World Extreme Cagefighting 37 Results
by Robert Sargent
In yet another great night of fights, World Extreme Cagefighting once again showed why they are one of the premier promotions in North America, as a stellar WEC 37 card culminated with a very exciting WEC Bantamweight Championship bout.
The main event saw champion Miguel Torres outstrike and outmatch Manny "The Mangler" Tapia en route to a high-impact second-round TKO that had the crowd cheering.
WEC Bantamweight Championship
Miguel Torres vs Manny "The Mangler" Tapia
With both fighters coming out to Mariachi music, the crowd was instantly involved in the grudge match, and the non-stop action ensured that everyone went home happy as Torres celebrated his impressive victory.Torres rocked Tapia with a stiff jab early in the bout, and continued to pick his shots while using impressive footwork. Tapia twice stumbled while looking for power strikes. Torres came forward with a jumping switch kick that landed flush on Tapia's jaw, but Tapia quickly replied with a counter left hook. The fighters exchanged punches, with Torres landing the cleaner shots. Tapia continued to look for one big shot, while Torres's combinations scored. Finally, Tapia landed a solid combination, but Torres landed one of his own, then went for a rolling axe kick. Tapia landed a pair of body shots, but slipped after Torres hit him with two quick jabs. The round concluded with a wild exchange. 10-9 Torres.
Torres's reach advantage once again paid dividends in round two, as he landed his jab at will. Tapia connected with a big right hook, but Torres remained completely unfazed. Tapia began to string together combinations to the head and body, but Torres landed a quick flurry and followed it up with a front kick and spinning back fist. Seconds later, Torres dropped Tapia with a huge overhand right, and he followed it up with a barrage of punches on the ground. Tapia hung on, however, and managed to get back to his feet. Torres landed a series of knees in the clinch, then dropped Tapia with another overhand right. After Torres landed punches and elbows on the ground, the referee stopped the fight, giving Tapia his first loss.
Winner: Miguel Torres by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 3:03 of round two. He improves to 35-1-0 and remains the WEC Bantamweight Champion.
Wagnney Fabiano vs Akitoshi "Ironman" Tamura
This battle of former featherweight champions saw the IFL prevail over Shooto, as final IFL Featherweight Champion Wagnney Fabiano submitted Akitoshi Tamura with a kata-gatame arm-triangle choke with mere seconds left in the fight.Tamura landed a pair of knees as Fabiano looked for a takedown, then pulled guard. Fabiano looked to move to mount, but Tamura's defence was too strong. Fabiano continued to look to improve his position, and eventually used an arm-triangle choke to pass to mount. However, Tamura immediately regained half-guard. Fabiano tried to land elbows and punches from the top, but could do extremely little as Tamura trapped his leg in the lockdown position for the remaining three minutes of the round. 10-9 Fabiano.
The fighters exchanged strikes to start round two, with Tamura scoring with knees and Fabiano landing two quick combinations. Fabiano scored a trip takedown and once again worked from top position. Tamura used rubber guard to nullify any offence from Fabiano, who was unable to move. Fabiano tried to move to mount, but once again found himself trapped in the lockdown position. This continued until the referee eventually stood the fighters up with just over 75 seconds to go. Tamura landed a kick and two punches, but was taken down again. Fabiano moved to side-control and looked to mount, but Tamura's defence prevented Fabiano from landing anything. Fabiano locked on an armbar with three seconds left, but the bell rang to end the round. 10-9 Fabiano.
Tamura countered an early takedown by locking Fabiano in a tight guillotine choke. However, Fabiano used his significant experience to escape the hold and wound up in side-control. Fabiano transitioned back and forth from mount to side-control and landed a few strikes from the top, then used a choke to move to half-guard. Tamura trapped Fabiano's leg in the lockdown position yet again, but Fabiano postured up and landed strikes that cut Tamura on the forehead. After scoring with more strikes, Fabiano locked on a kata-gatame arm-triangle choke that forced Tamura to submit with mere seconds left in the round.
Winner: Wagnney Fabiano by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:46 of round three. He improves to 11-1-0.
