WEC 36 Fallout

Big ups to Mike Brown for taking care of business with Urijah Faber but I’ll still take Faber in a rematch any day of the week. Everything Brown is good at, Faber is just that much better. I don’t want to say Brown got lucky because we know he has power and we know that he is very good, but had Faber not thrown that silly elbow would we even be talking about Mike Brown today? My guess is no. Faber got way too overconfident with that elbow and jumped directly into a solid right hand. My guess is that next time Faber will be more cautious, as well he should be. An immediate rematch seems very likely and I’ll bet on Faber again for sure.

Paulo Filho lost himself a spot in the world’s top MMA organization last night. The performance that he put on was one of the most horrendous performances in the history of MMA. The fact that Filho weighed in seven pounds over showed that he clearly did not care about making weight for the fight. I mean, coming in two pounds or one pound overweight is understandable. But seven pounds? It doesn’t get much more unprofessional. And the unprofessionalism carried over into the fight as well. Whether it be personal demons, drugs, whatever, Filho needs to get himself together and do it quick or he’s not going to be relevant much longer in MMA. For someone with as much talent as he possesses it is a crying shame that he clearly doesn’t give a rat’s ass.

Leonard Garcia is very legit at 145 lbs. At 155 he was overpowered and outsized but 145 lbs. looks to be perfect for him. He has fast hands, good boxing, knockout power, a decent ground game, and most important of all: gameness. He’s made a strong case for a shot at the title at 145 lbs. with wins over Hiroyuki Takaya and Pulver.

Jake Rosholt, as good as he is, needs big time work on his standup. I fear for him in the UFC’s middleweight division. Even though it’s not their strongest division, it is a division which will give someone as one dimensional as Rosholt some major problems. Rosholt looked great in his wrestling and ground game last night, don’t get me wrong. But his standup, specifically his standup defense, was atrocious. The UFC, who is likely banking on Rosholt to become a future star, will have to be very careful with who they match him up with. Beating Osterneck was a very solid win for him, but the damage he took during the fight must be minimized in the future.

In other news this week…

TUF 8 is awful

I’ve been harping on how terrible this show is for the past few seasons for a long, long time now as have many other people. But peeing in fruit and letting the other team eat it and then retaliating by masturbating onto sushi? That’s just downright ridiculous. The show has officially jumped the shark if it hadn’t already done so. The show has been terrible and stale for a long time now but it officially reached a new low with last night’s episode. Poor showing on Dana White’s part to even be involved in putting that product on television and putting his seal of approval on it. When there’s piss, sperm, and the threat of feces involved it’s time to take a step back and ask how this show stooped so low.

ProElite is auctioning itself off

And using banner ads on MMA websites to do so. Does it get much more tacky? It’s like an infomercial. “You too can own your very own KIMBO SLICE! Or Frank Shamrock! Highest bidder wins, wins, wins!” Not to mention the fact that it’s a total dick move to all the fighters that their contracts will be held up in some ridiculous auction. Guys like Dave Herman, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, etc. are being held in limbo when they could be out actively searching for employment, getting paid, and looking for better opportunities. The company is a complete and total joke and this stunt is just one more incident in a long line of stupid, stupd incidents. Here’s to hoping these fighters somehow find a way to get out of the contracts or that someone with some sense buys the company and its assets.

Denis Kang signs a four-fight deal with the UFC

This is a very strong addition to the UFC’s middleweight division even if Kang has lost some fights recently. He’s still young, he’s still a very explosive fighter, and has a lot of fights left in him. His first fight, however, will most likely be a tough one as the UFC’s middleweight division, while not their best, is still very competitive. Even a fight againt someone like Jason MacDonald could be a dangerous fight for Kang. Nice addition to the weight class, though, for sure. Kang is skilled, has the look, and is a commodity for foreign expansion. Solid move by the UFC to nab him.

Pat Miletich returns at Adrenaline MMA 2

Okay, first of all, who thought Adrenaline MMA 2 would be a good idea? Anyone? I can’t think of a single person who has been all “Man, I really wish Adrenaline would run another show.” You know why? Because the first Adrenaline show was terrible. Now, that being said, can anyone imagine a good reason for Pat Miletich to get back into the sport right now? I certainly can’t, especially not against Thomas Denny who can be a dangerous opponent if given an opening. I’m not one to tell a legend when he should hang up the gloves but this is dicey. Let’s just say that I’d much rather see Miletich coaching up and coming athletes rather than getting back into fighting himself.

