Two title bouts — one of which includes the debut of middleweight sensation Paulo Filho — headline the very solid World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) event tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Even better, WEC 29 will be televised for free on the Versus cable channel, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Here are the guaranteed televised matches:
- Paulo Filho vs. Joe Doerksen (For the vacant middleweight title)
- Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson (For Condit’s welterweight title)
- Jeff Curran vs. Stephen Ledbetter
- Jamie Varner vs. Sherron Legget
Filho is an elite 185-pound fighter who up until this point made a living in PRIDE FC, dominating some very stiff competition. He’s not a knockout fighter, however, with most of his wins coming by way of submission/decision (93 percent).
To get a little insight Filho and his approach to fighting check out this article over at Brawl Sports from Steve Seivert. He hopes that the insane skill and technique of the Brazilian is not lost on American fans.
Doerksen is a hard-nosed and well-rounded UFC veteran. From the IFL to the DEEP, he has been very busy since his last appearance inside the Octagon in March 2006 — a unanimous decision loss to Nathan Marquardt at UFC 58.
In fact, he has gone on to win seven consecutive fights since that time. He also boast victories over notables such as Denis Kang, Chris Leben and Ed Herman.
It should be a great fight, especially if Doerksen can stay off his back. With Filho, Miller, Doerksen, Riggs and more, is anyone a little more excited about the WEC middleweight division that the UFC?
In the other featured bout of the evening, Carlos Condit defends his 170-pound title against Brock Larson. It is the first title defense for Condit since he submitted John Alessio at WEC 26 to capture the welterweight strap.
He’s going to have his hands full, too. That’s because Larson — a two-fight UFC veteran — is an absolute animal. He has two first round wins in he previous WEC fights against Erik Apple and Kevin Knabjan, respectively.
It should be a very entertaining evening thanks to the Zuffa-owned WEC. Definitely check it out if Versus is available in your area. And for more stories about this show click here, here, here, here, here and here.
To check out the WEC 29 weigh-in results and some pictures of the staredowns click here.
August 5th, 2007
42 Comments »
so is the wec gonna end up being kind of like the minor league to the ufc’s big league or are they gonna be completely separate with the smaller weight classes and such? either way, they have the talent to put on some good shows. e.g. tonight. should be good.
It would be awesome if they kept two leagues separate and did a bracket tournament with the best from each league fighting for the championship a la the NFL.
This, of course, wouldnt work for the lighter weights that the UFC doesn’t have……yet.
“With Filho, Miller, Doerksen, Riggs and more, is anyone a little more excited about the WEC middleweight division than the UFC?”
not at all! haha filho of course and maybe miller back in the ufc but i don’t think doerksen and riggs are anyone to get crazy about.. middleweight is the weakest division in the ufc but it is far better than the wec’s. if it was the ufc dorksen and riggs would be no big deal but people make a big deal just because it is the wec.
Im from Phily, does anyone know if the versus channel is available in my area?
[quote comment=”119570″]Im from Phily, does anyone know if the versus channel is available in my area?[/quote]
yeah i’m from arizona i was wondering as well i’ve never watched wec live. can i watch it on directv?
I can’t wait to see Brock Larson again. Dude is a straight up ferocious animal.
[quote comment=”119570″]Im from Phily, does anyone know if the versus channel is available in my area?[/quote]
Dont know if this helps, but I’m in Edison and I get it. It came with all the movie channels and such.
channel 146 if you have optimum
http://www.versus.com/findversus … just type in your zip code and they list all carriers in your area.
tHAT Doerksen/Filho fight should be good. My pick id Filho all the way. Filho should be fighting in UFC
[quote comment=”119570″]Im from Phily, does anyone know if the versus channel is available in my area?[/quote]
If you have comcast its probably on channel 75.
Anyone know what channel Versus is on with Direct TV?
Thanks
Hey UFCMania can you please post the winner and a link to the Filho-Doerkson fight after its over. Por Favor.
[quote comment=”119769″]Hey UFCMania can you please post the winner and a link to the Filho-Doerkson fight after its over. Por Favor.[/quote]
this fight is up next…can’t wait
paul filho by knockout! Did not expect that.
Lame stoppage by mazzagatti in the condit fight. Larson never tapped, and you shouldn’t stop a fight on a submission without a tap. it takes too much energy for Condit to have held that arm bar for much longer.
that seems lame…. why did he stop it then???
[quote comment=”119696″]Anyone know what channel Versus is on with Direct TV?
