WEC 35 is set go off LIVE tonight (Sunday, August 3, 2008) from “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 9 p.m. ET telecast on Versus. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 7 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the show to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after WEC 35.
Without further delay, check out the latest WEC 35 results after the jump. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action!)
WEC 35 QUICK RESULTS:
Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura via technical knockout (strikes) in round four to retain the WEC welterweight title
Steve Cantwell defeats Brian Stann via technical knockout (strikes) in round two to become the new WEC light heavyweight champion
Jamie Varner defeats Marcus Hicks via technical knockout (strikes) in round one to retain WEC lightweight title
Brian Bowles defeats Damacio Page via submission (guillotine) in round one
Josh Grispi defeats Micah Miller via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Brock Larson defeats Carlo Prater via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Blas Avena defeats Dave Terrel via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Shane Roller defeats Todd Moore via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
Mike Budnik defeats Greg McIntyre via submission (triangle choke) in round three
Scott Jorgensen defeats Kenji Osawa via unanimous decision
WEC 35 BLOW-BY-BLOW LIVE MAIN CARD COMMENTARY:
Mania here.
WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura (170-pound limit)
First round: Condit tries a body kick and misses. He then lands a leg kick and two more body kicks. Miura charges in and lands a nice right hand. Both guys land leg kicks. Nice right hand from Condit and they clinch. Miura tries to throw Condit, but he stays on his feet and they separate. Condit lands another combo and some kicks and knees. Condit tries a straight kick and eats a big punch. Condit tries to land some knees with a Muay Thai clinch now and Miura gets a big judo throw and goes right to side control. Condit is working som punches and he spins and gets to his fett. Miura might have just let him up. Nice punch from Condit and Miura sweeps his leg sending Condit to the mat. Condit stands right up but get drilled by a hard leg kick from Miura. Condit with a big right hand. Miura looks for another takedown, but Condit defends. Condit is stalking Miura now with kicks and punches. Huge right hand from Condit that drops Miura. Condit jumps on him and immediately looks to secure a submission. He traps the arm and goes to work now with the elbows and punches. Miura tries to get out and Condit has an armbar now. Miura escapes and they’re back to their feet. Miura with anther judo throw and the round ends with Miura on top on the ground. That was a 10-9 for the champ.
Second round: Condit whiffs on a high kick. Now a straight kick and an exchange with punches from both. Miura eats a punch and kind of gets pushed to the mat. Condit jumps on top and is in Miura’s guard. Condit is working the ground and pound. Miura looks for an arm bar, but Condit isn’t having it. Condit transitions to half guard. Condit is looking to pass to side control or mount and Miura is defending nicely. Really good control from Condit here. Now Miura tries to escape, but the crafty Condit gets full mount and starts raining down shots. Miura spins and gives up his back and Condit grabs an arm. If he can extend it, he’ll have it secured. Miura is out and into Condit’s full guard. Condit lands some lazy punches from his back. The ref stands them up. Nice right hand and body kick from Condit. Big left hand from Miura but he goes for another throw and Condit takes his back. Now Condit is on top in Miura’s full guard and thats how the round ends. Condit’s round again 10-9.
Third round: Nice right hand from Miura. Condit shoots and Miura tries to defend and turn it into a throw of his own. He slips and Condit takes his back. Miura spins and Condit looks for a kimura. Now he has a deep guillotine from full mount. He lets it go, but still has mount. He’s working the ground and pound from there. Condit looking for an arm now, but maintains his position. He traps an arm and lands a few more shots. Now a lot of lazy elbows from Condit. Nice reversal from Miura and he takes the top position and found his second wind to land some nice punches. Condit closes his guard and defends. Nice punches now from Miura and Condit is feeling those. Nice ground and pound from Miura and Condit is in trouble. Somehow Condit stands up and he’s throwing wild punches and kicks now. Wild flurry and both guys eat shots. Miura tries to grab Condit as he’s falling and Condit jumps on top. He has a north south position now and then takes his back. A tired Miura spins and Condit has full mount again. He’s landing some big elbows and punches, and Miura is hurt. He spins and gives up his back. Condit looks for a rear naked, but a tired Miura defends. The round ends with Miura trying to hold on and keep Condit from choking him out. What a great round and great fight this is. Close round. Could go either way. How about 10-10.
