WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (09/30/2010 @ 1:30 pm) The WEC returns to action tonight on Versus at 9PM ET with WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan. The card is stacked and is a tremendous lineup given the fact this will be on free television. The main event features a title fight in the featherweight division featuring one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Here are my picks for the winner’s in tonight’s card. WEC Featherweight Championship – Champion Jose Aldo (17-1) vs. Manny Gamburyan (13-5): Aldo is on a tear right now as he is coming off his dominant win over Urijah Faber at WEC 48. He has tremendous explosiveness with his kicks and punches while also being a jiu-jitsu black belt. Gamburyan is a force UFC lightweight competitor, but has found his home in the 145-pound division of the WEC. Manny is coming off a KO win over Mike Thomas Brown and his style could pose a problem for Aldo as he is short and compact with good wrestling and power in his hands. I think Gamburyan will make a fight of things, but ultimately Aldo will slowly break him down with leg kicks before landing a big punch in the third round to get the TKO win. WEC Lightweight Bout – Jamie Varner (16-3-3, 2NC) vs. Donald Cerrone (11-3, 1NC): Both men are looking to get another shot at the lightweight title as each were submitted by champion Ben Henderson in recent fights. This is a rematch as well from a controversial decision in January of 2009. These two have bad blood and want at each other badly. Varner brings good boxing to the cage while Cerrone is more of a grappler and submission fighter. I look for Cerrone to keep Varner at distance with his length and then close inside and grapple his way to a decision victory. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC, WEC Tags: Chan Sung Jung, Charlie Valencia, Donald Cerrone, George Roop, Jamie Varner, Jose Aldo, Leonard Garcia, Manny Gamburyan, Mark Hominick, Miguel Torres, WEC, WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan, World Extreme Cagefighting
WEC 50 Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (08/18/2010 @ 3:15 pm) The WEC puts on its next show tonight as WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 takes place from Las Vegas. The card features a WEC Bantamweight Championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez along with a lightweight contest between Shane Roller and Anthony Pettis. The main card airs live on Versus at 9PM ET. Here are my picks for the winners. WEC Bantamweight Championship Bout – Dominick Cruz (15-1) vs. Joseph Benavidez (12-1): This fight is a rematch of a bout that happened a little over a year ago where Cruz won a unanimous decision. Now Cruz is the champion and Benavidez is the challenger and in this fight, look for Benavidez to get the nod. He underestimated Cruz and his wrestling in the first fight and anticipated more standup, which left him flat footed and allowed Cruz to control the fight. This time around, Benavidez should be able to dictate the pacing and placement of the fight. I like Benavidez to win by submission in round four. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, WEC Tags: Anthony Pettis, Brad Pickett, Chad Mendes, Cub Swanson, Dominick Cruz, Joseph Benavidez, Las Vegas, MMA, Scott Jorgensen, Shane Roller, WEC, WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, World Extreme Cagefighting
WEC Featherweight fighter Chad Mendes chats with The Scores Report Posted by Drew Ellis (08/18/2010 @ 12:12 pm) Chad Mendes believes he can be one of the best mixed-martial artists in the world. On Wednesday, he will have his chance to prove it. Sporting a 7-0 record in his young pro career, the WEC Featherweight faces his toughest challenge in Cub Swanson in WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez, live on Versus at 9PM ET. I got a chance to speak with up-and-coming fighter and ask him about his big fight with Swanson, as well has training with guys like Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez, and his sponsorship with AMP Energy. The Scores Report: Hey Chad, how is everything going? Chad Mendes: Everything is great, just excited for my next fight. TSR: Well before we get to your fight with Cub Swanson, talk about your last fight in which you defeated Anthony Morris at WEC 48, a pay-per-view event that took place Sacramento, where you train. What was that whole experience like and by winning by submission in the first round, was it the best performance of your career? CM: Well, I took that fight on short notice and when the WEC asked me to fill in for an injured fighter, I had to say yes. I got in a solid week of training and went over techniques and a game plan and I really worked on the arm-in guillotine choke. I was having dreams about getting that choke in and when the fight happened, it was just like I had dreamed and the choke was there, so I sunk it in and got the win. In terms of fighting in Sacramento, that was just unbelievable. The crowd was nuts and there was so much energy in the building. It was a great feeling. TSR: How big is this upcoming fight with Cub Swanson, who has fought some of the best in the world, including current featherweight champion, Jose Aldo? CM: Every fight is big, but this is clearly a huge step in my career. Fighting Cub is a great honor for me. He is a tough guy and faced all the top opponents. He is a real scrapper and he pushes a tough pace. I am expecting a war and not matter what happens, fighting a guy like Cub can only make me better. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, WEC Tags: AMP Energy, Chad Mendes, Cub Swanson, Erik Koch, Jose Aldo, Mixed Martial Arts, Urijah Faber, Versus, WEC, WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, WEC 50: Benavidez vs. Cruz 2, World Extreme Cagefighting