Brian Bowles vs Will Ribeiro
What began as a slugfest turned into a more tactical battle, as Bowles remained undefeated by submitting Ribeiro with a guillotine choke early in the third round.The fighters circled each other for the first 30 seconds, then Bowles connected with a pair of big punches. As expected, the fighters started throwing huge power shots, but neither could hurt the other. Both fighters connected with a series of quick flurries, and neither showed any sign of backing down. Ribeiro began to mix up his strikes by throwing spinning kicks and quick follow-up combinations, but Bowles came right back with punches of his own. Ribeiro scored a takedown, but was trapped in a guillotine choke. Bowles rolled to mount, then took Ribeiro's back and landed strikes. Ribeiro managed to regain guard, but Bowles continued to land strikes from the top and won the round in the process. 10-9 Bowles.
Bowles landed a quick one-two early in round two, and Ribeiro replied with an overhand right. The fighters exchanged strikes, and Ribeiro again began to use kicks. Bowles caught a kick attempt and tried to take Ribeiro's back, but wound up on the ground. Bowles landed a big upkick from the ground, forcing Ribeiro to go for a diving punch. Bowles got to his feet and evaded a spinning back kick. He then ate a pair of hard punches from Ribeiro, but took Ribeiro down and worked from half-guard. Bowles continued to land strikes from the top and eventually looked to pass to mount, but could not. The fight returned to the feet in the final seconds of the round, and Bowles scored another takedown just before the bell. 10-9 Bowles.
Ribeiro came out aggressively in round three, landing kicks to the legs and body and two quick combinations. Bowles landed an overhand right, then caught a kick from Ribeiro and drilled him with a big right hook. Ribeiro surprisingly went for a takedown, but found himself trapped in a tight guillotine. Bowles rolled over to mount and applied more pressure to the choke, forcing Ribeiro to submit.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:11 of round three. He improves to 7-0-0.
Joseph Benavidez vs Danny Martinez
This explosive bantamweight bout was all Benavidez, as he controlled the pace and prevented Martinez from landing any damaging strikes for the duration of the fight.Martinez looked for an early takedown, but Benavidez had none of it and landed a hard push kick seconds later. He defended another Martinez takedown attempt and scored with a grazing elbow. Benavidez rocked Martinez with a quick three-punch flurry, then followed it up with a front kick to the face. Martinez held strong and looked to land a big punch of his own. Benavidez's quick combinations of punches and kicks prevented Martinez from landing anything, however, and Martinez again looked for a takedown. Benavidez got back to his feet and landed another quick one-two. Martinez looked for another takedown, but Benavidez reversed with a beautiful Judo toss takedown and worked from side-control until the bell. 10-9 Benavidez.
Benavidez attempted a variety of kicks in the opening minute of round two, then followed it up with two lightning-fast flurries of punches. Benavidez countered Martinez's single strikes with combinations that kept Martinez guessing. As the round wore on, Benavidez landed more punches and kicks, then mixed in knees to the body. Martinez could not mount any offence, as Benavidez's punches controlled the exchanges. Benavidez looked for a takedown in the final minute, but Martinez used a front choke to take him down. Benavidez quickly got back to his feet, though, and landed more strikes before the bell. 10-9 Benavidez.
Benavidez scored repeatedly with front kicks early in round three, as Martinez tried to push the pace. Martinez landed a flurry, but Benavidez countered with a quick one-two. Punches and a jumping kick landed for Benavidez, who was in complete control of the striking. Martinez clinched and looked for a takedown, but could not get the fight to the mat. An uppercut and flying knee landed for Benavidez, then a right to the body, but Martinez stood strong. Both fighters landed big shots in the final minute of the fight, with Martinez finally backing Benavidez up with two hard punches, but Benavidez came right back with jumping kicks and punches. Each fighter landed punches just before the bell. 10-9 Benavidez.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 9-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Johny Hendricks defeated Justin Haskins by TKO (Punches) at 0:52 of round two. He improves to 4-0-0.Mark Munoz defeated Ricardo Barros by TKO (Punches) at 2:26 of round one. He improves to 5-0-0.
Diego "The Gun" Nunes defeated Cole Province by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-0-0.
IFL veteran Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski defeated former UFC competitor Alex Karalexis by TKO (Punches) at 1:11 of round two. He improves to 30-11-0.
Cub Swanson defeated Hiroyuki "Streetfight Bancho" Takaya by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-2-0.
Shane Roller defeated Mike "Wildfire" Budnik by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 5-1-0.
Though the upcoming rematch between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver is puzzling, at best, the WEC continues to put on excellent shows by featuring the explosive fighters of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