Fourth round: Nice left hand from Miura. Condit charges and lands a knee, but eats some big shots from Miura. Condit is hurt bad. Miura could end this here, but Condit is somehow hanging on. He has Miura’s leg now and Condit gets it to the ground. Condit is on top now. Nice sweep from Miura and he’s on top now in half guard. Very nice ground and pound from Miura, and Condit is looking for a knee bar. Miura stands and escapes and Condit now has a closed full guard. The referee stands them up. They’re exhausted. Nice punches from Miura, he slips and there’s a wild exchange in the center of the cage. Condit tries to toss him to the ground and he gets him there. He takes full mount right away and is controlling the fight now and trying to recover. Miura reverses on a tired Condit and Miura is raining down some nasty ground and pound. The champ is in trouble again. Somehow Condit hangs on and gets back to full guard. Miura rests for a few seconds and then is right back to the ground and pound. Miura stands up and Condit follows. Condit throws a wild kick and Miura grabs his leg. Condit falls, but takes Miura’s back. He’s landing punches from there. The ref tells Miura to defend himself, but he’s dog tired. Condit continues to land punches to both sides of Miura’s head and Miura is done. The ref has to stop the fight. What a great fight!! Definitely a fight of the year candidate.
Final result:Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura via technical knockout at 4:43 of round four to retain the WEC welterweight title
-end-
WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell (205-pound limit)
First round: Nice stare down. Cantwell looks intense! Here we go. Nice exchange with both guys landing something. Cantwell tries and misses a head kick. Leg kick from Cantwell. Stann charges in and eats a big punch from Cantwell. Another left hand from Cantwell. Stann with a nice leg kick and avoids another high kick attempt from Cantwell. Cantwell charges and there’s a wild exchange now. Big shots from both guys and finally Cantwell shoots in for a leg and they clinch. Great exchange right there! Both guys look to be recovering in the clinch now as not much is happening. Herb Dean tells them to work and Stann pushes out of the clinch. Nice one two from Cantwell, and Stann answers with the same combo. Cantwell charges now and he’s landing some nice shots. Stann sneaks a few in himself before they get clinched up again. Nice elbow from Cantwell from the clinch. Stann punches out and they separate. Leg kicks from both guys. Stann looks tired. Cantwell tries a superman punch and slips. Stann looks to take advantage and starts raining down punches. Somehow Cantwell absorbs the punishment and makes it to the bell. Close round, I’m going to have to give it to Cantwell 10-9.
Second round: Leg kick from Stann. Cantwell answers with one of his own. Stann with another low kick. Looks to be low, and Herb Dean gives Cantwell a break. Unintentional so no point deduction. Leg kick again from Stann and he blocks a counter combo from Cantwell. Cantwell charges in and Stann blocks and pushes out. Nice leg kick from Stann. Big kick to the body from Cantwell!! Stann is backed up against the fence now. Cantwell is trying to take it to him, but Stann grabs him and they’re in the clinch. Cantwell pushes out and Stann charges with some punches. Cantwell stays in the pocket and lands some of his own. Cantwell shoots and Stann easily stuffs it. Both guys are tired. Nice knees and punches from Cantwell. Stann is covering up, but he punches out. Nice kick from Cantwell. Stann is in trouble with his back on the cage. Cantwell is landing shots, but Stann is still on his feet. Big right hand now from Cantwell and the champ is down. Cantwell jumps on his back and lands three or four more shots before Herb Dean can step in and stop the fight. Steve Cantwell is the new WEC light heavyweight champion.
Final result: Steve Cantwell defeats Brian Stann via technical knockout at 4:01 of round two to become the new WEC light heavyweight champion
-end-
WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks (155-pound limit)
First round: Right hand from Varner and Hicks clinches. Varner has him against the cage now. Varner looks for a knee and Hicks grabs his leg and gets a slam. Varner works back to his feet, but Hicks is right on him and gets another takedown. Varner is looking to get back to his feet again, but this time gets caught in Hick’s signature guillotine choke. Varner somehow escapes. Hicks shoots again and gets another slam, but again Varner is right back up. Head kick from Varner, and now Varner has a Muay Thai clinch and he lands two huge knees. Hicks looks stunned for a second, but looks to have recovered. Big shots from Varner and Hicks drops and is deep deep trouble. Varner is all over him, but the ref is letting the fight go on. Hicks somehow gets to his feet, but he’s still eating big shots from Varner. Finally Hicks goes down again and now Mazz steps in and Jamie Varner retains his lightweight belt with a first round technical knockout. Good action!
