According to NSAC, the fighters tested were Carlos Condit, Hiromitsu Miura, Brian Stann, Steve Cantwell, Jamie Varner, Marcus Hicks, Brian Bowles, Josh Grispi, Brock Larson, and Scott Jorgensen.

According to information forwarded to FiveOuncesOfPain.com by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, WEC 35 this past Sunday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino had just two tickets that went unsold or unused.

The total paid attendance for the event was 734 for a total paid gate of $116,9000. In addition to the two unsold tickets, there were 272 complementary tickets for the event distributed.

With the WEC continuing to expand its presence and roster of talent, the days of running shows in the intimate confines of the Hard Rock could be nearing an end.

Sunday night was yet another shining example of why the WEC is the best representative of our sport to the mainstream public. Despite being held in a small concert venue at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, WEC 35 looked like a major league event: strong production; fast pacing; a display of a variety of fighting styles; and compelling matchmaking.

With four fights guaranteed for the telecast and three of them being title fights, the WEC still managed to squeeze in six total fights in a telecast that clocked in just slightly over two hours. Thanks to an early-arriving crowd in attendance to see a strong undercard, the insertion of bouts between Josh Grispi vs. Micah Miller and Brock Larson vs. Carlo Prater in the live telecast looked seamless and appeared as if the bouts were airing live when in reality, they were being shown on a tape-delay basis.

VERSUS was able to show the two additional bouts because they ended early, but that is just typical of the WEC: everything breaks right for them during their shows.

Well, maybe not everything, as one of its most marketable fights, Brian Stann, suffered an upset to Steve Cantwell, losing the WEC light heavyweight title in the process. Stann, a retired Marine lieutenant and Silver Star recipient, had defeated Cantwell in convincing fashion close to a year and a half ago. However, a much-improved Cantwell was well-prepared for Stann’s dangerous, but limited, offensive arsenal.

“No disrespect, but he does need to mix it up more,” Cantwell said during his post-fight interview with commentator Todd Harris. “He did exactly what I thought he was going to do.”

Stann is still new to the sport and there were existing questions about his ground game. After last night, there are now questions about his standup. No one can question Stann’s punching power and his chin, but he lacked the diverse striking skills that Cantwell put on display.

While the loss of Stann probably wasn’t what the WEC wanted, the quality of their main event was everything they wanted and more. Carlos Condit’s successful welterweight title defense over former middleweight Hiromitsu Miura is a bout that is worthy of Match of the Year consideration.

The Condit vs. Miura fight proved to be a war that offered the viewer great parity. On several occasions during the four round affair it appeared as if Miura was on the verge of pulling off the second major upset of the night.

The end came at 4:43 of round four when Condit was declared the winner via TKO after referee Josh Rosenthal called a stop to the bout. Just seconds earlier, Miura appeared to be on the verge of winning after executing a sweep on the ground that put him in top position. From Condit’s guard, Miura unleashed a fury of punches that a visibly exhausted Condit was having trouble defending. However, a spent Miura stopped firing strikes and eventually a scramble allowed Condit to get back to his feet and deliver a knee to the face of an out-of-position Miura.

The end of the fight was cause for some controversy on several highly-visible MMA message forums as some felt it was an early stoppage. While Condit’s knee strike was delivered to the face of Miura’s, it also appeared to be soft. Also appearing soft were the punches Condit delivered to Miura after the fight went to the ground following the knee strike. Rosenthal felt compelled to stop the fight because Miura was making no attempt to defend the punches.

“Right at the end, when I hit him with that knee, I knew he was hurt,” Condit said of the ending sequence. “Most of the time, when he would go down, he would kind of turtle up and then explode out of it. But that time, he didn’t really move.”

After the fight was stopped, an exhausted Miura laid on his back on the mat for an extended period of time. Based on Miura’s inability to get back on his feet, it’s hard to fathom why so many people were outraged by the stoppage. Could it be that a sentimental attachment was developed for the underdog who put on an amazing performance and was in striking distance of pulling an upset?

While Condit looked good at various points of the fight, it was also the first time he had been tested since arriving in the WEC.

