Tonight went pretty much according to plan for the WEC. This show was about establishing contenders at 135 and 145, and showing how good Miguel Torres really is. They succeeded in doing all of that. WEC 37 won't be a ratings blockbuster by any means, but sometimes these cards are necessary to build depth in the organization. They created two new contenders at 135, and one at 145.

Benavidez proved his worth, and will be a worthy contender at 135 before long. If Danny Martinez didn't have a good chin, that fight might very well have ended early. Benavidez showed some very good boxing and straight kicks, and nullified a very one-dimensional Martinez. I don't quite understand why Martinez spent 13 out of 15 minutes trying to load up one big punch. When he finally started to throw combos, he was somewhat effective. A bad gameplan combined with a superior opponent made Martinez look bad. Benavidez will get a step up in competition next time....maybe Ribeiro? Or Tapia?

Bowles looked good against Ribeiro, but not like a guy that could give Torres fits. He is very well-rounded, and kept Ribeiro's standup in check most of the time...but I don't think he's ready for a title fight yet. Unfortunately, there's really no one else ready to step up to Torres yet. Jeff Curran would seem like a logical choice, but he needs at least one fight at 135 first. Bringing in Masakatsu Ueda to fight Torres might not light up TV ratings, but would be a much better fight.

Wagnney, buddy...didn't anyone tell you that your fight was televised? That was a gigantic letdown for me. I knew Fabiano would dominate, but I figured he'd stand and trade a little more, and at least try to be exciting. I think he underestimated how good Tamura is from the bottom. That was sick leg control on Tamura's part, and he did an extremely good job nullifying a BJJ genius like that. Wagnney should have been attempting more GnP and spent less time working the head and arm choke. Yes, he eventually won with it, but that was because he loosened Tamura up with elbows. That fight went 11 minutes too long, in my opinion. Wagnney lacked the killer instinct there.

First off, Frank Mir is either dumb or just made a mistake, because Manny Tapia is NOT a big 135. Being short, stocky, and having a big upper body doesn't make you big for your weight class. He might look big, but he isn't. Torres had a substantial weight advantage, and the reach advantage was insane. He was working the jab extremely well, and Tapia wasn't willing to eat one to get inside, at least initially. When Tapia finally did get inside near the end of the first, he still didn't land anything.

The WEC tried to play up Tapia's standup, saying he's an awesome boxer, and that's simply not true. He's primarily a ground fighter that has had some success on the feet in the WEC so far. Torres had the clear standup advantage coming in, and it showed. He was extremely accurate, and didn't charge right in when he stunned Tapia. That was domination, pure and simple. And it didn't even go to the ground.

As I said above, I don't know where they go with Torres from here. He should have little trouble with Bowles. They could push Benavidez into that spot quickly, to try and sell the Faber/Torres matchup everyone wants to see. I don't know. Curran is a possibility sooner than later. Bringing in Wilson Reis would be huge, but Torres would dominate him on the feet too. Tough call.

Next up is WEC 38 in San Diego. Faber/Pulver 2. Not something I particularily want to see, personally. Faber dominated him badly the first time, and that was probably Pulver at his best. To me, there's no need to try this again...it might have drawn ratings the first time, but all the mystery from the first fight is gone. Faber should be fighting Garcia. At least Cerrone/Varner will be very good.

The WEC still rules though.

Comment and Discuss

Posted by Tim Burke at 7:15 PM

Print Friendly · Digg it · del.icio.us · StumbleUpon · Netscape

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.festeringass.com/mt/mt-tb.fcgi/2794