WEC 42 Results - WEC 42 Fight Results & Recap

Originally set for WEC 40, Miguel Angel Torres faced Brian Bowles at WEC 42 for the Bantamweight Championship on Sunday, August 9, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire recap of each of the five fights on the main card are below as well as the official WEC 42 results at the bottom of the page.

Leonard Garcia vs. Jameel Massouh – Featherweight Bout

After the preliminary bouts went over their allotted time, the featherweight bout between Leonard Garcia (13-4) and Jameel Massouh (21-6) found its way onto the Versus televised portion of the broadcast. Garcia barely escaped with the victory, winning a very close split decision over “The Sergeant”. The action proved to be worthy of its accidental position on the main card as both fighters kept the fast paced action throughout the three rounds.

Early on, “Bad Boy” Garcia landed a hard right hand, dumping Massouh onto his back and following it up with some shots from the top. Massouh survived the onslaught, taking the fight back to an upright position where he scored with strikes of his own. After a late takedown, Massouh finished the first round in top position, making the first round a close one to score. Over the next two rounds, both fighters took turns with the momentum on their side. Garcia converted on a takedown early in the second but was reversed and dominated throughout the middle frame, almost being submitted with a darce choke. The final frame turned out to be the deciding round, as Garcia stole the fight with his aggressiveness. Massouh seemed to think that he had the fight won, playing it safe by using his defense more than his offensive game that helped him up to that point.

The judges’ scored the fight (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in favor of Garcia, giving him his third win in his last four bouts. Overall, combined with a WEC 1 win, Garcia is 4-1 with the WEC and knocking back on the door for another crack at Mike Thomas Brown’s 145 pound belt. Massouh falls for the second straight fight, both in the WEC and both by decisions. He may need to win one or two outside of the organization in order to get another opportunity in the WEC.

> View more WEC results online listed here by Pro Fighting Fans and check out the WEC 43 fight card for the September 2nd, 2009 event!

Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Curran – Bantamweight Bout

Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2) proved to have answers for a desperate Jeff Curran (29-12-1), winning a very close split decision over the veteran. Mizugaki used takedowns and ground and pound to neutralize Curran throughout the three round battle. Curran did little with his stand up game, only scoring on strikes from the bottom, whereas Mizugaki was active in all areas.

Curran used up the first half of the opening round, staying loyal to a single leg takedown attempt. That attempt failed, Mizugaki utilizing his defensive skills properly instead threw Curran to the ground and stayed on top for much of the remaining 1 st round time. Fighting from the clinch wasn’t favorable for either fighter, as they both seemed to be setting up their next move. Mizugaki confirmed that strategy by throwing Curran to the mat again, this time landing elbows from the top. Curran did complete the round as the aggressor, almost finishing it with a guillotine attempt, stopping only when the 2 nd round bell sounded. Curran continued to use submission attempts as his primary offense in the final round. The tough as nails Mizugaki stayed active with strikes from both the top and bottom position, as well as surviving a beautiful triangle choke attempt to finish the bout.

Mizugaki will remain at the top of the bantamweight division, winning his first WEC bout since his loss in his debut to Miguel Torres for the title in April at WEC 40. Curran has fallen on tough times, losing his fourth straight bout, although they all were to top contenders in the 145 and 135 pound divisions. His WEC record is now 2-4.

Ricardo Lamas vs. Danny Castillo – Lightweight Bout

Ricardo Lamas (6-1) suffered his first defeat at the hands of Danny Castillo (8-1) in a stand up battle in the lightweight division. Lamas looked to be getting the better of the exchanges in the first two rounds until getting caught with the perfectly timed right hand of Castillo. Castillo however proved to have a iron chin, shaking several hard blows to produce the stoppage win.

Castillo came out as the aggressor, pushing “The Bully” around the cage with his striking game. Lamas did eventually answer, using mostly his low kicks to keep Castillo at a safe distance. Lamas was more efficient with his striking, finishing the round with a two jabs in the face of his opponent. They continued to trade exchanges through much of the 2nd round, Lamas using his kickboxing to pick apart the active Castillo, who used a variety of combinations. Castillo after brushing off a head kick landed a straight right hand, putting Lamas on the floor. He followed the knockdown up with bombs from his standing position until Herb Dean, the referee, stopped the action.

