Less than one minute into his first championship defense, Chase Beebe's title reign seemed to be on life support. There he was, his leg twisted awkwardly and one of the world’s best submission artists cranking hard on a kneebar that threatened to cause serious ligament damage. The thought of quitting, of sparing his joints, rushed to Beebe’s mind. But the 22-year-old fought on, repeatedly dodging submission attempts from Rani Yahira before turning the tables and grinding out a unanimous decision to keep his bantamweight title.
For WEC lightweight champion Rob McCullough, Wednesday night in the cage was far less suspenseful as he overwhelmed a seasoned grappler who made the mistake of trying to trade punches with him. Richard Crunkilton, perhaps trying to create openings for a takedown, attempted a few kicks against McCullough and let his fists fly. It didn’t take McCullough long to pounce, cracking Crunkilton with a hard left and a bevy of shots that floored the challenger. Crunkilton managed to jump to his feet seconds later, only to be bombarded by more booming shots. He hit the canvass twice more, forcing the referee to intervene and halt the fight at 1 minute, 29 seconds of the first round.
“Rich is really a tough guy,” McCullough said afterward, noting he expected Crunkilton to try to loosen him up on their feet. “I believed he would try to do that to set up a takedown later in the fight, but I think it was the wrong choice… I got a vicious right hand, I hit hard with just about every part of my body.”
WEC announcer Frank Mir offered a blunt assessment of the action, pondering aloud: “I don’t understand what Richard Crunkilton was thinking.”
While McCullough merely reminded the MMA world of his potent punching prowess, Beebe’s performance was a startling revelation. A lot of people thought Beebe, despite winning four wrestling state titles in high school, would be crazy to fight on the ground against Yahira, winner of the prestigious Abu Dhabi grappling crown. Yet rather than trying to exploit Yahira in the stand-up game, Beebe opted to defy conventional wisdom. He came close to paying dearly for that daring approach when Yahira locked in a kneebar. The danger was only just beginning there in that stormy first round, in which Yahira set a fast and furious pace. When Yahira attempted to secure a guillotine choke, Beebe slipped out of it. When Yahira secured top position and went for a head-and-arm choke, again Beebe surprised and survived. When Yahira tried an armbar, Beebe quickly powered out. Yahira won the first round with his non-stop onslaught, but appeared to tire in the second round; Beebe seized his opportunity to take control of the fight. Beebe began to look more commanding, attempting a guillotine choke of his own that Yahira fought off.
The tide of the bout seemed to officially turn when Beebe, for a second time, took Yahira’s back and had both hooks in – achieving a dominant position few would have expected before the fight. It is a position Beebe would achieve several times in the fight. Beebe would occasionally throw short punches and elbows, but seemed tentative to truly unload, fearing perhaps that a mistake might make him vulnerable to a submission. In the fourth round, it was Beebe again controlling the fight on top, beating Yahira in every scramble and stifling his submissions. In all, Beebe quashed roughly a dozen submission attempts.
“It’s just a mental game, it’s having a strong mind,” Beebe said, harking back to confidence he gained by previously beating Eddie Wineland for the WEC bantamweight title in a 5-round war. “I’m going to be honest, I was close to breaking there (against Yahira). I think I had one up on him because I had the 5 round war and I kind of knew what it took.”
Brian Stann remained unbeaten by annihilating yet another foe, but not before Jeremiah Billington tested the war hero’s chin. The two engaged in a slugfest, tagging each other with power shots early. Stann got the better of it, snapping Billington’s head with a potent overhand right and following it up with another. But Billington answered with a vicious uppercut that should have stopped Stann in his tracks, if not dropped him. Instead, Stann kept throwing leather, eventually securing a clinch and doing more damage with dirty boxing on the inside. As the blows began to take their toll, Billington fell to the canvass. Stann pursued from the standing position, unleashing a couple hard right hands that prompted the referee to stop it at 3 minutes, 7 seconds of the first round.
Torres looked impressive in his WEC debut, handing Bedard his first loss in 11 fights. Fighting on a national stage for the first time, Torres stayed calm as Bedard, a three-time state wrestling champ, scored a takedown early. Torres pulled guard, then used his lanky build to nullify Bedard’s strikes and catch him in a triangle choke that ended the fight at 2 minutes, 30 seconds in round one. It was a satisfying win for Torres, whom some had accused of racking up a stellar record by handpicking mediocre opponents. Now, armed with a sanctioned record of 19 and 1, Torres believes he should jump right to No. 1 contender status and battle the winner of the Yahira-Beebe match-up.
