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WEC Predictions: WEC 41 Preview & Predictions

Pro Fighting Fans is the home of WEC fans across the world and we now bring you the best place to find the latest WEC preview. WEC 41 is fast approaching and you can find the WEC 40 fight card and preview below.

The next event for WEC will be WEC 41 on June 7th, 2009 which will feature the Featherweight Championship fight between Mike Brown and former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber. You can also view our review of the WEC 40 results which featured the WEC Bantamweight Championship bout as Miguel Angel Torres defended his belt against Takeya Mizugaki in a 5-round Unanimous Decision. Fans can now buy WEC tickets online through Pro Fighting Fans to all of these exciting WEC events.

WEC 41 will take place Sunday, June 7th at 9 PM EST and can be seen on Versus live from Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, making this event the second time in less than a year that the WEC has has an event in Sacramento (WEC 34). The event will be headlined by a rematch between current WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Thomas Brown and former five-time Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber.

Also on the stacked event card will be contenders Jose “Junior” Aldo vs. Cub Swanson, undefeated Lightweight James Krause taking on Donald Cerrone and Josh Grispi taking on Jens “Little Evil” Pulver in a Featherweight battle.

Former UFC lightweight – Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan is set to make his WEC debut on the undercard against undefeated John Franchi. WEC vets Charlie Valencia, Scott Jorgensen and Antonio Banuelos can be found on the undercard as well. Familiar names such as Noah Thomas (TUF 5) and Frank Gomes will be making their debuts with the organization.

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Here is a look at the entire fight card:

WEC 41 Preliminary Bouts:

Rolando Perez vs. Seth Dikun (Featherweight – 145 lb)

It looks as if both featherweights are fighting for their WEC lives in this preliminary bout. Rolando Perez (4-2-1) couldn’t handle contender Jose Aldo’s knees or punches at WEC 38 in January, losing quickly via 1st round KO. Seth Dikun (6-3) lost on the same January card to long time WEC fighter Charlie Valencia by way of unanimous decision.

Perez, fighting out of Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista, California, made it to the WEC by way of the Total Combat promotion. From July 2005 through October 2008, Perez fought his way to a 4-1-1 record for the California fight promotion. All four of his wins have come by stoppage, 3 submissions and a TKO.

His opponent Seth Dikun is a member of Thomas Denny’s - Team Wildman Vale Tudo. He has taken a different route into the WEC. Over the course of three years, he has fought for eight different promotions, including his current home - the WEC. His trademark victory was on an August 2008 “Fighting 4 Kidz” card. He used his striking to set up a takedown, and then easily passed Van Oscar Penovaroff’s guard ending the fight with a rear naked choke.

Prediction: Both fighters are aggressive and know how to finish fights. The winner probably will earn another WEC fight, the loser probably will not. Perez has excellent striking skills with some power and adequate submission skills. Dikun is comparable to his opponent on his feet but holds a slight advantage when it comes to grappling and submissions. Both have ended three fights with a submission but Dikun looks complete as a grappler.

Dikun over Perez – unanimous decision

Frank Gomez vs. Noah Thomas (Bantamweight – 135 lb)

Frank Gomez (6-1) will have a spot on the WEC 41 card after all. His opponent is former “The Ultimate Fighter – Season 5” competitor, Noah Thomas (13-4), who will fill in for an injured Eddie Wineland. Gomez is coming off his first career loss at WEC 38 in January when veteran Scott Jorgensen slapped a guillotine on him 1:09 into the 1st round. Thomas is riding the confidence of a seven-fight win streak including a January win over Elite XC & WEC veteran – Justin Robbins.

Gomez, a 5’10” 135-lb New Mexico native, has fought for six different organizations in 2½ years of professional MMA. He has finished his opponents in five of his six career wins. Two of his stoppages came this past year with victories over Matt Ott and Eddie Armandarez by way of 1st round technical knockouts.

