Jens Pulver vs. Urijah Faber

I love Jens Pulver. He’s definitely one of my favorite fighters for the mere fact that he’s a pure fighter and never makes excuses. He just puts up or shuts up. Unfortunately, he’s going to battle with a great fighter in Urijah Faber. The key factor in this bout will be whether Pulver can keep this fight on the feet. Faber’s takedowns are as explosive as you can get at 145 pounds, and I find it hard to believe that Pulver can simply stuff them at every encounter in the cage.

I’m also not convinced that Pulver’s training on the ground is going to be enough to stop his power on the ground. This fight could easily be ended in much of the same way that Penn ended his fight with Pulver.

Leland’s Prediction: Urijah Faber via submission, Round 2

Jeff Curran vs. Mike Brown

A lot of people are calling this an upset special, but few remember that Curran is one of the better jiu-jitsu guys in MMA today at his weight class. Although Faber was much quicker than Curran during their bout, I doubt Curran will allow that to happen once again. Brown has shown in the past that he’s susceptible to the submission, and he’s mostly a guy who tries to knock his opponents out. Curran doesn’t have bad standup at all, and he will likely spar with Brown until the opportunity to hit the floor presents itself.

This should be a decent war between these two veterans, but I’m going to pick the Jeff Curran due to his ground superiority over Brown.

Leland’s Prediction: Jeff Curran via unanimous decision

Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Maeda is probably best known for being “that guy” who got KO’d by “Krazy Horse” Bennett at Bushido 7 back in PRIDE’s days, but he’s made his way to the cage in WEC to fight one of the best grapplers at 135 in Miguel Torres. Maeda has some great power in his hands, and it’s evident that his kicks can also take opponents out as Charlie Valencia found out. Can he avoid Torres ground game? That’s the big question in this fight.

Torres is a monster on the ground. His length helps his guard stay high on his opponent’s back which allows him to transition to multiple submissions quickly and effectively. I can’t bet against a guy who can transition so smoothly.

Leland’s Prediction: Miguel Torres via submission, Round 1

Rob “Razor” McCullough vs. Kenneth “The Machine” Alexander

Alexander doesn’t stand much of a chance here, in my opinion. He doesn’t have the ground game to keep McCullough down, and his striking is average at best. McCullough should be able to stalk him and use his Muay Thai striking abilities to wear down Alexander. Leg kicks will be a big part of this bout early, and McCullough will likely throw some huge bombs that will eventually land.

Leland’s Prediction: Rob McCullough via TKO/KO, Round 1

Quick Picks

Charlie Valencia vs. Dominic Cruz: Evenly matched in this one, but Valencia has fought some tougher competition than Cruz. I also need to see another German suplex… with release from Valencia. Valencia via submission, Round 2

Mark Munoz vs. Chuck Grigsby: Tough to call considering Grigsby’s record recently is padded with subpar competition. Munoz is only 3-0, tough to judge his talent at this point in his career. I’ll lean toward Grigsby due to experience. Grigsby via TKO/KO, Round 1

Chase Beebe vs. Will Ribeiro: Chase has a decent chin and can likely avoid Ribeiro’s power, but it’s more likely that Beebe will put this to the ground quickly. Beebe via submission, Round 2

Jose Aldo vs. Alexandre Franca Nogueira: Nogueira makes his way to the States after fighting in Shooto for quite awhile. His first test in Aldo should be a decent warm-up bout, and I think his jiu-jitsu will be much better than what Aldo can fend off. Nogueira via submission, Round 1

Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov: Serdyukov had a solid win over Ryan Stonitsch in his last bout, but Sapo has fought some decent competition including a win over Daniel Acacio. His only loss is to current UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida, who is a monster in the cage. I’ll take Sapo. Sapo via TKO/KO, Round 2

Tim McKenzie vs. Jeremy Lang: While Lang boasts a 12-0 record, his strength of record is questionable considering he has a lot of wins over sub .500 fighters. I’ll take McKenzie based on his losses being to higher caliber opponents. McKenzie via TKO/KO, Round 1

Danny Castillo vs. Donald “Cowboy Cerrone: Cerrone was well on his way to getting some bigger matchups when he was busted for using diuretics. He’s tough, versatile on the ground, and should be able to avoid the striking game. Cerrone via submission, Round 1

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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