Final result: Jamie Varner defeats Marcus Hicks by technical knockout (strikes) at 2:08 of round one to retain the WEC lightweight title
-end-
Damacio Page vs. Brian Bowles (135-pound limit)
First round: Page comes forward first and eats a couple punches. He then tries a big kick and misses. He slips on another charging kick attempt and Bowles jumps into Page’s guard. Page is working some elbows and punches from his back with a closed guard. Bowles is able to stand, and he’s trying a guillotine now. It looks pretty tight, but Page slips out and reverses to get the top position against the fence. Page is unsuccessfully trying to pass the guard and instead opts to stand up allowing Bowles to his feet as well. Bowles misses on a big right and eats a combo from Page. Bowles stays on the aggressive with charging combos, but Page keeps firing back with kicks and punches of his own. Nice body kick from Page. You can tell Bowles felt that one, and he almost immediately shoots for a takedown. Page sprawls and then picks Bowles up for a slam, but gets caught in a deep guillotine with both arms trapped. He tries to squirm out, but Bowles has it too deep and Page has to tap out at 3:30 of round one.
Final result: Brian Bowles defeats Damacio Page by submission (guillotine) at 3:30 of round one
-end-
Josh Grispi vs. Micah Miller (145-pound limit)
First round: Grispi misses a leg kick. Tries another and Miller slips. Grispi is standing over him now and tires a couple kicks. Now he backs off and lets Miller up. He lands another leg kick and then throws a nice combo of punches. A couple more leg kicks and Miller charges in and eats a huge right hand!! He drops immediately and he is out. He stands up and has no idea where he’s at or what happened. Herb Dean tries to tell him the fight is over, but Miller is obviously on queer street.
Final result: Grispi defeats Miller via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
-end-
104 Comments »
I can’t wait!!
Bloody stuck at work (not that I could watch it live in Australia anyway)
Thanks for this - I hope Brian Stann gets the win.
channelsurfing.net @ 6pm EST you can watch it live.
9pm EST. My mistake.
Thanks Buddy!
Since when does the fight Network not show whats on Versus?
Brock Larson seemed angry.
David Terrel lost to the security guard?
my bad wrong guy
Thats what he gets for getting cocky and sticking out his tongue like a douche.
Damn I was hoping that Varner /Hicks fight would be longer
The Wrecking Ball got wrecked. I thought he had a good chance going into this fight too.
Wow - what explosiveness from Varner. He could definitely be a contender in the UFC. I’d like to see him fight Guida. Hicks sure has a tough chin.
I guess we get to see “Thug Jitsu” get TKO’d.
DidLarson has a big beak
Yes, Larson “did has a big beak.”
Sorry i was trying to do three things at the same time i ment larson has a big beak
I hope Brown Kicks Fabers Ass chin.
haha, Yeah.
Good luck with that.
I hope Brow Kicks Fabers ass chin
Stann gassed big time.
i agree! he wasnt hurt that bad. he fell down and pretty much gave up. not to take anything from cantwell cuz he looked great.
Brian Stann got KTFO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow what the hell cantwell came to bang
Mir hit the nail on the head, Cantwell has a big striking game that is deep… guy has some sick Mui Tai
yea he did
that was a beat punch
Rampage by off roading
This card has been better than any exlitexc, or other non-zuffa by a long shot. There’s no comparison, they dont protect their fighters, they just put out the best matchups regardless.
Totally agree. The WEC is an exciting and “above board” organization.
This is Zuffa. They own UFC and WEC.
yes
good fight
this has been better than expected.. very nice card
Rob Dib
http://www.break-your-face.com
The condit fight was insane, great fight, I like both of these guys so much more now, it ended in a bad way though.
I agree, was a good fight but the ending sucked ass.
Yeah, I mean I know e was gased, but the punches werent doing anything, anyother 10 secounds and he would have tried for somthing.
does anyone know what the song miura came out to was? I love it, never heard it before. thanks!
Sorry, I got nothing.
That Muira/Condit fight was a JOKE!!
I wonder how much of Condit’s paycheck went to ref Rosenthall for him to fix the fight. There were three times where Condit was in worse condition than when Rosenthall called the fight for Condit, and one of those Rosenthall almost stopped the action to have them stand up for a fresh start (for “not advancing their positions) when Muira had just gave what Frank Mir called as being the worst beating Condit had received in the W.E.C.
