WEC 42 Results
Miguel Torres Shocked as Brian Bowles Walks Away Victorious
Going into this fight, no one gave Brian Bowles a prayer. It was thought that Miguel Torres would walk straight through him and look very impressive along the way. However, this was not to be.
Brian Bowles Dominates Miguel Angel Torres
Bowles looked noticeably bigger going into the cage, as if he had cut a lot of weight to make the 135lbs limit. This would prove to be a major factor in the first and only round of the fight.
The fight started tentatively with both fighters feeling each other out. The first major shot of the fight was when Bowles rocked Torres with a mean overhand right, but the champion recovered well. With a couple of minutes left in the round, Torres unleashed a flurry on Bowles. This didn't have the effect Torres wanted though, as Bowles took all of his shots, and at the same time, Torres walked on to a peach of a left hook. He was already out, but Bowles hit him a few more times on the ground, and the fight was over.
What was most surprising was how one sided this was, even if it was only for a round. Torres just couldn't hurt Bowles, and Bowles could bully him wherever he wanted becuase of his added bulk.
Where the former WEC Bantamweight Champion will go from here is unknown, but that division is stacked in the WEC so he would have plenty of options. He may go for a rematch with Takeya Mizugaki, who he previously defeated in a five round war.
Bowles now will most likely fight Dominick Cruz, who also won on the undercard.
Dominick in Cruz Control Against Jospeh Benavidez
Dominick Cruz defeated the previously unbeaten Jospeh Benavidez by unanimous decision. Even though two judges scored the bout 29-28, this bout was rather one sided, and it may have been fairer for those judges to have scored the bout 30-27.
To everyone's surprise, Cruz managed to take Benavidez down a couple of times in the first round. One of these was after a sublime body lock performed with exquisite technique. When the fight was standing, Benavidez couldn't really do much about the four inch height deficit he was subject to, and Cruz controlled that easily.
Cruz had a great second round, landing many strikes and scoring a phenomenal takedown at the end of the round.
The third session was more competitive, but the gameplan of Benavidez just wasn't working. He was throwing wild spinning back elbows and jumping high kicks all through the fight, and not one of them landed cleanly. Cruz got two takedowns and nearly finished him after the second one, only for the time to run out.
This is the first time Benavidez has been beaten, but he should learn from the experience. It wasn't a crushing defeat and it should leave no real mental scarring.
As for Cruz, a shot at Brian Bowles awaits, and right now, he has as good a chance as anyone. He is awkward, utilises angles well and has a good workrate. That will be a good fight.
The Undercard
Danny Castillo scored a great victory in the lightweight division by defeating Ricardo Lamas by TKO. In the second round, he hit Lamas with a big overhand right. Lamas fell to the floor, and Castillo ground and pounded his way to victory.
In the bantamweight division, Jeff Curran lost a very debatable split decision to Takeya Mizugaki. Curran had spent large amounts of time on his back, but there he was more active than Mizugaki who was on top. He showed some great BJJ in the process. However, Mizugaki nicked the decision, and will be back in contention for a title shot soon enough.
There was another split decision on the undercard as Leonard Garcia nicked a victory over Jameel Massouh. This was a great fight with both men being rocked, and it could have gone either way. Garcia obviously did enough in the eyes of the judges though.
WEC 42: A Fantastic Show
This was a brilliant card, with not a single dull fight on it. This is what people have come to expect with the WEC. Brian Bowles is now showing his true potential, and after just 8 fights (all victories), he is the WEC Bantamweight Champion. A fight with Dominick Cruz will have fireworks.
As for Miguel Angel Torres, it's back to the drawing board. However, he has the talent, youth and desire to one day rise again, and challenge Bowles for the Bantamweight crown.
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