From Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA, WEC 46 was highlighted by the long-awaited return of the injured lightweight champion Jamie Varner, set to unify the belts with the interim lightweight champ Benson Henderson in the main events.  In other featured bouts, two former featherweight champions Urijah Faber and Mike Brown set their sights on the comeback trail, with Faber taking on Rafael Assuncao and Brown facing an unheralded WEC newcomer Anthony Morrison.

Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (145 lbs)

Round 1:  After a brief exchange, Taurosevicius closes distance and takes Semerzier down.  Semerzier locks in a guillotine but Taurosevicius slams his way out of it.  Taurosevicius stands over Semerzier and eats a slapping up-kick.  Taurosevicius passes into side control and throws elbows.  Semerzier regains guard and gets back to his feet but is quickly taken down again.  Semerzier with another guillotine attempt and Taurosevicius responds with a big slam.  The action slows down on the ground and referee stands them up.  Taurosevicius shoots another takedown as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Taurosevicius

Round 2: Semerzier leads off with a series of kicks.  He stops Taurosevicius’ first takedown attempt but gets dragged down from clinch. Semerzier escapes but is quickly taken down again, then slammed on his next attempt to get up.  Semerzier looks for a triangle but Taurosevicius defends well.  Taurosevicius works from Semerzier’s guard; Mackens looks for submissions from the bottom and nothing comes close.  Semerzier attempts a leg lock near the end of the round; Taurosevicius powers out of it. Round 10-9 Taurosevicius

Round 3: An uneventful exchange starts the final round.  Taurosevicius catches a kick but Semerzier stays on his feet.  Taurosevicius shoots for a takedown and Semerzier attempts a d’arce choke, then switches to a kimura.  Taurosevicius is in danger but rolls out of the hold, giving up the top position.  Semerzier stands over Taurosevicius, landing body and head strikes.  Taurosevicius is bleeding.  Semerzier passes guard and works from side control.  Taurosevicius scrambles out and gets caught in a guillotine, but escapes as the round ends. Round 10-9 Semerzier

Deividas Taurosevicius wins by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards

Fight Grade: 3/5

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During the rigorous training that leads up to an MMA bout, fighters often get injured and are forced to pull out of a scheduled fight, leading to late substitutions and/or fight cancellations.  Injuries can always be expected, but UFC 108 broke all records with the number of fighters who were once scheduled to be on the card but had to pull out with an illness or an injury.  A string of bad luck leading up to UFC 108 left the card without a solid main event, which we’ve come to expect from UFC’s year-end events.  In fact Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva and Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout were the only originally scheduled main card bouts that made it intact to the actual event.  All other main card bouts and several of the prelims fell apart due to injuries, forcing UFC to scramble to come up with suitable substitutions.

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller (155 lbs)

Round 1: Miller moves forward and lands a combination.  Lauzon fires back, dropping Miller with a left hook.  Miller recovers and jumps up, eating a knee as he does.  Miller clinches and throws a knee.  Lauzon takes Miller’s back standing, but Miller reverses and ends up on Lauzon’s back with Dan on his knees.  Miller locks his legs around one of Lauzon’s arms and looks for a kimura on the other arm.  Lauzon defends until Miller rolls over, and Dan is forced to tap out.

Aftermath: Dan Lauzon was at 18 years old the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC when he lost his debut to Spencer Fisher back at UFC 64.  After going on an eight-fight win streak in various promotions, his UFC return was spoiled, dropping him to 0-2 in the organization.  He would be better off making a switch to the WEC’s lightweight division.