WEC 36

Urijah Faber was unable to defend his title against Mike Brown and was defeated in the first round via TKO. Brown stood with Faber for the opening moments of the fight and Faber ate some good shots that sent him reeling into the cage. Upon rebounding from the cage, Faber tried to throw a back elbow and ended up running directly into a right hand that hit on the button. From there Brown took Faber’s back and rained down blows upon the champion, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

After the fight Faber said that he just made a small mistake and that Brown was able to capitalize on it. It would appear that Faber, due to his stature within the company and his long title reign, will most likely receive an immediate rematch.

In other action, Chael Sonnen was able to grind out a unanimous decision victory over an extremely sluggish and ill prepared Paulo Filho. Filho was unable to mount any kind of offense as Sonnen tried to keep the fight standing for the most part. The first round mostly played out with Filho on his back and Sonnen standing, kicking Filho’s legs and landing a punch from time to time while the other two rounds were spent mostly on the feet with Sonnen picking apart Filho with jabs and straight left hands. While not the most exciting of fights, Sonnen was able to execute his strategy and grind out the victory over an opponent that many consider one of the best middleweights in the world.

In a clash of two former UFC fighters, Jens Pulver took an unexpected loss to Leonard Garcia via TKO in the first round. Both fighters came out willing to trade punches and Garcia got the better of the exchange by landing a mean left hook and then a right hand that rocked Pulver back against the cage. Garcia smelled blood and pounced in for the finish, loading up bombs and dropping them on Pulver against the cage, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Garcia told the crowd afterwards that he wanted a shot at the featherweight title whether it be Mike Brown or Urijah Faber. Garcia has made a strong case for a title shot after knocking out Hiroyuki Takaya and taking it to Jens Pulver on the feet.

In a fight between two middleweight prospects, Jake Rosholt was able to control his fight with Nissen Osterneck with his top level wrestling. It’s clear that Rosholt has some work to do in the standup as Osterneck routinely dominated him whenever the fight was standing. Rosholt’s chin proved strong and his ground control was excellent as he weathered the storm in the striking game and was able to take the fight to the ground when he wanted. Every time the fight hit the ground it was all Rosholt and he was able to mount Osterneck in the secound round and pound out a TKO victory.

Full results from the card are below:

MAIN CARD

Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber by TKO (Strikes) at 2:23, Round 1
Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho by Unanimous Decision
Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver by TKO (Strikes) at 1:12, Round 1
Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck by TKO (Strikes) at 3:48, Round 2
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by Unanimous Decision

PRELIMINARY CARD

Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, Round 1
Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias by TKO (Strikes) at 2:54, Round 2
Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by Split Decision
Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookins by TKO (Strikes) at 0:45, Round 3
Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan via KO (Punch) 00:18, Round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD

Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, Round 1
Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias by TKO (Strikes) at 2:54, Round 2
Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by Split Decision
Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookins by TKO (Strikes) at 0:45, Round 3
Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan via KO (Punch) 00:18, Round 1

MAIN CARD

Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber by TKO (Strikes) at 2:23, Round 1
Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho by Unanimous Decision
Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver by TKO (Strikes) at 1:12, Round 1
Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck by TKO (Strikes) at 3:48, Round 2
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by Unanimous Decision

The Fighters: WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown

The Records: Faber (21-1 MMA 6-0 WEC) Brown (19-4 MMA 1-0 WEC)

How Faber got here: Simply put, Faber is the best mixed martial arts fighter at 145lbs in the world. Some pundits may argue this point by mentioning Kid Yamamoto, but he neither has the consistent fights nor the resume at 145lbs to rival Faber. Faber has not only shown his dominance over the last two years in the WEC, but has shown marked improvement over the time period as well. Faber’s only loss is early in his career to a very good Tyson Griffin. Faber is coming off the two biggest wins of his Career in Jeff Curran and Jens Pulver. Brown is facing the best fighter in the world at the height of his abilities.