“It ranks up there with the toughest fights I’ve had,” he said after the victory. “I was tired. I didn’t really have a lot left. It was all heart,” he said. “He definitely had me in danger, but he never had me hurt. He was landing shots, but he never really buzzed me or rang my bell.”

Despite appearing to be in shape, Condit began to experience labored breathing early on in the fight. However, it’s possible that he was a victim of taking damage early on from Miura’s strong standup display. On the ground, Condit looked like a lightweight battling a middleweight at times. A skilled submission specialist, Condit’s wrestling did not look good as Miura was able to reverse position on multiple occasions.

Despite looking less-than-dominant for a change, Condit was able to improve his overall MMA record to 23-5 and his WEC record to 5-0. With notable wins over John Alessio, Larson, Prater, and now Miura, he is left without an obvious challenger. Larson looked outstanding during his undercard win over Prater, but having already received a title shot a year ago, it remains to be seen whether there is just cause for a rematch.

Additional thoughts:

– Jamie Varner looked outstanding in his first defense of the WEC lightweight title. However, despite a losing effort, Marcus Hicks still managed to impress by being able to absorb an extreme amount of punishment. While the fight only lasted 2:08 and was largely one-sided, it was still extremely entertaining.

Hicks has a professional boxing background and had learned a strong guillotine as a way to counter fighters who tried to take him down. Varner escaped a guillotine attempt by Hicks and after the fight revealed that he had spent months trying to defend the hold.

“I wasn’t worried about (the guillotine) during the fight, but I was worried about the position during training,” Varner said after the fight. “We put a lot of work into defending the guillotine. (During a fight), I just react and let my training take over.”

After the fight, Varner seemed to be under the impression that a lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Rob McCullough to be held during the WEC’s Sept. show will determine his next opponent. Varner won the title from McCullough earlier this year.

– 19-year old Josh Grispi needed just 0:50 of round 1 to finish 21-year old Micah Miller. Miller, the brother of UFC lightweight Cole Miller, had been rather boastful leading up to the fight. However, it was the New England-based Grispi who improved his WEC record to 2-0 with wins over Miller and Mark Hominick. Training out of Southshore Sportfighting in Boston, Grispi now also had an overall record of 9-1.

– Team Takedown member and former NCAA wrestling standout Shane Roller was victorious in his WEC debut, submitting Todd Moore in round 1. Roller accepted the bout on short notice after Alex Karalexis had to pull out with an injury. Roller’s teammates, former NCAA champions Jake Rosholt and Johny Hendricks, will make their WEC debuts during the promotion’s next card on Sept. 10.

– Several fighters were shown on camera, including UFC light heavyweight Rashad Evans as well as WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.

– The next fighter to get a shot at Torres could be Brian Bowles. Bowles improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the WEC after a first round submission over Damacio Page during the show’s televised opener.

– The WEC returns to VERSUS with WEC 36 Wednesday (in order to avoid competing with the NFL on Sunday), Sept. 10 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Headlining the show will be two title bouts: Faber will defend his WEC featherweight title vs. number one contender Mike Brown and Paulo Filho will return to defend his WEC middleweight title in a rematch vs. Chael Sonnen.

Former NCAA champions Rosholt, Hendricks, and Mark Munoz will all also be on the card. Rosholt will take on American Top Team black belt Danillo Villefort; Hendricks will face Alex Serdyukov; and Munoz will square off against Steve Steinbeiss.

Other bouts include McCullough vs. Cerrone and a yet-to-be confirmed bout between light heavyweights Tim McKenzie and Doug “Rhino” Marshall. The winners of the two bouts could earn title shots. Jens Pulver could also be added to the card.

Main Card:

• Carlos Condit*** def. Hiromitsu Miura via TKO at 4:43 of round four
• Steve Cantwell** def. Brian Stann via TKO at 4:01 of round two
• Jamie Varner* def. Marcus Hicks via TKO at 2:08 of round one
• Brian Bowles def. Damacio Page via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:30 of round one

***Carlos Condit retains WEC welterweight championship
**Steve Cantwell becomes the new WEC light heavyweight champion
*Jamie Varner retains WEC lightweight championship

Undercard:

• Scott Jorgensen def. Kenji Osawa via unanimous decision
• Mike Budnik def. Greg McIntrye via submission (triangle choke) at 3:21 of round three
• Shane Roller def. Todd Moore via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:00 of round one
• Blas Avena def. Dave Terrel via TKO at 1:07 of round one
• Brock Larson def. Carlo Prater via TKO at :37 of round one
• Josh Grispi def. Micah Miller via TKO at :50 of round one

That being said, tonight’s card on VERSUS (9 p.m. ET, check local listings for channel listing) is too good to miss with three title fights scheduled.

