Galvao desperately tried to back away. After one punch dropped Galvao, Page followed up with two more punches to his downed opponent, which knocked Galvao out cold. Galvao did not move for quite some time, but was coherent as he was taken from the cage.
Winner: Damacio Page by KO (Punches) at 0:15 of round one. He improves to 11-4-0.
Undercard Fights:
Danny Castillo defeated Phil Cardella by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. The decision was a questionable one, as Castillo controlled most of round one but found himself fighting off submissions and elbow strikes on the ground in the latter two rounds. The judges saw Castillo's top control as worthy enough for a Split Decision victory. Castillo improves to 7-1-0 with the win.Johny Hendricks defeated "The Russian Crusher" Alex Serdyukov by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. Hendricks dominated the first round and recovered from early danger in round two by dropping Serdyukov and punishing him until the bell. Though Serdyukov landed strikes at will in round three, it was too little, too late for the Russian. Hendricks improves to 5-0-0 with the win.
Kenji Osawa defeated Rafael Rebello by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. This was another bizarre decision from the judges, though the fight was relatively uneventful and conceivably could have been scored for either fighter. It appeared as though the fighters had split rounds one and two, while round three was very close. The 30-27 score for Rebello was a bit off the mark. Osawa improves to 15-8-2 with the win.
Alex Karalexis defeated Greg McIntyre by TKO (Punches) at 4:19 of round one. The fighters exchanged takedowns in the first half of round one, with neither able to keep the other down for long, but Karalexis later slammed McIntyre to the mat and finished him off with a flurry of punches against the cage. Karalexis improves to 10-4-0 with the win.
John Franchi defeated Mike "Wildfire" Budnik by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. Franchi dropped Budnik with the first punch of the fight, but Budnik fought back and made every effort to steal back the first round. The second round saw Franchi control position from the top, while round three was Budnik's. Two judges felt that Franchi's knockdown in round one was enough, giving him a hard-fought Split Decision victory. Franchi improves to 5-0-0 with the win.
Mike Pierce defeated Justin Haskins by TKO (Punches) at 3:39 of round three. The victory was even more impressive because Haskins was dominating the fight, taking rounds one and two with superior strikes and impressive takedown defence. Pierce once again struggled badly in his efforts to take Haskins down in round three, but floored Haskins with a left hook in a clinch, then followed up with more strikes on the ground. Pierce improves to 7-1-0 with the win.
Though definitely diminished by the horrendous fight between McCullough and Hicks, WEC 39 was salvaged by extremely impressive performances from Jose Aldo and WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown.
