World Extreme Cagefighting returned tonight with WEC 44: “Brown vs Aldo,” which was headlined by an entertaining WEC Featherweight Championship bout between Mike Brown and Jose “Junior” Aldo that saw Aldo capture the title in dominant and emphatic fashion.
Also on the main card, Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan picked up a hard-fought decision victory over Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia, while former WEC Lightweight Champion “Razor” Rob McCullough once again came out on the losing end when he took on newcomer Karen Darabedyan.
WEC Featherweight Championship
Jose “Junior” Aldo vs Mike Brown
Round 1:
Brown looked to establish his jab early on, but he was cracked by an uppercut-hook combo from Aldo. Brown fired back with a right hook and Aldo chopped him down with a leg kick. A pair of knees and punches found the mark for Aldo and he backed Brown up with a variety of strikes. Aldo kept Brown guessing with knee fakes and quick kicks. Brown, cut above the right eye, opened up with a front kick, but Aldo rocked him with a right hook and a head kick.
Aldo swarmed Brown, but Brown clinched against the cage. He briefly tripped Aldo to the mat, but Aldo got right back to his feet. Brown looked to score with knees in a clinch, then backed away. Aldo drilled him with a kick to the body and Brown returned to push kicks. Aldo landed a leg kick and a jumping knee to the body, then a right hand at the bell. 10-9 Aldo.
Round 2:
Brown pressed forward with punches and was stopped in his tracks by a spinning back kick. Aldo scored with a knee and punches that forced Brown to shoot in for a takedown. Aldo ducked under a left hook and pushed Brown to the ground. He took Brown’s back and landed punches, then moved to mount. Brown gave up his back and Aldo absolutely teed off with punches. Brown turtled and referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight, giving Aldo the victory and the title. Huge win for Aldo.
Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO (Punches) at 1:20 of round two. He improves to 16-1-0 and becomes the new WEC Featherweight Champion.
Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan vs Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia
Round 1:
Garcia threw a leg kick early on, but little transpired in the opening minute. He connected with an uppercut as Gamburyan shot in for a takedown and stepped free of Gamburyan’s grasp. Garcia countered a Gamburyan leg kick with an overhand right, then followed with a one-two. A pair of shots to the body landed for Garcia and he backed Gamburyan up with a flurry. Gamburyan tried for another takedown and Garcia defended.
Time was called after a pair of inadvertent low knees from Gamburyan. The fight resumed and Gamburyan just missed with a looping right hook. He took Garcia down very briefly, but Garcia immediately got back to his feet. The fighters traded knees until referee Herb Dean separated them. Garcia landed a head kick and followed with a body kick as Gamburyan tried for a takedown. 10-9 Garcia.
Round 2:
Garcia slipped while throwing a head kick early in round two, but stayed on his feet and defended a takedown from Gamburyan. He kept Gamburyan at range with his jab and both fighters threw simultaneous hooks. Gamburyan tried for a takedown and managed to get Garcia down for two seconds. Garcia landed a knee and backed away from the clinch.
Gamburyan slipped to the mat after missing with a sloppy haymaker and ate an uppercut for his troubles, but he managed to take Garcia down. Gamburyan landed punches and elbows from the top and moved to half-guard. He looked to set up a guillotine choke, then landed knees to the ribs of Garcia. Back on the feet, Gamburyan clinched again and took Garcia down. He landed four punches to close out the round. 10-9 Gamburyan.
Round 3:
The fighters embraced to begin the final round, then traded haymaker right hands that landed flush. Garcia connected with a head kick just as Gamburyan blasted him with another right hook. A jumping knee and a lead right hand missed for Garcia, but both he and Gamburyan connected with hard punches in an exchange. Gamburyan took Garcia down and struck from Garcia’s guard.
Garcia eventually managed to scramble back to his feet, but Gamburyan took his back. Garcia resorted to reverse elbow strikes and was briefly slammed to the ground. Gamburyan tried for another takedown, but could not get Garcia down. He continued to try to take the fight back to the mat and managed to put Garcia on his back against the cage. Gamburyan struck from the top until Garcia worked free just as the bell sounded. 10-9 Gamburyan.
Winner: Manny Gamburyan by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-4-0.
Karen Darabedyan vs “Razor” Rob McCullough
Round 1:
Both fighters connected with solid punches in an opening exchange and they traded quick leg kicks soon after. Another exchange followed and McCullough landed two more leg kicks. Darabedyan answered with a pair of looping hooks and he backed McCullough up with a flurry.
Sparse strikes were exchanged, with Darabedyan landing punches and McCullough preferring leg kicks. McCullough landed a one-two and a body kick, but Darabedyan cut him on the nose with a left cross. He landed another hard combination and a pair of stiff jabs to McCullough’s nose. Jabs, a left hook and a hard one-two rocked the jaw of McCullough. 10-9 Darabedyan.
Round 2:
Darabedyan jabbed early in round two and he caught a kick from McCullough. Darabedyan scored a takedown and landed punches and elbows from the top. He cut McCullough beside the eye with an elbow, but McCullough used a trip to get back to his feet. Both fighters landed hooks and McCullough backed away. Darabedyan landed a nice one-two, but began bleeding more heavily from a cut opened in round one.
Darabedyan kept McCullough at bay with his jab and landed another flurry of punches. McCullough attempted a punch-kick combo, but missed. He didn’t miss with a follow-up left hook, however, and Darabedyan backed up. A lead left hook scored for Darabedyan, but McCullough answered with a trio of punches and a leg kick. Very close round. 10-9 Darabedyan.
Round 3:
Darabedyan stuck to his jab in the final round and McCullough countered with kicks to the legs and body. Darabedyan tried for a takedown, but McCullough stuffed it and landed a knee to the body. Both fighters landed jabs and they traded inside leg kicks seconds later. Darabedyan repeatedly countered McCullough’s leg kicks with quick hooks.
After another exchange of leg kicks, McCullough connected to the body and Darabedyan quickly fired back with a right hook. Two left hooks scored for Darabedyan, but McCullough landed another kick to the liver. Three more kicks and a left hook found the mark for McCullough and Darabedyan threw a counter left hook. Another close round. 10-9 McCullough.
Two judges saw the close fight for Darabedyan, while a third somehow awarded all three rounds to McCullough. Darabedyan clearly won the first round.
Winner: Karen Darabedyan by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0.
Shane Roller vs Danny “Last Call” Castillo
Round 1:
The fighters looked to find their range with single punches early on and Castillo scored with a combination. Roller answered with a pair of leg kicks and Castillo cracked him with a right hook. More single punches were exchanged and Castillo stuffed a takedown. Castillo broke free of the clinch with a left hook, then rushed forward with a one-two. He clinched and scored a very brief takedown, but Roller worked back to his feet.
Another one-two landed for Castillo and Roller answered with a counter left hook. Castillo scored a takedown, but Roller immediately reversed and tried for a guillotine. Castillo escaped, but ate a knee for his efforts. He took Roller down again and landed elbows from Roller’s guard. Castillo threw more elbows, but Roller moved his head and evaded. Castillo landed punches until the bell. 10-9 Castillo.
Round 2:
Castillo clinched early in round two and punished Roller with hard punches to the body. He backed away and the fighters traded lunging punching combinations. Castillo threw Roller to the mat, but allowed him to stand. Roller rushed forward again and clinched against the cage. Castillo punched free and landed a counter hook after taking a knee to the face.
More knees landed for Roller and he backed Castillo up to the cage. Roller scored a takedown and landed in side-control. He moved to mount and worked for a guillotine. Roller maintained a head lock and landed punches. Castillo gave up his back and Roller teed off with hard punches to the sides of Castillo’s head.
Castillo tried to shrug Roller off, but Roller was relentless with punches and landed nearly two dozen to the ear and temple of Castillo. In a scramble, Castillo managed to escape and got to his feet. He landed some big punches as Roller stood up and connected with another one-two before the bell. Very good round. 10-9 Roller.
Round 3:
After 20 seconds of circling, Castillo connected with a one-two and a vicious body shot. He sprawled out of a takedown attempt from Roller and worked from Roller’s guard. Roller kicked Castillo off and Castillo stood over him. A pair of punches landed for Castillo and Roller attempted a heel hook. A scramble ensued, but Castillo maintained top position. He moved to mount, but Roller countered an armbar attempt and stood up.
Roller landed a left hook and a one-two, then slammed Castillo to the ground. He quickly took Castillo’s back and secured a rear naked choke that forced Roller to submit. Good win for Roller in what was an excellent fight.
Winner: Shane Roller by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:32 of round three. He improves to 7-2-0.
Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus vs Will Kerr
Round 1:
Shalorus opened up with a stiff leg kick and he dropped Kerr with a looping left hook seconds later. Kerr recovered and attempted a leg submission, but Shalorus escaped back to his feet. Shalorus scored with more punches and a body kick. He rocked Kerr with four consecutive hooks. A pair of right hooks dropped Kerr and referee Steve Mazzagatti rescued Kerr from further punishment. Solid win for Shalorus.
Winner: Kamal Shalorus by TKO (Punches) at 1:26 of round one. He improves to 5-0-1.
Undercard Fights:
L.C. Davis defeated Diego “The Gun” Nunes by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 15-2-0.
Cub Swanson defeated John Franchi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:50 of round three. He improves to 14-3-0.
Antonio Banuelos defeated Kenji Osawa by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 17-5-0.
Ricardo Lamas defeated James Krause by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 7-1-0.
Frank Gomez defeated Seth “2 Quik” Dikun by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 8-1-0.
Capped off by Jose Aldo’s dominant WEC Featherweight Championship victory, WEC 44 was a solid event for World Extreme Cagefighting and the promotion will return with WEC 45 on December 19th.