WEC 51 Review

Oct 1, 2010
oleg

Taking place in Broomfield, Colorado, WEC 51 featured a very strong line-up.  The event was headlined by the featherweight champion Jose Aldo defending his title against a former UFC lightweight and ‘Ultimate Fighter’ finalist Manvel Gamburyan.  On the undercard, former WEC champions Miguel Torres (bantamweight) and Jamie Varner (lightweight) were taking on Charlie Valencia and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone respectively.  The preliminary bouts featured another former champion, featherweight Mike Thomas Brown (whose bout with Cole Province didn’t make the televised broadcast), along with a highly hyped debut of WEC’s first Chinese fighter Tie Quan Zhang.

Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick (145 lbs)

Round 1: As expected, Garcia is swinging big from the opening bell.  Hominick is more patient, stalking Garcia, countering Leonard’s wild strikes with clean jabs.  The fighters are mainly even in exchanges, neither doing significant damage.  A big leg kick by Garcia makes both fighters stumble from the impact. Garcia eats punches but only smiles and continues attacking.  Tough round to score.  Round 10-10 draw

Round 2: Similar to the first round, Garcia is looking for the knockout punch while Hominick evades and uses his jab to set up combinations.  Garcia is having some success in early striking, but as the time wears on he slows down, and his wild punches miss by a wide margin, leaving him wide open to Mark’s counters.  Both fighters are bleeding by the end of the round, but Hominick is now in firm control of most exchanges.   Round 10-9 Hominick

Round 3: Garcia starts out as the aggressor once again but Hominick evades or blocks most of Leonard’s attacks, and counters successfully.  Garcia is very tired, and his strikes don’t have much pop to them any more.  Hominick is picking Garcia apart, momentarily drops him with a hook but Garcia is game and continues fighting till the end.    Round 10-9 Hominick

Mark Hominick wins a split decision with the scores of 29-28, 29-28, 28-29

Ranking Impact: Mark Hominick rises 1 spot to #16 FW.  Leonard Garcia remains #26 FW.

Hominick asks for a title shot in the post-fight interview.  He is one of WEC’s top featherweight contenders, along with Josh Grispi and Chad Mendes.

Fight Grade: 3/5


Chan Sung Jung vs. George Roop (145 lbs)

Round 1: Roop is quick on his feet, dancing around Jung.  Big height and reach advantage for Roop.  Roop throwing a lot of kicks.  Jung keeps moving forward slowly, keeping his hands low.  Both fighters landing leg and body kicks.   Jung backs up Roop to the fence and lands a flurry.  Jung seems unaffected by anything Roop throws at him.   Very close round.    Round 10-9 Roop

Round 2: Jung continues moving forward, absorbing strikes and firing back.   Jung is trying to corner Roop and tee off but Roop circles away from danger.  Roop keeps throwing kicks and one lands directly on the neck of Jung.  The ‘Korean Zombie’ is rendered uncoscious before his body even hits the ground.

Ranking Impact: George Roop rises 60 spots to #44 FW.  Chan Sung Jung falls 23 spots to #67 FW.

Fight Grade: 4/5


Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia (135 lbs)

Round 1: Both fighters start out tentatively.  Torres has a very defensive stance, covering his head with the right hand and keeping his left extended. Valencia circles, trying to get inside Miguel’s reach.  Leg kicks are exchanged.  Torres flurries on Valencia, backing him into the cage where they clinch.  Valencia separates.  Torres lands an errant low kick to Valencia’s groin, and the fight is paused.  They resume and Torres drops Valencia with a hook, then follows up with ground-and-pound.  Valencia covers up then explodes off the ground, slamming Torres just as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Torres

Round 2: Valencia misses with kicks and an overhand right, then attempts a takedown but Torres evades.  Torres attacks with a combination that drops Valencia.  Torres is on top and looking to finish; Valencia recovers his footing but is dropped again with a knee.  Torres jumps on his back and patiently works a rear naked choke.  Valencia is rocked and stuck in a body triangle, and has no choice but to tap.

Ranking Impact: Miguel Torres rises 3 spots to #4 BW.  Charlie Valencia falls 5 spots to #19 BW.