Thomas signed his second Zuffa contract, this time with the WEC, on the strength of a seven-fight win streak. Impressively enough, he has stopped his opponent in all 13 of his victories. He also has executed fight-ending submissions in six straight fights. The 28 year-old has not tasted defeat since a May 2006 TKO loss to Cruz Chacon at an American Championship Fighting event.

Prediction: Gomez is solid in all areas, but especially with his stand-up game. Thomas will have a significant advantage in the grappling as well as submissions. He has been known to get beat up on his feet only to catch a limb and submit his opponent on more than one occasion.

Thomas over Gomez – unanimous decision

> After the fights are complete, find the WEC 41 results & recap online at ProFighting-fans.com and look forward to the UFC 99 fight card on June 13th, 2009 in Cologne, Germany!

Scott Jorgensen vs. Antonio Banuelos (Bantamweight – 135 lb)

Antonio Banuelos (15-4), one of the WEC’s longest tenured fighters, will be making his eleventh appearance in the WEC cage against Scott Jorgensen (6-2), a winner of his last two WEC contests. Banuelos earned his ticket back into the WEC after a September 2008 KO win at Palace FC 10. After losing his WEC debut in February 2008, Jorgensen has put together two consecutive wins with the organization.

Scott Jorgensen is a 26 year-old Boise, Idaho native that has steadily worked his way up the MMA ranks. He began in 2006 by fighting in organizations such as American Fighting Championships and the Colorado-based Ring of Fire. Eventually he found a spot on a Pro Elite affiliated Sho XC show, where he dominated Chris David on his way to a unanimous decision victory thus earning his way to a WEC contract.

Jorgensen was out-hustled by a pressuring Damacio Page at WEC 32 where he lost his debut by decision. He worked his way back into the 135 lb. contender picture with convincing wins against Shooto standout Kenji Osawa and debuting Frank Gomez.

Banuelos has been a longtime member of John Hackelman’s “The Pit” fight team with friend and training partner – Chuck Liddell. He has been involved with the WEC, on and off, over a period of six and a half years.

Conditioned to “grind” out wins the hard way, Banuelos used his improved striking skills to solidify his KO victory against Bryan Goldsby at PFC 10. He also has WEC wins over skilled fighters such as Cole Escovedo, Mike French and Justin Robbins. He needs a win over Jorgensen to secure his roster spot and make a significant splash in the bantamweight division.

Prediction: Jorgensen has outstanding wrestling, great conditioning and is always aggressive. Banuelos' skill-set mirrors that of his opponent. Whoever is able to control the ground game and earn points with takedowns will win this crucial bantamweight match.

Banuelos over Jorgensen – 3rd round TKO

Mike Campbell vs. Anthony Pettis (Lightweight – 155 lb)

Mike Campbell and Anthony Pettis have fought in both the welterweight and lightweight divisions. This time they will cut the extra weight in order to compete as 155 pounders. Campbell (6-1) made his WEC debut in January by getting knocked out in the 1st round, snapping a six-fight win streak. Anthony Pettis (6-0) will be making his debut with the organization on the momentum of six straight wins.

Before starting his career as a fighter, Mike “The Beast” Campbell participated in competitive power-lifting competitions. He then decided to try his hand at MMA and made his way to the WEC by way of New England-based Reality Fighting organization. As a participant of RF he knocked out three straight opponents earning a bid into the WEC.

Facing a tough task in his first promotional fight against current UFC fighter Danillo Villefort, “The Beast” used his usual strategy and tried to knock his opponent out. This time he faced a fighter that was just as skilled. Villefort wasted no time in forcing his game-plan on Campbell, by knocking him out midway through the 1st round.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, a Duke Roufus trained fighter, has fought exclusively for Gladiator Fighting Series in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the last year-and-a-half, Pettis finished all but one of his six opponents - three via TKO and two with submissions. The only opponent to take him the distance was Sherron Leggett in June of ‘08.

Prediction: Team Sityodtong’s Mike Campbell likes to use his power to make things happen during his fights. He also has great speed, agility and conditioning. He will need all of those qualities in order to even-up his WEC record. With power in both of his hands, excellent cardio and solid ground and pound skills, “Showtime” is a complete fighter. With two equally skilled fighters, this bout will probably go the distance.

