WEC: Rising from the shadows

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[COLOR="Navy"]Hey. My name is Jeff Starkey. As you have probably heard by now, I was named president of World Extreme Cagefighting last week. Zuffa had originally planned to build up WEC to the point where it was as popular as the UFC, unfortunately it has yet worked out as they had hoped. In a last-ditch effort to turn the promotion around Zuffa hired me. Although I lack experience running an MMA promotion I feel that my aggressive attitude is exactly what this promotion needs to rise from the shadow of the UFC and become the biggest MMA promotion in the world. My first order of business as president of World Extreme Cagefighting is to create a Heavyweight (206-265 lbs) division. As exciting as the lighter weights may be, there is nothing that draws a crowd like a big Heavyweight title fight. Right now I am working on quite a few signings that I should be able to announce within the next week or two. Although I can't give any specifics at the time, I will say that we will definitely be making some significant additions to our weak light heavyweight division and I will be signing quite a few fighters for the new heavyweight division. [/COLOR]

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[QUOTE][B]WEC announces major signings; PPV deal[/B] World Extreme Cagefighting has announced today that they have signed a group of 21 free agents. By far the biggest names announced are Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski and Renato Sobral. The full list of signings is below: Heavyweight- Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Marcus Jones, Junior dos Santos, Gilbert Yvel, Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, Tim Persey, Josh Hendricks, Micheal Russow and Chris Tuscherer. Light Heavyweight- Renato Sobral, Mike Whitehead, Roger Hollett, Glover Teixeira, Andre Gusmao, Micheal Patt and Jared Hamman. Middleweight- Frank Trigg, David Loiseau, Nate Loughan and Amar Soloev. In other WEC news, it is being reported that WEC has reached a 6 show deal with Asian pay-per-view company WOWOW and they are nearing an agreement with North American company TVN Entertainment.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="Navy"]I couldn't be happier with the signings we made today. When I first got hired as president I had planned on being aggressive in the free agency market but I never dreamed that I would land top level fighters like Fedor and Arlovski right off the bat. These guys should be huge draws for us and certainly bring us instant credibility throughout the MMA community. I am also extremely pleased to be able to land PPV deals. The previous administration was happy keeping all the shows on free TV but I feel it is crucial for an MMA promotion to have events on pay per view. It is also very important that we don't rely solely on the North American audience so needless to say I am ecstatic to have an Asian pay per view deal. We will now be preparing for WEC 33, the full card will be announced shortly.[/COLOR]

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[QUOTE][B]Full card announced for WEC 33[/B] Today WEC announced the details of their upcoming WEC 33 pay-per-view from Las Vegas. The event features 12 bouts will be headlined by an epic heavyweight title clash between recent additions Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski. Here is the full card: -Fedor Emelianenko (#1 Heavyweight in the world)* vs Andrei Arlovski (#6 Heavyweight in the world)* for the vacant WEC Heavyweight title -Mark Hominick vs Dominic Cruz -Jens Pulver (#7 Featherweight in the world)* vs Tommy Lee -Renato Sobral vs Glover Teixeira -Brian Bowles vs Justin Robbins -Cub Swanson vs Hiroyuki Takaya (#3 Featherweight in the world)* -Blas Evena vs Ed Ratcliff -Frank Trigg vs Eric Schambari -Rob McCullough vs Charlie Kohler -Roger Hollett vs Ariel Gandulla -Tim Persey vs Junior dos Santos -Coty Wheeler vs Ian McCall *According to Blurcat world rankings[/QUOTE] [COLOR="Navy"]I am quite happy with this card. We had originally planned to slowly build up towards a huge fight between Fedor and Arlovski but I changed my mind at the last minute. Both of these guys are already well known and respected and there is no reason to coddle them. Pulver vs Lee is happening for one reason and one reason only, to give Pulver a chance to get an impressive win over an entertaining fighter. If all goes as planned Pulver will be given a title shot against Urijah Faber very soon.[/COLOR]

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[COLOR="Red"]Official Blurcat predictions: Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski (HW title bout) -[I]Fedor Emelianenko via knock out[/I] Dominic Cruz vs Mark Hominick (FW bout) - [I]Mark Hominick via TKO[/I] Jens Pulver vs Tommy Lee (FW bout) - [I]Jens Pulver via decision[/I] Renato Sobral vs Glover Teixeira (LHW bout) - [I]Renato Sobral via split decision[/I] Brian Bowles vs Justin Robbins (BW bout) - [I]Brian Bowles via TKO[/I] Cub Swanson vs Hiroyuki Takaya (FW bout) - [I]Hiroyuki Takaya via KO[/I] Blas Avena vs Ed Ratcliff (WW bout) - [I]Ed Ratcliff via TKO[/I] Frank Trigg vs Eric Schambari (MW bout) - [I]Frank Trigg via decision[/I] Rob McCullough vs Charlie Kohler (LW bout) - [I]Rob McCullough via TKO[/I] Roger Hollett vs Ariel Gandulla (LHW bout) - [I]Roger Hollett via TKO[/I] Tim Persey vs Junior dos Santos (HW bout) - [I]Tim Persey via TKO[/I] Coty Wheeler vs Ian McCall (BW bout) - [I]Ian McCall via TKO[/I][/COLOR]

