WEC 49 Parting Shots
As usual, the most recent WEC event provided fast-paced action and excellent displays of mixed martial arts from every televised bout, giving those who are wise enough to tune in yet another great night of MMA. Of course, the main event was not without controversy, as Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus fought to a draw, even though Shalorus had a point taken from him in the second round, and most viewers seem to think Varner did more than enough to win the bout. The WEC has plenty of other quality fights coming up, including Cruz-Benavidez 2, but let’s take one last look at WEC 49 before we move on.
Who Will Be Better: Shalorus or Varner?
There is no question in my mind that Jamie Varner should have walked away with the victory at WEC 49. However, in the long run, I really think that Kamal Shalorus will be the better fighter. Varner is good at everything- he can get the fight to the mat, has a capable jiu-jitsu game and is a well-rounded striker. However, Shalorus has something that Varner doesn’t…an elite-level skill in his wrestling ability. Right now, Shalorus is severely limited by two things: the way he fights and his kickboxing ability.
Now, these two go hand in hand, because if Shalorus fought in a different way, his striking wouldn’t be at the forefront when he fights. However, Shalorus has a history of making the rather questionable decision to avoid using his biggest strength (his wrestling, of course) during his fights, and he continued that trend against Varner. Until the third round, this was basically a kickboxing match, and Varner was unlikely to lose a fight like that against Shalorus unless he got hit with one of Shalorus’ heavy punches.
I like Shalorus’ style of rather wild, looping punches and ridiculously hard leg kicks, but I’m not sure how well it serves him in a division full of lightning-fast competitors who can simply out-point him if he fights that way. Furthermore, Shalorus has to get the fight to the ground at least once per round in order to steal rounds on the judges’ scorecards. As far as Varner goes, it’s unfortunate that he has been unable to settle so many of his fights, leaving his immediate future full of rematches that may be fun for the fans, but aren’t getting him any closer to his goal of a title shot just yet. What appears to have been a broken hand and even a broken foot will derail Varner’s progress even further.
Grispi Moves Forward With Impressive Victory
LC Davis is a legitimately tough customer, so a win over him in such a dominating fashion is quite impressive. Josh Grispi was still somewhat of an unknown commodity going into this bout, even though he had two first-round WEC victories to his credit already (in a total of 1:23). Micah Miller is a decent enough fighter but not a world-beater, and no one knows quite what a victory over Jens Pulver means at this point in the legend’s career. Against LC Davis, Grispi just cemented his growing reputation as a ridiculously-talented fighter by putting Davis to sleep with a very well-executed guillotine.
Grispi has things he can work on, for sure. He tends to throw one kick at a time, almost always without mixing in any punches. This worked in Davis’ favor, as he was able to easily block many of the kicks that Grispi threw until he took the fight to the ground. Why Davis waited so long to take Grispi down (and why he stood out of punching range and simply continued blocking Grispi’s kicks instead of coming at him) is anyone’s guess. It appeared that Davis maybe could have gotten to side control (or at least half-guard) if he had moved quickly upon the takedown that led to the guillotine, too. Still, Grispi did his job and finished the fight decisively, and should get an even better challenge for his next fight.
Quick Shots
–What can be said about the fight between Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin? Simply awesome. I know one thing that can be said: between this fight and Wineland-Campuzano, I’m reminded of how effective body blows can be in MMA, and I once again wonder why fighters don’t use them more often. Hominick just devasted Jabouin to the body, and Jabouin proved to be a game opponent by coming back and catching Hominick on the chin, though it didn’t allow him to win the fight.
–Speaking of Will Campuzano, whenever the WEC brings in someone who hasn’t fought in the organization before and they end up being polished, talented fighters, it is a reminder of how deep the talent pool is at the lower weight classes. The WEC is just full of fighters who mix up their strikes well, have speed as well as technique, and who tirelessly work to finish fights. Campuzano in particular showed tons of heart, and I was also impressed with Eddie Wineland in the bout. Wineland throws hard, nasty straight punches, and that’s an underutilized style in MMA.
–I would be remiss if I didn’t at least briefly mention Daniel “Danny Boy” Downes in this space. There is certainly a “who’s who” in MMA of tough guys that deceptively look like they would be more at home in someone’s basement playing Dungeons and Dragons than in a cage with tiny gloves on, and Downes goes pretty close to the top of that list. His look is a cross of Napoleon Dynamite and every redhead that ever got picked on in junior high school, and his mannerisms before the fight definitely brought to mind Anthony Michael Hall in any one of those 1980′s John Hughes movies, as he pointed at his cornermen and then gave a goofy smile and a shrug to the camera, as if to say, “hey, look at these guys…I’m all set!” And hey, give the man some credit: he fought hard and did well against a very good veteran in Chris Horodecki.
Tags: Chris Horodecki, Daniel Downes, Eddie Wineland, Jamie Varner, Josh Grispi, Kamal Shalorus, LC Davis, Mark Hominick, WEC, WEC 49, Will Campuzano, Yves Jabouin