I actually intended to get this preview out earlier but there has just been too much going on. Without further delay, here is a television preview of tonight’s show from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura for Condit’s WEC welterweight title - Condit is one of the most underrated fighters in the game right now and has one of the most intense game faces you’ll ever see in the sport. Nicknamed the “Natural Born Killer,” Condit truly has the look of a killer on his face while entering the cage. There’s mean muggin’ before a fight, and then there is a stare of death. Condit has the latter as opposed to the former.

Undefeated in the WEC at 4-0, there’s not a welterweight fighter currently on the roster that can hang with him, and that includes Muira, who is making the move down from middleweight. Upon entering the WEC, Condit was known primarily as a submission specialist. All four of his wins in the WEC have come via submission but his striking has made major improvements and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him test it tonight vs. Miura.

After losing his WEC debut to Jason “Mayhem” Miller in May of 2007, Miura has gone 2-0 with wins over Blas Avena and Fernando Gonzalez. I guess Miura is as deserving of anyone on the WEC roster of this title shot, but I still don’t expect for him to really be able to challenge Condit for very long.

Miura has the better hands, but Condit is the more versatile striker of the two and on the ground, there’s no contest.

Prediction: Condit via first round submission.

Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks for Varner’s WEC lightweight title - Before coming to the WEC, Varner produced a 1-1 record in the UFC and is clearly capable of competing in the UFC lightweight division.

However, 155 lbs. is pretty stacked in the UFC so it makes more sense for him to compete in the WEC, where he can be a big fish in a small pond. That being said, he will eventually force a move back to the UFC because he is simply head and shoulders above his competition right now.

Varner trains out of Arizona Combat Sports, which is where fighters such as C.B. Dollaway, Matt Riddle, Steve and Ray Steinbeiss, Ryan Bader, and many up-and-coming MMA prospects train out of. Strong on the ground, Varner displayed improved boxing skills when he won the lightweight title from “Razor” Rob McCullough at WEC 32 this past February.

His opponent, 8-0 Marcus Hicks earned a shot at the title by improving his WEC record to 3-0 with a win over Ed Ratcliff at WEC 33 this past March. Hicks needed just 1:42 of round 1 to submit Ratliff with a guillotine choke but do not look for him to pull off any submissions in this one as Ratliff is primarily a standup fighter. Against Varner, he will be fighting a much more well-rounded competitor.

Hicks is a more accomplished boxer than Varner but could run into problems because of a reach disadvantage. Hicks is nicknamed the “Wrecking Ball” because at 5’6” and a walk-around weight of close to 170 pounds, he resembles one. He possesses tremendous power and is a good athlete, but he simply doesn’t have the well-rounded skills and experience needed to pull off the upset.

Prediction: Varner via fourth round submission.

Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell for Stann’s WEC light heavyweight title – The fact that we’re seeing this rematch so soon after Stann dominated their first meeting last year is a result of a lack of depth in the WEC’s light heavyweight division. Very little has been done in recent months to address the issue, which gives credence to a lot of rumblings going around that the WEC’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions will be folded and transferred to its sibling-promotion, the UFC.

When will the transfer of the 205′ers take place? Probably not until Stann is deemed ready, and right now, he’s not. He’s a tremendously marketable commodity and but Zuffa will be making a mistake if it moves him into the UFC’s stacked light heavyweight division too soon.

A retired Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps., Stann was awarded the Silver Star after displaying outstanding leadership during a tour in Iraq on a rescue mission in which unit came under fire.

