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Rolando Perez (4-2-1) vs. Seth “2 Quik†Dikun (6-3-0)
Rolando Perez made his WEC debut at WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone in a losing effort to Jose Aldo, who defeated him by knockout. Before coming to the WEC, Rolando Perez competed in the Total Combat promotion, where six of his seven fights occurred in. While in Total Combat, Rolando Perez gained victories over Raymond Gomez, Jamie Fisher, Kenneth Mendoza and Nick Alvarado. Rolando Perez will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with three victories coming by way of submission. Seth Dikun made his WEC at the same event as his opponent Rolando Perez, WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone. Seth Dikun is also a veteran of the California Xtreme Fighting promotion, where he defeated Martin Bautista and lost to Joey Alvarado. Seth Dikun also spent time in the Palace Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Angelo Antuna. Seth Dikun will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with three previous victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Rolando Perez
WEC Bantamweight Division Fight
Frank Gomez (6-1-0) vs. Noah “The Red†Thomas (13-4-0)
Frank Gomez made his WEC debut at WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone in a losing effort to Scott Jorgensen, who defeated him by submission. Prior to the loss, Frank Gomez was on a six fight undefeated streak that includes victories over Elbert Randle, Chris Duenas, Brandon Jinnies, Andy Miranda, Eddie Armandarez and Matt Ott. Of his seven professional fights, only one of them has gone to a decision, which speaks to Frank Gomez’s finishing abilities. Frank Gomez will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with four victories coming by knockout. Noah Thomas will be making his WEC debut in this fight and he will be entering the fight on a seven fight win streak that has lasted over two years. Noah Thomas is a well traveled MMA veteran who has competed in promotions like Kickdown Classic, Ring Of Fire, TKO and Worldwide Fighting Championship. Noah Thomas made his mark in the MMA universe three years ago in 2006, when he fought nine times in that year. Noah Thomas will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with nine prior victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Noah Thomas
WEC Bantamweight Division Fight
Scott Jorgensen (6-2-0) vs. Antonio Banuelos (15-5-0)
Scott Jorgensen has had a pretty successful run thus far in the WEC, with victories over Kenji Osawa and Frank Gomez, with a lone loss coming to Damacio Page. Scott Jorgensen also made an appearance in Sho XC, where he defeated Chris David by unanimous decision. Scott Jorgensen has also competed in the Ring Of Fire promotion, where he defeated Louie Lagunsad and Tyler Toner. Scott Jorgensen will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with three victories coming by way of submission. Antonio Banuelos is a longtime veteran of the WEC, where he defeated Mike Lindquist, Ed Tomaselli, James Cottrell, Cole Escovedo, Mike French and Justin Robbins, while suffering defeats to Jeff Bedard, Eddie Wineland, Charlie Valencia and Manny Tapia. Antonio Banuelos most recently competed in the Palace Fighting Championships promotion, where he defeated Bryan Goldsby. This fight against Scott Jorgensen will mark the first fight of 2009 for Antonio Banuelos, s conditioning could become a factor in the fight. Antonio Banuelos will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the win, with seven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Scott Jorgensen
WEC Lightweight Division Fight
Mike “The Beast†Campbell (4-1-0) vs. Anthony “Showtime†Pettis (6-0-0)
Mike Campbell made an unsuccessful WEC debut at WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone, where he lost to Danillo Villefort by knockout. Before coming to the WEC, Mike Campbell primarily fought in the Reality Fighting promotion, where he defeated Jason Dublin, Justin Hammerturn and Brendan Hoxie. Mike Campbell has made MMA history at Reality Fighting: Domination in 2007, where he defeated Justin Hammerturn by knockout in only four seconds with a head kick. Mike Campbell will be looking to use his striking skills to gain the victory, with three prior wins coming by knockout. Anthony Pettis will be making his WEC debut in this fight, but he has spent his entire career in the Gladiators Fighting Series promotion. While in the Gladiator Fighting Series promotion, he defeated Michael Skinner, George Barrazza, Mike Lambrecht, Sherron Leggett, Jay Ellis and Gabe Wallbridge. Thus far in his professional MMA career, Anthony Pettis has had only one of his six career fights go past the opening round, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Anthony Pettis is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with five victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Anthony Pettis
WEC Bantamweight Division Fight
Rafael Rebello (5-3-0) vs. Kyle Dietz (5-0-0)
Rafael Rebello made his WEC debut at WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia in a losing effort to Kenji Osawa by split decision. Rafael Rebello is a veteran of the Pacific Xtreme Combat, Combat Fighting Championships and Absolute Fighting Championships promotions. Before suffering the loss to Kenji Osawa at WEC 39, Rafael Rebello was on a four fight winning streak that lasted over a year. Rafael Rebello is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with four victories coming by knockout and submission. Kyle Dietz is an undefeated fighter who has spent the majority of his career in the Extreme Challenge promotion. While in Extreme Challenge, Kyle Dietz defeated Justin Shipman, John Swanburg, Mitch Theisman and Steven Vuser. Kyle Dietz has only competed once outside of the Extreme Challenge promotion, where he defeated Javier Barrera by knockout in the Courage Fighting Championships promotion. Kyle Dietz will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with three prior victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Kyle Dietz
WEC Featherweight Division Fight
Manny “Pitbull†Cambrian (8-4-0) vs. John Franchi (5-0-0)
Manny Gamburyan will be making his WEC debut in this fight, but he is a longtime veteran of the UFC, which he entered after a sting on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 5. While in the UFC, Manny Gamburyan defeated Nate Mohr and Jeff Cox, while suffering losses to Nate Diaz, Rob Emerson and Thiago Tavares. Before coming to the WEC and UFC, Manny Gamburyan fought other top MMA fighters like Sean Sherk, Sam Morgan and Jorge Santiago. Of his twelve professional fights, nine of them have ended within the first round for Manny Gamburyan, which speaks to his finishing abilities. Manny Gamburyan will be looking to put this fight on the ground, with six previous victories coming by submission. John Franchi made his WEC debut at WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia by defeating Mike Budnik by split decision. Before making his WEC debut, John Franchi spent time in the now defunct International Fight League, where he defeated Frank Latina by submission. John Franchi will be riding a five fight undefeated streak into the fight, the streak has currently lasted over two years. John Franchi is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with four victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Manny Gamburyan
(Note: I will be doing live coverage of WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II on Sunday June 7th at 9pm. EST. right here on PWInsiderXtra.com)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
