Brandon “The Viper” Visher vs Courtney Buck

Round 1:
Both fighters came out swinging right away and Buck scored with kicks while Visher landed a trio of looping hooks. Buck secured a Thai clinch and landed a knee to the ribs, then dropped Visher with a big right hand. Visher quickly recovered and slammed Buck to the mat. From side-control, a bloodied Visher tried to move to mount, but Buck scrambled to his feet. A solid left hook found the mark for Visher and that set off another big exchange of strikes. Buck landed knees in a Thai clinch and backed away.

Buck continued to throw kicks, but Visher answered with a counter right. Visher staggered Buck with a wild right hook and he followed with a flurry against the cage. Buck recovered and answered with a lead left hook. A scramble led to Visher taking top position on the ground and he landed hammerfists from half-guard. Visher used an elbow to move to mount, then took Buck’s back and punished him with punches. Buck rolled over and Visher knocked him out cold with a succession of hammerfists.

Winner: Brandon Visher by KO (Hammerfists) at 4:45 of round one. He improves to 13-0-0.

Brad “One Punch” Pickett vs Kyle Dietz

Round 1:
Dietz missed with a spinning crescent kick to begin the fight and was poked in the eye in the process. Time was briefly called and the action soon resumed at a furious pace. Both fighters connected with hard strikes and Dietz pulled guard with a triangle choke attempt. Dietz elbowed from the bottom and looked to set up a submission. Pickett stood up briefly and ate a pair of upkicks. He fell back into Dietz’s guard.

The fighters traded elbows on the ground and Pickett stood up. Again, Dietz tagged him with upkicks and Pickett dove into Dietz’s guard with a punch. Pickett landed a handful of punches from the top and Dietz again looked to set up a submission. Pickett passed to side-control and tried to elbow, then pulled Dietz into a triangle choke. Dietz easily survived until the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Pickett, just barely.

Round 2:
Dietz drilled Pickett with a flying knee to begin the second round and the fighters traded heavy shots in a big exchange. Pickett caught a kick and pushed Dietz to the mat, then fell into Dietz’s guard. He landed punches and short elbows from the top and Dietz could do little from the bottom. Dietz used rubber guard to keep Pickett in place and landed elbows, but Pickett broke free and moved to half-guard.

A scramble ensued and Pickett stood up. He avoided upkicks from Dietz and scored with a diving punch. Pickett elbowed from the top and punished Dietz’s ribs with punches. More short elbows landed for Pickett and Dietz tried to work back to his feet. He got to a kneeling position, but Pickett trapped him in a Peruvian Necktie. Dietz had absolutely nowhere to go and quickly tapped out. Very impressive submission.

Winner: Brad Pickett by Submission (Peruvian Necktie) at 4:36 of round two. He improves to 18-4-0.

Undercard Fights:

Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski defeated Anthony “Showtime” Pettis by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 33-13-0.

Zachary Micklewright defeated Muhsin “The Technician” Corbbrey by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 7-0-0.

Chad “The Savage” George defeated John Hosman by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-4-0.

Erik “New Breed” Koch defeated Jameel “The Real Deal” Massouh by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 8-0-0.

Aside from the unfortunate fouls in the main event, WEC 45 was a very good event and the promotion will look to continue its success at WEC 46 on January 10th. That card features a WEC Lightweight Championship bout between Jamie “The Worm” Varner and Ben “Smooth” Henderson, as well as the return of former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown.