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WEC 52 Predictions: WEC 52 Fight Previews & Predictions

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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 52 is fast approaching and you can find the WEC 52 fight card and preview below. Fans can now buy WEC tickets online through Pro Fighting Fans to all of these exciting WEC events.



It may be up against Thursday night football, but this November 11, the second-last WEC event ever promises to be just as explosive, much more allowably violent, with less fines, less flags, and probably less commercials.

Featuring Urijah Faber (now at bantamweight, or 135 lbs) versus Takeya Mizugaki in the title event, WEC 52 features 11 bouts: eight bantamweights, ten featherweights (145 lbs) and eight lightweights. Five fights round out the main card, but the prelims are pretty smoking, too, despite the rash of injuries and substitutions that have plagued this card. Most notably, Brian Bowles had to bow out of a fight with Wagnney Fabiano, but he was replaced with the equally as lethal Joseph Benavidez (fresh from a second consecutive loss to Dominick Cruz – that time was for the belt). Erik Koch was originally slated to fight Josh Grispi, but Grispi's being bumped up to title contention, facing Jose Aldo at UFC 125 after the official UFC/WEC merger.

 

Here's the full card:

MAIN CARD

Urijah Faber versus Takeya Mizugaki (bantamweight)

Chad Mendes versus Javier Vazquez (featherweight)

Erik Koch versus Francisco Rivera (featherweight)

Joseph Benavidez versus Wagnney Fabiano (bantamweight)

Demetrious Johnson versus Damacio Page (bantamweight)

 

UNDERCARD

Raphael Assuncao versus L.C. Davis (featherweight)

Edward Faaloloto versus Anthony Njokuani (lightweight)

Zack Micklewright versus Dustin Poirier (lightweight)

Clint Godfrey versus Michael McDonald (bantamweight)

Yves Jabouin versus Brandon Visher (featherweight)

Mackens Semerzier versus Cub Swanson (featherweight)

 

And here's our analysis and predictions for the fight:

 

MAIN CARD

Urijah Faber versus Takeya Mizugaki

Faber's first opponent at bantamweight is no can. He's a can of worms. The Japanese enigma that is Takeya Mizugaki is a brutally tough striker who's only lost once to strikes in 19 fights, has never been knocked out, and boasts two Fight of the Night bonuses in his only two losses in the WEC, and one of those was to Miguel Torres, for the belt, in Mizugaki's North American debut. Mizugaki could very well be nicknamed "The Japanese Zombie" for his stalking, slugging style, although he hasn't shown his KO credentials against western opponents.

Faber is that American MMA poster boy: a gruelling, athletic wrestler with endless depths of dynamo. He punishes opponents on the ground – he doesn't ride out his victories with dominant positions and takedowns, he brutalizes with elbows and ground and pounds, and he has nasty chokes. He defended the featherweight championship five times, and has gone to round five three times. Faber has a chink in his armor, and that is his durability – injuries have been his bane since he lost to Mike Brown in July of 2009, and he is cutting ten pounds, which could have a detrimental effect on his famous cardio. Still, Faber has the chops to win this one, as Mizugaki hasn't displayed much in the way of takedown defence.

Prediction: Faber by TKO, round 2.

 

Chad Mendes versus Javier Vazquez

Mendes is Faber's Team Alpha Male stable mate, and once a mirror image at 5'6" and 145 pounds. Like Faber, Mendes' specialty seems to be lungs and guts. With that recipe Mendes is 8-0 in a career spanning three years, including a win over perennial contender Cub Swanson. Sound like a miniature version of a certain heavyweight? He's a 145-pound Cain Velasquez without the Latino heritage. Except in Mendes' 9th fight, he's not fighting for a belt. If he wins this fight in dominant fashion, he should be.

Javier Vazquez is a Cuban-born American who, despite a possible genetic predeliction towards boxing, is actually a Carlson Gracie black belt. With 10 of 15 wins by submission, and two consecutive submission victories including one versus Jens Pulver, it's not hard to guess what Mendes Vazquez has been training: guillotine, triangle, armbar and leg submission attempts and defence, with the sub-savvy Vazquez on his back. Look for Vazquez to be nimble off his back, but Mendes is not one to take risks or make stupid mistakes.

Prediction: Mendes by decision.

 

Erik Koch versus Francisco Rivera

Koch's single career loss is to Mendes. Both of these neophytes (Koch is 22, Mendes is 25) have a bright future to look forward to, that is if Koch learned his lesson in the Mendes fight. He had no answer for Mendes' superior wrestling, despite, like Vazquez, having a decent wrestling pedigree. Rivera, 5-0, has the misfortune of stepping into the WEC against a dangerous veteran and up-and-comer, who is fresh off of a summer submission victory at WEC 49. Koch won't take Rivera lightly, but he was training for Josh Grispi. Also, Koch is 5'10 – he could fight at welterweight at that height.

Prediction: Koch by submission, round three.

 

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Joseph Benavidez versus Wagnney Fabiano

WEC 52 could very well be titled "Team Alpha Male". Joseph Benavidez, Chad Mendes, and Urijah Faber all train together in Sacramento. Benavidez is arguably one of the most exciting fighters in the WEC, although it would be impossible to reduce "the most exciting fighters in the WEC" to a list of less than eight or so. Benavidez, despite what must have been a heartbreaking split decision title contention loss to Dominick Cruz, holds not just victories over Miguel Torres and Rani Yahya, but he finished both dudes (arguably the best striker and the best grappler at bantamweight). Benavidez is grit personified – he fights on all cylinders with alacrity and an incredibly developed overall game. Probably one of the best all-round fighters in the sport.

If Wagnney Fabiano is reading this, he's probably none too happy, but this is not a fight for a submission expert like Fabiano, who boasts a third-degree black belt from the same school as the UFC's Nogueira brothers. This match-up reads similar to Mendes versus Vazquez, except Fabiano is more careful and has an embarrassing submission loss in his WEC debut, where he lost to relative nobody, brown belt Mackens Semerzier, by triangle choke (ironically, Semerzier lost to Vazquez via rear naked choke at WEC 50 and faces Cub Swanson on the undercard of this event). If MMA history has taught us one thing, it's that BJJ experts can no longer rest on their BJJ laurels. Without, for example, pinpoint striking, a la Anderson Silva, or dominant wrestling, a la Jake Shields, a black belt is just an accessory.

Prediction: Benavidez by submission, round two.

 

Demetrious Johnson versus Damacio Page

Damacio, 12-4, is a lot like his Greg Jackson team-mate Diego Sanchez: deeply religious, a bit weird, and a jack of all trades, MMA-wise. Page is also a veteran of several fight promotions, including KOTC, K-1 and Pancrase. The most striking thing about Page's record is that he has alternated his method of winning in near-symmetrical fashion: submission followed by KO; rinse, repeat. Unfortunately for Page, his last three losses are also symmetrical: three consecutive submissions. The lesser known upstart, Demetrious Johnson, has a decent wrestling pedigree and has made a name for himself in lesser west coast promotions with four submission finishes, a TKO and a head kick KO. He is 1-1 in the WEC with a decision victory and loss.

Prediction: this one will go to decision, don't be surprised to see a split either way.

 



 

THE UNDERCARD

Raphael Assuncao versus L.C. Davis

Well this is another American wrestler versus Brazilian submission grappler matchup, except the twist here is that both men might be fighting to see gets to stick around. Assuncao is 2-2 in the WEC and 0-2 in his last two fights. Granted, he lost to Urijah Faber, not to mention Diego Nunes by split decision. But Faber submitted him, in another recent loss by a BJJ prodigy to an American wrestler in the WEC. Seeing a pattern here? Davis' recent past is a little more chequered, as he's 3-1 in his last four and was clearly in the wings for title contention with his bout versus Josh Grispi which he lost via submission (he also lost to Fabiano via armbar in the IFL). Three consecutive decision victories prior to the loss, including a split decision, aren't going to help his stock much should he lose this one. This fight will come down to pure grit.

Prediction: Davis by decision.

 

Mackens Semerzier versus Cub Swanson

First of all, Mackens Semerzier has a first name that looks like a last name, and Cub Swanson has a first name that looks like a nickname. Just had to throw that out there. Swanson has a loss to Mendes; Semerzier one to Vazquez. Swanson is 1-2 in his last three, Semerzier is 1-2 in his last three. Swanson is 14-4, but he was Pulver's last victory and has not really beaten top competition since defeating Hiroyuki Takaya in 2008. Semerzier is facing a bleak future if he loses, after he was pitted against back-to-back top prospects following his surprise upset of black belt Wagnney Fabiano. Plus, this is number three in a row of extremely tough match-ups for Semerzier, who doesn't have much more than a half decent ground game to compete against the well rounded Swanson. Veteran Cub Swanson shouldn't look past Mackens, but he should cruise to a safe decision victory.

Prediction: Swanson by decision.

 

Yves Jabouin versus Brandon Visher

Canadian and Montreal native Yves Jabouin fights out of the gym run by Georges St. Pierre's coach Firas Zahabi. Less surprising is his dedication to Muay Thai. Granted an undercard seed, perhaps a tad unfairly (why pit two Canadian kickboxers against each other in western Canada, unless they are from Calgary and Edmonton?), against fellow Canadian kickboxer Mark Hominick at WEC 50 in Edmonton, Canada, Jabouin lost that fight which followed a split decision loss to Raphael Assuncao at WEC 43. Jabouin has faced two top-tier opponents and fought his heart out in two consecutive WEC fights, earning Fight of the Night against Hominich. Maybe the WEC set the bar a tad too high. Visher is more Jabouin's style. Both fighters have a wealth of experience in smaller promotions, but unlike Jabouin, Visher has not faced top prospects, lost, yet won laurels. Visher could pull off the upset, but will more likely serve as a springboard for Jabouin to gain the next level in his game.

Prediction: Jabouin by TKO.

 

> After the fights are complete, find the WEC 52 results & recap online at ProFighting-fans.com and look forward to the WEC 51 fight card & rumors for the first ever PPV World Extreme Cagefighting event and check out Urijah Faber's Form Athletics MMA clothing!

 

 

REMAINING UNDERCARD FIGHTS

 

Edward Faaloloto versus Anthony Njokuani

Prediction: Njokuani never looked the same after three consecutive KO's of the night, but he is a coin flip to win against a relative nobody. Faaloloto is a newbie fighting out of Chris Leben's Hawaii gym. Njokuani by KO.

 

Zack Micklewright versus Dustin Poirier

Prediction: Another match-up where the loser waves bye-bye, two fighters who are both 1-1 in the WEC are probably fighting for contention in the UFC's lightweight division now that the merger is official. Both have losses to top five lightweights in their most recent fights (Micklewright to Bart Palaszewski and Poirier to Danny Castillo). Micklewright for the win, via coin toss.

 

Clint Godfrey versus Michael McDonald

Prediction: McDonald, 10-1, is riding a big win over Cole Escovedo (who he lost to in 2009), although it is his WEC debut, while Godfrey is 11-2 but 1-1 in the WEC, suffering a not undignified decision loss to Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 46. I give this one to McDonald via momentum, which should never be overlooked.

 

 

By Roy Kok
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer

 

Past WEC Previews, Predictions & Recaps: