WEC 53 Recap: One For the History Books

For the last ever WEC event, this one went down surprisingly similar to a UFC main card. To sum up in oversimplistic fashion: the two title fights saw an upset between two evenly matched opponents at lightweight, and a dominating performance by a seemingly unbeatable machine at bantamweight. Pick any light heavyweight title fight in the last three years and add a defense by Anderson Silva or GSP, and there you go. Prior to those two title bouts, a wrestler fought a striker and they both got tired, and an almost comically mismatched pair of lightweights fought to an early and by all apearances predictable close.

That is, unless you saw the prelims, which included a nail-biting delay while Ken Stone was carried out on a stretcher (early reports indicate he'll be OK). Or nothing more than the last thirty seconds of the Henderson/Pettis fight, during which the greatest kick in MMA history was launched, landed and contemplated in wide-eyed disbelief. It was definitely worth missing the Boston/Montreal game for that fight alone.

The televised card was limited to four fights, only one of which required referee intervention. Read on for the breakdown of the main card fights.

Kamal Shalorus versus Bart Palaszewski

Palaszewski came out in full plumage, with a red mohawk, symbols shaved into his scalp, coated in tattoos and fully amped. Shalorus looked like a wrestler: compact and muscular. In round one, Palaszewski showed a strong chin and composure, taking flurries to the dome with aplomb and eating some ground and pound after Shalorus secured a predictable takedown. "Bartimus" finished the round with lots of leg kicks. In round two, Shalorus seemed tired and both were tentative. Strikes were thrown with extra gravy but conservatively. Kamal got an easy takedown with 90 seconds left to secure the round, but was outstruck on the feet. In round three Kamal secured a pair of takedowns, and while Palaszewski finished the final round with a furious blur of headkicks, knees and jabs, the outcome was obvious. Palaszewski came alive in the last minute, and it's a shame it took him that long to wake up.

I scored it 29-28 Shalorus.

The judges awarded Kamal Shalorus a split decision with 30-27 and 29-28 to Shalorus and one 29-28 to "Bartimus".

The split decision makes sense, but 30-27 for Shalorus is horsefeathers. I don't really see how Bart won anything other than round two, but he easily won round two – even Kamal seemed to agree, admitting in the post fight interview that he was "gassed" coming into the round. Shalorus will likely face a tough test in his UFC debut. Joe Stevenson might be the perfect gatekeeper to welcome the Iranian wrestler.

Donald Cerrone versus Chris Horodecki

Cerrone is a big lightweight, even among the ranks of UFC lightweights. He's an even six feet, while Horodecki is 5'8" – and shaped a lot like Patrick Cote: what he lacks in height he makes up for in a heavily muscled trunk and legs. Still, the contrast was almost comical – a friend, still new to MMA, even ventured, "that dude is going to destroy that little guy." Referring, of course, to the towering Cerrone.

In round one, Horodecki uses the size difference to his advantage: he pummels Cerrone with body shots. Cerrone looks to counter as Horodecki fires off clean kickboxing combinations. Cerrone manages a takedown, but it's the only clean takedown of the round. The next two trips to the mat are partial takedowns, as Cerrone is all too willing to assume guard and begin robotic sequences of submission attempts. Cerrone actually takes his back with fifteen seconds left. In round two, Horodecki takes Cerrone down following the terrible advice from his corner. The limb-length disparity and the solid guard of Cerrone are Horodecki's undoing. Cerrone nabs an omoplata with aplomb which he uses to transition to a triangle choke. He methodically adjusts the blood choke for over a minute until it's perfect, and he gets the tapout.

Horodecki would do well to consider featherweight and a fight against Leonard Garcia. Cerrone called out Cole Miller after the fight, which struck me as a tad anticlimactic. How about Sam Stout, Horodecki's training partner? Or aim higher, and claim the winner of Dunham/Florian?

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Dominick Cruz versus Scott Jorgensen

Jorgensen takes home the award for "most disappointed in himself". That is not intended to denigrate him as a fighter. Cruz couldn't finish him, and Jorgensen dealt some damage of his own. But Cruz won this fight 50-45 on all scorecards, and that is demoralizing, and it showed on Jorgensen's face post-bout. But he shouldn't be embarassed, because Cruz is shaping up to be an Anderson Silva crossed with a GSP minus the KO power. With his crisp strikes, constant darting in and out of the pocket, sudden and powerful takedowns, and stellar head movement, he is an enigma wrapped in a mystery for any challenger. Jorgensen, a solid striker with a wrestling base, was out of his league. Literally – Cruz put on a UFC calibre performance. In terms of striking, wrestling and cardio, Cruz is an MMA masterpiece.