How Brown got here: Mike Thomas Brown has quietly established himself as an elite fighter at this or any weight class. Brown is a veteran of over 20 fights in his 7+ year career, with stops in the UFC, DEEP, Bodog, and WEC just to name a few. Brown combines toughness and experience to give his opponents fits in the cage. He is an excellent grappler with a full array of submissions and very underrated ground and pound game. Brown’s only losses in his career were to Hermes Franca, Genki Sudo, Joe Lauzon, and Masakazu Imanari. He rides a seven fight win streak into this title fight and is coming off a huge win over Jeff Curran at WEC 34.

How they match up: This is a pretty straight-forward matchup. Brown is an extremely well-rounded fighter with above average striking, excellent wrestling, and very good BJJ. Unfortunately for him, Faber is measurably better in every one of those areas. There is not one facet of MMA where Faber is not superior to Brown.

My Crystal Marble says: There is no way a man educated in MMA could logically choose Brown to beat Faber. The only words of support I can muster for the always-tough Brown is anyone can win on any given day in combat sports. But short of catching Faber sticking his chin where it doesn’t belong, I can’t envision any possible scenario that Brown wins this fight. Accounting for Brown’s toughness and sheer power of will, I see Faber winning via TKO in round 3.

The Fighters: WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho vs Chael Sonnen

The Records: Filho (16-0 MMA 2-0 WEC) vs Sonnen (20-9-1 MMA 3-0 WEC)

How Filho got here: Sometimes analysts and “experts” throw the adjective “talented” around too loosely in this sport. Filho is an exception to that statement. Filho is one of the most physically and technically gifted fighters in MMA. Filho is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt who combines freakish strength with technical ability that some Gracies might be jealous of when the lights go dim. Although he does not have a ton of experience he has proven his mettle against some of the best in the world and has never tasted defeat. Filho comes into this fight fresh off a trip to rehab and almost a whole year off from competition. His last fight was a second round submission victory over the very same Sonnen last December.

How Sonnen got here: Sonnen is one of the excellent wrestlers-turned-MMA fighters out of Team Quest. Sonnen has fought in both 185lbs and 205lbs, but his only loss at 185lbs is against Filho. Sonnen has had stints in the UFC and Bodog as well as assorted other promotions over his career. Sonnen has one six out of his last seven fights and is coming into the title fight off a win over previously undefeated Bryan Baker.

How they match up: Sonnen did a good job of getting the jump on Filho in the striking department in their last fight, and had even hurt him a few times. Once Filho got warmed up and his head in the fight, he made quick work of Sonnen on the ground. As good as Sonnen’s wrestling and ground and pound can be, he is truly no match for Filho on the ground. Sonnen needs to win this fight in the feet. Filho has expressed on several occasions that he has great difficulty in making 185lbs and has outgrown the weight class. Filho has gone so far as to blame his last two sluggish performances on the weight cut. If this behavior continues Sonnen may be able to get to Filho early again.

My Crystal Marble says: Filho is coming from the darkest depths back to the title. Assuming his demons are behind him and the weight cut is done properly, Sonnen has nothing for him in this fight. But those are big assumptions and hard to look past. With all things considered Filho’s talent is exceptional enough to overcome most of his issues. I see Filho winning with another submission win over Chael Sonnen late in the first round.

The Fighters: “Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

The Records: McCullough (16-4 MMA 7-2 WEC) vs. Cerrone (8-0 MMA 1-0 WEC 1 NC)

How McCullough got here: McCullough is the former lightweight champion of the WEC trying to fight his way back into title contention. McCullough is a well-liked veteran of the sport who has fought for the WEC since the beginning of the promotion. He is an expert in Muay Thai but is somewhat limited in the grappling department. McCullough lost his WEC lightweight title to Jamie Varner at WEC 32 but rebounded with a win over Kenneth Alexander at WEC 34.

How Cerrone got here: Cerrone is a member of Greg Jackson’s MMA team in New Mexico and sports an undefeated record. Cerrone is a talented Muay Thai fighter with suprisingly excellent submissions. Seven of his eight wins are via submission. In his first WEC fight against Kenneth Alexander Cerrone won via submission in the first round but tested positive for a diuretic and was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commision. Since coming back from his suspension he has a win over Danny Castillo via first round submission at WEC 34.

