My Take On MMA 03.27.08: Final WEC (3.26.08) Thoughts

Posted by Larry Csonka on 03.27.2008

Once again the WEC delivers a great show.



Introduction:

It's a busy time of the year kids, not only do we have WrestleMania coming up for those of you that are wrestling fans, but this is a crazy time to be an MMA fan. Last Friday we had ShowXC, last night was WEC, Saturday the 29th we have Strikeforce, April 2nd we have the big three hour UFC Fight Night and I believe that there is another ShowXC on April 5th! More fighting than you can shake a stick at, and after seeing some of these fighters HUMBLE people as they have, I would bring a stick to the fight, a BOOM stick in the form of a sawed off shotgun! WEC was back again and they delivered submissions, decisions, blood, a KO and a new champion! Let's take a look at the show.

Final WEC (3.26.08) Thoughts~!:

The Fight: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Tim McKenzie (11-4) vs. Steve Cantwell (4-1)
The Result: Steve Cantwell via RD1 (2:13) Submission
Final Thoughts: First of all I have to say that Tim McKenzie represents the long line of lame MMA haircuts well. Seriously dude, do something with that. Tim McKenzie tried to work the jab and leg kicks to begin but got taken down rather easily. While he did well in controlling the head on the ground and got back to standing, he may as well have stayed on the mat since he got knocked right back down, Cantwell got his back and the rear naked choke for the win. Cantwell looked very dominant for his lack of experience, and with more seasoning could have some success in the WEC.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Marcus Hicks (7-0) vs. Ed Ratcliff (6-0)
The Result: Marcus Hicks via RD1 (1:42) Submission
Final Thoughts: A battle of undefeated fighters was up next, and commentary promised quick action and we got it here. Hicks seemed to have one goal and that was to use a guillotine to win this fight. He went out, got a takedown and locked in a guillotine but Ratcliff made a nice escape. Hicks threw an uppercut and grabbed another guillotine and Ratcliff managed to escape that. Finally Hicks was able to lock it in the third time against the fence and Ratcliff didn't have an escape for it and that was all. While he lost quickly, Ratcliff showed good skills in escaping the guillotine, but you would have thought that he saw the third one coming. Hicks continues to roll on and out class his competition. He now has three straight WEC wins, including one over Sergio Gomez who also fought tonight. Hicks looks like he is the real deal, and I would like to see him get a shot at the title sooner than later.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.2

The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Rich Crunkilton (17-2) vs. Sergio Gomez (7-1)
The Result: Rich Crunkilton via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
Final Thoughts: The third lightweight bout of the evening was a battle of two men coming off of loses. When you have guys coming off of a loss they either tend to be very tentative, or they go balls to the wall. These guys chose the balls to the wall option, and what we got was an awesome fight. The first round was amazing round that saw Crunkilton control with takedowns and busting Gomez open big time with elbows. Crunkilton also was close with the darce choke, but Gomez had some amazing escapes and slipped out of the darce due to all of the blood. Gomez did make a comeback in the round and rocked Crunkilton at one point. I really felt that Crunkilton could regret not finishing Gomez, but thankfully for him it didn't come back to bite him in the ass. After Crunkilton took the first round, the second saw a very close round as they battled and showed off some amazing counters. This was another awesome round, and I could see it going to either guy, but I went with Crunkilton. Round three was slower and saw Crunkilton hump and bump it out. I had Crunkilton 30-27, while the judges had it 30-26, 30-27, 29-28. I didn't see the 10-8 round in there anywhere, but that is just me. Crunkilton is back winning, but I feel that he will have to sting some wins together or beat someone like Hicks before getting another sniff at the title. Fight of the night no doubt; those first two rounds were simply amazing.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 9.5

The Fight: MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Bryan Barker (6-0) vs. Chael Sonnen (21-9-1)
The Result: Chael Sonnen via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
Final Thoughts: This is the classic definition of a HUMBLING. Seriously, this does not need a large amount of explanation. Chael Sonnen shoots on Barker, gets a slam or takedown and then keeps Barker down and lands as many shots as he wants while Barker takes it while attempting sloppy arm bars and triangle. Round two was the same, only Barker did even less than round one and Sonnen busted Barker open. Round three was the same as round two, only barker may have actually done less in that round as compared to round two. While Barker came in with a 6-0 record, he was clearly not ready for the big stage that was the WEC. This is the most lopsided fight I have seen in a very long time I have to say. I will mention that I am a bit discouraged at the fact that Sonnen couldn't finish him at any point in round two or three. The level of domination was insane, and the fact that he could not finish him is not good. You can't always hump and bump your way to a win, not that he really did that here, but if he had someone in there with a superior ground game, they would have taken that arm home. Just like Filho did last time.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5

The Fight: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT - Doug Marshall © (7-2) vs. Brian Stann (5-0)
The Result: NEW CHAMPION Brian Stann via RD1 (1:35) TKO
Final Thoughts: The big main event of the night was for the WEC Light Heavyweight Title, or as my good buddy CP refers to it, "WEC North American Light Heavyweight Title." Awesome. All joking aside, Doug Marshall was coming off of two title defenses, one by RD1 KO and one by RD1 submission. So he was rolling into the fight with confidence. Stann came into the bout 5-0, all wins by RD1 TKO. I knew that we were in for a short hang and bang fight. And that is exactly what we got. They both came out throwing, Stann was able to stay away in the very early seconds before he got a sweet ass left and Marshall was down. He was out after the elbow that followed and we had a new champion to close the show. Stann is a hoss for sure, just how good he is we don't know yet but he has skills, he has hard hands and he has the size to succeed.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.1

The Overall:
Best Fight(s): LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Rich Crunkilton (17-2) vs. Sergio Gomez (7-1) 9.0
Worst Fight: NONE
Final Thoughts: Once again the WEC delivers another great show. There wasn't one fight I didn't enjoy and they continue to be the most consistent promotion in my opinion. I can't wait for June 1st and Faber vs. Pulver. If you have not checked out WEC, you're really losing out.
Show Score: 8.0