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[QUOTE][B]Coty Wheeler vs Ian McCall[/B] Round 1 McCall starts the round like a house on fire, hitting three quick jabs and a vicious right hook. Wheeler covered up well, but at least one of the jabs got through and landed above the left eye. Wheeler backs up to buy some time, but McCall keeps coming and lands a right hand to the body. Wheeler scores with a jab in return, then goes with a kick to the waist. McCall catches the leg though and quickly rushes forward with a takedown. Wheeler pulls guard. The fight falls into a lull as a pattern develops; McCall punctuating attempts to pass guard with some sharp punches to the body and face, while Wheeler parries away any big blows and puts all of his effort into making sure McCall doesn't get a better position. Things heat up as McCall manages to break the guard and get through into a half mount. Wheeler hits a nice clean right hand in response. McCall throws a couple of hard punches to the stomach. He has one leg trapped, and is trying to pull that free so that he can move further up the body and really start pounding away. Wheeler knows that having the leg trapped is his key to not ending up in huge trouble, and so has it locked up tight. McCall tries a half-hearted attempt at a kimura, but Wheeler defends it well. The round ends with McCall still unable to transition into side control, although he has landed enough shots to have lit up Wheeler's upper body with red marks, and definitely won the round on points. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to McCall. Round 2 Nice fast-paced start from McCall, who gets right in Wheeler's face from the beginning of the round, throwing some crisp jabs and then a vicious uppercut. The two jabs got parried, the uppercut missed as Wheeler side-stepped. Wheeler fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. McCall steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from Wheeler. McCall is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, McCall sweeps Wheeler's standing leg and takes them to the ground. Wheeler quickly pulls guard. McCall tries to work free from the guard, but can't. Wheeler reaches up to try and bring McCall down into a clinch, but the attempt gets swatted away. McCall fires off a couple of punches, leaning forward to get some leverage, and Wheeler is forced to cover up. McCall switches and starts firing off some rapid-fire shots to the chest, Wheeler deals with it by pulling the guard tighter and punching upward. McCall looks like he is happy to sit there and throw punches at his leisure, with no real effort to pass guard. Wheeler occasionally tries to roll his hips to get free, but it may be that he has realised that this round is beyond saving, and is just making sure that he doesn't put himself into a position to be knocked out or submitted by trying to escape. Indeed, time ticks away with nothing breaking the pattern of occasional strikes and defensive positioning. End of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to McCall by 10-9. Round 3 Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. McCall is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Wheeler blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from McCall is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Wheeler is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before McCall can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give McCall some problems later on. McCall moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. Wheeler is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of McCall before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown McCall off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. McCall goes for a trip, but Wheeler cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from Wheeler may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. The round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Wheeler. The official scores are in; two judges give 29-28, the other 30-27, all for Ian McCall. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Tim Persey vs Junior dos Santos[/B] Round 1 Tentative start to the round, the fighters are circling. Persey throws out a couple of range-finding jabs, but they aren't anything that will trouble dos Santos. Kick to the thigh from dos Santos, but it lacked power. dos Santos looks to be working an angle. They clinch. Persey hits a knee. Body shot from dos Santos. Persey goes for a second knee, but gets shoved away. He seems to stumble as he steps backward, and falls to the floor in an awkward moment. dos Santos is on him fast, and scores with a big punch that landed sweetly. Persey covers up, but dos Santos is raining down punches from the half mount position. At least two hard shots get through. dos Santos moves up into side control, briefly looks like he is considering trying to take an arm, then goes back to teeing off on Persey's head with fists. Persey tries to wriggle free, but isn't really getting anywhere because dos Santos is lying right across his upper body. dos Santos uses his legs to ensnare Persey's right arm, and then starts firing off more and more punches. With only his left hand to try and block them, Persey is taking more punches than he is blocking. The referee is looking very closely at this, unless Persey does something dramatic pretty soon, I doubt this will go much longer. dos Santos stops to take a deep breath, then starts firing off another barrage. Persey takes at least three hard shots to the face during the attack, and that's enough for the referee, he calls an end to the match. Official time of the TKO is 1:06 of the first round. [I]Match rating: *[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Roger Hollett vs Ariel Gandulla[/B] Round 1 Exchange of punches to start, nothing really hit though. They go into a clinch, and the pace disappears as both fighters try and get the advantage. Eventually the referee separates them. Jab from Hollett, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Hollett puts on a burst of energy and fires off a big sequence of punches, maybe twelve or thirteen in a row, although not many actually connected. Gandulla covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Gandulla narrowly misses a right cross. Low kick from Gandulla, almost to the groin, although it didn't look intentional. They come together in a clinch again, and it returns to a stalemate. Not a great round by anyone's standard, but that flurry should mean that Hollett will take the round on points. The round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Hollett. Round 2 Hollett doesn't exactly disguise his intentions for this round, going right to the center and motioning for Gandulla to come and trade blows. Gandulla wisely keeps back for the time being, content to throw long-range jabs. Hollett isn't quite as content though, as he begins to stalk Gandulla. They meet near the cage. Gandulla hits a nice jab, then goes to clinch. Hollett stops that with a powerful right hand to the body, then a fizzing left hook that glances off the side of the head. An attempt at a knock out right hand finds nothing but gloves. It is clear that Hollett believes that he has the power to get a knock out here, his game plan appears to be to look for the one punch finish. Gandulla is trying to keep moving, to not let Hollett get set to throw a bomb. Hollett is controlling this round by virtue of the knock out threat, as Gandulla is being forced to fight somewhat defensively. Hollett throws another big punch, narrowly missing, but does score with a follow up jab, landing just above the right eye. Gandulla returns fire with a pair of jabs, both finding gloves. Time begins to tick away. It hasn't been the most exciting round, but Hollett has controlled it and managed to land the better shots. The 2nd round ends. Blurcat.com sees it 10-8 to Hollett. Round 3 Gandulla comes out fast, but gets hit with a counter right hand strike when he throws a left hand which was too high. Hollett moves in and hits a nice body shot before they clinch. Gandulla gets in a short, sharp jab to the side of the head, it looked to hit right on the ear. Hollett didn't like that, and scores with two knee strikes and a punch to the cheek. They break apart. Hollett swings and hits a nice right hand. Gandulla fires off a series of sharp jabs, all hitting gloves. He throws out a looping left, but gets tagged with a punch to the jaw and stumbles to the ground! Hollett dives in to finish him off, but he scrambles back up quickly and they end up facing off on their feet again. Replays show that the punch barely connected, it was more of a stumble on Gandulla's part than anything else. It might not look that way to the judges though. Hollett looks more confident after that, and puts together a nice chain of strikes, ending with a scathing low kick that catches Gandulla on the outside of the calf. He definitely felt that. Time is running out; Hollett will probably take this round on the judges' score cards, primarily due to that one dubious knock down. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Hollett. Roger Hollett wins, with a score of 30-26 from two judges, 29-27 from the other. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Rob McCullough vs Charlie Kohler[/B] Round 1 The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Kohler is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as McCullough picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Kohler throws a wild punch as a counter, but McCullough ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Kohler gets a clubbing blow to the side of the head in, but takes a hard shot to the stomach in return. The early pattern seems to be that Kohler is looking for big punches, McCullough is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Kohler manages to back McCullough up against the cage. Kohler takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but McCullough ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Kohler can unload. Kohler may need to think about changing tactics, McCullough is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Kohler fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching McCullough on the thigh. McCullough presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Kohler gets a nice left hook in, glancing off the gloves, and then clinches up. Time ticks away and the round ends just a few seconds after the referee separates them. The first round is over. Blurcat.com gives that one to McCullough by 10-9. Round 2 McCullough starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Kohler. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Kohler goes for a single leg and puts McCullough on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Kohler from getting on top. McCullough definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Kohler hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down McCullough again. This time McCullough isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Kohler will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but McCullough defends. Kohler tries to slip past to get side control, but McCullough just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Kohler has the side. Two big elbows land, and McCullough seems in trouble. Kohler goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. The second round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Kohler. Round 3 The round starts. They touch gloves. Kohler throws a rapid-fire series of punches, forcing McCullough to back off. McCullough throws a nice kick that thumps into the rib cage. Another kick is thrown, this time aimed at the head, but Kohler sees it coming and steps back. McCullough advances and they meet in the center. Kohler ducks a right hand, scores with a left to the gut. McCullough throws a one-two combination, neither connecting, but it does allow him to follow up with a stinging kick to the ribs. A big red mark has appeared there. Kohler bursts forward and goes for a big swing, McCullough ducks under it, hits a right to the chest, then unloads another kick. This one hits the thigh, causing Kohler to noticeably wince. It may have caught the very top of the knee judging from the replays. Kohler tries to come in to get a measure of revenge, but is met with some low kicks that make sure that he can't get close enough to throw any bombs. McCullough's impressively sharp kicking game is hurting Kohler and allowing him to take firm control of this round. There's not much time left, and Kohler is going to have to do something special to win this round now. He doesn't, as time expires without anything interesting happening. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 McCullough. The official scores are in; two judges give 29-28, the other 30-27, all for Rob McCullough. [I]Match rating: *[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Frank Trigg vs Eric Schambari[/B] Round 1 Schambari works an angle and comes in from the side of Trigg, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Trigg hits a low kick to back Schambari against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Schambari fights out and the action returns to the center. Schambari gets in close and fires off a series of body shots, nicely done. He tries to step back to avoid any counter blows, but Trigg smothers him in a clinch. Schambari takes a knee to the ribs from the clinch, then gets pushed into the cage. Trigg uses a swift leg sweep to take Schambari down to the ground. Trigg tries to pass the guard. Schambari is holding it quite high, which is helping. Trigg throws a couple of loose punches, then grabs the legs and turns Schambari over. Schambari tries to scramble free, but Trigg is already on top of him and has his back! Trigg doesn't waste any time, he starts throwing bombs with both left and right fists, slamming them into the side of Schambari's head. He is trying to cover up, but a lot of shots are getting through. The referee is watching closely. A vicious right hand thunders into the ear of Schambari, then another to the side of the nose. That's all the referee wants to see, he pulls Trigg off. Official time of the TKO is 2:15 of the first round. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Blas Avena vs Ed Ratcliff[/B] Round 1 Avena comes out fast, and looks like he is aiming for a quick takedown, but Ratcliff stops that plan with some looping punches. Solid right hand from Ratcliff connects, and that's the best moment of the opening minute of the round. Avena is mainly defending against punches, it looks like he is trying to work an angle to try for a takedown. Ratcliff seems to have noticed, as he is purposely positioning against that. Straight left from Ratcliff, then a low kick, then a wicked body shot. Avena felt that, and backs off. Avena tries to get in for a clinch, perhaps looking for a takedown from that position, but Ratcliff gets him to back off with some jabs. Ratcliff has really been able to stamp his gameplan on this round, Avena has been blocked at every turn. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Ratcliff. Round 2 Ratcliff's straight right hand punch finds its mark early, tagging Avena below the right eye, leaving a mark. Avena throws a couple of strikes in return, but can't find a way past the gloves. Ratcliff keeps Avena off balance by switching between looping punches, low kicks, and plenty of jabs. Avena can't work an angle under the barrage, and backs off. Ratcliff tries to press the advantage, but Avena is quick to clinch up. Avena goes for a trip but Ratcliff kicks it away. Avena drops down and tries for a single leg, but Ratcliff bends down and blocks it. There's an awkward moment as neither can do a great deal. Avena eventually releases the leg and gets back into the clinch. Ratcliff hits a knee, and they part. Avena throws a nice kick. Ratcliff gets in close enough to hit a kick to the body, then darts back out of range. He repeats the trick, this time replacing the kick with a hard right hand. It appears that he is using 'hit and run' tactics, and Avena isn't coping with it yet. Ratcliff goes for it again, and this time almost gets taken down as Avena times it well and shoots in. Ratcliff sprawls to block the first attempt, then scrabbles free on the second push, getting out from the side. Avena was very close then. Ratcliff keeps Avena back, throwing kicks. The action unfortunately peters out, with Avena unable to get in close enough to go for a takedown, Ratcliff unwilling to risk the takedown by coming in and throwing strikes. The time eventually runs out on the round. The round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-8 Ratcliff. Round 3 They come together, both throwing punches. Avena gets a nice clean shot in, and Ratcliff stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. Avena is on top of him quickly, and unloads with two more big punches, both connect solidly. The referee jumps in and pulls him away before a third is thrown, this match is over by TKO. Replays show the referee may have been slightly early. Avena wins via third round TKO at 21 seconds. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Cub Swanson vs Hiroyuki Takaya[/B] Round 1 Right hand from Takaya was thrown with power, but bounced off the gloves of Swanson. Takaya follows up by coming in close, but Swanson is ready with a straight right hand that glances off the side of the head. They get into a clinch, winding up with Swanson having his back up against the cage. Takaya hits three big body shots, then a big uppercut that knocks Swanson silly! He is on rubbery legs. Takaya starts unloading with punches, and Swanson is reduced to covering up and desperately trying to hang on. The referee has had enough and pulls Takaya away, it'll go down as a TKO. Official time of the TKO is 1:16 of the first round. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Brian Bowles vs Justin Robbins[/B] Round 1 Robbins leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, Bowles deals with it well. They clinch, but only for a few seconds before it gets broken. Both throw stiff jabs at the same time, neither connects properly. Back to the clinch. It has been a disjointed start to the round, the flow hasn't quite developed properly. Bowles uses a knee to the ribs before backing Robbins up against the cage. Right hand from Robbins connects though, that was well timed. Bowles breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Robbins was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from Bowles sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Robbins fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. Bowles throws a stinging jab, landing just above the left eye. Robbins steps in and fires off one of his own, but Bowles bobs out of the way and scores with a pair of solid shots to the body. Robbins turns and swings, just as Bowles also unloads...and it's Bowles who connects first! Robbins's hands drop and he is on rubbery legs. Bowles follows up with a beauty of a right hand, and that drops Robbins. The referee doesn't even wait for Bowles to dive in to finish, he's seen enough, Robbins is clearly on Dream Street. This bout is over! Official time of the TKO is 3:45 of the first round. [I]Match rating: **[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Renato Sobral vs Glover Teixeira[/B] Round 1 Teixeira doesn't waste any time, scoring with a big right hook almost immediately. Sobral was caught sleeping, and that really landed hard, if it had been more accurate it might have been a knock out blow. Sobral hits two sharp body shots in return, but it's clear that he is rattled. Sobral tries to back Teixeira up against the cage wall, but it comes to nothing. They get in close and exchange punches, it's not clear who got the better of that. Teixeira hits a good looping punch to the side of the head, that's another one that's rattled Sobral. Teixeira is getting more force behind his punches at the moment, and that's the key difference. Sobral looks for an opening. Time ticks away, and Sobral offers nothing that would make you think that he has any chance of winning this round on points. That's the end of the round. Blurcat.com gives that one to Teixeira by 10-9. Round 2 Teixeira's straight right hand punch finds its mark early, tagging Sobral below