WEC 47 Live Blog: Brian Bowles Vs. Dominick Cruz From Nationwide Arena

6:56 P.M. ET and Bleacher Report is live from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, for WEC47 live on Versus.

This is the organization's first time hosting a event at this venue and the crowd has filled in nicely for the Prelims as the first fight of the night is set to begin.

Be sure to stay tuned throughout the event to receive updates on the evening's fights. Prelims are set for 7 p.m. ET and Main card at 10 p.m. ET.

In addition, you can follow me on Twitter @JoshDCarey for information as well, enjoy!

Preliminary Bouts are set to begin with:

7:10 - Bendy Casimir (19-5-2) enters the arena to Lil Wayne "Duffle Bag Boy" and his opponent Ricardo Lamas (7-1) has now entered into the arena. We're officially set for 3 Rounds in the lightweight division.

7:17, Round 1 - Ricardo Lamas lands a huge left knee and in doing so has ended Casimir's night, knocking him out cold at 3:43 of Round 1. The crowd erupts for Lamas and he receives a loud ovation as he exits the cage.

7:27, The Arena has filled up nicely in anticipation of the evening's upcoming bouts as we are set to begin the second undercard bout.

7:31, Courtney Buck (6-2) enters the arena to Jay Z and Rihanna "Run this town." His opponent Fredson Paixao (8-3, 1 NC) has now entered into the arena coming out to 50 Cent "In Da Club." We're officially set for 3 Rounds in the Featherweight Division.

7:35, Round 1 - Strikes from Buck end up landing him on the ground against Paixao, who is a Brazilian JiuJitsu Black Belt. Paixao transitions into full mount and procedes to take back mount sinking in the fight ending submission 2:39 of Round 1. Paixao is announced as the winner by submission (rear naked choke) and the crowd rewards him with a nice ovation.

7:43, We are treated to a preview of the UFC's upcoming PPV event at UFC 111 which features Welterweight Champion Georges St. Piere Vs. Dan Hardy in the main event.

7:50, The fans here at the arena are currently getting a treat of music sampling of T-Pain and Lil Wayne.

7:53, GEORGE ROOP (6-2) enters the arena to what I believe to be Busta Rhymes "Ironman" which is mainly being scratched over because of the lyrics. LEONARD GARCIA (17-5) has now entered the arena to Young Joc "It's going down." We're officially set for 3 Rounds in the Featherweight Division.

7:58, Round 1 - Both fighters treat the fans at the arena to a feeling out process until Roop lands a big takedown and in doing so lands himself into a Garcia guillotine. Roop works himself out and lands a few strikes from top position but in doing so enables Garcia to stand up. The first round of action ends as both fighters trade strikes standing, with Roop getting the slight edge in the round. The judges see it as 10-9 Roop.

8:05, Round 2 - Both fighters are looking fresh with Garcia being the fresher of the two Featherweights. Roop's coach Shawn Tompkins shouts out instructions and Roop is successful in landing a takedown but lands a knee that the referee thought was illegal. Taunts rain in from Roop for Garcia to attack more but Garcia doesn't give in. The second round of action ends with a exchange. The judges see it as 10-9 Garcia

8:11, Round 3 - The third frame sees Garcia hurt Roop badly with strikes standing and the crowd is thrilled! However, Roop recovers quickly much to the dismay of the fans. A low blow from Roop receives a one-point deduction from referee Kevin Mulhall. The final round ends with the two standing and trading strikes with the crowd's approval! The judges see it as 10-8 Garcia

8:20, Judges scoring totals (29-27 Roop) (29-27 Garcia) and (28-28) with the bout ending in a split draw which gains boos from the fans in attendance.

8:29, Anthony Pettis (7-1) enters the arena to a hip-hop song called "Showtime." His opponent Danny Castillo (8-2) has now entered the arena to hip-hop as well. The crowd seems to enjoy both songs.

8:35, Round 1 - Pettis and Castillo have entered the cage as Castillo lands a takedown but can't hold Pettis down. Both fighters are now standing and Pettis throws a left leg high kick that sends Castillo to the canvas unconscious. The crowd erupts and Pettis is awarded the highlight reel knockout.

8:45, We are treated to a preview of the WEC's first PPV event which features Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo Vs. Urijah Faber in the main event.

