WEC presents an exciting night of fighting with three titles on the line

This past Sunday, MMA fans enjoyed yet another stellar event from the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) promotion. The group is owned by UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC and though some consider it a clear “#2” promotion its quickly reaching qualitative parity with its bigger and better known stable mate. Historically, the WEC has focused on lighter weight classes (they use a slightly smaller cage than does the UFC) led by featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Now with talented titleholders at the heavier weight classes—particularly welterweight Carlos Condit and lightweight champion Jamie Varner—the WEC is quickly becoming relevant in their own right and not just as an adjunct to the UFC.

In the main event, WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit survived the toughest challenge of his title reign to emerge victorious over tough judoka turned striker Hiromitsu Miura. “Survived”, in this instance at least, is not mere fight journalist hyperbole—with both fighters clearly past the point of exhaustion in the waning moments of round 4 it was more of a case of one mustering the energy and the opportunity to put the other away than it was an achievement of any sort of dominant victory. At several points in the fight Miura appeared to be on the verge of providing the second title change of the evening, only to see Condit eventually escape with his title in a spectacular display of toughness and heart on the part of both men.

The decisive sequence began when referee Herb Dean stood up the two fighters after a spent Miura was unable to continue a ground and pound attack. As the combatants reengaged, Condit caught Miura with a knee strike that sent the challenger to the ground face first. The champ less mounted his opponent as he fell on him, and despite Condit’s hammer strikes to the back of the head having little force behind them Miura was simply running on a less than empty tank and just couldn’t defend himself. After a half dozen uncontested blows Herb Dean had no option but to step in and call a stop to the match of the year candidate, declaring Condit the winner by TKO.

The toll of the bout was evident in the post fight, with Miura all but passed out on the canvas for nearly five minutes from sheer exhaustion. Condit wasn’t in much better shape, and appeared on the verge of collapse during his interview where he rightfully commended his opponent’s toughness repeatedly. This matchup was intended to be a showcase for Condit on national TV against an opponent perceived as “beatable”, but instead it turned into one of the toughest fights of his career. A rematch of this epic is a no-brainer, and could blossom into one of the great rivalries in the nascent history of mixed martial arts in America.

On the undercard, a rematch between decorated US Marine combat hero Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell with the light heavyweight title on the line. Cantwell employed an intelligent tactical striking game leveraging his superior fundamental boxing and kickboxing skills, resulting in a diverse attack of kicks and effective counterpunching. The gutsy Stann had no answer for this well rounded assault, and eventually succumbed to the TKO late in the 2nd round making Cantwell the new champion.

Lightweight title holder Jamie Varner’s night was a little easier in comparison with the other two champions featured on the card, as he stopped Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks midway through the first round. Despite the relatively quick stoppage, Hicks impressed everyone –including Varner--with his toughness and ability to take a punch.

The WEC’s next big event will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida on September 10, 2008. In the main event, WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber will defend his title against tough Portland, OR native Mike Brown. The card is expected to once again air live on Versus and on paper looks to be yet another very entertaining evening of MMA action.