How they match up: This is going to be a battle of position. Can McCullough keep the fight on the feet where he stands the best chance of winning, or will Cerrone take McCullough down and exploit his weak ground game? McCullough has not shown the best takedown defense in past defeats, and even though he has most likely trained his sprawl and brawl style for the last few months, Cerrone is too good at imposing his will in fights. Cerrone does have a tendancy of sticking his chin out when he throws combinations and will have to watch that McCullough does not make him pay for his lack of technical prowess.

My Crystal Marble says: McCullough definitely has a chance of catching Cerrone here as the striking favors him, but as soon as this fight hits the floor Cerrone has a significant edge over McCullough. Look for Cerrone to be cautious but win via submission in the second round.

The Fighters: Jens ” Little Evil” Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia

The Records: Pulver (22-9-1 MMA 1-1 WEC) vs. Garcia (15-3 MMA 2-0 WEC)

How Pulver got here: Pulver is the former lightweight champion of the UFC and is coming off a featherweight title loss to Urijiah Faber. Pulver is an extremely experienced fighter who has fought in both the UFC and Pride in his nine year career. Pulver is mostly known for his knockout power in his left hand and has fought the best lightweights in the world in BJ Penn and Takanori Gomi. This is his first fight back since the title loss to Faber.

How Garcia got here: Garcia had a breakout performance in the UFC against Roger Huerta at lightweight in which he lost the fight but won fight of the night honors. Garcia went 1-2 in his 3 fight UFC career, but showed tremendous heart and won over the fans. Garcia is coming off a huge win over previously top ten ranked Hiroyuki Takaya at WEC 32.

How they match up: This is going to be a brawl. Both of these guys are straight-up sluggers. Neither like to back down and both have tremendous chins. Pulver is the more experienced and quite frankly has more tools in the tool belt. Garcia has very good ground and pound but I would have to give the grappling edge to Pulver. Pulver possesses one-punch knockout power that not many at 145lbs truly possess.

My Crystal Marble says: This will be a barn-burner and should have the crowd at the edge of its seat. That being said, Pulver is just a little bit better than Garcia at every facet of fight except conditioning. But in a three round fight I cannot see Pulver losing a decision to Garcia. Look for Pulver to win a hard fought unanimous decision.

The Fighters: Rani Yahya vs. Yoshiro Maeda

The Records: Yahya (12-4 MMA 1-1 WEC) vs. Maeda (23-5-2 MMA 1-1 WEC)

How Yahya got here: Yahya is unquestionably the best submission grappler in the world at 135lbs. Yahya is a prize pupil of the legendary Rickson Gracie. Yahya has fought some of the best in the world but is coming off two straight losses. Yahya lost to former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beede in a gutsy unanimous decision loss, and then to arguably the most talented fighter in the world at 135lbs in Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto in a TKO loss last New Years eve.

How Maeda got here: Maeda is a former King of Pancrase and DEEP champion who has recently made the trek over to the USA. Maeda is a talented striker who also possesses an extremely slick submission attack. Maeda is coming off a title loss to current Bantamweight stud Miguel Torres. In that fight Maeda gave Torres everything he could handle in a fight of the year candidate before finally losing via doctor stoppage after the third round.

How they match up: This is going to be two Tasmanian devils going at it. This will be a traditional striker versus grappler matchup, although I am sure Maeda is not scared to go to the ground with Yahya. But is Maeda tests the waters one to many times on the floor with Yahya, it will be his downfall. Maeda stands a much better chance of catching Yahya on his feet with strikes as Yahya’s striking is sloppy and somewhat rudimentary.

My Crystal Marble says: Yahya is an absolute wizard on the ground, and although Maeda is a very good grappler, Yahya is in another universe. Assuming Yahya doesn’t volunteer his chin to Maeda, this will be over shortly after it hits the floor. My dark-horse pick for fight of the night. Look for Yahya to win via submission in round two.

The Fighters: Jake Rosholt vs. Nissen Osterneck

The Records: Rosholt (4-0 MMA) vs. Osterneck (5-0 MMA)

How Rosholt got here: Rosholt is a newcomer to the WEC and a three time NCAA division 1 wrestling champion. Rosholt is a member of Team Takedown and studies BJJ under Marc Laimon at Cobra Kai. Rosholt is an extremely strong wrestler and grappler with improving striking.

