In a five round war WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres came through a hell of a fight to record a unanimous decision over the hardened Takeya Mizugaki
Both fighters landed hard accurate blows throughout the opening round. The second round saw Torres take control of the centre of the cage and was able to dictate the pace while scoring the more significant blows. Round three was a toe-to-toe battle in which both fighters decided to open up and challenge the other. The challenger Mizugaki opened a large gash over the right eye of the champion with a hard left hook. The cut to the champion seemed to awaken something and Torres took over the fight in the fourth round as he stalked Mizugaki around the cage. The champion slowed the fight down in the fifth round opting to clinch and score on the inside. Judges’ scorecards read 49-46 twice and 48-47 all in favor of Miguel Angel Torres.
Joseph Benavidez scored the biggest win of his career last night as he defeated former title challenger Jeff Curran via unanimous decision. Judges’ scorecards read 30-27 twice and 29-28.
Benson Henderson knocked out Shane Roller in the first round with a crushing two punch combination.
Rafael Assuncao scored three round decision over Jameel Massouh. All three judges’ scored the bout the same, 30-27.
Anthony Njokuani KO’ed Bart Palaszewki at :27 seconds of round two
Wagney Fabiano continued his climb to the top of the featherweight division by winning a unanimous decision over Fredson Paixao. The scores were a 30-27, in favor of Fabiano.
Bantamweight Rani Yahya submitted Eddie Wineland with a rear naked choke in 1:07 of the first round.
Akitoshi Tamura scored a three round unanimous decision over Manny Tapia. All three judges’ scorecards read 20-28.
Rafael Dias scored a three round unanimous decision over Mike Budnik to kick off WEC 40. Scorecards read 30-27 and 29-28 twice.
Dominick Cruz was awarded a three round unanimous decision over Ivan Lopez. Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28.
