Mike Brown Retains WEC Belt

Mike Brown put in another superb performance to retain his title at World Extreme Cagefighting 39: Brown vs Garcia. For the second straight fight, the WEC kingpin steamrolled through one of the world’s top featherweights, finishing off Leonard Garcia in less than two minutes on Sunday at American Bank Center. That Brown won was not surprising. The rapid fashion in which he did it – dropping the iron-chinned Garcia with a massive right to the temple in the opening seconds and then submitting him with an arm triangle – was both stunning and breathtaking to watch.

“I’m just happy to be here,” said Brown, who won his ninth straight. “I just stuck to my game plan. I do what I do every fight. I swing for the fences every time and try to put ‘em down. I keep my hands up. I do my thing.”

Much like his previous fight with Urijah Faber, the former champ whom he dethroned, Brown simply landed a perfect punch early and then pounced when he smelled hurt. Garcia threw a wild left and Brown countered with his crushing right. As Garcia collapsed, Brown got on top of him and desperately uncorked heavy punches and elbows. When Garcia turned, Brown took his back and tried to sink in a rear naked choke. In a scramble, Brown trapped Garcia’s arm and choked him out, forcing the tap at 1:57 of round one.

“No excuses, man. He hit with a good shot. I tried to recover and fight for you guys,” Garcia, a native Texan, said somberly to the crowd afterward. “I guarantee you one thing: I will be back and I will fight Mike again. I just got caught with a shot. I apologize and I will be back for you guys.”

Brown now holds the distinction of being the only fighter to stop the hard-nosed Garcia inside of the distance. Now considered a “real” champion since he has successfully defended the title, Brown is on a collision course for a sequel with Faber, who was sitting cageside.

“Man, the fans want to see me and Urijah,” Brown said. “I’d love to fight Urijah again. Urijah is the man, so let’s do it again buddy.”

Experience matters in MMA, but it’s not the Holy Grail. Ricardo Lomas, with only five fights under his belt, proved that tonight with a commanding performance against respected veteran Bart Palaszewski at World Extreme Cagefighting 39: Brown vs Garcia. Lamas kept his fellow Chicagoan off-balance with a deft mix of boxing, low kicks and ground-and-pound. While standing up in Palaszewski’s guard, Lamas repeatedly punished his foe with powerful shots to the face, causing a mouse to form under Palaszewski’s left eye. Palaszewski was game and kept hunting in vain for a mistake to capitalize on.

The judges awarded a unanimous decision win to Lamas, with scores of 30-27 across the board.

Said Lamas: “He is a real dangerous striker on his feet so I tried to take it to the ground where I figured I had the advantage and it worked out for me.”

How do you stop Jose Aldo Jr? Chris Mickle didn’t provide the answer to that question. Any hopes of a Mickle upset were dashed early. The courageous Iowan shot in for a takedown and was greeted with a potent knee to the face. Then came a high kick to the face. Then a hail of 10 or so explosive punches that dizzied Mickle and forced referee intervention at 1:39 of round one. Four fights in the WEC – four knockouts.