World Extreme Cagefighting 41 Results
by Robert Sargent
Persevering after breaking his right hand in round one and suffering a suspected injury to his left hand later on, former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber put on a gutsy performance at WEC 41, but came up short against Mike Brown.
In the co-main event of the evening, featherweight phenom Jose "Junior" Aldo defeated Cub Swanson in just eight seconds with a double flying knee that opened two cuts.
WEC Featherweight Championship
Mike Brown vs "The California Kid" Urijah Faber
After breaking his right hand in round one with a punch that struck the top of Brown's head, Faber was unable to mount any effective offence in the later rounds aside from short elbow strikes, and Brown retained his title in a spirited battle.Faber used a front kick and a pair of head kick attempts early on to find his range, then scored with an overhand right. The fighters clinched against the cage and both landed knees. Faber landed a head kick and a front kick to the face, then followed with a right hook. A one-two scored for Faber, whose footwork was very impressive. Brown scored a takedown and fought off a guillotine choke attempt from Faber. Brown, cut beside the left eye, took Faber's back, but Faber stood up. Brown landed knees and Faber countered with a back elbow strike. Brown landed an overhand right and backed away. Faber drilled Brown with a huge punch, but it landed on the top of Brown's head. Faber attempted a jumping kick and was taken down. Brown swarmed with punches and looked for a guillotine choke. He moved to side-control, but Faber scrambled. Faber escaped another guillotine before the bell, but signalled to his corner between rounds that his right hand was broken. 10-9 Faber.
Round two began with more quick kicks from Faber, and he landed short strikes in a clinch. Brown closed the distance and landed a nice combination. He followed up with a solid body kick, then blocked a head kick from Faber. Brown landed quick punches to the body and a right hook, then took Faber down. Brown attempted a guillotine choke, then took Faber's back. Faber stood up and Brown landed knees and punches in a clinch. Brown scored a takedown and easily fought off a guillotine. Faber reversed position and the fighters stood, then exchanged strikes in a clinch. Faber threw big punches and landed a kick. Brown stalked him around the cage and looked to land big punches. Faber landed a standing elbow, but Brown replied with a quick combination and scored a takedown. Faber stood up, but Brown landed more punches. 10-9 Brown.
Quick strikes were exchanged early in round three and Faber landed a left hook to the body, but grimaced in pain afterwards. It appeared as though his left hand was now also injured. He pressed forward with a jumping knee attempt and landed a vicious standing elbow, but was taken down. Brown tried for a guillotine choke, then took Faber's back and landed punches from the top. Faber stood up and the fighters exchanged short elbow strikes. Faber landed a knee, then a standing elbow and another knee. Brown looked to land big punches in close and clinched, then tried for a takedown. Faber reversed and briefly took mount, but Brown spun free and attempted a heel hook. Faber escaped and tried a spinning back elbow. Brown tagged Faber with a right hook and Faber tried to counter with open-handed strikes. Brown landed another one-two and Faber switched to kicks. Brown scored a brief takedown, then landed knees in a clinch. 10-9 Brown.
Faber opened round four with a body kick and a left hook to the liver, then scored with an impressive front kick to the face. Brown clinched and just missed with an uppercut. He backed away, then landed more short punches in close. A left hook and a quick combination landed for Brown, but Faber countered with a left hook of his own. Quick strikes were exchanged and Faber landed an elbow. Brown pressed forward with punches and clinched, then landed an elbow and backed away. Brown mixed it up with punches to the head and body, but Faber landed another elbow. Brown hurt Faber with a body shot and Faber backed away. Two quick flurries landed for Brown, as Faber winced in pain while throwing a right punch. Faber landed a left hook and a knee, then clinched against the cage. Brown pressed Faber against the fence and landed knees to the legs. 10-9 Brown.
Faber threw short left hooks and kicks to begin the final round, and the fighters clinched briefly. Faber landed a body kick and clinched again, but was taken down. He tried for a guillotine, but his injured hands prevented him from trapping Brown. Back on the feet, Brown landed a nice left hook and a body kick. Faber landed a left hook and shot for a takedown, but Brown stuffed it and slammed Faber to the mat. Brown landed punches and Faber stood up. Faber looked to land more elbows, but Brown ducked under and scored a brief takedown. Faber stood up and ate a series of knees and punches from Brown. Faber took Brown down and tried for a North-South Choke, but once again, his damaged hands could not apply any pressure. Brown got up and scored with punches. Faber tried to fight back with kicks and elbows, but Brown scored a takedown. Faber stood and landed a spinning back elbow, but was taken down again. 10-9 Brown.
All three judges awarded the great battle to Brown, but huge respect must be given to Faber for gamely fighting through the pain in an attempt to regain his title.
Winner: Mike Brown by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 22-4-0 and remains the WEC Featherweight Champion.
