Brian Bowles

Quick Hits: Cote Out Until 2010, Miller-Dollaway & More

- Canadian middleweight Patrick “The Predator” Cote will be out until 2010 after undergoing surgery to repair his injured MCL. Cote originally injured his knee in his UFC 90 title bout with Anderson Silva and is now expected to be out until at least February. [Sportsnet]

- Following WEC 42, $10,000 bonuses were handed out for Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night, and Fight of the Night. The winners were Brian Bowles (KOTN), Rani Yahya (SOTN), and Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez (FOTN). [MMAWeekly.com]

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Report: Mizugaki to Replace Bowles at WEC 40

WEC bantamweight contender Brian Bowles has reportedly withdrawn from his scheduled championship bout against Miguel Angel Torres at WEC 40 on April 5 after suffering a severe back injury during a recent training session.

His replacement will be top-ranked Japanese bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki according to Sherdog.com, which reports that the matchup has been agreed to and the paperwork will be finalized shortly. The Shooto and GCM veteran has also reportedly been offered a five-fight deal with the WEC.

Mizugaki will come into his bout against Torres riding a five-fight winning streak. He was last in action at a GCM event on December 6, earning a second-roung TKO victory over Masahiro Oishi. Mizugaki also owns a career win over veteran Tetsu Suzuki and has drawn with undefeated sensation Masakatsu Ueda.

Fight Announcements: Griffin, Curran, Stann & More

The past few days following the completion of Saturday’s UFC 93 event in Ireland have brought forth a slew of potential fight announcements involving upcoming events being put on by the UFC and WEC. Let’s get right to them:

— One-time WEC featherweight title challenger and longtime veteran Jeff Curran will reportedly make his bantamweight debut against Urijah Faber-protege Joseph Benavidez at WEC 40 on April 5 according to MMA Weekly. The event, which will likely take place in Chicago, will be headlined by WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his title against Brian Bowles.

— Former International Fight League standout Bart Palaszewski will reportedly take on Richard Crunkilton in a lightweight bout at WEC 39 on March 1 according to MMA Junkie, which is also stating that the winner of the bout could receive a title shot against the winner of this weekend’s upcoming lightweight title fight between current champion Jamie Varner and top contender Donald Cerrone.

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WEC 37 Results

The WEC rebounded from a lackluster show on November 5th with a solid effort.  Only four fights were shown in the allotted time which was somewhat of a disappointment.  Miguel Torres once again looked impressive in defeating challenger Manny Tapia to retain his bantamweight title.  In a battle of fellow bantamweight contenders, Brian Bowles and Will Ribeiro fought the best fight of the night that was televised, with Bowles finally sinking in a deep guillotine for the victory.  Wagnney Fabiano also notched another solid win in a very technical grappling affair that saw minimal action on the feet. 

Results courtesy of MMA Junkie

Miguel Torres def. Manny Tapia via TKO (strikes)—Round 2, 3:04
Wagnney Fabiano def. Akitoshi Tamura via submission (head-arm choke)—Round 3, 4:48
Brian Bowles def. Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine choke)—Round 3, 1:11
Joseph Benavidez def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Johny Hendricks def. Justin Haskins via TKO (strikes)—Round 2, 0:52
Mark Munoz def. Blas Avena via TKO (strikes)—Round 1, 2:26
Diego Nunes def. Cole Province via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Bart Palaszewski def. Alex Karalexis via TKO (strikes)—Round 2, 1:11
Cub Swanson def. Hirouki Takaya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Shane Roller def. Mike Budnik via submission (guillotine choke)—Round 1, 1:01

WEC 37 Final Card and Lineup

The WEC is set to promote their latest event, this time emanating from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.  The featured fight will be for the bantamweight championship, as title holder Miguel Torres looks to tangle with the dangerous and undefeated Manny Tapia.  Four of the world’s top 10 ranked bantamweights will be competing as well as an extremely intriguing matchup between top 10 ranked featherwights in Akitoshi Tamura and Wagnney Fabiano.  The WEC continues to put on solid cards featuring many of the world’s best in the lighter weight classes.

The broadcast on the Versus network begins at 8pm EST.  Here’s the card as it stands now before weigh ins.

Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia
Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Wagnney Fabiano
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez

Preliminary Fights:
Johny Hendricks vs. Justin Haskins
Mark Munoz vs. Ricardo Barros
Bias Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Bart Palaszewski vs. Alex Karalexis
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Cub Swanson
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik

 

WEC 37 Fight Card Is Finalized

Barring any last minute injuries or weight issues, the fight card is set for December 3rd’s WEC 37 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.  The card will feature MMAonTap’s #1 ranked bantamweight, WEC Champion Miguel Torres, taking on undefeated challenger Manny Tapia.  This fight has been a long time coming as Tapia has made it no secret that he’s wanted the challenge of taking on Torres.  Unfortunately, injuries have slowed Tapia in the past.

Main Card Live on Versus:
Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia for WEC Bantamweight Championship
Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez
Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks

Undercard:
Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz
Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province
Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski
Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya
Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik

 

Morning News and Notes: Lashley Debut Set, Burkman Injured & More

— Former WWE star Bobby Lashley will soon join Brock Lesnar in the professional ranks of mixed martial arts. Lashley has reportedly signed on to make his pro debut against fellow newcomer Joshua Franklin at the Mixed Fighting Alliance’s scheduled December 13 event in Miami. The card will be headlined by a rematch between UFC veterans Ricco Rodriguez and Jeff Monson. Rodriguez stopped Monson via third-round TKO in the first meeting at UFC 35 in January 2002.

— UFC welterweight Josh Burkman will be sidelined indefinitely while attempting to heal two bulging discs in his back and another bulging disc in his neck. Burkman, who has attributed his current three-fight losing streak partially to the injury, says that he will first try to heal the injury via physical therapy before potentially undergoing surgery, which is similar to what Nate Quarry and Tito Ortiz have recently had, to repair the injury.

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WEC Hands Out Post-Fight Bonuses

Following their highly praised event in Las Vegas this past Sunday, World Extreme Cagefighting has reportedly handed out post-fight bonuses to six of their contracted fighters, including bonus money for two “Fight of the Night” winners according to MMA Weekly.

WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit and his tough opponent, Hiromitsu Miura, both received Fight of the Night honors after their epic four-round title bout in the night’s main event. After pushed harder than ever before in his WEC career, Condit eventually stopped Miura with strikes to retain his belt. Bonus money also went to WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner and Marcus Hicks for their exciting lightweight title bout.

“Knockout of the Night” honors went to former welterweight title challenger Brock Larson, who dispatched of veteran Carlo Prater just 37 seconds into their preliminary bout. “Submission of the Night” went to bantamweight contender Brian Bowles who submitted Damacio Page with a guillotine choke in the event’s first televised bout. Each fighter listed above was awarded $7,500 on top of base salary.

WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura Fighter Salaries

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has released the official list of fighter salaries stemming from last night’s World Extreme Cagefighting 35 event, which took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Carlos Condit and Jamie Varner retained their respective WEC titles Sunday night while former U.S. Marine Brian Stann was defeated in a light heavyweight championship rematch against hometown favorite Steve Cantwell. The show’s other main card bout saw rising bantamweight Brian Bowles submit Damacio Page.

Remember that this is only the base salary that a fighter received. Bonuses, deductions, and other undisclosed fees are not included.

Carlos Condit ($44,000) def. Hiromitsu Miura ($5,000)
Steve Cantwell ($10,000) def. Brian Stann ($11,000)
Jamie Varner ($30,000) def. Marcus Hicks ($16,000)
Brian Bowles ($8,000) def. Damacio Page ($6,000)
Josh Grispi ($8,000) def. Micah Miller ($5,000)
Brock Larson ($30,000) def. Carlo Prater ($7,000)
Blas Avena ($12,000) def. Dave Terrel ($3,000)
Shane Roller ($12,000) def. Todd Moore ($4,000)
Mike Budnik ($6,000) def. Greg McIntyre ($2,000)
Scott Jorgensen ($6,000) def. Kenji Osawa ($5,000)

Condit, Varner Retain; Stann Falls at WEC 35

Carlos Condit and Jamie Varner retained their respective World Extreme Cagefighting titles Sunday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas while former U.S. Marine Brian Stann was defeated in a light heavyweight championship rematch against hometown favorite Steve Cantwell.

Coming into the show’s main event, Condit was expected to encounter his toughest test to date against Hiromitsu Miura, who has become known as a formidable opponent in past fights courtesy of his slick judo throws and heavy hands. Miura provided quite the test for Condit, who was put into dangerous predicaments throughout the course of the fight.

After preventing Miura’s inital judo throw attempt in the first round, Condit found himself being slammed onto the canvas just moments later, only to return the favor to Miura later on in a sign of things to come. Flurries of punches and submission exchanges between the two were prominent throughout the first fifteen minutes of the bout, which saw Condit ahead on the judge’s scorecards going into the championship rounds.

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