Thanks[/quote]
608
[quote post=”2917″]Lame stoppage by mazzagatti in the condit fight. Larson never tapped, and you shouldn’t stop a fight on a submission without a tap. it takes too much energy for Condit to have held that arm bar for much longer. [/quote]
If it was a tight armbar then i understand why mazzagatti stopped the fight because he could have done some serious damage to his arm but if it wasnt then i would be pissed.
Can somebody post a link to the Filho fight
But even then let it break…..if Larson didn’t tap, there shouldn’t have been a stoppage. I have much repsect for Steve, but unforutnately here in Mexico we don’t get that channel.
Yea but if he let it break the ref would get a lot of heat from the fans, state commision, and Mr. White
SOME fans
I’d have to see the fight to make any determinations.
He tapped once and then it wa stopped , watch it again .. Ive seen the replay now about 30x and he clearyly tapped his leg before the stoppage..
There is no controversy. One of the last replays shown clearly shows that Larson tapped.
does anyone know where to get a torrent for this?
Does anyone give 2 shits about WEC ?
[quote comment=”119920″]Does anyone give 2 shits about WEC ?[/quote]
They have two of the best fighters not in the UFC: Paulo Filho and Urijah Faber.
[quote comment=”119920″]Does anyone give 2 shits about WEC ?[/quote]
I do, hell this event was more entertaining than UFC 73 Stacked IMO. The title fights were short, but Filho had a nice debut and Condit sunk in a nice armbar. Varner, was impressive. I can’t stand the guy, but he showed complete domination over Sherron. MMA extends further than the UFC J.Cameron.
With the help of WEC, IFL, Bodog, Icon, Elite XC, etc., MMA will increase in popularity due to an increase in exposure. This will ultimately help achieve a larger fan base. The WEC and other orgs. may not have as much talent as the UFC, yet you still have to appreciate what they are trying to do for MMA as a whole.
But even then let it break…..if Larson didn’t tap, there shouldn’t have been a stoppage. I have much repsect for Steve, but unforutnately here in Mexico we don’t get that channel.
That’s retarted. That was a very deep armbar no possible way he was getting out. Why let someone get their arm broken when you can get in and stop it. I would guess larson’s arm is pretty sore as it is but just letting it get broken when he was not getting out is just dumb.
Condit is an Animal… could Larson have came back from that? Maybe…. but the stoppage wasnt so premature on Mazz’ part. However… Calling and removing points for that one shot to the Back of the head was ridiculous, fighter moved his head, and the top fighter definitely pulled back a LOT on that punch.
[quote comment=”119579″]I can’t wait to see Brock Larson again. Dude is a straight up ferocious animal.[/quote]
I thought the same man but guess u cant be such an animal when your getting your arm broken like a little bitch. so dissapointed in that fight. Thought it was gonna be a war!
Larson tapped clearly , watch the replays… He tapped ..
The two big bouts were definitely worth watching. Fihlo looked like he had “Pride jitters” and Doerksen(sp) was giving him all he could handle. Impressive finish though.
I didn’t think Condit had a chance against Larson before the fight and the first what 90 seconds- bore that out. Considering their styles it looked like Nick Diaz (Condit) against Matt Hughes (Larson) out there. Larson is such a physical thug I guess it’s been a while since he’s had to worry about getting caught in an arm bar. That was a sweet finish by Condit though- skills over brawn.
Idiots…
I thought the fights were entertaining. I’ll watch the next one. Some time smaller names put on bigger fights than the big names because they feel they have so much to prove.
It’s like basketball. I’d rather watch March Madness games than NBA playoff games.
I’m officially a Condit fan. I liked what I saw when he fought Alessio but I wanted to see him perform again against top talent before I co-signed him. After watching him keep his cool when Brock put the pressure on and then lock in the arm bar the way he did……I’m sold. The kid has skills. It will obviously take more than an animal to defeat the beast that is Condit.
i really thought Larson would escape and win by ground and pounding Condit, I’m still a Larson fan, but now I’m a Condit fan 4 life.
[quote comment=”119813″]Lame stoppage by mazzagatti in the condit fight. Larson never tapped, and you shouldn’t stop a fight on a submission without a tap. it takes too much energy for Condit to have held that arm bar for much longer.[/quote]
watch the replay….yeah he did tap unfortunately
Carlos Condit is sweet. I’ve seen the Natural Born Killer fight several times, and he is usually known for his striking. He kept his cool against Larson and made that dude tap for the first time in his career. Larson only had 1 loss prior to that fight, and that was a decision loss to our boy John Fitch.
Even in the stacked UFC WW division, in about 2 years, watch for Carlos Condit to make some noise.
By the way, who was that girl that was in his corner from the Jackson camp? She was hot, huh? lol