I’ve seen this happen in other championship fights in the W.E.C. - like when Faber got that bull$#it decision over Pulver.
It’s so sad to see this happen, and makes me wonder if mma isn’t becomming more like the fake professional wrestling littering tv.
Muira deserved that win & the belt! But finally people saw how a good judo fighter can beat the crap out of the so-called BJJ hacks.
??????? Miura couldn’t even get up after the fight.
zenrhino I don’t get it. After the fight was stopped Miura didn’t move and when his corner had to peel him off the mat he went back down so…….
Fight was over, good decision
There was only 17 seconds left in the round and Condit was just hitting him with hammer fists. Condit collapsed after the fight too. It did seem every time Muira was on top Rosenthall was itching to stand them up but he let Condit hug Miura when Condit was on top.
Condit got the Kimbo treatment tonight.
The decision was going to be Condit’s if it went five. They were both gassed and Miura gave it a last fury and then collapsed. Early stoppage…probably. Like Mir said, there are too many early stoppages in general. It would suck worse if it was too close to call, but Condit was edging out the rounds and I don’t think Miura had a shot of ending it the 5th so it wasn’t that upsetting to me. Great fight. It was cool to see Judo used in response to the clinch. Other fighters could take a tip from Miura.
I feel your pain, but based on Muiras’s inabilty to keep defending himself the ref’s got to stop it. Even when Condit was in trouble, he was still fighting. Muira had nothing left at that point. Not to mention, if Condit and Roenthall gad the fix in, maybe they should have decided on an earlier round so the he [Condit] would’nt have gotten smacked around so much (never mind almost losing). That’s kind of a retarded pay off plan, dont ya think?. No more conspiracy theories please.
I replied, it’s just lost in the system again. Give it a sec.
Never mind, there it is.
all the fights tonight were legit!
I didn’t like that stoppage either… yeah, Muira got knocked down and wasn’t really protecting himself, but Muira didn’ have to, those punches weren’t doing any damage, he was just exhausted and a little dazed from that kick. Bad Stoppage.
i hope you’re joking
Not joking… watched the replay, going to watch it again at 10.
Maybe I just wanted to see whe fight continue… I understand why they stopped it… but I don’t think Muira was going to get any more hurt than he already was for the next 17 seconds or so and those hammer fists by Condit didn’t have much on them.
Saw 2 replays of the finish and the fight twice, I stand by my original comment… I didn’t like that stoppage of the Condit VS Muira Fight. Those were very weak hammer punches by Condit… Muira was just exhausted and believe it or not, was dazed from the knee and just resting in that spot waiting for the bell.
The Condit fight was a classic! Miura was tough. Condit showed tonight that he not only is talented but that he is really tough and resilient. Stann needs to diversify his striking - I think that he will. Excellent card.
Thanks to Automation for the online link. I can’t believe it actually worked! We have live MMA in Stutgart, AR tonight. There is a God.
Well, Condit has definately gained more of my respect. Great fight. I agree Rob Dib, the card was much better than I thought it would be.
this was a good card, but we all know that the W.E.C. is just the “minor leagues” for the U.F.C. - there’s not one guy in the W.E.C. that would be in the top 5 of the same division at U.F.C.
and if Faber was so bad-ass, he’d make the jump to 155 and take on real fighters in the U.F.C. - and see how many of them would kick his a$$!!
No sarcasm here, for real. Do you have some deep rooted hatred for the WEC for some reason?
He’s just a knucklehead that’s obviously a newbie to MMA otherwise he wouldn’t be making such ignorant remarks.
Maybe you will be happy with Elite XC. If you hate the WEC, you will love them.
Wow..Condit vs. Miura was a great fight!!! Both fighters, exhasted, still going out like warriors! Those judo throws and sweeps by Miura were nasty.
I think Condit should stay in the WEC. He’s a popular fighter and can last there for a long time. If he were to bump up to the UFC WW division, he’d be swallowed up alive. I don’t see how Frank Mir see’s Condit as a top 3-4 guy in all WW in any org. Miura was a tough fight, but, the UFC WW division’s mid-level guys would give Condit a lot of problems - Swick, Marcus Davis, Dustin Hazelett, Karo. Top level WW in the UFC like Alves, Sanchez, Fitch, and GSP would run through Condit.
Forget Condit comming to the UFC, sign me up some Jake Shields.