Danny Castillo has now been in the winner’s circle in 3 of his four WEC bouts, losing only in his debut to number one contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Ricardo Lamas loses for the first time in his one and a half year career; he is now 1-1 with the WEC. Castillo should make a significant jump up the lightweight ladder with the victory. Lamas, who defeated Bart Palaszewski in his debut, shouldn’t fall out of the WEC or drop too far down the lightweight division with his loss.

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Joseph Benavidez vs. Dominick Cruz – Bantamweight Bout

Dominick Cruz (14-1) used his technical striking game to outscore Joseph Benavidez (10-1) on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Cruz caught Benavidez several times, surprising the submission specialist, with his crisp punching ability. Benavidez, losing the battle in the stand up, kept the fight standing which resulted in his eventual defeat.

The furious pace to the 1st round was highlighted by a knockdown courtesy of a left, right combination from Dominick Cruz. Benavidez was busy throughout the round, just not that accurate, throwing several wild, looping punches that failed to make any contact. Benavidez was somewhat more accurate during the 2nd frame, connecting on several sharp leg kicks. Cruz however, manhandled his opponent with two solid takedowns, the last being with 15 seconds remaining in the 2nd round. In the final round, Benavidez, who now looked tired, began to telegraph his strikes. Cruz picked up on the signals and timed his jabs perfectly to fit in the face of his opponent. Cruz put icing on the proverbial cake with two more takedowns in the final round.

It was a lopsided bout, in terms of scoring, as Cruz outworked Benavidez for the unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, and 29-28). With his fifth straight victory, Cruz is now at the top of the bantamweight division, knocking on the door for a title fight. He is now 4-1 in his WEC career, losing only in his debut to former featherweight champion, Urijah Faber at WEC 26. Joseph Benavidez, who many believed to be the favorite in this fight, lost for the first time in his young career. He is now 2-1 for his WEC career.

Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles – Bantamweight Title Bout

Athens, Georgia native, Brian Bowles (8-0) stunned the MMA world by stopping longtime WEC champ, Miguel Torres (37-2) for the first time in his career with a 1st round KO punch. Bowles continued his dominating streak of eight wins in as many chances, stopping his opponent in every bout. Torres almost kept his winning streak alive, putting Bowles in trouble with his own flurry of punches, but Bowles recovered and stamped Torres on the button with a hard right hook only 3:57 into the 1st.

Torres took the center of the ring, like a champion should, and waited for Bowles to bring his attack. The “feeling out” process took longer than usual for a Torres fight, last almost 45 seconds to a full minute. Finally, the action gets going as they both clinch near the fence. Bowles works quickly, dropping Torres on his back and taking a dominant position. Immediately, Torres stayed busy with body punches, short elbows, and heel kicks. Bowles didn’t like it and left his solid position, only to get up and get caught with a couple of Torres’ upkicks in the process. Torres gets back to a standing position and begins to trade strikes with Bowles. It looked as if Torres would finish the upstart Bowles early, catching him with a nice combination that had him backpedaling. As Torres moved in for the finishing punch, Bowles caught him with a right hook, followed by a left hand that put him on the ground. As the champ hit the ground, it was apparent that he was unconscious, causing the referee to jump in and save him from any more damage.

Torres became the fifth straight WEC victim for the undefeated Bowles, using a KO punch twice and submissions three times to finish his WEC fights. Torres had his 17 fight winning streak snapped in half by Bowles, losing for the first time in over 5½ years. His 5-1 WEC record is still solid; in fact, Torres should get a shot at winning the title back with one or two more wins against top contenders.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Fight Card for WEC 42 Main Fights:

• Brian Bowles defeats Miguel Torres (c) by KO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 3:57 - Bowles becomes the new WEC Bantamweight Champion

• Dominick Cruz defeats Joseph Benavidez by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

• Danny Castillo defeats Ricardo Lamas by TKO (Strikes) - Round 2 @ 4:15

• Takeya Mizugaki defeats Jeff Curran by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

• Leonard Garcia defeats Jameel Massouh by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Other WEC 42 Fights:

• Cole Province defeats Fredson Paixao by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Shane Roller defeats Marcus Hicks by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

• Ed Ratcliff defeats Phil Cardella by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

• Rani Yahya defeats John Hosman via Submission (North-South Choke) - Round 1 @ 2:08

• Diego Nunes defeats Rafael Dias by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• LC Davis defeats Javier Vazquez by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)