Jose "Junior" Aldo vs Cub Swanson
Ending as quickly as it began, Aldo made extremely short work of Swanson by landing an incredible double flying knee to begin the fight, which opened a small cut below Swanson's left eye and a massive gash above it. The fight was quickly stopped as Swanson covered up on the ground, bleeding profusely from above the eye.Aldo immediately rushed in with a double flying knee, with the left knee striking first and the right knee directly after. Swanson collapsed to the mat and turtled as blood already dripped from cuts above and below his eye. Aldo landed punches on the ground and the fight was quickly stopped. The cut above Swanson's eye was an incredibly bad one. Awesome win for Aldo, who will likely be next in line for a shot at the WEC Featherweight Championship.
Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO (Double Flying Knee & Punches) at 0:08 of round one. He improves to 15-1-0.
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone vs James Krause
Handing Krause his first professional defeat, Cerrone immediately got himself back into title contention with an impressive first-round submission victory.Krause opened the fight with a leg kick, but was drilled by a kick to the body and dragged to the mat. Back on the feet, Krause landed a body shot and a kick, but Cerrone scored with an overhand right. Krause secured a takedown and looked to pass guard, but found himself trapped in a triangle choke and an omoplata. Cerrone stood, but was taken down again. He once again tried for an omoplata and used it to take top position. Cerrone landed short punches from Krause's guard and looked to pass to side-control. Krause kept Cerrone in his guard and tried for a variation of the Peruvian Necktie, but Cerrone escaped. Krause then attempted a heel hook, but Cerrone stood up. Cerrone stuffed a takedown attempt and Krause threw a high kick. Cerrone landed punches and defended a takedown attempt with a standing guillotine choke and a knee. Cerrone dropped Krause with a one-two, then took his back. He eventually secured a rear naked choke for the victory.
With the ongoing war of words between Cerrone and WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner, the two will likely clash again in the near future.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:38 of round one. He improves to 10-1-0, 1 NC.
Josh "The Fluke" Grispi vs Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver
In what will likely turn out to be Pulver's final fight, he attempted a takedown early on and found himself trapped in a guillotine choke that forced him to quickly submit.Both fighters went for body kicks to start the fight and Grispi followed up with a kick, punch combo. Pulver immediately scored a takedown, but was trapped in a guillotine choke. Pulver looked to be working free from the choke, but Grispi continued to apply pressure and Pulver was forced to submit. After the fight, he was very disappointed, but thanked the crowd for their support.
Having lost six of his last seven fights, it seems likely that Pulver's career has come to an end, but he has accomplished more in the sport than most can ever dream to.
Winner: Josh Grispi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:33 of round one. He improves to 13-1-0.
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis vs Mike "The Beast" Campbell
Putting on a two-minute submission clinic, Pettis had Campbell scrambling throughout the fight, but Campbell was unable to fight his way out of a triangle choke and tapped out.Campbell opened the fight with a body kick, but was hit with a head kick in return. Campbell caught Pettis's leg and tried for a takedown, but Pettis locked on a standing guillotine choke. Campbell slammed Pettis to the mat to escape the choke, but found himself in a triangle, then a shoulder lock and an armbar. The armbar was deep, but Campbell somehow twisted free and escaped another triangle choke. He stood up and landed punches from the top, then tried to pass Pettis's guard. Campbell attempted a diving punch and trapped himself in a triangle choke. Pettis hooked Campbell's leg to prevent him from posturing up or escaping, and Campbell was soon forced to submit. Excellent performance from Pettis.
Winner: Anthony Pettis by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 1:49 of round one. He improves to 7-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Manny "The Anvil" Gamburyan defeated John Franchi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. Making his WEC debut after struggling in the UFC, Gamburyan handed Franchi his first loss, but it came in rather uneventful fashion. Gamburyan had some nice submission attempts in round one, but did little from top position in the latter two rounds and did not endear himself to the crowd. Gamburyan improves to 9-4-0 with the win.Rafael Rebello defeated Kyle Dietz by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:55 of round one. Taking advantage of a scramble on the ground, Rebello quickly took Dietz's back and secured a rear naked choke, which gave Dietz his first defeat as a professional. Rebello improves to 6-3-0 with the win.
Antonio Banuelos defeated Scott Jorgensen by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. This action-packed, back-and-forth battle may have ended with a razor-thin decision for Banuelos, but Jorgensen had him in all sorts of trouble in the final round with a variety of submission attempts. Banuelos's striking advantage in rounds one and two proved to be just enough, as he barely escaped as the victor. Banuelos improves to 16-5-0 with the win.
Frank Gomez defeated Noah "The Red" Thomas by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:12 of round two. Dominating the striking on the feet and on the ground, Gomez cut Thomas in round one and battered him with more strikes in round two before transitioning to an arm-triangle choke that elicited an immediate submission from Thomas. Gomez improves to 7-1-0 with the win.
Seth "2 Quik" Dikun defeated Rolando Perez by Submission (Flying Triangle Choke & Elbows) at 2:30 of round one. Perez dropped Dikun early on, but Dikun got back to his feet and pulled guard with a flying triangle choke. When Perez did not initially submit, Dikun blasted him with elbows until Perez finally conceded defeat. Dikun improves to 7-3-0 with the win.
Featuring one of the promotion's best main events to date and an explosive victory from new contender Jose Aldo, WEC 41 was an excellent event and set up a number of exciting bouts for the coming months.
