WEC 42 Parting Shots

Yet another entertaining event between top-notch fighters is in the books for World Extreme Cagefighting, and the 42nd installment of the little promotion that survived and was purchased by Zuffa brought great fights and big results.  Even aside from the huge knockout win that gave Brian Bowles an incredible win over Miguel Torres, there were several great moments.

If You Are Not Watching the WEC, What Are You Thinking?

Now and then, I run into a big MMA fan who nonetheless doesn’t seem to pay attention to the WEC, and I really do not understand it.  The WEC not only is home to many of the best fighters around at the lower weights, but there is very rarely a bad fight on a WEC card.  That’s not to mention that the fights are, well, free.  One day, we will be amazed at remembering the times when we watched the likes of Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles for free.

Regarding the quality of the fights, I don’t know if the great fights can be directly attributed to having smaller, quicker fighters with better gas tanks, or whether there is more to it than that.  It almost seems as if there is a culture in the WEC where fighters know that they are expected to bring it, and where they are not only competing to win their fights, but also to have the best fights on any given card.  It seems to be almost a pro-wrestling locker room mentality in that respect.  How else can you explain the ridiculous number of amazing fights that we’ve been treated to in the WEC?

More than that, it seems as if a bad WEC fight is a decent fight in any other organization, including the UFC.  A slow-paced fight in the WEC is not even worth booing at a UFC event, which definitely has a lot to do with not only the weight classes, but the quality of the competitors.  Still, it’s not as if lighter fighters are physically incapable of boring fights, so credit should be given to the WEC’s fighters for putting on such unbelievable shows.

Once again, if you aren’t watching, what’s stopping you?

Close Decisions, Not Controversial Ones

WEC 42 provided not one, but three split decisions.  To many people, this presents an opportunity to become enraged, run to the nearest internet-enabled PC, and cry “foul” all over various MMA forums.  However, I am not like most people, as I get told a lot.

For me, it’s an opportunity to address a misconception that has always bothered me among MMA fans, who are nothing if not a passionate bunch.  That is, the difference between a controversial decision and a close decision.  Or, even better the reason why not every close decision is a controversial one.

Jameel Massouh lost a split decision to Leonard Garcia in a fight where it was hard to fault anyone from believing one had prevailed over the other.  Sure, Massouh was likely very certain that he had won, as was probably anyone who shares genes with him or regularly hangs out in his living room.  I’m sure a fair number of people watching had him ahead on their scorecards, as well.  Maybe just as many, if not more than those who thought Garcia won.  Does that make the decision a controversial one?

No.  It’s simply a close decision, and if anything, the closer the decision, the less reason you have to foam at the mouth on any of the more popular MMA forums.  When a fight is that close, who has any right to complain about the result?  This is where we get phrases such as, “it could have gone either way”.  Even if we spell out to judges that fights should be judged in a specific manner, with specific values to each possible action, there will be differences of opinion.  Did that shot land hard, or was it more of a glancing blow?  Who got the better of that exchange?  How deep was that choke attempt, and did it affect the other fighter’s cardio for the rest of the round?  You will never see eye to eye with every other viewer on such things.

If anything, fights like the one between Massough and Garcia are a reminder to fighters out there to do everything you can while the fight is taking place.  You can never be sure that you have it “in the bag”, and a healthy approach might be to always assume that you are behind, and simply be pleasantly surprised if you are given the nod.  Too many fighters look positive that they won the fight, only to be seen shaking their heads when the referees go the other way with the decision.  Since you can’t change the judges’ minds after the fact, focus on changing their minds while the fight is still going.

With That in Mind…

It’s hard to watch a decision rendered in a fight like the one between Jeff Curran and Takeya Mizugaki, though.  Sometimes, you wish that both guys could win, or even better, that an extra couple of rounds could be added so that such great fighters could determine the winner for themselves.  Still, Curran will be back, and the loss shouldn’t really hurt anyone’s opinion of him.  You could easily make the argument that he won the fight, and Mizugaki is not someone you should be ashamed to lose to, anyway.

Brian Bowles- Holy &#$!

Even after devoting an entire column to it, I can’t help but mention again how impressive Bowles’ win over Torres was.  Bowles has only eight professional fights, but has already shown exceptional skills and poise that is uncommon in fighters with thirty fights, let alone less than ten.  Bowles has a bright future in the division, and the shakeup will only lead to even more great matchups, including the inevitable second fight between Bowles and Torres.  For any that are somehow unconvinced that Bowles is a top-level competitor, don’t worry- he will get plenty of chances to prove himself in such a competitive division.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Brian Bowles, Miguel Torres, Mike Brown, UFC, WEC