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FIVE ROUNDS WITH WEC 48: ALDO VS. FABER

This past Saturday night saw the WEC promotion make the leap from the Versus Network to pay-per-view with two exciting title fights and a plethora of awesome under card fights. Despite the well known WEC brand missing from the televised broadcast, the WEC made their mark in the pay-per-view market and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them return in the future.

Round 1: The “California Kid” Came Home Limping

The long anticipated WEC pay-per-view was headlined by California’s own Urijah Faber challenging Jose Aldo for the WEC Featherweight Title. However, instead of the fairytale ending with Urijah Faber being dominant to become champion, he was actually dominated by the champion. Jose Aldo put on a leg kicking seminar that easily rivals that of the Melvin Manhoef/Robbie Lawler fight or the Keith Jardine/Kerry Schall fights. Jose Aldo won the fight by unanimous decision and retained his title, but more importantly, may have replaced Urijah Faber as the king of the WEC Featherweight Division. The only potential knock on the fight could’ve been that Jose Aldo didn’t finish Urijah Faber in the fight, but dominance is dominance either way.

Next Round For Jose Aldo: Manny Gamburyan

Next Round For Urijah Faber: A move up to the WEC Lightweight Division or move down to the WEC Bantamweight Division.

Round 2: The Cowboy Has Been Knocked Off His Horse

Most people believed that Donald Cerrone was screwed out of the WEC Lightweight Title when Ben Henderson defeated him in their first meeting at WEC 43 in October 2009. However, with his destruction of the “Cowboy” at WEC 48, there is no longer any question as to who is the better fighter between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone. Ben Henderson could easily transition to the UFC Lightweight Division when or if the WEC/UFC Lightweight Division merger occurs in the future. However, the friendship between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone will remain untouched, as Donald Cerrone will be attending the wedding of the WEC Lightweight Champion.

Next Round For Ben Henderson: The winner of the Jamie Varner/Kamal Shalorus fight.

Next Round For Donald Cerrone: The loser of the Jamie Varner/Kamal Shalorus fight.

Round 3: There Is A New Challenger For Jose Aldo

While Urijah Faber was eliminated from title contention on Saturday Night, a new challenger has come to the forefront to take on WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. That new contender is UFC veteran Manny Gamburyan, who defeated former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown to win his third straight fight in the WEC. In a fight that lasted under five minute, Manny Gamburyan dropped Mike Brown with a punch to the jaw and followed it up with some hammer fists until the referee halted the contest. Manny Gamburyan may not be the favorite in a potential title opportunity against WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, but there is no doubt that the fighter has earned the title opportunity.

Next Round For Manny Gamburyan: Jose Aldo

Next Round For Mike Brown: Time for dealing with some serious personal issues.

Round 4: Wasn’t That The WEC On Pay-Per-View Last Night?

For those who tuned into the pay-per-view on Saturday Night, they were expecting to see “WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber” as the name of the event, but instead got an event entitled “Aldo vs. Faber.” Obviously, the slogan synonymous with the company itself, the WEC, was missing in action all night, even in the title fight introductions. It was later learned during the WEC post fight press conference, that Dana White had cut a deal between Versus (which airs WEC programming) and Spike TV (which airs UFC events) to not only help promote the WEC’s first pay-per-view, but air some preliminary fights as well. While the WEC event was promoted pretty well, it was sad to see that the WEC brand itself was not pushed, which could hurt the company in the future.

Next Round For The WEC: WEC 49 - Varner vs. Shalorus on June 20th

Round Five: The Fight Of The Year Occurs On The Preliminary Card

While the WEC promotion not only made history by holding its first pay-per-view broadcast, it may have also housed one of the greatest fights in MMA history. In the evenings second preliminary fight on Spike TV, Leonard Garcia defeated Chan Sung Jung by split decision in a battle that left Leonard Garcia with a broken hand and Chan Sung Jung with a severely injured arm. If the Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonnar fight from the UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale put the UFC on the map, then the Leonard Garcia/Chan Sung Jung fight will put the WEC on the map. The outcome of the fight was considered highly controversial by many, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch down the line. In the other preliminary fight that aired on Spike TV, Anthony Pettis defeated UFC veteran Alex Karalexis by submission.

Next Round For Leonard Garcia: A rematch with Chan Sung Jung.

Next Round For Chan Sung Jung: A rematch with Leonard Garcia.

Next Round For Anthony Pettis: A battle with either Shane Roller or Anthony Njokuani.

Next Round For Alex Karalexis: The WEC preliminary card not airing on TV.

You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com

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