Cole Miller gets back on the winning track, earning himself a Submission of the Night bonus in process.  He should fight Jeremy Stephens next.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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Returning to Las Vegas, WEC 45 had a lackluster lineup by the usual WEC standards: no title matches or clear #1 contender bouts – just a series of bouts in the bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions, headlined by Donald ‘The Cowboy’ Cerrone taking on Ed ‘9mm’ Ratcliff.  Here’s how it went down:

Scott Jorgensen  vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135 lbs)

Round 1: Mizugaki leads off with punches and Jorgensen counters with a right hook, dropping Mizugaki.  Jorgensen follows to the ground and looks for a guillotine.  Mizugaki defends and works back to his feet.  Mizugaki lands a combination to the body.  They clinch and Mizugaki throws knees; Jorgensen catches one and throws Mizugaki down.  Takeya instantly gets back up and goes back to trading punches until Jorgensen knocks him down for the second time.  Jorgensen jumps into Takeya’s guard and throws punches from the top but Mizugaki scrambles, gives up his back then escapes.   Round 10-9 Jorgensen

Round 2: Mizugaki comes out swinging again.  Jorgensen shoots and gets a takedown.  Jorgensen passes guard but Mizugaki escapes and stands up.  They trade punches then clinch against the cage.  Action slows down and referee breaks them up.  Mizugaki flurries and gets taken down again though quickly makes his way back to the feet.  Another exchange and another takedown for Jorgensen, this time Mizugaki pops up even more quickly. Round 10-9 Jorgensen

Round 3: They exchange for the first half of the round with both fighters landing.  Jorgensen scores another takedown and Mizugaki is right back up again, then responds with a trip takedown of his own.   Mizugaki passes into side control, briefly gets a crucifix but Jorgensen rolls and escapes.  Mizugaki takes him down again and punches from the top as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Mizugaki

Scott Jorgensen wins a unanimous decision with the scores of 29-28 from all judges.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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UFC 107 took place in Memphis, TN – the home of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who was supposed to take on Rashad Evans in the main or co-main event.  As it were, ‘Rampage’ decided to take some time off from fighting and we ended up with the lightweight champion BJ Penn defending his title against Diego Sanchez in the main event, with a clash of heavyweights Frank Mir and Cheik Kongo getting the second billing.

Stefan Struve vs. Paul Buentello (HW)

Round 1: Struve leads with a high kick that misses.  Buentello responds with a combination.  Buentello catches a mid kick and Struve pulls guard, but Buentello backs out of it.  Struve stands up and lands a huge uppercut then trips Paul down and lands into mount.  Buentello gives up his back and Struve locks in a body triangle.  Struve lands a few punches from the back then patiently works for a choke.  Buentello defends well.  Buentello eventually escapes and ends up on top guard, and they trade elbows as the round ends. Round 10-9 Struve

Round 2: Struve kicks, misses, and falls.  Buentello lets him stand up.  Struve pushes Buentello up against the fence.  Buentello lands punches to the body and head.  Struve dives down for a leg lock but Buentello evades.  Struve is back up and launches a flying knee but gets swatted out of mid-air by Buentello’s counter.  Struve is dazed but Buentello wants no part of ground game and lets him back up again.   Struve clinches then unloads a flurry on Buentello against the cage.  Buentello responds in kind and the last minute of the round is an absolute slugfest with both fighters trading punches with no regard for defense.  Round 10-9 Buentello

Round 3: Struve continues with the leg kicks and knees to the body.  Buentello responds with jabs and punch combinations but is getting picked apart by leg kicks.  Buentello looks unsteady on his legs as Struve finds a rhythm, alternating leg kicks with occasional punches and knees.   With less that a minute left, Buentello drops an off-balance Struve with a punch but lets him up again.  Struve looks tired and Buentello unloads with a flurry to finish out the round.  Round 10-10 draw

Stefan Struve wins a majority decision with the scores of 29-28, 29-28,28-28

Aftermath: This turned out to be an unexpectedly exciting fight.  Stefan Struve earns the third consecutive win after losing his UFC debut to Junior dos Santos.  The 6’11” Struve is certain to be a force in the years to come, but for now should get another couple of tune-up fights before jumping into title contention.  Michael Russow would be a good next fight for Struve.

Paul Buentello comfortably returns to the gatekeeper position in the heavyweight division, after being absent from the UFC for a couple of years.  I’d like to see him take on ‘TUF’ Season 10 winner Roy Nelson next.

Fight Grade: 4.5/5

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