FYI Fight! magazine ranks Condit 7th and Shields 6th.
Maybe because Jake Shields holds a win over Condit. I think Shields wouldn’t compete for a UFC title anytime soon. I meant to say “sign me up some Jake Shields - to the WEC”
Good points - if Shields wants to be taken more seriously, he needs to get out of EliteXC pronto.
Add Kos. to the people that would run though Condit list.
people who would destroy Condit…
GSP
Kos
Karo
Fitch
BJ
Sherk (he would beat him on conditioning alone)
Alves
Sanchez
hell, maybe even Matt Sera! lol
Why was Condit allowed to continually knee Miura in the head and put his knee across Miura’s face, while on his back, in round one without a warning or DQ from the ref. How long has WEC been fixed?
That’s what I was thinking too as I saw that. I kept wondering what was the definition of ‘knees to the head of a downed opponent’.
Miura’s head was on the mat and Condit continued to knee him in the head. Not really hard knees to the head..more like ‘raking’ a knee to the head. But by definition, weren’t those illegal?
absolutely illegal… POOR REF.
I don’t even like either fighter but I can objectively look at that and say, HORRIBLE and BIASED ref
any of the knees to the head should have gotten a warning, they are illegal. The knee on the face, directly over Miuras mouth should have been a DQ. Condit knows better, they all do. The ref was crooked, they gave the fight to Condit.
That was the lamest finish of all time, but a great fight.
As someone said above, the ref was absolutely one sided. Miuara was pounding down on Condit and he kept saying advance your position and then he stood them up. Every close position went to Condit, whether it was standing him up, calling the fight, etc.
This guy is tough and has very good stand up but couldn’t last with elite fighters… CONDITIONING and HEART… Forrest Griffin won a title and beat a lot of elite guys by having those 2 things in the highest level.
This guy gassed after 3 rounds and easily could have lost to a fighter probably not as rounded as he was because of weak conditioning. As Mir said, it became a question of recovery. The better you train with cardio the quicker your body can recover after exasperation. He wasn’t recovering as fast as Miura but was fortunate to get some take downs to buy himself time to recover.
Those punches that ended the fight couldn’t of hurt my 70 year old grand mother. He was defending himself and there was no harm to him. Yeah he was tired but come on. lame one sided ref.
I agree. the reff did suck.
True, Condit was sucking wind prett hard after 2 or 3 rounds.
Why was Condit allowed to continually knee Miura in the head and put his knee on his face, while downed, in round one. He didn’t get a warning or a DQ for this. How long has the WEC been fixed?
Yeah,
I also did notice that he had his knee on the head… I’ve never seen that in the last 30-40 events I’ve watched b/t UFC/Affliction/etc. Matt Hughes trapped Gracie but he wasn’t Knee choking the dude… What is going on…
This reminds me of that decision between Matt Hamil and Bisbing, the other biggest bullsh*t one sided judging (instead of Ref) I’ve ever seen.
Garbage. Tough to see such a great fight end so horribly and be Reffed so awfully.
My first night watching WEC and it was entertaining. Most of these guys are high quality mixed martial artist compared to what I see in the UFC but good card. (I’d like to see those 205’s fight Lyoto Machida or that other brazilian Thiago Silva, or any of the dangerous 205s out there, griffin, chuck, rampage, etc. I just can’t see their one sided striking beat some well rounded guys like Lyoto or Thiago)
Miura ended the fight himself by not responding - it had nothing whatsoever to do with the ref. Miura couldn’t even get up. Even when his handlers got him up, he fell back down again.
True, but the fight was called. So he didn’t have to try. He was tired and knew he could rest now. If he was still fighting it likely would have been different.
Everyone saw that the Ref was standing up Miura everytime he got in a good position but then kept letting Condit just sit there and do nothing sometimes on top.
Come on man, there is no way you thought that was fair.
I thought it was fair. When Rosentall was standing them up with Miura on top, most of the time he was in full guard and not improving. Every time Condit had the top position he was either in mount or half guard looking to get to mount.
I saw no biased refereeing in this fight. In fact, I think Rosenthall is one of the best refs in the game.
The finish was justified too. Condit was hitting him with unanswered and undefended punches to the head. The ref gave him a chance to respond, and by him not doing that it’s a red flag to stop the fight. It’s his job to protect the fighters. He made the right move stopping it.