8:48, Nationwide Arena is treated to a five minute break from action in between bouts to gather themselves for the upcoming bout that takes place in the Featherweight division.

8:53, ERIK KOCH (9-0) enters the arena to some hardcore techno music which seems to have excited the crowd as I see many of them standing and waving their arms in approval. His opponent CHAD MENDES (5-0) has now entered the arena to "For the Love of Money" by the O Jays.

8:58, Round 1 - Koch and Mendes both are working to find their range with Mendes being unsuccessful in a attempt at a takedown. The crowd is booing the action and seems to be a bit restless until Mendes puts Koch on his back. The round ends with Mendes not doing much from top position and the crowd rains in boos. Edge goes to Mendes based off the takedowns.

9:05, Round 2 - The second frame begins much like the first ended with a Mendes takedown. However, this time Koch is attempting to work the rubber guard but Mendes passes into half guard. Mendes is doing minimal damage from the position and Koch re-gains full guard. One fan responds "Come on fight, that was horrible." Edge again goes to Mendes based off the takedowns.

9:10, Round 3 - Third and final frame begins with Koch cutting Mendes with a nice head strike. Mendes lands a takedown but the action is stalled with the ref standing them up to check the Mendes cut. Koch's cornerman is UFC Heavyweight Pat Barry and Barry tells him "You have three minutes, you have to go for it." The action restarts with a Mendes illegal blow. Fourteen plus minutes in and the crowd is beyond restless with the lack of action in this bout as a fan yells "Come on, stand them up and give us a fight." The final frame ends in lackluster fashion but the crowd loves when the camera zooms in on the Mendes cut. 

Judges see the fight as 30-27 for the still undefeated Chad Mendes.

9:23, The workers at Nationwide Arena are attempting to clean up the blood left on the mat from the previous fight and are doing so quite quickly.

9:27, CHAD GEORGE (11-4) and  SCOTT JORGENSEN (8-3) both enter the arena to songs that are unfamiliar to me. However, both fighters look intense and extremely ready to go to battle in the Bantamweight division.

9:31, Round 1 - Seconds into the bout Jorgensen grabs and locks on a well executed standing guillotine which forces George to tap. The tap due to guillotine earns Jorgensen his fourth win by submission and in just 31 seconds into the fight.

9:38, We're taking a break in action to prepare for the main card which goes live at 10:00 p.m. sharp.

10:00, It's official, WEC 47 and Bleacher Report are live for the main card that is being aired on Versus, which features the Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles taking on Dominick Cruz.

10:07, KAREN DARABEDYAN (9-1) enters the arena to "It's Amazing" by Kanye West and his opponent BART PALASZEWSKI (32-13) how now entered to an unfamiliar song to me. Both fighters are inside of the cage and are set to do battle in the Lightweight division.

10:10, Round 1 - The lightweights begin by exchanging strikes with Darabedyan taking the center and flurrying Palaszewski against the cage. Big takedown lands Palaszewski on his back with with Darabedyan working elbows successfully from full guard. Within an instant, Palaszewski transitions to a slick armbar which draws a tapout from the now 9-2 Darabedyan.

Impressive submission skills on display by Bart Palaszewski in the first bout of the main card.

10:23, L.C. Davis enters the arena with his new camp based out of Xtreme Couture with UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard in his corner. Deividas Taurosevicius (12-3) enters into the arena looking extremely focused.

10:28, Round 1 - After a brief feeling-out process, Davis pins Deividas against the cage showing off the skills that Xtreme Couture trained fighters are famous for. The fighters are separated by the referee with Deividas taking the center in a southpaw stance.

Deividas comes forward with strikes and both fighters exchange positions against the cage as the round ends. Much to the dismay of the crowd as the round ends with light boos.

10:34, Round 2 - Both fighters spent much of their time inside the cage exchanging positions against the cage with neither fighter landing a truly decisive blow. Deividas spent much of the round working towards a takedown and Davis was successful in defending most of the attempts.

10:41, Round 3 - The final round of action sees a brief standing exchange until Deividas shoots and presses Davis against the cage which is met with boos from the crowd as a fan says "Let's fight already." Clinch work has controlled the majority of this fight and the crowd is booing the action as the round ends.

