411’s WEC Wrekcage Report 07.11.08
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 07.11.2008
Urijah Faber, Carlos Condit and Brian Stann are showcased on this edition of WEC Wrekcage.
WEC Wrekcage Report
This episode of World Extreme Cagefighting Wrekcage features a big five-fight card. The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from Las Vegas, Nevada is still the place to be for all of your WEC action. We have two title fights on the card including a fight between Carlos Condit and John Alessio for the vacant WEC Welterweight Championship. The main event features the "California Kid" Urijah Faber defending the WEC Featherweight Championship against Joe Pearson. Your hosts, as usual, are Todd Harris and the one and only Frank Mir courtesy of Versus TV.
Our opener is the curtain jerker (at least for television purposes) from WEC 26 on March 24th, 2007. United States Marine Brian Stann is working his second fight in the promotion against Steve Cantwell.
(2-0, 26 years old) Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell (4-0, 20 years old)
Stann's first WEC fight ended in a sixteen second win over Miguel Cosio. This fight would not last much longer. The contest kicked off with Stann throwing several strikes and Cantwell responding with kicks. Brian Stann landed a big right and Cantwell dropped. Stann pounced on him and Cantwell appeared to be out when the ref jumped in to stop the fight. After the decision, Cantwell was not happy with the stoppage. I'm not arguing the stoppage; Cantwell was not alert throughout that sequence.
Your winner via TKO is Brian Stann at :41 of the first round.
Up next is the first of our two championship matches tonight. This is for the vacant WEC Welterweight Championship. Former champion Mike Pyle did not make the switch over to the Zuffa-owned WEC and the belt was vacated in December 2006. This fight was the main event of WEC 26. Since it is for the gold, it is scheduled for five rounds.
(25-10, 28 years old) John Alessio vs. Carlos Condit (19-4, 22 years old)
The championship fight begins with a long feeling out process. Alessio throws some strikes but doesn't connect with much. He is able to slam Condit to the mat with a body lock. While in Condit's guard, Alessio is swept over and both fighters are back up on their feet. Condit throws a kick but Alessio catches it and slams him down for takedown number two. Condit delivers a few up kicks and returns to his feet where he delivers some knees. John Alessio gets take down number three while Condit pushes the pace as the round ends. It is definitely a close round because neither man did much damage. Alessio had the three takedowns but Condit pushed the pace more. I'd give it to Alessio, 10-9, based on the takedowns.
Round two kicks off with another John Alessio takedown that makes it clear he does not want to stand with Carlos Condit. Condit works from the bottom, keeping active. Standing, Condit lands some knees and a nice right head kick. Condit tries a pair of kimura's before landing some ground and pound from the mount. Finally, Alessio gives up his back and Condit sinks in the rear naked choke at the end of the round. However, Alessio taps just before the five-minute mark.
Your winner and NEW WEC Welterweight Champion is Carlos Condit due to a tap out submission from a rear naked choke at 4:59 of the second round.
Following a nice performance from Carlos Condit, we are staying in the welterweight division. This fight also took place at WEC 26.
(19-1, 23 years old) Brock Larson vs. Erik Apple (9-0, 27 years old)
We start off with a clinch as both men vie for the takedown. It results with Erik Apple attempting a guillotine but Brock Larson is able to escape on the ground. Larson ends up in half guard before taking Apple's back and trying a rear naked choke. Larson moves to side control but Apple grabs an ankle and attempts a foot/ankle lock (somewhat similar to the one mighty Frank Mir pulled against Brock Lesnar at UFC 81). Larson stays calm while on top and simply throws bombs. Larson goes for a nice arm bar before rolling into a kimura for the tap out victory.
Your winner due to submission (kimura) is Brock Larson at 3:43 of the first round.
Seems like the night of welterweights as we have yet another 170-pound meeting. An interesting side-note are the corner men for each fighter here. Tiki Ghosn had Tito Ortiz in his corner. Dave Terrel had Chuck Liddell in his corner. This is just three months after the huge December UFC PPV where Liddell defeated Ortiz. Ironically, it would be Liddell's last successful championship defense and Ortiz's last MEGA fight. You know, before the wreckage left by fights against Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida and declining relationship with Dana White. But this is not a Tito Ortiz fight; throw the spotlight on Dave Terrel and Tiki Ghosn.
(9-5, 30 years old) Tiki Ghosn vs. Dave Terrel (4-1, 27 years old)
In the opening round, Ghosn comes out with a ton of energy. The majority of this is stand-up with both men exchanging strikes. Terrel's takedown attempts went nowhere against Ghosn's sprawl. Near the end of the round, Ghosn nails some knees to Terrel's ribs before the ref stands them up for lack of action. Not a lot to talk about besides that. 10-9 goes to Ghosn here for pushing the pace.
The next round would be the complete opposite (well, almost). Dave Terrel finds Ghosn's weakness, defending the left jab. Terrel lands a pair early in the round and then continues with it. He nails Ghosn square in the face and his legs are wobbly. Terrel smelled blood and darted across the cage to end the fight but Ghosn would NOT go down. Well, he was knocked down once or twice but he just continued to rise to his feet and ate more punches. Finally, referee Herb Dean steps in to stop the fight. How Terrel did not knock Ghosn out, I do not know.
Your winner due to TKO from strikes is Dave Terrel at 1:46 of the second round.
Our main event of this evening features the "Other Von Erich" or "California Kid," as he's better known as. WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber defends the gold against Iowa's Joe Pearson in this WEC 25 co-main event. This was Faber's first title defense after winning the gold nearly a year before. He took time off from the WEC to fight for King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge.
(16-1, 27 years old) Champion Urijah Faber vs. Challenger Joe Pearson (17-7, 28 years old)
This fight went like you would expect a Faber fight to go. Almost out of the gate, Faber slams Pearson down. After blocking several knees from Pearson, Faber slams him for a second time. In his guard, Faber throws bombs after dragging him closer to the cage. Faber lands a pair of elbows that hurt Pearson as he taps and this fight is over. The replay shows two elbows landing then the Pearson tap, but Faber didn't recognize it and threw one more shot before the ref jumped in. Pearson looked all right as the doctor's were checking on him.
Your winner and STILL WEC Featherweight Champion is Urijah Faber due to tap out from strikes at 2:31 of the first round.
Final Thoughts: Well, both champions on this show are still wearing the gold as of the summer of 2008. Of course, Faber has dominated the division while Condit has defended his belt twice. Brian Stann may not be a mainstream star yet (well, nobody WEC is) but if he maintains his success and parlays it in to the UFC, he will be big. Great background and the man has a ton of power inside the cage. As for Ghosn/Terrel, I wonder if the left jab strategy was a plan before the fight or developed after the first round. For some reason, Ghosn had no defense for it. Terrel has not fought since.
