World Extreme Cage Fighting XI Lemoore, California, August 18, 2004
It`s been awhile since I`ve personally been back in Lemoore. However when I saw the initial line up of bouts, which included the likes of Chris Lytle, Gil Castillo, Bret ‘the Angry Hick" Bergmark vs John Alessio and Gilbert Melendez vs the returning Rich Crunkilton I knew I had to see this. Of course I was initially disappointed when none of these bouts materialized. Still, the fighters left on the card fought their hearts out and top to bottom this edition of the WEC had a series of hard fought bouts that definitely entertained the crowd. Brad Mohler defeats Rob Clarke 3’59 Round 3 by corner stoppage Rob Clarke is an alumni of the famous San Jose State Judo team and is now training at American Kickboxing Academy for a number of years now. Rob largely fought this match like a submission match in which the first two rounds which saw him dominating takedown and positions, but not willing to make a commitment to strikes. Brad Mohler was able to escape positions and avoid submissions and would strike whenever the opportunity presented itself. By the third round Clarke was gassed and Mohler took full advantage, striking from half mount at the unresponsive Clarke. Clarke`s corner threw in the towel but the referee didn`t see it for a good 15 seconds as the punishment continued. Josh Green over Bill Coffman 1:19 Round 1 Omaplata Quick bout. At this point I was running around trying to find the rest of my party and by the time I got back to my seat it was over. Gabe Ruediger over Steve Ramirez 1:24 round 1 Armbar The first match of the main event card. Ruediger and Ramirez exchanged punches to start off the match and Ramirez pushed Ruediger into the fence. It moved to the center of the ring and Ramirez executed a beautiful hip toss. Ruediger was able to quickly recompose his guard however and Ramirez landed in a triangle. Ramirez was defending the triangle well, but Ruediger transitioned to the arm and got the tapout. James Irvin defeated Jody Poff TKO 1:44 1R This match up was the first round of the 4 man heavyweight tournament. I was sitting cage side and I`m not entirely sure what happened. But almost as quickly as the match began Poff was in a heap and the referee declared Irvin the winner. Nick Ertl defeated Nam Phan Decision (Split) 5:00 3R Being familiar with both fighters, on paper I was looking forward to this match up a lot. Phan had a few occasions where he seemed to get the better of exchanges of his feet, and he forced Ertle into a butt scoot position. However, the majority of the fight saw Ertle inside of Phan`s guard. Ertle`s strikes weren`t too damaging, and Phan didn`t do much more than defend. Still myself, my fellow media and the rest of the crowd were taken aback when Phan was announced the winner. After the matches it was revealed someone misread a judges card, and the decision Emmanuel Newton defeated Andre Mussi Decision (Unanimous) 5:00 3R Bloodiest fight of the night on a card full of them as Emmanual Newton of the Fight Team and Andre Mussi (brown belt under Minotauro) made the second match in the four man heavy weight tournament. The first round was largely a stand up battle that Newton definitely got the better of, breaking the Brazilian`s nose early in the match. Mussi hung tough however, and in the second round cam back to split Newtons lip. At this point blood was everywhere. The little time which the bout went to the ground clearly favored Mussi, however Newton fought hard and was able to keep his composure. By the third round both fighters had to dig deep into their reserves to finish strong, which they did, with Newton controlling the pace for most of the match, but Mussi ending the bout with a flurry. Honestly after the bout both fighters looked like hell, but it was Newton how got the hard fought decision. Carlos Garcia defeated Seth Woodill KO 0:25 1R The bigger they are, the harder they fall, and although he looked physically outmatched by Woodill it was Garcia that delivered the decisive blow with an uppercut which knocked Woodill out cold. The match was replayed for the crowd numerous times to the crowds to delight. Woodill honestly didn`t know what hit as when he finally came too and they brought the combatants to the center of the ring Woodil brought his hands up as if he was to fight! This match was even more surprising when you consider Garcia is known more for his jiu jitsu skills. Olaf Alfonso defeated Philip Perez TKO 2:57 1R With his distinct hairstyle and aggressive attitude Olaf Alfonso may be the breakout star in the WEC, where as Phillip Perez already knows what it`s like to be the main event. Perez shot in immediately and something happened which opened up an enormous cut on Perez`s head. Olaf used the opportunity to reverse positions and quickly capitalized by delivering blow after blow to Perez. When the referee finally stopped the match the damage done to Perez was evident by the sheer amount of blood on his face. Rafael Real defeated Michael McDonald TKO 2:35 2R Another brutal bout in a series of them, both fighter absorbed enough punishment to take out an elephant. This was back and forth until the second round, when Real got the takedown on MacDonald. From here Real took MacDonalds back and finished the bout off with strikes to the head. Levar Johnson defeated Fred Diaz KO 1R The word "Slugfest" was definitely coined to describe matches like this, as both fighter pounded on each other for the duration of this match. Although he aborbed his fair share of punishment, Johnson`s punches seemed more accurate and it was two idenitical right hand hand that scored the knock out over Diaz. Richard Montoya defeated Abraham Baxter Decision (Unanimous) 5:00 3 This match was for the vacant WEC Light Heavy weight title. The first round began with a feeling out process, but once the action started it never let up. The fighters exchanged some tough looking strikes, but when the grappling began Montoya had a clear advantage as he landed THREE rolling German Suplexs (ala Chris Benoit) before taking the back and nearly sinking in the choke. When the 10 second indicator was sounded the referee mistakenly stopped the match, which really saved Baxter at this time. The next two rounds saw mostly a standup battle. Dexter`s knee had swollen to the size of a grapefruit through the course of this battle, which could not have helped his mobility as Montoya takes the decision. Shonie Carter defeated Jason Biswell TKO 3:13 1R Carter overwhelmed Biswell to be crowned the WEC 175 pound champ. Carter took Biswell down early, allowed him to stand back up again, took him even harder, and proceeded to land some very hard elbows and forearms putting an end to the match. Biswell has clearly the fan favorite here, and Carter quickly played up on it, cutting a tremendous promo where he shimmied, rhymed, played to the ladies in the crowd and repeatedly beat on his enormous cup. Seriously, how can any of the MMA writers over the years not have pointed out that Shonie`s groin enters the cage a full minute before he does? The planned main event (heavyweight finals between James Irvin and Emmanual Newton) did not take place because Newton was too damaged to continue. This will now take place at the WEC`s annual Halloween show, which is always a fun time. For more information, check out http://www.wec.tv