The judges scorecards read 29-29, 29-28, 29-28 for the winner L.C. Davis whom is now 16-2.

10:59, Miguel Cotto, Mike Brown, The Tapout Crew, and Forrest are spotted as the camera crew scans the audience.

11:03, JAVIER VAZQUEZ (13-4) makes his way into the arena first and is followed by fan favorite JENS PULVER (22-12-1). Pulver enters the arena to a HUGE OVATION which is by far the loudest of the evening. Can Pulver turn the tide around and get back to his winning ways?

11:06, Round 1 - Both fighters are extremely intense with Pulver taking the center of the cage and the crowd is the loudest it's been all night in rooting for Pulver. Vasquez lands a takedown on Pulver and briefly has his back before a Pulver reversal which leads to a Pulver standup. Vasquez lands a takedown and transitions from side control into full mount. In doing so, Vasquez locks up a tight armbar which forces a very painful Pulver tapout at 3:41.

11:19, Jens Pulver addresses the crowd on his future "I don't know how many more times I can cry in front of you." "You're the only reason I've done this since day one." "I love you guys." Pulver enters the crowd to give thanks to his fans after leaving the cage for what may very well be the last time.

11:33, Ladies and Gentlemen it's time for the Co-Main Event of the night. JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ (11-1) makes his way into the arena with Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" blairing through the sound system. 

11:40, MIGUEL TORRES (36-2) returns for his first fight since losing the Bantamweight championship and will be cornered by Brazilian JiuJitsu ace Robert Drysdale. Torres will also possess a 11-inch reach advantage for the contest.

11:42, Round 1 - The Co-Main event begins with Torres doing a lot of circling for the first two minutes. Both fighters exchange with Benavidez landing a punch and dropping Torres. Benavidez allows Torres to stand and proceeds to take the former champ to the canvas. While there, Benavidez works top position from Torres half guard and lands a few solid elbows. As the round ends, Torres attempts a few up kicks that were unsuccessful. Advantage: Benavidez.

11:49, Round 2 - Torres starts round 2 off the same way as round 1 by circling and Benavidez lands a solid combination against the cage. Torres is unharmed and backs up away from the cage. Both fighters stand but neither land any significant blows until Benavidez lands a huge double leg takedown in front of his own corner and opens up a large cut over on Torres forehead. From there, Benavidez transitions into a beautifully executed guillotine that draws a Torres tap.

11:58, Benavidez dominates Torres and the Co-Main event ends with Benavidez leaving Nationwide Arena the victor by second-round submission.

12:07, The Main Event of the evening is upon us as Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles steps back into action making his first title defense against top contender Dominick Cruz.

12:08, Alliance Training Center fighter Dominick Cruz enters the arena accompanied by Coaches Eric Del Fierro and Lloyd Irvin.

12:12, The WEC 135-pound champion of the world, Brian Bowles, makes his way into the arena with Johnny Cash's "When the man comes around" playing and is the crowd favorite as Bowles was born in the neighboring state of West Virginia.

12:16, Round 1 - The champion is throwing heavy leather each opportunity he gets, looking to land the dynamite right hand that won him the championship. Cruz is using excellent footwork to control the fight and lands a solid right hand as the two exchange. The challenger seems to have the superior striking thus far and lands a takedown in front of his corner that secures the round for him. Cruz 10-9.

12:25, Round 2 - Cruz begins the second frame much like he did the first and is continuing to find success. Cruz is picking apart the champion and seems to have Bowles frustrated at the 2:14 mark. The challenger lands a smooth punch-kick combination and resets. In doing so, Cruz lands a inadvertent low blow to Bowles and the referee gives the champ time to recover. Action resumes with blood streaming out of the nose of Bowles and Cruz lands a huge takedown as the round ends. Cruz 10-9.

12:32, Bowles doesn't answer the bell for Round 3 due to injury. The new Bantamweight Champion of the world has been crowned in the form of Dominick Cruz.

Cruz stated "I just had to execute the game plan; Del Fierro MMA is where it's at."

Overall, WEC 47 provided the mixed martial arts world a great night of fights and a new Bantamweight Champion of the world has been crowned. Dominick Cruz now begins his title reign.