Plus I didn’t see Miura arguing, or doing much of anything afterwards. It was a legitimate stoppage, and a great fight. And there were definitely times when Condit looked like he might be finished too, but he always defended himself and found ways to recover. Miura was not doing that when the fight got stopped. There’s no reason to look for conspiracies, there aren’t any here, just a Great fight.
a great night of action. the wec is clearly the 2nd best org. in mma (wonder why). the condit fight was a classsic. i would rather see those 2 rematch rather than a condit/larson rematch. varner is better than what i thought. it looked like hicks only had 1 gameplan, to get the gilluotine, and when it didnt work he kinda froze. hicks just needs more experience, but varner looke very good. stann just flat out gassed, thanks in large part to cantwell , who looked huge and much improved. i think mir was wrong when he said that codit is the 2nd best ww in mma, top 10 yes, but not #2. the wec someday could rival the ufc in popularity if they keep putting on shows like this. maybee in a couple years they could cross-promote some of the wec’s champs with the ufc,s. cant wait until next week. 87 is gonna be off the charts.
I agree but these WEC guys don’t seem as good as UFC… Maybe Faber, that guy looks like he could run in any crowd. But the rest? 205s I don’t think could put any of them in the top 10 in world… 170s, again tough to put that Condit guy in even a top 5. Definitely not after we seen him basically getting tossed around and then spoon fed a decision win over a guy who was dominating and winning the 4th round. And with only about 15 seconds left!
15 seconds left and you call the fight due to 2 taps to the side of the head?
I’ve never never seen a fight called with punches that a little girl could withstand
Im courious to know how tight the management is between the UFC and the WEC. I could see it going either way. Or at least I can see the UFC management seeing it two ways. If the WEC fighters come over and smack up a UFC champ it might damage the UFC brand. However, if the WEC continues to gain poularity and keeps recruiting good fighters, they could see it as an opprotunity to show that two of the largest orgs will be recognizing on champ. Who knows?
I agree, the UFC has this idea that they don’t want their fighters to lose to guys in other organizations, so as to make the UFC look elite.
Truth is there are some tough guys out there who can hang with UFC fighters, the WEC has a handful of guys that could really compete but then there are some AWFUL fighters in there.
So overall the UFC has the better rounded fighters but there are some gems in other organizations who could definitely compete with the elite of the UFC.
Strictly from a business point of view, It’s not a bad strategy. If a few of these other orgs ever get to the level of popularity that comes close to the UFC they might have to consider the idea of a unified belt of some kind, or at least cross promote. Although. I don’t think that’s going to happen for quite some time.
The fights were great! The other reason I enjoy the WEC is the production of the show. I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but these other orgs have got to up thier game if they want to compete with Zuffa. Like it or not Zuffa has set a standard, and some of these other orgs (cough..Elitexc..Cough) look more like an over the top Ben Stiller sports spoof flick. (Dodgeball comes to mind)
Uh boy, here we go.
Rosenthal is not all that great a ref and never has been IMO but, fixed? Come on guys, lets think about this for a sec. They’re [WEC] gong to let him [Condit] get pummeled for nearly 4 rounds while almost being knocked out. Not a very good “fixing” plan.
I wouldn’t use the word fixed… that is too far. But one sided and favored? Yup.
In pro sports when an organization is trying to influence a decision, they can do only that, INFLUENCE. I can in no way say that was fair and balanced. If the ref was just bad then we would have seen him make bad calls both ways.
Fair enough. We’ve all seen the Dallas Cowboys of the 90’s get all the calls thier way (so it would seem). It does happen in sports. I’m not convinced that happened here tonight. Muira was spent after the stoppage, but I feel where your coming from.
agreed… I am a huge Jordan fan and I knew he got calls, organizations love to give their boys calls which I understand. Condit probably could still have won the fight but I would have liked to see the 5th round
It was a good stoppage. Miura shot his wad trying to finish Condit, and when he couldn’t get the finish he was done. And if Jerral W. Jones hadn’t fired Jimmy Johnson the Cowboys would have won about 5 or 6 straight Super Bowls in the 90s, calls or no calls. They were better than the Packers of the 60s, the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s and the Patriots now.
