MMAFrenzy.com » WEC 43

Donald Cerrone: Ben Henderson “Definitely Won” WEC 43 Main Event

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:19:44 +0000

Donald Cerrone, who suffered a narrow unanimous decision loss to Ben Henderson in the WEC 43 main event, doesn’t agree with those who think he won the fight:

“I think [Henderson] won the fight. Some people will say it might have gone the other way, but he definitely won the fight.

I just don’t get started. It’s something I’m trying to work on. I’d like to just go out there and get going right from the start, but I didn’t. I just got my ass kicked for the first two rounds and then decided I’d get fired up. I’m obviously disappointed in myself. I didn’t go out there and show what I had the first couple of rounds. I asked my coach, ‘What round are we in?’ He said, ‘Fourth.’ I said, ‘Oh, [expletive], I better get going.’”

Click here for more WEC 43 news.

Pictured: Donald Cerrone

Henderson, Cerrone, Semerzier, and Njokuani Earn WEC 43 Bonuses

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:11:46 +0000

Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone, Mackens Semerzier, and Anthony Njokuani earned fight night bonuses for their performances at Saturday’s WEC 43 event at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Henderson and Cerrone were each awarded $20,000 for their electrifying “Fight of the Night,” and potential “Fight of the Year,” that saw Henderson edge Cerrone for a unanimous decision victory.

Semerzier upset Wagnney Fabiano to win “Submission of the Night” at WEC 43, submitting the former IFL champ with a triangle choke in the opening-round of their preliminary card bout to pocket an extra $10,000.

A $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus went to Njokuani, who stopped Muhsin Corbbrey with strikes in the second-round of their prelim matchup.

Click here for more WEC 43 coverage.

Pictured: Anthony Njokuani

WEC 43 Results: Henderson Edges Cerrone in Instant Classic to Win Interim Title

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:36:49 +0000

Ben Henderson was crowned the WEC’s interim lightweight champion on Saturday after earning a unanimous decision victory over Donald Cerrone in an instant classic that headlined WEC 43 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The matchup started with a frenzied pace and rarely slowed, as Cerrone strung together several submissions early in the opening round that appeared close to ending the fight, but Henderson managed to escape and turn the tide with takedowns and ground and pound to steal the frame. Henderson repeated the formula in rounds two and three, escaping more Cerrone submissions while taking the fight to the ground and largely cominating on the canvas.

Cerrone rebounded in the later rounds, shrugging off several takedowns in the fourth while connecting on the feet before finishing strong in the fifth and final round with more striking and several near-submissions.

With Henderson winning the second and third frames, and Cerrone taking the final two, the bout ultimately came down to the opening round and the judges sided unanimously with Henderson’s escapes and ground and pound, earning him 48-47 scores across the board, the interim title, and a future matchup with lightweight champ Jamie Varner.

Henderson improves to 10-1 with his victory in the “Fight of the Year” candidate, while Cerrone falls to 10-2.

The night’s other notable result took place on the preliminary card but made it onto the Versus broadcast, as newcomer Mackens Semerzier upset Wagnney Fabiano, submitting the former IFL featherweight champ with a triangle choke early in the opening round.

Dave Jansen, Raphael Assuncao, and Damacio Page also picked up main card wins, while Anthony Njokuani, Scott Jorgensen, Eddie Wineland, Charlie Valencia, and Deividas Taurosevicius were victorious on the WEC 43 prelims.

The official results for WEC 43 were:

Ben Henderson def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Dave Jansen def. Rich Crunkilton via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Raphael Assuncao def. Yves Jabouin via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
Damacio Page def. Will Campuzano via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:02
Anthony Njokuani def. Mushin Corbbrey via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:24
Scott Jorgensen def. Noah Thomas via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
Mackens Semerzier def. Wagnney Fabiano via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:14
Eddie Wineland def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charlie Valencia def. Coty Wheeler via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Deividas Taurosevicius def. Javier Vazquez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For the latest WEC news and WEC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Ben Henderson

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson Live Results and Discussion

Kris Karkoski — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:00:29 +0000

Welcome to MMAFrenzy.com’s live coverage of WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson, a 10-fight card headlined by an interim lightweight championship matchup between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

MMAFrenzy.com will have live results from the WEC 43 preliminary card beginning at approximately 7pm ET, followed by live updates from the Versus-televised main card at 10pm.

Discuss the event in the comments below, follow along with our live results, and stop back after the fights conclude for post-event coverage.

WEC 43 LIVE RESULTS

Ben Henderson def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Dave Jansen def. Rich Crunkilton via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Raphael Assuncao def. Yves Jabouin via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
Damacio Page def. Will Campuzano via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:02
Anthony Njokuani def. Mushin Corbbrey via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:24
Scott Jorgensen def. Noah Thomas via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
Mackens Semerzier def. Wagnney Fabiano via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:14
Eddie Wineland def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charlie Valencia def. Coty Wheeler via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Deividas Taurosevicius def. Javier Vazquez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)*

* Decision was met with boos from the crowd and many observers scored the fight in favor of Vazquez.