Pettis over Campbell – split decision

Charlie Valencia vs. Kyle Dietz (Bantamweight – 135 lb)

A six-fight veteran of the WEC, Charlie Valencia will take on undefeated WEC rookie – Kyle Dietz. Although he won his last time out, Valencia (10-5) is in a make-or-break situation with the World Extreme Cagefighting organization with two loses in his last three fights. Kyle Dietz (5-0) is making his first fight on his new six-fight WEC contract after finishing four of his five opponents with a knockout or submission.

Prior to fighting for the WEC, Valencia was a former lightweight champion in the King of the Cage organization. Since starting his WEC career he has victories over Antonio Banuelos, Ian McCall and most recently Seth Dikun at WEC 38 five months ago. He used his wrestling base to takedown Dikun, then his strength to keep his opponent on the canvas.

Valencia has promotional losses to Dominick Cruz (Decision), Yoshiro Maeda (KO) and 135-pound number-one contender Brian Bowles (Submission) in his WEC debut. He also has career losses to WEC veterans – Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson while fighting for King of the Cage.

Kyle Dietz has fought the majority of his bouts for the Midwest-based Extreme Challenge where he was undefeated in four appearances. He had to push past the 1st round only once in his 2½ year career. Arguably his most impressive stoppage to-date was a 33-second pummeling of Mitch Theisman in March ’08.

Prediction: Valencia is always prepared to go the full three rounds but shouldn’t have to against Dietz. If Dietz doesn’t allow Valencia to take him to the mat he should be in comfortable position to get the KO. His stand-up skills are considerably better than that of Valencia.

Dietz over Valencia – 2nd round TKO

Manny Gamburyan vs. John Franchi (Featherweight – 145 lb)

Manny Gamburyan will finally make his long-awaited WEC debut, after almost two years in the UFC, against undefeated featherweight John Franchi. Gamburyan (8-4), a former lightweight, will try and snap a two-fight losing streak that he compiled in the UFC. Franchi (5-0) was successful in his WEC debut back in March with a razor-thin close split decision over Mike Budnik.

“The Anvil,” as he is known to “The Ultimate Fighter 5” fans, is going on a decade in his MMA career. He has seen some stiff competition, even before his UFC days, as evidence of his wins over Jorge Santiago (KO – 2003) and Sam Morgan (Decision – 2004) along with his loss against Sean Sherk (Decision – 2001).

In 2007 Gamburyan was chosen to compete as a lightweight on “The Ultimate Fighter: Season 5.” He made it through until the show finale in June ’07 when he was defeated by Nate Diaz when he injured his shoulder early in the 2nd round. He impressed enough that he received invitations to four more UFC fights. He recorded UFC wins over Nate Mohr and Jeff Cox and was defeated by Diaz, Robert Emerson and Thiago Tavares in the octagon.

John Franchi is a 26 year-old Team Bombsquad member that began his MMA career less than two years ago after an amateur kick-boxing and boxing stint. He built a 3-0 record fighting for small organizations such as Extreme Fighting International, Full Force Productions, and World Championship Fighting.

The now-defunct IFL was the next pit-stop for Franchi who took little time in submitting Frank Latina with a rear naked choke at “IFL-Connecticut” in May ’08. Four stoppage wins in four fights earned him a five-fight deal with the WEC, where he went back and forth with Mike Budnik for three rounds before finally being rewarded with a split decision win.

Prediction: Gamburyan begins his WEC career with a tough task. Not much is known about John Franchi except that he is a dangerous striker. Using his Judo, Gamburyan must stand long enough in order to find a way to get him to the ground. If that happens “The Anvil” should be successful in his debut, if not - Franchi gets his biggest career win.

Prediction: Gamburyan over Franchi – unanimous decision

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WEC 41 Main Bouts:

Josh Grispi vs. Jens Pulver (Featherweight – 145 lb)

Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (22-11-1) will be trying to stop a three-fight losing streak, the last two coming in the 1st round. Twenty year-old Josh Grispi (12-1) has won his last eight fights, including two recent WEC stoppages over former WEC contender Micah Miller and current Affliction lightweight – Mark Hominick.

