After a lax weekend of mixed martial arts action with only the lone ShoXC card making waves in the American market, World Extreme Cagefighting will hold its 33rd event on Wednesday night back in Las Vegas, Nevada. Featured on the event’s main card will be a Light Heavyweight title bout between current champion Doug “The Rhino” Marshall and Iraqi war hero Brian Stann. The undefeated Stann will be looking to use his size to topple the smaller Marshall. In other action, Brock Larson will make his return to the WEC cage against the veteran John Alessio. Ed Ratcliff will be looking to continue his success by using his dynamic striking abilities against a very tough opponent in Marcus Hicks. It looks to be a fantastic night of exciting bouts that should provide some validation for some of the up-and-coming talent in the WEC.
Main Event: Doug Marshall vs. Brian Stann
Brian Stann may finally be the answer that fans have been looking for when it comes to defeating Doug Marshall. With a large frame and a distinct reach and height advantage, Stann could be the immovable object that Marshall simply won’t be able to push away. In most of Stann’s previous bouts, he cruised relatively easy through the first round with crushing TKO wins over Jeremiah Billington, Craig Zellner, and Steve Cantwell. Although he hasn’t faced the stiffest of competition, his overall physical attributes make him a danger to Marshall.
Marshall may have some problems with Stann’s size, but he definitely has the aggressiveness to catch the lengthy war veteran. My biggest knock on Marshall in the past has been his sloppy striking that still seems to win him most of his battles. He’s also seemed to pick up a decent jiu-jitsu base, although it was only proven recently against Ariel Gandulla. I don’t believe Marshall can work that type of game on the ground against Stann, and I have a solid belief that Stann will be the fighter that can neutralize Marshall in the standup game.
Leland’s Predictions: Brian Stann via TKO, Round 1
This is going to be a stand-up war until someone takes one on the chin. My guess is that’s going to be Marshall. Stann has a warrior mentality and throws some nice straight punches down the middle. Marshall is more of a brawler that likes to throw looping overhand punches. He’s a little short to be fighting at light-heavyweight, so I expect Stann to be able to avoid those looping punches and beat Marshall to the punch with his straight punches. Look for Stann to finish Marshall early with strikes.
Joe's Prediction: Brian Stann via TKO, Round 1
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John Alessio vs. Brock Larson
On paper, this is a fight that fans should be looking forward to for a couple of reasons. First, Larson has only lost twice in his career and his second loss was only as recent as in August of last year to Carlos Condit. Secondly, Alessio is not only a great fighter, but he’s also a veteran with a plethora of experience against tougher competition than Larson has taken on. It should be a decent wrestling matchup for both fighters, and I’m intrigued to see how Larson will do against able competition that isn’t on the UFC level, but still has a solid skillset to counter him.
The more I look at this matchup, the more I’m beginning to like John Alessio in this fight. He has more experience, been in the cage against tougher competition, and has added power in his hands that Larson has never really had. He has a solid wrestling base, and can use the talent at Xtreme Couture gym to supplement his training. Larson has a solid record, but many of his wins are against subpar competition. He also has controlling ground and pound, but I think Alessio can neutralize Larson.
Leland’s Prediction: John Alessio via unanimous decision
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