Cruz dominated every round. In round one, Cruz set about the leg kicks with urgency as he moved in and out crisply. Jorgensen failed a takedown attempt, but secured a second late in the round. Cruz escaped to take side control. In round two, Cruz got a takedown and landed some decent ground and pound. Once Jorgensen wriggled to his feet Cruz landed a nice knee. In the third round, Cruz was landing punches with ease. He staggered Jorgensen with a punch and landed high kicks, leg kicks and a takedown. Jorgensen swept him but they ended up on the feet again. Round four, repeat: Cruz easily takes Jorgensen down and shows no sign of wearying. In round five, Jorgensen finally completes a takedown of his own, but Cruz stands up, returns the favor and throws some ground and pound into the mix.

Every time the two faced each other on their feet, Jorgensen looked flat-footed and outwitted by a very quick and elusive opponent. Cruz's modus operandi is to dart in with a punch, kick or maybe two and bounce back, instantly circling right or left while moving his head back and forth rapidly in about a oneor two foot arc, and he is very good at timing his opponent's punches: he doesn't block them, he dodges them using that selfsame head movement. Moreover, Cruz has neat takedowns. Even when telegraphed, he lands them. The Silva-GSP hybrid will be very difficult to beat.

The biggest mystery is, who will Cruz face next? Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez both lost to Cruz. Miguel Torres, recent acquisition and Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto are slated to fight their own opponents. Benavidez arguably earned a second title shot with a split decision to Cruz and a win thereafter. But he's 0-2 against Cruz. After the fight, Cruz pointed at and then called out Urijah Faber, the WEC's biggest star and recent bantamweight convert.

The only question is, when will they headline the first UFC card in Sacramento? My guess is early next summer.

Anthony Pettis versus Ben Henderson

This fight won Fight of the Night, the only main card fight/fighter to win a bonus. It was well-deserved. Though at times conservative, this title fight was overall a showcase for the vast spectrum of MMA disciplines, and it will undoubtedly be a part of UFC highlight reels for years to come thanks to Pettis' awe-insipiring cage-springboard airborne high kick in the dying seconds of round five. There is no good way to describe how epically, ballistically awesome it was to see that kick live, nor how totally agog any fan must have been when Henderson instantly recovered after taking the kick flush to the chin, dropping widespread and flat on his back to go for the takedown with seconds left on the clock.

Round one was all Henderson, as they traded roundhouse kicks and Henderson punched his way into the clich, getting the takedown where Pettis instantly went for an armbar. Pettis got back to his feet where he landed a nice right and Henderson got a second takedown. Pettis secured round two with a big right hand that might have dropped Henderson (Stephan Bonnar, calling the fight, says Henderson slipped), but Pettis wrenched a vicious kimura that Henderson shrugged off. In round three, Pettis took Henderson down and secured the back with a body triangle. The round ended with Henderson on his feet fighting off a determined Pettis backpacking looking to secure a choke. Round four was a draw, as Henderson attacked, falling into a short lived guillotine, taking Pettis' back and almost finishing him with a rear naked choke. Back on the feet, Pettis lands a big punch and they drop, where Pettis goes for another guillotine, but the round ends. In round five, both fighters exchange kicks, but Pettis lands a nice combo followed by a knee to a diving Henderson's face. Henderson managed the takedown despite a flush knee, gets Pettis' back, but Pettis escapes. The round ends with the aforementioned kick. Pettis leaps at the fence, while a clearly confused Henderson backs up. Pettis kicks off with his right leg, and with the same leg kicks Henderson in the face in mid air, flooring "Smooth". Pettis ground and pounds Henderson, who gamely holds on to a leg to finish the fight.

I scored it 49-47 Pettis, with round four a draw. The judges scored it for Pettis: 48-47 twice, and 49-46.

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis will fight the winner of Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard, who will do battle at UFC 125. Ben "Smooth" Henderson will no doubt grace a future card, but against whom? George Sotiropolous would be the perfect opponent, but he's booked to face Dennis Siver at UFC 127. Nate Diaz would be another viable test for the UFC newcomer, but expect Henderson to face a fighter such as Mac Danzig or even TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in his UFC debut in order to claw his way up a new ladder.

Preliminary Card

The prelims featured a veritable cornucopia of finishes, and the decisions were no less noteworthy. The upset of the night was Shane Roller over former champ Jamie Varner, and Tiequan Zhang notched his first loss in MMA.

Danny Downes defeated Tiequan Zhang by unanimous decision

Shane Roller defeated Jamie Varner by submission (rear naked choke)

Brad Pickett defeated Ivan Menjivar by unanimous decision

Eddie Wineland defeated Ken Stone by knockout (slam)

Danny Castillo defeated Will Kerr by knockout

Yuri Alcantara defeated Ricardo Lamas via knockout

Renan Barao defeated Chris Cariaso by submission

By Roy Kok
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer