WEC 47 Preview and Picks

In just a few hours, World Extreme Cagefighting will host its 47th event, with bantamweight champion Brian Bowles defending his strap against Dominick Cruz. Also, Miguel Torres, who lost his title to Bowles last year, will attempt to put himself at the front of the line for a shot at redemption when he faces Joseph Benavidez. The card, which also features Jens Pulver, is a very good one that shouldn’t be missed. Here are my preview and picks for tonight’s fights.

Karen Darabedyan vs. Bart Palaszewski

The world’s toughest person named “Karen” will try to make it eight wins in a row and earn himself a title shot tonight, with the always-tough Palaszewski in his way. Palaszewski is an IFL veteran and a hard-nosed Midwestern fighter who sets a good pace with takedowns and competent standup throughout each of his fights. However, he will be facing someone with very good boxing technique and the ability to keep the fight upright in most situations.

We saw how polished Darabedyan’s standup was against “Razor” Rob McCullough during their fight at WEC 44, which Darabedyan won by split decision. I think Darabedyan will do everything that he can to keep this one standing, where he will have what Mike Goldberg might call a “definitive advantage” over his opponent. I don’t see Palaszewski taking Darabedyan down enough to win the fight, but I do see him staying in it until the end.

Prediction: Darabedyan by decision

LC Davis vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Davis, who has fought in the IFL, Affliction and Sengoku, is 2-0 in his WEC career so far, and will look to keep his WEC record unblemished against Taurosevicius, a frustrating opponent who makes life as hard for opposing fighters as he does writers who want to correctly spell his name. Taurosevicius is also 2-0 in the WEC (interestingly enough, both fighters have a split decision win over Javier Vazquez), so somebody’s “0” has got to go, as they say.

It will be that of Taurosevicius, who is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Davis is more of a jack of one trade, but he is very skilled at it, which gives him an edge for sure. Davis will use his wrestling base to control this fight, though Taurosevicius will make it difficult for him every step of the way. This one has a possible close or split decision written all over it, as I think the two will cancel each other out much of the fight. In the end, though, the judges will give the nod to Davis for control and takedowns.

Prediction: Davis by decision

Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez

Pulver has lost six of his last seven fights, and is getting the chance to turn things around at this point pretty much because he’s Jens Pulver. In Jens’ defense, those losses have been to very good fighters, including two to Urijah Faber, one to BJ Penn at a weight where Jens was much smaller, and one to Leonard Garcia. Still, it’s unfortunate for Pulver, who has had a great career and is one of the nicer guys in the business. Meanwhile, Vazquez is another guy who has had some hard times in his career, with multiple knee injuries taking years out of his career and two split decision losses in a row coming into this fight. The good news is that somebody’s fortunes will improve with this one.

Vazquez has admitted that he must take down Pulver, who still is respected for having punching power that is unrivaled by most at 145 pounds. So this becomes a pretty simple situation: Vazquez will work diligently for takedowns, while Pulver will try his damndest not to concede them. In the meantime, Pulver will try to land hard shots whenever possible. It’s a difficult fight to win for Pulver, as just one takedown can mean a lost round in a three-round fight. However, I’m going to give Pulver the benefit of the doubt here, as he has earned it.

Prediction: Pulver by KO/TKO

Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez

Torres is, in my opinion, still the finest fighter in his weight class and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. That may take some of the drama out of my prediction, but so be it. I don’t want to take anything away from current champ Brian Bowles, but this sport has shown us all time and time again that anyone can be knocked out, especially if they fight aggressively. Meanwhile, Benavidez is a very good fighter himself who has only lost to tonight’s title challenger, Dominick Cruz. Clearly, both of these guys have business with the main event fighters that they would like to resolve.

Torres is better on the mat and standing up than Benavidez, which presents a serious problem for obvious reasons. I don’t know whether Benavidez will look to take down Torres, as Torres has some very good submission skills that most don’t want to deal with. Benavidez may just be confident enough to try it out during the fight, though, particularly if the standup doesn’t go well. Still, I think Torres out-points Benavidez throughout before Benavidez throws caution to the wind, taking down Torres and getting submitted.

Prediction: Torres by submission

Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz

After knocking out Torres, Bowles ascended to the top position in the world in the eyes of many. I won’t really argue with it, even if I disagree. Really, the two can be considered 1A and 1B, as they are both tremendously talented. Either way, Cruz will be in for it tonight as he faces Bowles, who will present himself as a dangerous opponent no matter where the fight goes.

Cruz is a slightly conservative fighter who has done very well throughout his career by beating opponents via decision, while taking submissions when the opportunity arises. Meanwhile, Bowles has been out of the second round once out of eight fights, and never been to a decision. He is going to work hard to finish this fight on the mat or standing up, and he has the skills to do either. Expecting Cruz to withstand such efforts for five rounds is foolish, even though he’s a talented competitor himself.

Prediction: Bowles by KO/TKO
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Tags: Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz, Jens Pulver, Miguel Torres, WEC 47