Click here for more WEC 43 coverage.

WEC 43 Weigh-In Results: Cerrone and Henderson On Weight for Main Event

Kris Karkoski — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:40:51 +0000

WEC 43 headliners Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson, along with the rest of the ten-bout card, successfully made weight on Friday at the official fighter weigh-ins for Saturday’s event, which takes place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Cerrone (154.4) and Henderson (155) meet for the WEC interim lightweight title in the WEC 43 main event, which airs live tomorrow on Versus.

The official weigh-in results for WEC 43 were:

Donald Cerrone (154.5) vs. Benson Henderson (155)
Rich Crunkilton (156) vs. Dave Jansen (156)
Raphael Assuncao (146) vs. Yves Jabouin (146)
Damacio Page (136) vs. Will Campuzano (135)
Anthony Njokuani (156) vs. Mushin Corbbrey (156)
Noah Thomas (136) vs. Scott Jorgensen (136)
Mackens Semerzier (146) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (145.5)
Manny Tapia (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (135.5)
Cody “Ox” Wheeler (135) vs. Charlie Valencia (134.5)
Javier Vazquez (145) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (144.5)

WEC 43 Weigh-Ins Set for Friday in San Antonio

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:00:31 +0000

Weigh-ins for Saturday’s WEC 43 event will take place on Friday, October 9 at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio, Texas.

Headlined by an interim lightweight championship bout between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson, WEC 43 takes place on October 10 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio and airs live on Versus.

The weigh-ins, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 7pm ET (6pm CT) on Friday and will be followed by a Q&A session with featherweight champ Mike Brown, lightweight title-holder Jamie Varner, and UFC heavyweight and WEC commentator Frank Mir.

WEC 43’s complete fight card features:

MAIN CARD

Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson
WEC Interim Lightweight Championship
Dave Jansen vs. Richard Crunkilton
Will Campuzano vs. Damacio Page
Rafael Assuncao vs. Yves Jabouin

PRELIMINARY CARD

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Anthony Njokuani
Scott Jorgensen vs. Noah Thomas
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Mackens Semerzier
Manny Tapia vs. Eddie Wineland
Charlie Valencia vs. Coty Wheeler
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. Javier Vazquez

For the latest WEC news and WEC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Mackens Semerzier Will Replace Injured Erik Koch Against Wagnney Fabiano

Justin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:40:27 +0000

WEC newcomer Mackens Semerzier is stepping in as a short notice replacement for Erik Koch against Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 43 on October 10. The change in the featherweight bout was announced by Semerzier on his facebook page, and was later confirmed by NWI.com.

Semerzier spends part of his time training under the tutelage of former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, and has compiled an undefeated record in his five fight career. All five of the former Marine’s bouts have ended decisively, with four submissions and one TKO.

Fabiano is a top contender in the WEC featherweight division, having only suffered one loss in his thirteen fight career, that at the hands of Jeff Curran in October 2006. Fabiano, who trains with upcoming title challenger Jose Aldo, was last in action at WEC 40 against Fredson Paixao earning a unanimous decision victory.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest WEC news and WEC rumors.

Pictured: Wagnney Fabiano

Quick Hits: Anderson Silva to Undergo Surgery, “Cro Cop” Not Retiring, Fedor-Rogers in Chicago, and More

Kris Karkoski — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:39:03 +0000

Ratings for the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10 dropped 29 percent to 2.9 million from the series record 4.1 million who tuned in for the TUF 10 debut. [Spike TV]
Strikeforce recently announced the signing of notable lightweight Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-3), who is 1-1 in 2009 including a loss to Shinya Aoki in his most-recent bout. [Strikeforce]
The lineup for WEC 43 on October 18 in San Antonio has undergone a number of changes over the last week as Rafael Rebello, Mark Hominick, and Akitoshi Tamura have all been forced to withdraw from the card due to injuries. Noah Thomas vs. Scott Jorgensen, Javier Vasquez vs. Deividas Taurosevicius, and Will Campuzano vs. Damacio Page are now set for the Versus-televised event. [WEC]
A November 7 Strikeforce event headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers will take place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois just outside Chicago. Tickets for the CBS-televised event go on sale today at Ticketmaster.com using the presale passcode “Explode,” while tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday. [Strikeforce]
Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson recently re-broke his leg while training and will be sidelined until December, when he hopes to fight at a December 19 Showtime-televised Strikeforce event in a rematch with interim title-holder Gilbert Melendez. [MMA Weekly]
Despite reports earlier this week that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was retiring, the heavyweight veteran will apparently fight at least one more time, according to reports out of Croatia.
Looking to capitalize off the UFC’s promotional push behind the UFC 105 main event between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera, Strikeforce has booked its own Couture-Vera matchup, as Kim Couture and Kerry Vera will square off at a likely November 20 event. [Strikeforce]
A broken hand suffered in his recent win over Jason Riley will prevent Tim Sylvia from making his DREAM debut on October 25 as scheduled, with the former UFC heavyweight now expected to fight at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve event. [Sherdog]
Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida will headline a New Year’s Eve Sengoku event directly opposite rival DREAM’s New Year’s Eve show. The promotion also confirmed participants for its November 7 Sengoku 11 event, including Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa, Jorge Santiago, Kevin Randleman, and Akihiro Gono. [Sengoku]
MMA returns to the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California on October 8, as Chad Mendes, War Machine, and Joe Soto highlight the debut on Tachi Palace Fights. [TPF]
UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva will be sidelined briefly to recover from a surgery to have bone spurs removed from his elbow. [UFC]
Bantamweight Cole Escovedo, a former WEC featherweight champ, has signed with Strikeforce and will debut at the promotion’s November 6 “Strikeforce Challengers” event in Frenso, California. [Strikeforce]
UFC lightweight Kenny Florian has amicably split with Sityodtong and longtime trainer Mark Dellagrotte and will instead train with Firas Zahabi, the trainer of welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, for his December matchup against Clay Guida. Dellagrote will still have his hands full as Frank Mir and Miguel Torres are now training at Sityodtong alongside the likes of Marcus Davis and Patrick Cote. [Fighters Only]
UFC star, and former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva is working on a reality show that will follow him as he scouts fighters for his Wand Fight Team. The show will be televised on a yet to be announced network. [FanHouse]
Spike’s broadcast of part of the UFC 103 undercard drew in 1.4 million viewers, including a 1.5 rating in the 18-34 year old male demographic, making it the number two rated show in the segment. [Spike TV]
A WEC event will replace the annual UFC event held in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio next year. [MMAJunkie]
Frank Shamrock will be a part of the upcoming “EA Sports MMA” video game, joining Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Jay Hieron, Gegard Mousasi, and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. [EA Games]