As you can see, Stann’s backstory is tremendous but as a fighter, he’s still very green. Once he got back from Iraq, he immediately turned pro and competed for Matt Lindland’s Sportfight promotion in Oregon as opposed to fighting amateur shows or smaller regional pro shows. He got the call to the WEC after only a few fights, which says a lot because matchmaker Scott Adams normally prefers fighters to have at least 5-6 fights under their belts before being recruited by the promotion.

It’s important to remember that Stann only has six fights under his belt and still has plenty of room to grow. He’s a tremendous puncher and is extremely tough but his overall striking and his ground game still are unproven. The reality is that he’s learning on the job and doing so while a 205 lbs. champion of one of the biggest fight promotions in the world.

Look for Stann to make major strides in those areas over time now that he’s training full-time. Up until earlier this year, Stann was only a part-time fighter due to his military committments. Since moving to Atlanta, he still works a full-time job but his hours are flexible enough that he’s putting in full-time hours at Rory and Adam Singer’s Harcore Gym in Atlanta.

Since losing to Stann, Cantwell has looked much improved, especially after his most recent win over Tim McKenzie. However, Stann was too much the first time and will prove to be too much again tonight.

Prediction: Stann via first round KO.

Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page - Page trains out of Greg Jackson’s and is a solid wrestler. He improved his record to 10-3 following a controversial unanimous decision victory at WEC 32 back in February over former ShoXC fighter Scott Jorgenson, a fight that he took on short notice.

Bowles trains with Brian Stann out of Rory and Adam Singer’s Hardcore Gym in Atlanta and is 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the WEC. Both of his WEC wins have come against strong opposition in the ever-tough Charlie Valencia and ground specialist Marcos Galvao.

This bout could compete for “Fight of the Night,” which is saying a lot when you’re talking about a WEC card. More importantly, the winner could move to the front of the line in regard to the next title shot against current bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.

Prediction: Bowles via unanimous decision.

Micah Miller vs. Josh Grispi - Grispi is extremely young but made it into the WEC based on a strong recommendation from Alex Karalexis. A strong prospect with a lot of upside, Grispi was successful in his WEC debut when he submitted veteran Mark Hominick at 2:55 of round 1 during WEC 32 this past February. But tonight, the New England-based fighter is going to have his hands full with Micah Miller.

Miller, the brother of UFC fighter Cole Miller, could be an eventual challenger to Urijah Faber. Training out of American Top Team and boasting an overall MMA record of 9-1, Miller has the tools needed to make it to the top.

While his standup needs to improve, Miller is a whiz on the ground, which is where I see this fight eventually going. Once it does hit the mat, the advantage goes to Miller.

Prediction: Miller via second round submission.

Marcus Hicks interview after the jump.

“But I feel, me being the champion, I can deal with any one of those guys in the UFC and beat quite a few of them and give any of them a run for their money.”

“I want to fight anyone who is above me. I don’t put too much thought into who I’m going to fight next or anything like that. I focus on improving myself and being the best that I can be. I know that if I reach my potential, then I can beat those guys, I can beat guys like GSP, I can beat guys like (Jon) Fitch. I can fight any of these guys. When I reach my prime, it’s going to be a scary, scary thing for everybody in the welterweight division.”

I think Condit is spot on. He is one of the most underrated welterweights in the world right now. I have no doubt that some day, after he’s cleaned out the WEC’s welterweight division, he’ll make his way into the UFC. And when he does? Look out. Condit is one of these guys that doesn’t look like he’s all that but he has shown time and time again that he is tough as nails, trains extremely hard, and has the overall game to be one of the best fighters in the world. Making Brock Larson and Carlo Prater look like clown shoes is a pretty hard thing to do and Condit made it look easy.

When he makes it to the UFC I have no doubt that he will stir up the division and make a lot of noise. There are some very intriguing matchups for him there and I look forward to seeing him there sooner than later. I understand that ZUFFA is trying to build a brand with the WEC but you can only deny talent for so long and Condit has it in spades.

Davis had been added to the card as a late replacement for Cub Swanson, who broke his hand in training. The report goes on to state that sources close to Takaya’s camp are saying that Takaya turned down the fight against Davis.

Davis was 3-1 with the IFL, his only loss coming in the featherweight grand prix finals against Wagnney Fabiano. He is expected to make his WEC debut sometime later this year.