There has been a lot of publicity surrounding this event. WEC has even gone so far as to call the Faber vs. Pulver fight the greatest MMA fight ever, and that was well before it was even fought.
Well, it has been fought, with four other bouts just 24 hours after the general public had their first (sour) taste of MMA through EliteXC.
So, how did this event do in redeeming the sport of mixed martial arts?
Results:
Rob McCullough (15-4) defeated Kenneth Alexander (5-2-1) via split (30-27, 27-28, 30-27) decision.
- McCullough was coming off a hard loss and looked gun-shy out of the box. And that is the way it stayed. The boos from the crowd seemed to pause just long enough each round to catch their breaths and take another sip of beer.
The biggest strike from the former lightweight champ came via a vicious, unintentional knee to the family jewels of Kenneth Alexander.
This was a bad way to start any MMA event, let alone after last night's debacle.
The action picked up a bit for the second fight:
Mark Munoz (3-0) defeated Chuck Grigsby (15-3) via KO in the first round.
- Even though Munoz gave up 6 inches in height to his opponent, the former Division 1 national wrestling champ showed that size doesn't always matter in MMA.
The fight didn't last long on it's feet as Munoz looked over and over for a take down, finally getting to side control before Grigsby pulled guard.
Munoz seemed phased at first and unsure, but Grigsby was unable to secure either an arm bar or triangle attempt and Munoz did what wrestlers do in MMA.
Munoz stood in the open guard of Grigsby and controlled his feet, throwing them to the side before dive-bombing in with a hay-maker.
Third time was the charm as Grigsby tried to attempt a kneebar and was rewarded with three stiff punches to his face, knocking him out cold.
Then, Donald Cerrone (7-0) defeated Danny Castillo (5-0) via armbar in the first round.
- Some may recognize the name or face of Donald Cerrone from the show Tapout on the Vs. Network. Not long after his fight he was suspended 8 months for testing positive to a diuretic.
Cerrone is known for his Muay Thai skills, but showed the Vs. fans for the second time how dangerous his ground game was with a perfect arm bar transition from being struck.
Sadly, as Cerrone had just defeated a hometown boy (Sacramento is where the fights were held), boos accompanied the official ring announcement: submission was verbal and not by tap.
Then came the thunder...
Miguel Torres (33-1) defeated Yoshiro Maeda (23-4-2) via doctor stoppage after round 3 to retain the bantamweight (135) championship.
- For any that doubt the intensity and skill involved in mixed martial arts and in the lower weight classes, those critics are now silenced.
What started in an air of emotion bordering on rage resulted in the two fighters trading punches, kicks, dozens of knees, and submission attempts that included arm bars, knee bars, guillotines and a gogoplata, all in the first round.
The fury continued in the second round and at one point ended up in a double ankle lock attempt, but it didn't end the fight.
From floor to feet, this fight was intense and exciting, both fighters showed skill, heart and a little insanity. Easily the fight of the night, if not the year.
Then, the fight all fans had been waiting for, for the featherweight championship:
Urijah Faber (20-1) defeated Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver (22-8-1) by unanimous decision
- This one was a war. Faber controlled the pace and action at the opening bell showing great accuracy and power with his right cross, but Pulver would not back down.
In the second round Pulver took an uppercut that knocked him to the ground, Faber pounced and landed vicious punches, but Pulver shock the attack off and continued to press forward.
Round after round it was looking more like a mini version of Rocky unfolding in front of the MMA audience.
Both fighters pulled out the cliches and left it all in the ring. Neither fighter would back down this fight. But in the end, Faber edged out all rounds on the score cards and took home the belt once again.
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