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Quick Hits: GSP Will Be “110 Percent In October”, UFC 103 Sets Gate Record, Fedor-Rogers Possible for Chicago, and more

Justin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:00:29 +0000

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre recently did an interview with TSN.ca. in which he told them that he is “close to getting back to 110 percent in October.” The French-Canadian fighter also mentioned that he is continuing to look to improve his game including starting yoga, and a more healthy diet.
The UFC is making its second trip to Texas on Saturday and hopes to avoid some of the embarrassment it experienced following it’s previous trip for UFC 69. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not require drug screening for combat sports, so the UFC has requested a third party conduct random testing for UFC 103. The promotion does not know which fighters will be tested, and will only be notified of positive results, should any occur. [MMAJunkie]
The WEC recently secured a deal to air its programming on one of the few remaining Setanta Sports stations, Setanta Sports Australia. The WEC programming is scheduled to begin just prior to the October 10, WEC 43.
At the pre-fight press conference for UFC 103 on Thursday, the president of the American Airlines Center said that the event had already eclipsed gross sales for any other sporting event held at the venue. He also said that the event’s gross ticket sales were second only to a 2005 Rolling Stones concert for any event the facility has hosted.
Ultimate Fight Night 19 became the fifth highest attended “Fight Night” event for the UFC, attracting a crowd of 7,500 spectators to the Cox Convention Center Wednesday night. The event in Oklahoma City also garnered second ranking gross sales number for all “Fight Night” events with a live gate of $650,000.
Former “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ cast member, Seth Petruzelli hinted that he may be making a return to the UFC following his recent victory over Chris Batten at Art of Fighting – Damage in a recent post directed at Kimbo Slice on the popular forum TheUnderground. In a subsequent post he went on to say, “(the UFC) are currently looking to get me a fight.”
Strikeforce is reportedly in negotiation with the athletic commission for the state of Illinois to host its November 7th bout headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers. Though nothing has been made official, the Sear Centre in Hoffman Estates could play host to the CBS televised event. [ESPN]
Ed Herman will soon undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in his August loss at UFC 102 to Aaron Simpson and will be sidelined for 9 months. [Columbian]
Following March events in Columbus, Ohio in 2007, 2008, and 2009 to coincide with the Arnold Sports Festival, the UFC will not host an event in the city in 2010. [Dayton Daily News]

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson on October 10 in San Antonio, Texas

Kris Karkoski — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:52:03 +0000

World Extreme Cagefighting announced of Friday that it’s “WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson” event which was originally slated to take place on September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio will instead take place on October 10 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Versus-televised event is headlined by an interim lightweight championship matchup between 155-pound contenders Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson and marks the promotion’s first-ever Saturday event.

Tickets for the event, which was postponed last week after Henderson reportedly suffered an undisclosed injury, go on sale Friday, September 4 at 10am CT and are available through Ticketmaster.

The official lineup for WEC 43 features:

MAIN CARD

Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson
WEC Interim Lightweight Championship
Dave Jansen vs. Richard Crunkilton Jr.
Damacio Page and Akitoshi Tamura
Rafael Assuncao vs. Yves Jabouin

PRELIMINARY CARD

Scott Jorgensen vs. Rafael Rebello
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Erik Koch
Manny Tapia vs. Eddie Wineland
Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Anthony Njokuani
Charlie Valencia vs. Coty Wheeler
Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest WEC news and WEC rumors.

Pictured: Donald Cerrone