What I Learned from WEC 47

WEC 47 was bittersweet and poignant, suspenseful and anticlimactic.  I was reminded was reminded that styles are what make fights, and I learned that a perceived advantage means nothing when push comes to shove.

Fans of former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres were eager to see the lanky East Chicago brawler return to form and earn a shot at rematching the man who clobbered him senseless, Brian Bowles.  

Standing in the way, however, was up-and-comer Joseph Benavidez, a compact powerhouse who left no question that he'd done his homework.  Towering over his smaller opponent, Torres was expected to give Benavidez fits with his reach, but Benavidez had no trouble getting inside.  He easily danced away from most of Torres' wicked jabs, negating the former champion's 12" reach advantage, and scored easy takedowns with superior speed and quickness.  Benavidez' compact physicality seemed to make it difficult for Torres to mount any submission attempts from the bottom position, and spent most of the time on his back scrambling to his feet or trying to avoid damage, which eventually came in the form of an elbow.  Bloodied and overwhelmed, the emotional Torres charged Benavidez only to get caught in an iron choke, where he tapped out.

Hindsight being 20/20, it was a matchup that favored Benavidez.  Torres, a notoriously emotional fighter with a haphazard style that gets him banged up, was coming off not just a loss but a vicious first-round knockout.  Combined with his tendency to perhaps over-train, the emotional intangibles were against him.  Stylistically, we've never seen Torres do real well against quicker and more compact fighters with superior strength and wrestling.  His submission skills proved useless against an opponent who, for practical purposes, didn't have long enough arms to even arm bar.

In the main event, Brian Bowles faced challenger Dominic Cruz, a former featherweight undefeated at 135lbs.  Cruz' elusive but effective "monkey on meth" offense confused the audience, the camera operators, and most of all his opponent.  Bowles, who apparently broke his hand on the first punch, wasn't able to establish any rhythm against Cruz.  After not answering the bell for round 3, Cruz was given the TKO.  

An unsatisfying victory because of the injury, but that notwithstanding, Cruz' footwork, counter-punching and incredible timing combined with excellent wrestling were likely going to overwhelm Bowles anyway.  His game plan and execution were a lot to overcome, broken hand or not.

Cruz looks now to defend against Benavidez, whom he defeated via decision on his way to the belt.

The WEC is replete with sub-lightweight talent, and styles as a factor in the outcome of any given matchup seem to be amplified at these lighter weights.  Something about the speed, the power-to-weight ratios...I'm sure there's a calculus function that describes the relationship.  Anyway pretty exciting stuff to watch.

Let's hope Miguel gets back on track.  Anymore he may be at a distinct disadvantage at bantamweight, with his lanky physique and brawling style.  Cruz, Benavidez and Bowles have enough talent between them to keep Torres away from the 135-lb belt.