I agree. Any talk of shenanigans is nonsense. I’ve been commenting for awhile now that the WEC is the second best MMA organization around. Hopefully, more people will tune into it now - it’s great no nonsense MMA with some really excellent fighters (e.g., Faber, Torres, Varner, Pulver, Filho)
I agree with jokizono and ZenRhino. Carlos Condit is a great fighter but that result was BS!! Every time Condit was on top towards the 3rd and 4th, ref Rosenthall would let him rest it out with minor little pepper shots for atleast a minute and when Miura would sweep Condit or end up on top ref Rosenthall would stand them up. It was clearly visible that both fighters were tired, but if your going to stop the fight especially with 15 seconds left in the round then the fight should have ended along time ago for Condit when he was taking consecutive punches.
WELL SAID
i thought it was a fantastic fight alot of back and forth exchanges, the ending was great, he got dazed by the knee and carlos just kept puttin pressure on him the dude was out, they both made a fan out of me!!!
I didn’t see him go limp or be non-responsive. Miura had his hands up protecting his head, he wasn’t out. It’s just another controversial ending to a one-sided ref in an MMA fight.
I read this the same way as Jokizono… hands up, and he wasn’t out… he laid down after the fight was called because he was exhausted but so did Condit.
Condit got up first but that doesn’t mean he was the fresher of the two, anytime he had a good position Miura worked him in the 4th… the tid was turning to Miura and the Ref was there to stop it.
Rosenthal sucks
Wow, what an excellent show for a Sunday night! Brian Bowles is impressive at 135. He might give Miguel Torres a good fight. Jamie Varner sure did end Marcus Hicks’ unbeaten streak. Brock Larson has got a really good left. I think he’ll get another crack at Carlos Condit. Steve Cantwell showed to be the better fighter and looked to have a lot more potential than Brian Stann. Stann definitely needs to go to 185 if he’s weighing in at 201.5. Cantwell looked a lot stronger in this fight than he did in their first fight. Micah Miller made a big mistake calling that guy out. Whatever his name was beat the crap out of him. Miller didn’t even realize that Herb Dean stopped it. The crowd was upset, but anytime a fighter doesn’t immediately argue with the ref (and furthermore doesn’t even realize the fight was already stopped) the ref made the right decision. And fight of the night definitely has to go to Condit and that Japanese fighter. Talk about the last samurai… he definitely had the spirit. He really tested Condit. After watching that fight, I would love to watch Condit face Shields. I think Shields would win, but I think it would be a really good fight. Condit took a lot of punishment from that Japanese guy, and dished out even more. I don’t know what Mir was thinking though when he said Carlos Condit is one of the top two welter weights in the world. I think he thinks he’s number two behind GSP. Condit is way too small to hang with some of the bigger welter weights in the UFC, like Fitch.
2 behnind GSP! wow.
What about?
BJ
Sherk
Kos
Karo
Alves
Sanchez
etc.
I’m not sure if he can beat those guys consistently, I think sean sherk would have destroyed him tonight around round 3 or 4 when he gassed, sherk would have ground and pounded him… I know sherk has been fighting at 155 but he could have beat this guy up tonight.
I wasn’t impressed with Condit’s striking either. His punches have no snap and he doesn’t know how to use angles. He just looks slow and he telegraphs his punches and he got hit way to easily. My guess is he’d be like Varner, a great WEC champ but just an average UFC fighter.
I don’t agree with the stoppage either. Condit was so physically drained at the end, his punches had all the impact of a lightly tossed nerf ball. Miura was in no danger.
I think I’m talking to myself. Kinda embarrasing really.
I actually agree with you that Muira was too tired to defend himself, thus the stoppage was called for, unfortunately. Although I think he could have lasted the round because the punches didn’t have much on them, how would it have looked when the round ended and he couldn’t get up (again, not because of the punches, but because he was dead tired). The knee Condit gave him had just enough to put him down, and once he was down, he didn’t have the energy to do a push up with Condit on him and get up. I understand what these guys are saying… about the ref constantly warning Muira every time he was on top of Condit, but I really don’t think it determined the outcome of the match.
Someone got to that ref, and gave him instructions to favor Condit.
He was far too one-sided in his calls. The knees, the stand-ups, calling the fight when he did. You can’t judge the decision to call the fight based on how Muira acted after it was called, because calling the fight changed Muira’s reaction, he rested because it was over and there is no appeal.
Condit is too important for the WEC — he’s a promoter now, not just a fighter. And he’s on a streak. Muira wasn’t the big name contender. This is not to say that the fight was fixed, or that Condit was in on the fix, just that someone got to that ref.