Torres looked like his old self in this fight, after being finished in his past two bouts.   With a win Torres returns to the bantamweight Top 5 and the WEC title picture.

Fight Grade: 4/5


Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner (155 lbs)

Round 1: The fighters run directly at each other as soon as the round starts.  Cerrone hurts Varner with a hook in a wild exchange and follows it up with a flying knee.  Varner’s mouthpiece goes flying.  They clinch and the referee Herb Dean pauses the fight to give Varner his mouth guard. They go back to trading.  Varner defends a takedown attempt.  Cerrone eventually does get him down but he’s back up quickly.  Both fighters land combination as the pace slows down a bit.  Cerrone briefly drops Varner, and now Varner is the one shooting for takedowns as Cerrone defends.  Round 10-9 Cerrone

Round 2: The trading is more measured in the second round.  Cerrone lands combos of punches and leg kicks.  Varner goes to the body with punches but gets taken down.  Cerrone passes guard, into north-south but Varner scrambles to his feet.  Cerrone flurries with knees and punches.  They separate and Varner’s eye is bleeding.  Varner wipes the blood away and continues trading strikes.  Varner attempts a takedown but has no success.  Round 10-9 Cerrone

Round 3: Both fighter looking tired but still exchanging gamely.   Varner trying to get in the pocket but eating punches and kicks.  Cerrone takes Varner down; Varner up quickly and down again.  This time Cerrone scores some damage with elbows from the top.  Varner gets up, his face bloody.  The fight is over, and it’s clear who the winner is.  They slap hands as if to bury the hatchet, but then Cerrone pushes Varner away as Varner tries to hug Donald.  Varner responds with a little push to Cerrone’s back as he walks away.   Round 10-9 Cerrone

Donald Cerrone defeats Jamie Varner by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three scorecards.  Now 1-1, both fighters seemingly welcome the possibility of a tie-breaking third matchup.

Ranking Impact: Donald Cerrone rises 24 spots to #46 LW.  Jamie Varner falls 13 spots to #85 LW.

Fight Grade: 4/5


Pablo Garza vs. Tie Quan Zhang (155 lbs)

Round 1: A brief exchange and a clinch.  Zhang pulls Garza to the ground and looks for a guillotine from top guard.  Garza attempts an armbar from the bottom.  Zhang defends and goes for the guillotine again, this time passing Garza’s guard and rolling into guard himself to finish the submission.  Garza taps, making Tie Quan’s WEC debut a success.

Ranking Impact: Tie Quan Zhang, previously ranked at #204 WW, makes his lightweight debut at #126.  Pablo Garza, previously ranked at #123 FW, does not make the Top 250 at lightweight.

Fight Grade: 4/5


Champion Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan (145 lbs title bout)

Round 1: Gamburyan circles around the champion, who is stationary in the center of the ring looking to counter.  Manny lands a couple of punches, forcing Aldo to move backwards.  Gamburyan quick on his feet, darting in and out of range.   Both fighters land leg kicks, Aldo the more significant of the two.  Gamburyan rushes in with punches but misses most of the time, eating big leg kicks in return.  Gamburyan complains of an eye poke but the ref Herb Dean does not grant a break.  Uneventful round.  Round 10-9 Aldo

Round 2: Gamburyan shoots for a takedown early but Aldo easily sprawls out.  Aldo lands a big uppercut that drops Manny to his knees.  Aldo flurries with punches from the top; Gamburyan turtles and covers up but the punches get through and eventually Gamburyan goes limp, causing the referee to step in and end the fight with Aldo retaining his title.

Ranking Impact: Jose Aldo remains #1 FW and rises 5 spots to #3 on the Division Dominance Top 10.  Manny Gamburyan falls 3 spots to #7 FW.

With the win, Aldo’s WEC record stands at 8-0 as he defends his title for the second time.  His next defense will likely come against Mark Hominick or Josh Grispi.

Fight Grade: 4/5

As usual, WEC delivers a great card – a real breath of fresh air after the disappointing UFC 119 this past weekend.

Event Grade: 4/5

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