WEC Bantamweight No. 1 Contender Joseph Benavidez chats with The Scores Report Posted by Drew Ellis (08/16/2010 @ 6:30 pm) A year ago, few knew who Joseph Benavidez was. Even the hardcore MMA fans knew little about the 5-foot-4, 135-pound bantamweight that trains out of Ultimate Fitness in Sacramento, California. On Aug. 9, 2009, Benavidez suffered his lone loss of his career to Dominick Cruz and since then has rattled off back-to-back wins, including a second round submission win over Miguel Torres on March 6 that put him on the map. Now, with the MMA eye clearly on him, Benavidez looks to avenge his loss to Cruz this Wednesday at WEC 50 when he challenges Cruz for the WEC Bantamweight title from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event can be seen live on Versus starting at 9PM ET. I got the chance to speak to Benavidez and ask him about his title match, having his teammate Urijah Faber drop down to his weight class, and his sponsorship with AMP. The Scores Report: Joseph, thanks for your time. I know you have a busy schedule. Joseph Benavidez: Not a problem. TSR: Tell me about when you found out you were getting the title fight and a chance to face Cruz again. JB: I kind of felt like I was going to get the fight after I beat Miguel Torres and shortly after the WEC 48 Pay-Per-View event, I found out I was getting it. It was 50-50 at one point but I knew I deserved the fight and I pleaded my case some what and the WEC made their choice to have the rematch and the feeling was just unreal. Becoming champion is the reason most people fight and I felt like I took the right steps to get this opportunity. I remember when I got the contract to sign, I had this feeling that I was going to become champion. That really means everything to me. My goal is to be the best and the hardware will be cool to have, but the recognition that you are the best in the world is really what I am after. When I win that fight, my name will be in history forever.” Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Interviews, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC, WEC Tags: AMP Energy, Dominick Cruz, Jeff Curran, Joseph Benavidez, Miguel Torres, Mixed Martial Arts, Urijah Faber, Versus, WEC, WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, WEC 50: Benavidez vs. Cruz 2, World Extreme Cagefighting
Top 10 Pound for Pound MMA Fighters in the World 4/29/10 Posted by Drew Ellis (04/29/2010 @ 8:00 am) It has been some time since I released a top 10 pound-for-pound list, with my last edition coming all the way back in August of last year. There have been some changes and the bottom of the list was tough to determine, but I feel pretty good about this group. I am basing this list over the past few years and using this criteria to make my choices: Quality of wins (i.e. stoppages), Quality of opponents, Amount of damage taken in fights, and Establishment of all-around skills in the cage. Now that the criteria has been addressed, here we go. 1. Anderson Silva – 26-4 – UFC Middleweight Champion: Silva’s last fight was embarrassing for the UFC, but it again displayed how dominant he is. He literally took two rounds off and still won a unanimous decision and in the three rounds he tried, he landed every shot he threw while dodging every shot Demian Maia threw at him. When he gets challenged, Silva quickly runs through his opponents, like Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin. When guys don’t come at him, like Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, the fights are unwatchable. Bottom line, it is hard to see someone beating this guy and I still think he could step up to heavyweight someday and give Brock Lesnar a run for his money. 2. Georges St. Pierre – 20-2 – UFC Welterweight Champion: GSP hasn’t been challenged since facing Josh Koscheck at UFC 74. The champion has cruised through his opponents and the only complaint against him has been his inability to finish recent opponents. Still, stopping B.J. Penn and dominating Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, and Dan Hardy is pretty impressive and a potential fight with Koscheck again or slugger Paul Daley or even Jake Shields keeps things exciting with GSP. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Tags: Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Dominick Cruz, Fedor Emelianenko, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Jose Aldo, Kenny Florian, Lyoto Machida, MMA, Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Mixed-Martial Arts, Rashad Evans, Shane Carwin, Strikeforce, Thiago Alves, Vitor Belfort, WEC, World Extreme Cagefighting
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