On February 13th, World Extreme Cagefighting made its debut in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three titles were up for grabs as WEC’s welterweight, lightweight, and bantamweight champions all put their belts on the line. It so turned out that two of them walked away empty handed from this night of mostly great fights.
Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos
In the first televised bout of the evening, Manny Tapia met Chuck Liddell’s protege Banuelos in a 135-lbs bout. Banuelos looked nervous before the fight began, pacing in his corner. Tapia controlled the standup in the first round, hurting Banuelos with strikes. Tapia looked like a much bigger, stronger fighter. The second & third rounds were more even as Tapia slowed down a bit and Banuelos kept up his pace.
The official decision was announced, and the fight was scored a split draw: 30-27 Tapia, 29-28 Banuelos and 28-28 even scores from the judges. After both fighters were interviewed, another announcement was made: apparently one of the judges was not able to perform simple arithmetic, and scored the fight 29-28 Tapia rather than a draw. Tapia was then declared a winner.
Fight grade: 4 3/5 1 point deduction for screwy scoring
Miguel Torres vs. Chase Beebe
In the 135-lbs title fight, the defending champion Chase Beebe traded strikes with Miguel Torres until Torres hurt Beebe with a combination. Beebe got a takedown; Torres immediately started looking for submissions from his guard. Torres swept Beebe with an omoplata; Torres then went for an D’Arce choke but transitioned to a modified guillotine for the finish. Miguel Torres is now the new WEC Bantamweight champion, and Manny Tapia is likely to be his first title defence.
Fight grade: 5/5
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Leonard Garcia
After going 1-2 in UFC’s 155 division, Leonard Garcia decided to follow in Jen Pulver’s footsteps and drop down to WEC’s 145 weight class. Garcia made a successful debut in WEC, knocking down Takaya with an overhand right early in the first round. Garcia dove in to finish his opponent, and the ref stepped in for a somewhat premature stoppage.
Fight grade: 3/5
Jamie Varner vs. Rob McCullough
In the 155-lbs championship bout, the challenger Jamie Varner was dedicated to taking McCullough down in the first round. McCullough demonstrated a great takedown defence and scrambling ability, and was able to get up instantly each time Varner took him to the ground.
In the second round, Varner abandoned the takedowns and instead traded strikes with McCullough. Varner’s striking looked sharp and his punches found their target more and more as the round progressed.
In the third round, Varner once again opened up with strikes but was rocked with a right hand that knocked out his mouthpiece. Varner recovered quickly and motioned for a timeout to the referee. Steve Mazzagatti allowed the timeout, giving Varner the opportunity to clean and replace his mouthpiece and admonishing Jamie not to do it again. The action resumed and in the exchange that followed, Varner hurt McCullough and knocked him down. McCullough got up but was still rocked, and was soon knocked down again against the fence as Mazzagatti stepped in to stop the fight. With some controversy because of the timeout, Varner was crowned the new WEC Lightweight champion.
Fight grade: 4/5
Carlo Prater vs. Carlos Condit
In the main event, the defending WEC 170-lbs champion Condit looked to avenge his earlier loss to Carlo Prater. Condit started out by peppering Prater with leg kicks. Prater secured a takedown, and Condit wasted no time looking for a submission from his guard. After escaping an armbar attempt, a guillotine, and a triangle, Prater finally succumbed to another guillotine, making Condit the only champion to successfully defend his belt on this night.
Fight grade: 4/5
Overall, it was a solid night of fights. Despite a few controversies – screwy scoring and at times questionable reffing – WEC once again delivered an entertaining event.