WEC 47 Wrap-Up

By Frank Curreri

Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez, who fought last August, are once again on a collision course.

Both fighters earned career milestones at WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio – with Cruz dethroning WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles and Benavidez submitting former kingpin Miguel Angel Torres – and afterward Benavidez made it clear he welcomes a sequel with the belt on the line.

“I would love to avenge my only loss,” said Benavidez, whose guillotine choke Saturday night won him Submission of the Night honors. “I think we both could have fought another two rounds.”

Benavidez (12-1) said his confidence swelled Saturday night following a strong showing in round one. He felt he had witnessed everything Torres was going to throw at him and had solved the timing of Torres’ acclaimed jab.

“Miguel was a great opponent,” Benavidez said. “He’s done so much for the weight class. To go and fight him was an honor. To get the victory is just surreal.”

Torres (37-3) said the deep gash on his head, caused by a Benavidez elbow seconds before the submission, compromised him in the cage.

“I couldn’t see and was breathing in blood,” he said via Twitter. “When you fall down, get up and do it again. I have a long journey ahead of me. I am human, I make mistakes, I will be back.”

Cruz, meanwhile, basked in the glory of one of the most memorable days of his life. The new champ, who had punished Bowles over two rounds, expressed surprise that Bowles (8-1) chose not to emerge from his corner for the start of the third round. Bowles said he suffered a broken hand and later offered a picture on his Twitter account showing a badly swollen right hand.

“I knew I was going to finish him in the third or fourth round,” Cruz said. “You can just see it in somebody’s eyes … I was determined to finish this fight.”

Cruz (14-1) acknowledged afterwards that he also hurt his hand during the fight (though not a break), but he indicated he was willing to endure much worse for victory.

“My hands hurt too,” he said. “I was ready to fight five rounds with a broken hand, broken hip, a broken face. It didn’t matter.”

Bantamweight Scott Jorgensen (9-3), another fighter eager to mix it up with Cruz, won his third straight with a 31-second guillotine choke over Chad George. Jorgensen improved to 5-2 in the WEC.

Though Ricardo Lamas’ brutal flying knee put Bendy Casimir to sleep in the evening’s opening bout, the Knockout of the Night went to Anthony Pettis for his first-round high kick finish of Danny Castillo. Pettis rebounded from a split decision loss to lightweight standout Bart Palaszewski, who also competed on Saturday and scored a thrilling come-from-behind armbar win over Karen Darabedyan.

“My shoulder has been injured, but now you’re seeing the real Anthony Pettis,” Pettis said. “I’m going right back to the gym. I’ll celebrate after I win the (lightweight) title.”

Fight of the Night went to George Roop and Leonard Garcia, who scrapped non-stop for 15 minutes. Their emotionally-charged battle ended in a draw after Roop was docked a point for a highly questionable low blow in the third round. Roop had taken the fight on short notice, replacing an injured Diego Nunes.

Needless to say, it was an emotional night for Jens Pulver, who may have made his final appearance in the Octagon, losing to Javier Vazquez. Pulver said he heard his arm pop several times due to the fight-ending armbar.

“For many, many years I was the biggest Jens Pulver fan,” Vazquez said. “That was the pinnacle of where I wanted to be. I was happy to get the win. The people who know me know I don’t do this to hurt people. I just try to win. I’m glad I won…but I didn’t want to hurt him, either. I don’t want to hurt anybody. So it was very bittersweet. I feel like I’m competitive and I feel like I can still beat anybody on any given night.”

Pulver choked up speaking to the media, saying his arm hurt “a little less than my pride. It popped a couple of times. It was fast. I remember. Thinking to myself, man, I got to get this grappling thing down at some point… I was stuck.

“I can’t even begin to explain the road that I’m sitting on. I love this sport and it’s hard to go out like this.”