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 WEC
31, the 7th WEC event being promoted under the Zuffa banner takes place
Wednesday December 12th on, of course, the Versus Network. On paper, this
card looks more impressive than UFC 78 and, with no doubt, will not disappoint.
The night
will start with a Light Heavyweight battle between WEC veteran, Doug
Marshall and Ariel Gandulla.
Marshall,
a freestyle fighter, holds a professional MMA record of 6-2. Every one
of his 8 fights has taken place in WEC. In his last fight at WEC 27, Marshall
dished out a first round KO to Justin McElfresh.
Gandulla’s
last fight also took place at WEC 27. Gandulla pulled out a split decision
against Gary Padilla. Gandulla is a wrestler who trains at American Top
Team with a number of top MMA fighters.
I see Gandulla
trying to take Marshall down, but being overcome by Marshall’s strength
and experience. Marshall by 1st round TKO.
Up next is
the WEC debut (and 145 lbs. debut) of well known Miletich fighter Jens
“Little Evil” Pulver. He will no doubt have his hands
full with 24-year-old Cub Swanson.
Jens Pulver
won the first UFC Lightweight title when he defeated Caol Uno by majority
decision in 2001. Pulver successfully defended the title against Dennis
Hallman and BJ Penn before vacating the title in 2002. Pulver then returned
to the UFC in 2006 to fight again back in the reinstituted UFC Lightweight
division. He suffered a stunning upset, getting knocked out in the first
round against Joe Lauzon. Pulver then went on to coach TUF 5 alongside
BJ Penn with a grudge match setup for the finale, in which Pulver lost
via second round submission. After that loss, Little Evil made the decision
to drop to 145 lbs. and move to the WEC.
Cub Swanson
(#2 Featherweight) holds an impressive 11-1 professional MMA record with
the last 2 wins coming in the WEC 145 lbs. division. Cub has a good ground
game and is an accomplished grappler.
Cub is a
rising star in MMA and is taking a step up in competition here. Jens Pulver
is going to have a tough time in this “double debut” (At 145
lbs. and in the WEC). I believe that this fight has title-shot implications,
with the winner being #1 in line for the winner of the night’s main
event. I think that the odds will be in Pulver’s favor, but I am
going to take Cub Swanson with a decision upset.
Next, undefeated
Brazilian fighter and WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho
defends his title for the first time against former UFC fighter Chael
Sonnen.
Paulo Filho
(#2 Middleweight)was a very successful Pride fighter with a 7-0 record
before Pride was purchased by Zuffa. He then was offered the opportunity
to fight for the WEC Middleweight title. Filho captured the Middleweight
title at WEC 29 when he defeated Joe Doerksen by TKO in the first round.
Filho just left Black House, where he trained with UFC Middleweight champion
Anderson Silva, to train with top UFC Heavyweight, Gabriel Gonzaga at
Team Link.
Chael Sonnen
went 1-2 in his appearances in the UFC with a win over Trevor Prangley
and submission losses to Renato Sobral and Jeremy Horn. Sonnen is an accomplished
wrestler, having competed at the Division 1 level and performing well
in the Olympic Trials.
For this
title defense, they had a difficult time finding an opponent for the undefeated
Filho. Sonnen is a tough fighter, but I don’t believe that he will
be able to give Filho his first lost. I see this fight ending early by
submission.
The Main
Event for the evening features WEC’s poster boy, Urijah
“The California Kid” Faber facing Jeff Curran.
Urijah Faber
(#1 Featherweight) is putting WEC on the map. He is a great featherweight
fighter and is ranked within the top three in the world at that weight
class. Faber holds a 19-1 record with his 1 loss coming from Tyson Griffin
at lightweight.
Jeff Curran
(#7 Featherweight) has previously fought in both UFC and Pride. He holds
an impressive 28-8-1 record and is ranked in the top ten in the featherweight
weight class. Jeff Curran has faced a high level of competition. He has
been in there with “Kid” Yamamoto, Antonio Carvalho, and Hatsu
Hioki, all of whom are ranked in the top ten of this weight class.
This will
be a great fight. Both fighters’ abilities will be tested. Faber
is a strong wrestler and Curran has strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I think
that Faber will be slightly favored going into this fight and I think
he will win in a 2nd or 3rd round TKO.
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