Alessio has been clamoring for a rematch with WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit, but Condit is probably not looking over his shoulder with fear after Alessio’s methodical performance against Brito. With Condit watching at cageside, Alessio fought conservatively, scoring with takedowns, kicks and occasional punches that racked up points with the judges but did little to punish Brito or entertain fans. While on their feet, the stand-up action was less than compelling, though Alessio clearly got the better of the exchanges against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist. Brito was equally passive on the ground, content to lay on his back in the hopes that Alessio would take the bait and dive into his guard. Alessio never engaged, opting instead to stand over Brito and pepper his legs with kicks while occasionally dropping a punch that did little damage. Three rounds later, it was Alessio who had his hand raised, and he made no apologies afterward for his strategic approach. The multi-talented Canadian rated his showing as “pretty good” considering his lack of familiarity with Brito’s game. “I had never seen him in any footage,” Alessio explained, “so I tried to fight as smart as I could.”
Marcus Hicks continued to position himself for a 155-pound title shot, making quick work of Scott McAfee. Hicks simply overpowered McAfee, scoring a takedown early and then smothering his opponent on top and occasionally landing effective punches. The stocky jiu-jitsu specialist/boxer transitioned into a guillotine choke, forcing McAfee to tap at 2 minutes, 13 seconds of the first round. Hicks’ record remains unblemished at 7 wins, 0 losses.
Forbes had his moments in this fast-paced middleweight bout, rattling Baker early with a straight left that briefly sent Baker to the canvass for a flash knockdown. Trying to capitalize, Forbes wailed away wildly, occasionally hitting Baker but also leaving himself vulnerable to counterpunches. After tasting some of Baker’s power, Forbes slammed Baker to the canvass and attempted a guillotine choke. Baker, in an impressive show strength, turned the tables on the former collegiate wrestler and slammed him hard to the canvass (the kind of slam that not only scores but also takes something out of the other guy). Forbes reversed the position and briefly took Baker’s back but was unable to hold the position. Baker scrambled, then secured the mount position and rained down more than a dozen punches, many of them landing cleanly. Forbes mustered no defense for the onslaught and rolled over to his stomach. Rather than attempt a rear-naked choke, Baker kept his fists flying. After more than a dozen unanswered punches, the referee intervened at 4 minutes, 15 seconds of the first round and Baker had earned his first WEC win.
Alexander scored a takedown early, and Cerrone immediately wrapped both legs around Alexander’s head. At first it seemed a benign position – nothing more than an effort by Cerrone to try and reverse the position or keep Alexander from passing his guard. Then came a moment you rarely see in pro mixed martial arts. Alexander tried to secure a keylock submission; Cerrone remained true to his maneuver, squeezing on Alexander’s head with both legs like a boa constrictor. Then, though he had complete use of both arms and was not trapped in a triangle choke, Alexander tapped out 56 seconds into the fight. “I guess with my long legs I get people at my school in that all the time,” Cerrone said. “It’s kind of like a neck crank-triangle.”
For the second straight fight, Blas Avena made winning look easy in front of his hometown crowd and in the building where he moonlights as a security guard. The fast-improving phenom charged after Benoit at the opening bell, quickly securing his signature move, the guillotine choke. Avena immediately pulled guard and tightened his visegrip, causing Benoit’s face to turn flush red. In a desperate quest for oxygen, Benoit was forced to tap only 29 seconds into the first round. The one-side thrashing unfolded in similar fashion to Avena’s recent win over Tiki Ghosn, which he won in less than two minutes via rear naked choke. The win pushed Avena’s record to 5-1 and marked his second straight win since dropping to 170 pounds.
Cory Wheeler entered the cage with his hair dyed red and black and, most notably, the word “OX” tattooed in large letters across his stomach. Unfortunately for him, it was McCall who fought like an ox in Wednesday’s opening fight. McCall seemed like an immovable object as he bullied, bloodied and battered Wheeler for almost 14 minutes with a diverse and relentless attack. McCall scored early and often with big punches, bear hug takedowns, elbow shots from the guard, and by taking his opponent’s back and wailing away. Though McCall repeatedly exposed Wheeler’s lack of defensive skills, Wheeler continued pushing forward in the face of non-stop abuse. The carnage eventually took its toll when McCall stood over Wheeler’s guard, shouted “Come on!” and rocked his weary foe with a few booming punches to the chin. Wheeler finally seemed dazed and confused, forcing the referee to halt the action at 4 minutes, 34 seconds into the third round. With the triumph, McCall remains unbeaten through six fights.
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