(Image:WEC.tv)

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)  recently announced their next event, a “Championship Triple Header” scheduled for August 3rd at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
 
The event is stacked already and will have the Lightweight,Welterweight and Light Heavyweight belts on the line on a single fight card.

Here is the card as announced to date:

Jamie Varner Vs. Marcus Hicks 
Brian Stann Vs. Steve Cantwell
Carlos Condit Vs. Hiromitsu Miura  

 
WEC enjoyed a very successful show with the Pulver vs Faber match which was a refreshing event after taking in the premier EliteXC “Saturday Night Fifghts’ event the night before.
Obviously they are looking to continue their ratings run by stringing together the three Championship bouts into one night of fighting.

This is a can’t miss event for MMA fans… more to come as additional details are released.

Check out the fight card details on WEC.tv.  

 (Image: WEC.tv)

The second major MMA event of the weekend has come and gone and it was a very entertaining card.  The main event of Urijah Faber Vs. Jens Pulver was a fantastic battle that should have fans reaching a new level of respect for both fighters.  While it was a rather clear unanimous decision victory for the winner, both fighters made a real fight of it and the back and forth action made for a great match through five solid rounds.

The co-main event was no slouch either with Miguel Torres and Yoshido Maeda putting together another bang up match in the even lighter Bantamweight class.  What other MMA event would feature it’s two main events in the lightweight class, let alone a Feather and Bantamweight line-up.  The recipe worked though and the action was outstanding.

In a reflective sense, after taking in the two major MMA events this weekend, EliteXC certainly put together a big show, but it was nowhere near the entertaining package that the WEC pulled off tonight.  With CBS riding the MMA wave for weekend ratings, many spectators were exposed to Mixed Martial Arts as a sport for the first time this weekend in their living-rooms.  While CBS may have seen favorable ratings, the better service for the sport in general would have been served through a prime-time airing of the WEC event.  Less of the showmanship and more of the show… what more can I say?

Here are the official results from tonight’s WEC “Pulver Vs. Faber”: (Don’t click if you don’t want to see them)

Read the rest of this entry »

 (Image:UFC.com)

WEC will be airing a Faber Vs. Pulver preview show titled “Outside the Cage” that will air next Monday, May 26th on the VERSUS  Network.  The show is a one hour behind he scenes look at both fighters and is reminiscent of the popular UFC promotional spots that air in the week leading up to PPV events.

In a quote from the WEC site,

” The program will give viewers unprecedented access to Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver and Miguel Torres in advance of their showdowns on June 1. The special includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of each fighter in their hometowns, in their training facilities and in their homes as they prepare both physically and mentally for their respective fights.”

This is a huge fight for the WEC as both Pulver and Faber have a huge fan following and it is in many ways the intersection of old school MMA and the new breed of MMA.   The card doesn’t really need much in the way of promotion, but the fans will certainly appreciate the sneak peek at the two fighters leading up to what is destined to be an epic featherweight showdown.
Check the VERSUS site for channel information in your area.

 (Image:WEC.tv)

Ticket sales for the pending Featherweight battle between Jens ” L’il Evil” Pulver and current WEC champion Urijah “California Kid” Faber have been so successful that the WEC has decided to release additional tickets to the event.
WEC management had originally planned to sell only lower bowl tickets to the event that is scheduled to take place June 1st at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA.  In an article on UFC.com, WEC management reports indicate that they opened up the higher level seats to accommodate fans who would not otherwise have been able to attend the event.

With a reported 8,000 tickets sold to date, this will be a huge event for the WEC and a testament to the talent that these two Featherweight fighters possess as well as their respect in among the MMA fan-base.  Honestly, any MMA event that is selling out with a Featherweight main event is doing extremely well.  Like boxing, MMA bouts are usually marketed around the heavier weight classes, primarily for the KO power that the heavier fighters bring to the table.   In this case, Pulver has his own crazy KO power in that wild left hand and this is indeed a fight that the fans want to see.

Only a few more weeks until we see who will walk out of the event as the WEC Featherweight Champion…. this one should be great. Check out the full fight card details below:

Main Event:
Urijah Faber Vs. Jens Pulver

 Main Card:
Yoshiro Maeda Vs. Miguel Torres
Chuck Grigsby Vs. Mark Munoz
Kenneth Alexander Vs. Rob McCullough

Undercard:
Richard Crunkilton Jr. Vs. Donald Cerrone

Jeff Curran Vs. Mike Brown
Chase Beebe Vs. Will Ribeiro
Tim McKenzie Vs. Eric Schambari
Alex Serdyukov Vs. Luis Sapo
Jose Aldo Vs. Alexandre Nogueira
Charlie Valencia Vs. Dominick Cruz

(Photos: WEC.tv)

The fight card for WEC ‘Faber vs . Pulver” has been officially announced and includes several intriguing matches.  The obvious and main event bout is a Featherweight battle between current Champion, Uriah Faber and veteran MMA talent Jens Pulver.  The fight will be a defining one for both fighters as they look to cement themselves as the best Featherweight MMA fighter in the world.

For Pulver, it would be the realization of a dream to return to MMA and become a Champion, while Faber has an opportunity to take down an icon of the sport and a fighter who is undefeated at Featherweight, further legitimizing his recognition as one of the sports absolute elite fighters.

“Razor” Rob McCullough also returns to the cage for the first time since losing his Lightweight title to former UFC fighter Jamie “The Worm” Varner.  The fight against Varner was a barn burner and although McCullough got caught in the third round, he still looked great in the fight.  His opponent, Kenneth “The Machine” Alexander looks to be outmatched considering he has only one prior fight in the WEC and he lost that one by first round submission to Donald Cerrone.  Well actually, it is officially a No Contest result, as Cerrone later tested positive for a banned diuretic substance and was stripped of the win. More important than the substance abuse storyline is the fact that this is a rematch from a 2002 bout that McCullough lost to Alexander early in his career.  This is a fight that McCullough obviously would like to get back, while Alexander will want to prove he deserved the win over the former champ.
 
Jeff Curran also returns in an under-card appearance against a very game Mike Brown.

This should be a great card overall, with lots of wide open fighting to entertain the fans.

Full Fight card details are included below:

Main Event
JENS PULVER  vs.  URIAH FABER

Main Card
MIGUEL ANGEL TORRES  vs.  YOSHIRO MAEDA
ROB MCCULLOUGH  vs.  KENNETH ALEXANDER
MARK MUNOZ  vs.  CHUCK GRIGSBY

Under-Card 
DONALD CERRONE  vs.  RICHARD CRUNKILTON
JEFF CURRAN   vs.  MIKE BROWN
TIM MCKENZIE  vs.  ERIC SCHAMBARI
ALEXANDRE NOGUEIRA vs.  JOSE ALDO
DOMINICK CRUZ   vs.  CHARLIE VALENCIA

WEC “Faber vs Pulver” will air live on VERSUS, June 1st  from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA.

 (Photos:Sherdog.com)

 The WEC confirmed reports of a Featherweight shootout scheduled for June 1st, between two of the biggest names in the world for that division.  Jens ‘L’il Evil’ Pulver will face off against Uriah ‘California Kid’ Faber in the June 1st event which is a fight that will satisfy many fans who have been waiting for the match since Pulver joined the organization.

 Jens Pulver is most well known for his time in as the Lightweight Champion of the UFC years ago and more recently for his role as a coach in The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality series on Spike TV.  In that series, Pulver faced off against long time nemesis BJ Penn in a coaching competition that culminated in a coaches showdown for the finale.  Penn took the submission victory over Pulver, avenging a decision loss that had haunted him since the early days of his UFC Lightweight career. 

 Following that loss, Pulver joined the WEC at a more favorable Featherweight class, were he could potentially be the bigger, stronger fighter on any given night.  Jens won his first bout over Cub Swanson in convincing fashion, securing victory via Guillotine Choke in 35 seconds of the first round.  That win and Pulver’s career history earned him a shot at the current title holder, Faber.

Uriah Faber is as dominant a fighter as you will find in MMA today, currently riding a 12 fight win streak and showing no signs of slowing down.  In fact, Faber has only one career loss in 21 fights and that loss was to the up and coming UFC Lightweight contender, Tyson Griffin in 2005. 

It should be a great fight period, with Faber looking to show his dominance extends to even the most notable Lightweight talents in the game.   Pulver on the other hand will be looking to make moves on the comeback trail, showing he can adapt with the times in a sport which has grown around him.  He was able to break an 11 fight win streak with his last victory over Cub Swanson so he would certainly like to step it up and take Faber’s 12 fight streak as his next trophy in the fight game.

Update: Anyone looking for the event who doesn’t get Versus (I am receiving it through TSN in Canada)

Event Results are available here  if you need them… don’t click if you don’t want to see.