My Take on MMA 8.06.07: Final WEC 29 Thoughts
Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.06.2007
WEC was live Sunday night and provided us with two title fights. Did the card stand up and deliver, or was it just a nominal effort? Come on into see!
Introduction:
Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take on MMA. As always I am your host Larry Csonka. First of all I would lie to offer some apologies for missing the news column. There wasn't a ton of news last week, I didn't have anything of interest to rant about and I was running the site solo; leaving me wasted by Thursday. So I took the week off. That all being said I was back Sunday night to report on the WEC show that aired LIVE on the Verses network. It was a two-hour special that gave us five-fights; two of them title bouts and one new champion was crowned. It sounded really good going in, but how did the show come off? Did it deliver, or was it just another run of the mill MMA card? Let's break it down and find out.
WEC LIVE on VERSES~!:
The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Sherron Leggett (16-1) vs. Jamie Varner (12-2-1 NC) My Prediction: Leggett, TKO, RD2 The Result: Jamie Varner via RD 1 TKO Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5 Final Thoughts: In the pre-match video Varner promised to "outclass this B-Class Fighter and end it in round one." Well, he did that and rather easily. Leggett was looking fine, and got a solid takedown on Varner, but Varner must have been watching a lot of Japanese Wrestling lately because he powered up Leggett and executed a Death valley Driver, dropping Leggett on his head and I thought killing him. Varner accidentally hit Leggett on the back of the head, getting a stoppage for time and allowing Leggett to get some time. But it was all for naught as Varner would get his back, rain down with shots and the bout was stopped. Varner looked awesome here and improves his record and I want to see more of him. This was a horrible prediction by yours truly.
The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Tiki Ghosn (9-6) vs. Blas Avena (4-1) My Prediction: Ghosn, TKO, RD1 The Result: Blas Avena via RD 1 Submission Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.0 Final Thoughts: This was an added bout from the dark bouts. I truly felt that Tiki Ghosn was going to come out and get a win, one he really needed as he had lost his last three fights, with his last win in 2004. This was a horrible prediction again by yours truly. Blas Avena looked like a beast and destroyed him in around one-minute. This was a fine addition since it was only a minute, and people love the quick tap out.
The Fight: FEATHERWEIGHT BOUT - Stephen Ledbetter (6-0) vs. Jeff Curran (30-8-1) My Prediction: Curran, Submission, RD1 The Result: Jeff Curran via Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Larry's Enjoyment Index: 4.0 Final Thoughts: We moved onto Featherweight action and I was excited because I rather enjoy Feather and Lightweight bouts. They are usually full of action and overall exciting bouts. This bout, not so much. I expected Curran to dominate in a quick fashion due to his experience and end it quickly. Again, not so much. Outside of a great shot by Curran early on, round one was a snoozefest and in the end, two of the judges and myself gave it to Ledbetter due to him controlling with takedowns. Round two was better, but was really exciting in the last minute as Curran got a TIGHT triangle, and Ledbetter was only saved by the horn. As we moved to the final round Curran worked hard, Ledbetter looked as if he didn't want to be there and thankfully it ended. Curran gets the unanimous decision victory and this was the "worst fight" of the night in my opinion. Well I picked the right guy this time, so good on me! That's all I picked right though.
The Fight: VACANT MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE BOUT - Paulo Filho (14-0) vs. Joe Doerksen (39-9) My Prediction: Filho, Submission, RD3 The Result: NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION Paulo Filho via RD 1 TKO Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5 Final Thoughts: Up next was out bout for the Vacant WEC Welterweight Title. The undefeated Paulo Filho vs. Joe Doerksen. People were emailing me and saying that Joe Doerksen should have been brought into UFC, and not the "lowly" WEC. Well, they were wrong because young Mr. Filho took Joe Doerksen to school. There was a great combo by Filho, which took Doerksen down, Filho dropped down with punches, tons of punches actually and Doerksen held onto his leg while Filho landed punches at will. Somehow Doerksen managed to get to his feet, well punched to his feet and Filho took him down again, he landed more punches and the fight was stopped. Filho looked like the real deal here, and is now the WEC Middleweight champion. I haven't seen much from him but he looks like he will be one to keep an eye on in WEC. I picked the right guy again, but I never expected Filho to finish on the feet, and in round one at that! Good show Mr. Filho.
