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Bowles KO's Torres, becomes new WEC Bantamweight Champion

Posted by Marcos Villegas on the 10 August 2009 | View Comments

Undefeated Brian Bowles put an end to the 17 fight win streak of Miguel Angel Torres with a stunning KO victory over the former champion. With both fighters being extremely cautious at the start of the round, Torres was immediately rocked by a Bowles over hand hook that was an ominous sign of things to come. Torres immediately countered with two power hooks as both fighters backed off and continued to circle each other. Briefly tying up in a clinch, Torres was taken down by Bowles with the two fighters briefly working on the ground. Cautious to standing up prematurely, Torres threw a few up kicks before getting back on his feet. What happened next would shock everyone at the Joint Hard Rock Arena. Bowles landed a crisp counter right hook after Torres made his way in with a flurry of one- two combinations. Torres immediately hit the ground and Bowls did not let up, landing flush shots from standing position on the downed champion. The referee rushed in to stop the fight at 3:57 of the first round.  Bowles continued his undefeated ways by being the first man to beat Miguel Angel Torres since November of 2003.

 

In the co-main event Dominick Cruz dominated Joseph Benavidez en route to a unanimous decision. The fight was fought at a high pace, but Cruz’s height and reach advantage would prove too much for the Sacramento based fighter. Able to move in and out, Benavidez had a difficult time trying to land shots on his taller opponent. When pressed to strike, Benavidez was often countered and flustered and could never get Cruz in one spot to work his plan on the inside.  With Cruz scoring effective takedowns, Benavidez spent much of the fight hopelessly trying to land that one big shot. Even attempting a few spinning back fists in the process. Cruz, who not only delivered the harder and more effective strikes, also stamped an exclamation point on his victory by taking Benavidez down, applying hooks and landing strikes from behind.                     The judges scored the bout 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Cruz.    

 

Castillo surprises Lamas

 

Danny Castillo notched the 0 off of Ricardo Lamas’ record as he was able to pull off a TKO win in impressive fashion.  The first round was reminiscent of a kickboxing match with Castillo landing the harder kicks to the legs and body.  It was apparent early that Lamas had the striking advantage, by landing good jabs on Castillo and blocking the better portion of the combinations thrown at him.  Late in the first, Lamas landed the first significant strike in the form of a head kick, which Castillo was not expecting. The two fighters continued being active as Lamas landed another leg kick before the end of the round.  It seemed Lamas was on his was to winning another round as he continued to land jabs at will. At the 4:15 mark of the second round, the tide would change as Castillo landed a huge overhand right that would turn Lamas completely backwards. Hurt and on the mat, Lamas was eating shots he could no longer defend. Resulting with the fight being stopped by TKO. Lamas earned his 4^th consecutive win in the WEC cage and improving to a record of 8-1.         

 

Mizugaki and Garcia keep winning ways

 

Takeya Mizugaki continued to impress fight fans as he won a hard fought spilt decision against an equally impressive Jeff Curran. Showing his great take down abilities, Mizugaki was able to take Curran down all through the fight. Curran shined in this area showing impressive defense on his back, never taking any serious damage and neutralizing Mizugaki’s ground and pound attempts. Perhaps the highlight of the fight came at the final minute of the third round. Curran, in his guard was able to sweep the Japanese fighter and locked in a much sought after deep triangle choke. Mizugaki struggled to slip out, was forced to roll over, adding additional compression to the hold and allowing Curran to be on top position. With the triangle still locked in, Curran landed some big blows to his opponent’s head and eventually rolled back. Mizugaki remained conscious throughout the attempt before being saved by the bell! In all, Mizugaki was locked in the triangle for about 30 seconds, displaying big time heart by not tapping. The fans showed their appreciation as well, cheering for the Japanese fighter as he was declared the winner.          

 

Leonard Garcia put on an entertaining three round contest against fellow lightweight Jameel Massouh. Living up to his reputation of having heavy hands, Garcia landed a huge right that knocked Massouh onto the canvas in the first part of round one. Garcia went in for the finish but could not as Massouh neutralized him in the guard.  Back to their feet, Massouh was able to clinch and take Garcia down freely, in an effort to buy more time to recover from the big shot he took earlier. The second round turned some heads’ as it was a complete 180 from the first. Massouh went on the offensive by landing a flush body kick, which dropped his opponent. Once on the ground, Massouh was able to gain side control over Garcia. Landing crisp short elbows, Massouh was able to slip in a darce choke. Garcia was barely able to escape the choke attempt, but was visibly affected for the rest of the round as he continued to breathe heavily. Garcia remained to show great composure in between rounds, as he was able to recover before the start of the third. Pushing the pace, Garcia was now the aggressor for the rest of the round, throwing punches in bunches and heavy bombs. Massouh looked very passive for the rest of the round. Perhaps fatigued, he still mustarded up enough strength to land a few good jabs to finish the fight standing. Garcia’s aggressive offense was enough to convince the judges that he was actively looking to win the fight and they awarded him the spilt decision.  

 

In other bouts:

L.C. Davis defs Javier Vasquez via split decision

Diego Nunes defs Rafael Dias via unanimous decision

Rani Yahya defs John Hosman via submission in 1^st round (2:08)

Ed Ratcliff defs Phil Cardella via unanimous decision

Shane Roller defs Marcus Hicks via unanimous decision

Cole Province defs Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision