(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.

(Photo:WEC.tv)

The Marshall Vs Stann Light Heavyweight showdown is in the record books now and the win was a convincing one, with  the highly regarded Stann securing a first round TKO over the Champion Marshall.  This card had a mix of everything with plenty of first round finishes,  including submissons, TKO’s, even a DQ in the case of John Alessio and the elusive Draw for the Manuel vs Osawa Featherweight match.

Check out the offical event results below (Courtesy of WEC.tv)

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(Photo:WEC.tv)

Here are the official results from the WEC  ‘Marshall Vs Stann” weigh-ins held  in Las Vegas, NV today:

(Results are courtesy of the WEC site) 

Main Event – WEC Light Heavyweight Championship
Brian Stann (204) vs Doug Marshall (204)

Ed Ratcliff (155) vs Marcus Hicks (156)
Bryan Baker (184) vs Chael Sonnen (186)
Steve Cantwell (203) vs Tim McKenzie (203)

Hiromitsu Miura (170) vs Blas Avena (170)
John Alessio (170) vs Brock Larson (171)
Sergio Gomez (156) vs Richard Crunkilton (156)
Ryan Stonitsch (171) vs Alex Serdyukov (169)
Chris Manuel (136) vs Kenji Osawa (134)
Scott Harper (186) vs Logan Clark (186)

The event has some interesting matches including the main event, a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between perrenial hardass (and impressively tattooed) Doug “The Rhino” Marshall and an undefeated 4-0 fighter and potential MMA poster boy,  “All American” Brian Stann.  John Alessio vs Brock Larson should be another great match on the undercard.

For those not familiar with the organization, WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) is a solid organization that is owned, like the UFC, by Zuffa.  Considerable effort has been made to promote the organizations as separate entities rather than treating the WEC as a feeder pool for the UFC.  One benefit of that strategy is the inclusion of additional weight classes like the Bantamweight match between Chris Manuel and Kenji Osawa, that should be a treat to watch.

Check out video of the weigh ins:

Tune in for the live action:

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada
VERSUS 9pm ET / 6pm PT