Pulver is winding down on a long and storied MMA career, which began ten years ago in the Bas Rutten Invitational. Over the course of the last decade “Little Evil” has taken several detours into the world's largest organizations. He fought in the early and current UFC, PRIDE, IFL and now the WEC.

He has wins over some of the biggest names in the sports including Caol Uno, to become the first ever UFC Lightweight Champion, and BJ Penn. The Miletich Martial Arts fighter was also in battles with Takanori Gomi (Loss – KO) and Hayato Sakurai (Loss – TKO).

The present-day Jens Pulver, however, is in serious need of a victory. Since coming to the WEC from the UFC, after a June ’07 loss to BJ Penn at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, he has lost three of his four WEC bouts. Urijah Faber defeated Pulver twice in that span, the first a five-round battle at WEC 34 for the WEC featherweight title. He also suffered a 1st round TKO loss to Leonard Garcia in November 2008.

Josh Grispi doesn’t have the legacy of Jens Pulver but has launched his MMA career with a good start. He began as an 18 year-old fighting in Reality Fighting, Combat Zone, World Fight League and Full Force Promotions. His only loss was a 2006 submission (heel hook) to Henrique Bilcalho at CZ 19.

After posting ten wins in eleven tries, “The Fluke” entered the WEC with huge expectations. So far he has lived up to the expectations by submitting Mark Hominick and, in his most recent bout, stopping Micah Miller via technical knockout.

Prediction: Pulver has kept busy, fighting three times in the last year, while Grispi has only fought on one card in the same time period. This is not the same Jens Pulver that could stand and trade for three rounds. If he mixes his takedowns with his effective defensive techniques he will be in a position to win the fight.

Pulver over Grispi – 3rd round TKO

James Krause vs. Donald Cerrone (Lightweight – 155 lb)

Undefeated lightweight James Krause (10-0) will make his WEC debut against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (9-1-1), who is filling in for longtime WEC force – Richard Crunkilton. Krause is debuting on the strength of ten straight stoppage victories, including a March KO of Matt Williamson at Close Quarters Combat. Cerrone will be trying to bounce back after suffering his first career loss in January against Jaime Varner.

Krause is a freestyle fighter who has been successful in ten fights in the minor-league circuit of MMA. He competed for six different organizations in only one-and-a-half years of competition. Of his ten stoppages he has only had to go into the second round one time, an early 2nd round submission of Steve Schneider at Titan Fighting Championship in December ’08.

Cerrone, who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Greg Jackson’s MMA, knows how to finish fights as well. He has eight submissions to go along with only one decision victory. The Broomfield, Colorado native has accumulated his stoppages while fighting for Ring of Fire, American Championship Fighting, GCM – Cage Force and the WEC.

Since signing his WEC contract in late in 2007, he has appeared on four event cards. His debut with the WEC was a win by Cerrone but it was later overturned by the NSAC for a failed drug test. He served his suspension and came back ten months later with an armbar over Danny Castillo. He put two solid performances in a row when he outlasted “Razor” Rob McCullough for a unanimous decision victory. But “Cowboy's” tenure as a top-five contender was short lived when Jaime Varner won a split decision bout at WEC 38.

Prediction: Cerrone is a solid muay-thai striker who knows how to set up his opponents for submissions. Krause is a tough-as-nails fighter that is known for being well-rounded and very agile. Cerrone will see an advantage with the fight in the standing position while Krause can capitalize on a grappling match.

Krause over Cerrone – 2nd round submission

Jose Aldo vs. Cub Swanson (Featherweight – 145 lb)

Jose “Junior” Aldo (14-1) is trying to prove that he is the number-one contender for the featherweight title and Cub Swanson (13-2) is trying to solidify his spot with the world's best featherweight MMA organization. Aldo has won seven straight fights including TKO’s in his last four. Swanson rebounded well from a loss to Jens Pulver in late-2007 to win two straight.

