WEC 37 featured featherweight and bantamweight bouts on the televised portion of the card, and was highlighted by the bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his belt against the undefeated challenger Manny Tapia.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez (145 lbs)
The first televised bout turned out to be rather lackluster. Martinez worked hard for a takedown in the first round, but was unable to complete and ended up on his back as a result of a throw at the end round. In the second and third, Martines gave up on the takedown attempts and instead began swinging at Benavidez with widely telegraphed shots, most of which did not find their target. Benavidez on the other hand peppered Martinez with multiple combinations of punches and kicks, none of which seemingly did much damage. Benavidez won a unanimous decision: 30-27 on all three scorecards. This was the first MMA bout that I’ve seen where a woman (Kim Winslow) was the referee.
Fight grade: 2/5
Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro (135 lbs)
In a fight that determined the likely contender to the winner of the Torres-Tapia title bout, Bowles outboxed and outgrappled Ribeiro in a bout that was an equal mixture of standup and ground action. Both fighters had several guillotine attempts, and Bowles finally completed one in the third round, winning by tapout.
Fight grade: 3/5
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura (145 lbs)
In his WEC debut, the former IFL standout and brazilian jiu-jitsu expert was able to easily take down Tamura in every round, and methodically control him on the ground. After thoroughly dominating Tamura for most of three round with a technical but unexciting display of grappling, Fabiano was able to lock in a head-and-arm triangle a force a tapout with only seconds remaining in the bout.
Fight grade: 2/5
Champion Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia (135 lbs title bout)
The challenger Tapia started out strong in the first round, utilizing body shots to negate the reach advantage of Torres. Torres attempted an incredible front flip kick that missed by a wide margin. After a very close first round, Torres began to find his range in the second, hitting Tapia with a spinning backfist then dropping him with a right hand. Tapia was able to get back to his feet but never fully recovered, and was knocked down again shortly. This time, Torres pounced and finished Tapia on the ground with a series of elbows, punches, and hammerfists.
Fight grade: 5/5
This slow-paced card was saved by another amazing performance by Miguel Torres in the main event.