How Osterneck got here: Osterneck is a excellent BJJ fighter out of South Carolina. Osterneck is a world-class grappler and has trained BJJ under Relson Gracie. Osterneck’s striking coach is Maurice Travis and this is his first appearance in the WEC.

How they match up: This is a very intriguing matchup on a few different levels. On paper Rosholt should be the favorite in this fight as traditionally national level wrestlers have done well in MMA. But at 4-0, Osterneck might be too much too soon for Rosholt. Osterneck is no joke on the ground and has excellent striking as well. Rosholt may actually favor keeping this fight on the feet as he may stand a better chance out-striking Osterneck.

My Crystal Marble says: Rosholt is the prized prospect here and all the pressure is on him to perform up to expectations. But Rosholt is a three time national champion and can obviously handle pressure on a high level. I think he will have an extremely difficult time with Osterneck but will prevail in the end. Look for a unanimous decision victory for Jake Rosholt.

The card had been confirmed by the WEC, and will feature a main event bout between WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and challenger Mike Brown and a middleweight championship fight between Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen. Leonard Garcia and Jens Pulver are scheduled for featherweight action as well.

For those without Versus, we invite you to our LIVE PLAY BY PLAY of WEC 36

MAIN CARD

* Champ Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown (for featherweight title)

* Champ Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)

* Leonard Garcia vs. Jens Pulver

* Nissen Osterneck vs. Jake Rosholt

* Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough

PRELIMINARY CARD

* David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson

* Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Brookins

* Steve Steinbeiss vs. Alex Schoenauer

* Danny Castillo vs. Ed Ratcliff

* Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yayha

He joins Bart Palaszewski, L.C. Davis, and Wagnney Fabiano as IFL refugees that have been recently added to the WEC roster.

In addition to having competed in the IFL, Schoenauer also appeared on the first-ever season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality television series in 2005. He competed for the UFC during the live season finale of TUF 1 on April 9, 2005, suffering a knockout loss at the hands of Mike Swick at just 20 seconds of round 1.

Schoenauer is 14-9, according to Sherdog’s fight finder, and last competed in April, where he recorded a split decision over Brendan Barrett during an IFL show at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. He holds notable victories in his career over Allan Goes and Travis Wiuff.

It also appears as if WEC newcomer John Franchi is off the card as well with Jonathan Brookins reportedly now slated to face Jose Aldo.

WEC 36 will emanate from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. and will feature Urijah Faber defending his WEC featherweight title against Mike Thomas Brown along with WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho defending his crown against Chael Sonnen.

The event, which will emanate from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Holly, Fla. will also featured WEC middleweight title defense by Paulo Filho against Chael Sonnen.

Other matches officially announced Wednesday by the WEC include former NCAA champion Jake Rosholt taking on American Top Team black belt Danillo Villefort, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. “Razor” Rob McCullough, Rani Yayha vs. Yoshiro Maeda, Ed Ratcliff vs. Danny Castillo, Tim McKenzie vs. David Avellan, and former NCAA champion Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov.

This could be the WEC’s deepest card in history from top-to-bottom.

The news was revealed earlier in a report by MMAWeekly.com.

According to MMA Weekly, the former Oklahoma State competitor if off the card vs. Steve Steinbeiss due to an undisclosed injury.

Steinbess, who trains out of Trevor and Todd Lally’s Arizona Combat Sports, could remain on the card against a new opponent.

The WEC’s Sept. 10 event, to be televised on VERSUS starting at 9 p.m. ET, will feature two title fights involving WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber taking on Mike Thomas Brown and WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho squaring off against Chael Sonnen. Former NCAA champions Jake Rosholt and Johny Hendricks are scheduled to make their debuts as well.

Tomorrow night at 11 p.m. ET on ION television in the States will be another installment of BodogFIGHT: New Jersey. The main event for the show will be a bout between Jorge Masvidal and Yves Edwards. I saw the match live and it was one of the better fights on the show.

Masvidal really impressed me and he’s someone that you could be hearing  more about in the future. If reports are true that Bodog is making cutbacks and Masvidal becomes available, he’d be a great fit for either the UFC, WEC, or EliteXC.