Aldo, who is consistently in the top-ten featherweight world rankings, began MMA nearly five years ago by demolishing opponents in Brazil. He hammered through his first seven opponents before he met a roadblock in the form of PRIDE-Bushido vet – Luciano Azevedo at Jungle Fight 5 in November of ’05.

After his only loss, “Junior” returned to form by winning three straight decisions over mid-level opponents. The WEC was the next logical step for the skilled Nova Uniao fighter. He has taken gradual steps in securing his spot among the promotion's best in their deepest division. Four consecutive TKO wins over Alexandre Noguiera, Jonathan Brookins, Rolando Perez, and Chris Mickle have put Aldo in an excellent position within the division.

Cub Swanson was slow to start his MMA career, losing to former UFC fighter Shannon Gugerty, in his debut for Total Combat in 2004. He went on to win his next nine fights, mostly for Total Combat and King of the Cage, earning his chance to compete with the WEC.

In early 2007 Swanson submitted Tommy Lee at WEC 26 then winning a unanimous decision over Micah Miller three months later at WEC 28. Jens Pulver stopped his eleven fight win streak by slapping a rear naked choke on Swanson less than a minute into the January 2007 WEC 31 fight.

Since his loss to Pulver, he has bounced back by fighting outside of the promotion against Donnie Walker (Win – Submission) then winning an exciting decision over Hiroyuki Takaya in his return to the WEC at WEC 37 in December ’08.

Prediction: Aldo is one of the best in the WEC at 145 pounds especially on the ground. Swanson has only been stopped twice in fifteen fights, both by submissions.

Aldo over Swanson – 2nd round submission

Mike Thomas Brown vs. Urijah Faber (Featherweight Title Bout – 145 lb)

Mike Thomas Brown (21-4) will try and defend his featherweight title for the second time against the man that he took it from back in November of 2008 – Urijah Faber (22-2). After taking the title, Brown has only had to choke out Leonard Garcia in order to keep it. Since his first matchup with Brown, Faber has also only fought once, a submission win at WEC 38 against Jens Pulver.

Faber has had a stellar MMA career, fighting for Gladiators Challenge, King of the Cage, TKO, Full Contact Promotions and the WEC. He won his first eight bouts before losing to UFC mainstay Tyson Griffin at GC 42 in 2005. It was over three years in between his loss to Griffin and his loss to Mike Brown. During that time he defeated accomplished fighters such as Ivan Menjvar, Bibiano Fernandes and Charlie Valencia.

Faber, a former UC Santa Barbara wrestler, demonstrated his well-rounded skillset in his “bounce-back” fight when he fought Jens Pulver in January. Precision striking, excellent takedown defense and solid agility all led to his 1st round smashing of Pulver.

Mike Thomas Brown is an experienced fighter who trains at American Top Team in Florida. Before his WEC career began he earned big wins against Mark Hominick at TFC 8 in 2003 and Yves Edwards at BoDog Fight in 2006.

After a near career-ending knee injury in 2005, suffered to the “Master of Leglocks” Masakazu Imanari, Brown has been unbeatable. In his WEC debut he went the distance for a decision win against Jeff Curran. It was next that he used his powerful right hand to take the 145 pound belt from Faber at WEC 36 in November 2008. Leonard Garcia was next in line but didn’t make it out of the 1st round with Brown at WEC 39.

Prediction: Faber is a machine that can compete no matter what direction the fight may go. Brown relies mostly on his power, whether it’s by punching or taking his opponent to the ground to set up a submission. As long as Faber has his guard up and doesn’t get caught, I like his chances.

Faber over Brown – unanimous decision

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Past WEC Previews & Recaps:

• WEC 40 results & review
• WEC 39 results & review
• WEC 39 preview & predictions
• WEC 38 Recap: A Fan's View
• WEC 38 Recap & Review
• WEC 37 Recap & Review
• WEC 36 Recap & Review
• More MMA news articles at ProFighting-fans.com