MMA

23 year old Aldo Crowned WEC Champ

Posted By Marcos Villegas on the Nov 20 2009

Las Vegas, Nevada--Leading up to WEC 44 Mike Brown looked as solid as a marble floor. With two wins over Urijah Faber Brown had the momentum of a category five hurricane. That momentum fizzled out this Wednesday night as Jose Aldo, the native of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, chopped down his opponent in two rounds to earn the title of featherweight champion. Everything Aldo did in the fight just seemed better as his combination of strikes to the legs and head of Brown killed any chances of his opponent mustering a concrete counter strategy. Aldo was not just effective from the outside; Brown attempted to close the distance with takedowns early in the first and was met with heavy hips and hard knees to the stomach, one that clearly hurt him towards the later of round one. Brown managed to survive round one, but you had a sense that Aldo was about to keep pressing the pace. The Brazilian scored huge as he took the former champion down and got back control with hooks planted in. As soon as the shots started coming down Brown, who was stomach first on the ground, had no choice but to cover up as the referee said “no mas,” at a 1:20 in the second round. With this win not only does Aldo become the new champion but also notches his 6^th straight KO in his short MMA career. As far as next opponents goes, it may have been revealed in the co-main event as to who would fight Aldo next.

 

Armenian fighters Gamburyan and Darabedyan victorious

 

With a solid three round decision over always game Leonard Garcia, Manny Gamburyan may have earned a title shot with newly crowned champion Jose Aldo. In a recent interview the North Hollywood based fighter said he had heard “grumblings” that a possible bout may be made if he won his contest. Gamburyan showed resilience overcoming a height and reach advantage that made it difficult for the Armenian fighter to land flush shots on the taller Garcia. Round one was oddly cautious as both fighters are known to be explosive. Gamburyan though would score with a takedown and continued to score as it become apparent his game plan was to take his opponent’s legs away to level the playing field. Garcia put in work as well, landing the occasional pot shot and defending the take down attempts. Manny’s strength was just too much as he muscled his way to takedown after takedown in the second and final round. Garcia grew frustrated at his in-ability to land shots midway through the third as he taunted Gamburyan to trade blows with him after he had been hit with a three hit hook combination. Like a pro, Gamburyan stuck with the gameplan and took down Garcia en route to the decision win. After the fight, Gamburyan commented that Garcia, “hits the hardest,” and he couldn’t wait to do it again.

 

Karen Darabedyan, Gambuyan’s training partner at Hayastan gym in North Hollywood made a huge splash in his WEC debut defeating veteran “Razor” Rob McCullough in a three round spilt decision victory (30-27,27-30,29-28). Darabedyan up to this point has been a staple to local California based MMA promotions such as the fledging Called Out MMA promotion based in Ontario, CA. He did more than turn heads, as he out struck a veteran striker in an entertaining three round bout. Darabedyan showed excellent footwork, moving in and out and forcing the veteran McCullough to walk into timed left right combinations, and jab-lead hook combinations the whole night. A stiff jab surprised the Huntington Beach based fighter in the first round, immediately cutting him. The constant movement allowed the fighter to land a big right hook before the end of the first.

 

McCullough attempted to adapt to the constant movement of his opponent, frequently throwing feints in the second in an attempt to time a combination. He was able to gain a bit of momentum after landing two rock solid kicks to the ribs of Darabedyan, who by this point had slowed down a bit. The third round would see the Armenian fighter finish strong as he initiated more offense with takedown attempts and landing stiff jabs and stifling McCullough’s advances with his foot work. A sign of worry came over Darabedyan’s face as the announcer announced a spilt decision, but he managed to do more than enough to validate his recent five fight deal with the WEC.

 

 

In the un-televised undercard:

 

Shane Roller def Danny Castillo via Rear Naked Choke in R3 (3:32)

Kamal Shalorus def Will Kerr Via TKO in R1 (1:26)

L.C. Davis def. Diego Nunes via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26). 

Cub Swanson def. John Franchi via guillotine choke in R3 (4:50) 

Antonio Banuelos def. Kenji Osawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Ricardo Lamas def. James Krause via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). 

Frank Gomez def. Seth Dikun via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)