the right eye, leaving a mark. Sobral throws a couple of strikes in return, but can't find a way past the gloves. Teixeira keeps Sobral off balance by switching between looping punches, low kicks, and plenty of jabs. Sobral can't work an angle under the barrage, and backs off. Teixeira tries to press the advantage, but Sobral is quick to clinch up. Sobral goes for a trip but Teixeira kicks it away. Sobral drops down and tries for a single leg, but Teixeira bends down and blocks it. There's an awkward moment as neither can do a great deal. Sobral eventually releases the leg and gets back into the clinch. Teixeira hits a knee, and they part. Sobral throws a nice kick. Teixeira gets in close enough to hit a kick to the body, then darts back out of range. He repeats the trick, this time replacing the kick with a hard right hand. It appears that he is using 'hit and run' tactics, and Sobral isn't coping with it yet. Teixeira goes for it again, and this time almost gets taken down as Sobral times it well and shoots in. Teixeira sprawls to block the first attempt, then scrabbles free on the second push, getting out from the side. Sobral was very close then. Teixeira keeps Sobral back, throwing kicks. The action unfortunately peters out, with Sobral unable to get in close enough to go for a takedown, Teixeira unwilling to risk the takedown by coming in and throwing strikes. The time eventually runs out on the round. The second round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Teixeira. Round 3 The fighters come together right in the center. Sobral throws out a jab, but Teixeira bobs out of the way and uses a right hand to glance a blow off the side of the ribs in response. Teixeira works an angle and storms in suddenly with three crisp jabs and a looping overhand punch, Sobral covered up quickly but at least one of the jabs hit home. Teixeira is making Sobral look sluggish in comparison, such is the speed and crispness with which he is delivering strikes. Sobral hits a low kick before back-pedalling to avoid a clubbing blow. Teixeira looks to be working an angle. They meet in the center to exchange a flurry of strikes that gets the crowd on their feet. Teixeira got slightly the better of it, he definitely snuck through a right hand that rocked Sobral slightly. Sobral initiates a clinch, and the action grinds to a halt. Sobral looks out of ideas, he is being repeatedly lured into these exchange of strikes, but Teixeira is clearly winning them. Sobral needs to find some way to deal with them. Not much time left in this round. The referee separates them. Teixeira tries a speculative high kick, but Sobral saw it coming and was well out of range by the time it came. Sobral tries to work an angle, but Teixeira is having none of it and fires off a straight right hand to keep him from stepping in. Comfortable round for Teixeira, he will probably be disappointed not to have done more damage given his dominance of the striking in this round. The 3rd round ends. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Teixeira. The official scores are in; two judges give 30-27, the other 29-28, all for Glover Teixeira. [I]Match rating: *[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Jens Pulver vs Tommy Lee[/B] Round 1 Lee starts fast, squeezing a jab past the guard and catching Pulver above the right eye. Pulver swings and misses with a big right hand, which puts him off balance long enough for Lee to floor him with a hard left. Lee goes to follow up, but gets caught in the guard position. The replay shows that the punch wasn't actually that powerful, it looked worse than it was because Pulver was already falling slightly. Lee fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Pulver. Lee tries to pass the guard, but can't, Pulver isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Lee will start raining down punches. Lee tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Pulver gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Lee again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Lee fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Pulver fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Pulver, and Lee is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Pulver has defended the danger well. The first round is over. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Lee. Round 2 Slow start to the round. Not much happens before they wind up clinched together, struggling for supremacy. Pulver uses a trip to make a takedown, but doesn't go down himself, instead staying back. He pushes the raised legs away and dives in to get side control, but Lee scrambles and manages to get up, pushing Pulver down to the ground. Lee ends up on top, in guard. Lee fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Pulver. Lee tries to pass the guard, but can't, Pulver isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Lee will start raining down punches. Lee tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Pulver gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Lee again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Lee fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Pulver fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Pulver, and Lee is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Pulver has defended the danger well. The round ends. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Lee. Round 3 Lee is forced onto the backfoot almost immediately, having to retreat to avoid a series of sharp jabs. He ends up with his back to the cage, with Pulver advancing. A sharp right misses, and Lee takes the opportunity to pull Pulver in to a tight clinch against the cage. Pulver tries to break free, but cannot. It looks like we know the strategies for this round already; Pulver wants to stand and bang, Lee wants to keep things at close quarters. Pulver tries for an elbow, but only succeeds in getting turned around so that he is now the one against the cage. Trip from Lee, and we're down to the ground. Lee has side control, but Pulver has landed with his left hand side against the cage, so that side of the body is basically safe for now. Lee will have to try to work the right-hand side, and starts by ramming a knee into the ribs. Pulver tries to squirm into a better position, but Lee puts a stop to that with a stiff elbow to the stomach. Lee tries to work a kimura on the right arm, but Pulver defends it. Pulver manages to bring a knee up and catch Lee in the side, something of a cheeky move given his position. Lee responds with five or six rapid-fire right hands to the face, but Pulver covers up and doesn't take any serious damage at all. Time is ticking away though, and so far Lee may be easily winning the round, but he is not taking full advantage of this great position. Lee tries to float over into a mount, but Pulver uses the cage to push away and manages to unbalance Lee enough to get to a kneeling position, then standing, albeit back into a clinch. A knee from Lee is the last action of the round. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Lee. The official scores are in; two judges give 30-27, the other 29-28, all for Tommy Lee. Match rating: ** [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Dominic Cruz vs Mark Hominick[/B] Round 1 Hominick starts off by throwing two excellent low kicks to the leading leg of Cruz. Those will accumulate fast and give Cruz some problems moving. Hominick switches it up and throws a big right hand, missing. Cruz, who has been overwhelmed for the first thirty seconds of this round, steps in and throws a bomb of a right hand...and it connects! Hominick goes down from the first strike that Cruz has thrown since the round began! Cruz doesn't dive in, instead taking his time. Hominick recovered well from the punch, and remains seated on the floor, ready to defend. Cruz throws a pair of kicks to the legs, then gets in closer, looking for a way to get past the guard. Another kick to the legs precedes him trying to swiftly get past the legs, but it is to no avail as Hominick is able to pull guard, just, that was close. Cruz fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Hominick. Cruz tries to pass the guard, but can't, Hominick isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Cruz will start raining down punches. Cruz tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Hominick gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Cruz again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Cruz fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Hominick fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Hominick, and Cruz is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Hominick has defended the danger well. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Cruz. Round 2 Cruz throws a low kick early on, although it missed. Hominick flicks out a couple of jabs, trying to work an angle. He steps in to throw a body shot but gets caught with a left hook. Hominick stumbles backwards, falling on his ass, stunned. Cruz charges in and throws a knock out powered right hand, but Hominick parries it and brings his legs around Cruz's waist to pull guard. Cruz fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Hominick. Cruz tries to pass the guard, but can't, Hominick isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Cruz will start raining down punches. Cruz tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Hominick gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Cruz again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Cruz fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Hominick fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Hominick, and Cruz is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Hominick has defended the danger well. End of the round. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Cruz. Round 3 Slow start to this round, Hominick is being tentative and Cruz looks like he is waiting for an angle to appear. The first exchange of strikes doesn't really go anywhere. A second set falls in Hominick's favour, as he gets a nice jab in, hitting right above the nose, and a solid shot to the body. Cruz goes in for a takedown but only manages to secure one leg. Hominick hammers down two shots to the back, but can't really do a lot else. Cruz tries to push him over onto his back, but Hominick manages to pull free and back off. Cruz throws a high left handed jab then goes in for another takedown. Good sprawl from Hominick, and he backs off. Cruz doesn't get a chance to go for a third, because Hominick takes the fight to him with a barrage of lefts and rights, forcing him back against the cage. Hominick clinches up, only after hitting a hard shot to the stomach though. The clinch seems to go on forever, with Cruz unable to get a good enough position to try a takedown, and Hominick tied up too much to really throw any decent strikes. Eventually the time runs out and they head back to their corners. The round is over. Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Hominick. Dominic Cruz wins the match, getting a score of 29-28 from all three judges. [I]Match rating: ***[/I] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][B]Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski[/B] Round 1 Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Arlovski is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Emelianenko blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Arlovski is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Emelianenko is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Arlovski can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give Arlovski some problems later on. Arlovski moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. Emelianenko is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Arlovski before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown Arlovski off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. Arlovski goes for a trip, but Emelianenko cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from Emelianenko may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. End of the round. Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Emelianenko. Round 2 Emelianenko and Arlovski circle to start. Arlovski throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Emelianenko sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Arlovski comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Emelianenko to slip a nice jab in, catching Arlovski just underneath the right eye. Emelianenko comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Arlovski misses with a right cross, then backs off. Emelianenko stalks him, forcing Arlovski back up against the cage. Emelianenko doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Arlovski throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Emelianenko pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Arlovski covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Emelianenko in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Emelianenko throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Arlovski comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Emelianenko parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Emelianenko's favour. End of the round. Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Emelianenko. Round 3 Slow start to the round, Arlovski is circling while Emelianenko seems content to just throw the occasional looping punch to cause him to back up. Arlovski steps in and fires off two jabs, neither connecting, then has to almost throw himself to one side to avoid a devastating looking punch! Emelianenko was clearly looking for the highlight reel K.O. punch, had that connected there is no way that Arlovski was getting back up. There's a warning to Arlovski, he must now know, if he didn't already, that Emelianenko has knock out intentions tonight. Arlovski throws a right hand, then backs up sharply, clearly not loving the idea of getting too close. Emelianenko still looks calm, throwing the occasional jab or two to keep Arlovski off balance. Emelianenko throws a ragged jab, missing by a mile as Arlovski simply ducks under and unloads a vicious hook from below. It catches Emelianenko square on the jaw, and he goes down! Arlovski mounts and starts firing off punches, rapid-fire. The referee waits to see if Emelianenko can recover, decides that he can't, and pulls Arlovski off. The match is over. Arlovski wins via TKO at 4:17 of the third round. Andrei Arlovski is the new WEC Heavyweight champion. [I]Match rating: ***[/I] [/QUOTE] [COLOR="Red"][B]Post fight press conference news:[/B] -Ariel Gandulla and Charlie Kohler have been released from their contracts and are now free agents. -Dominic Cruz and Mark Hominick won the Fight Of The Night award and Andrei Arlovski won Knockout of The Night. There was no Submission of The Night awarded as there were no submissions during WEC 33. -Glover Teixeira's next fight will be against Mike Whitehead to determine the #1 contender in the light heavyweight division.[/COLOR] [COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Although the show was an overall success, I can't say I am happy with some of the results. It would have been nice to see Babalu and Pulver win their fights and get title shots but Teixeira and Lee both fought hard and deserved their wins. Hopefully in their next fights they can prove that they are the real deal and that tonight wasn't just a fluke. News regarding our next event will be revealed shortly. [/COLOR]