Will
09-09-2007, 06:25 AM
There would be no dethroning at tonight’s WEC 30 event.
WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough and bantamweight champion Chase Beebe both scored impressive victories at tonight’s event, which took place at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Both fights were part of the main card that aired live on Versus.
McCullough (15-3) dropped Rich Crunkilton (14-2) early and often in the night’s main event. The champ kept the fight standing, got the better of the stand-up battle, and then connected on a fight-ending right hook.
He needed just 89 seconds for his ninth consecutive victory, including his fifth straight win in the WEC.
Beebe (11-1) survived a dangerous first round, somehow countering Rani Rahya’s (11-3) knee-bar and arm-triangle-choke attempts. The champ looked in trouble, but after getting through the first round, he got stronger as the five-round fight wore on.
In the end, Beebe dominated the final frame, putting the exclamation point on his unanimous-decision victory (judges’ scores of 49-45, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the WEC’s 135-pound title.
In the night’s final un-televised fight, UFC veteran John Alessio (20-10) posted a decision victory with a lackluster win over Marcelo Brito (6-2). Alessio cruised to a 30-27 decision win on all three judges’ scorecards in the slow-paced affair.
On the undercard, Jesse Forbes (4-2), a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 4,” gassed in the final minutes of the first round. After suffering a series of unanswered blows from opponent Bryan Baker (5-0), Forbes was spared further punishment and stuck with the TKO loss at the 4:15 mark.
The full results included:
* Ian McCall def. Coty Wheeler via TKO (strikes) — Round 3 (4:34)
* Blas Avena def. Joe Benoit via submision (guillotine choke) — Round 1 (0:29)
* Donald Cerrone def. Kenneth Alexander via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1 (0:56)
* Bryan Baker def. Jesse Forbes via TKO (strikes) — Round 1 (4:15)
* Marcus Hicks def. Scott McAfee via submision (guillotine choke) — Round 1 (2:15)
* John Alessio def. Marcelo Brito via unanimous decision
* Miguel Torres def. Jeff Bedard via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1 (2:30)
* Brian Stann def. Jeremiah Billington via TKO (strikes) — Round 1 (3:07)
* Bantamweight champ Chase Beebe def. Rani Rahya via unanimous decision
* Lightweight champ Rob McCullough def. Rich Crunkilton TKO (stoppage) — Round 1 (1:29)
* * * *
The other big WEC-related news from today was the organization’s announcement it has extended its television-broadcasting deal with Versus.
The agreement calls for the addition of 15 additional live WEC events and 20 episodes of WrekCage, the WEC-themed highlights show.
Versus will next air a live event on Dec. 12. The WEC today announced that featherweight champion Urijah Faber (19-1) will defend his title against Jeff Curran (28-8-1) at the event.
WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough and bantamweight champion Chase Beebe both scored impressive victories at tonight’s event, which took place at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Both fights were part of the main card that aired live on Versus.
McCullough (15-3) dropped Rich Crunkilton (14-2) early and often in the night’s main event. The champ kept the fight standing, got the better of the stand-up battle, and then connected on a fight-ending right hook.
He needed just 89 seconds for his ninth consecutive victory, including his fifth straight win in the WEC.
Beebe (11-1) survived a dangerous first round, somehow countering Rani Rahya’s (11-3) knee-bar and arm-triangle-choke attempts. The champ looked in trouble, but after getting through the first round, he got stronger as the five-round fight wore on.
In the end, Beebe dominated the final frame, putting the exclamation point on his unanimous-decision victory (judges’ scores of 49-45, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the WEC’s 135-pound title.
In the night’s final un-televised fight, UFC veteran John Alessio (20-10) posted a decision victory with a lackluster win over Marcelo Brito (6-2). Alessio cruised to a 30-27 decision win on all three judges’ scorecards in the slow-paced affair.
On the undercard, Jesse Forbes (4-2), a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 4,” gassed in the final minutes of the first round. After suffering a series of unanswered blows from opponent Bryan Baker (5-0), Forbes was spared further punishment and stuck with the TKO loss at the 4:15 mark.
The full results included:
* Ian McCall def. Coty Wheeler via TKO (strikes) — Round 3 (4:34)
* Blas Avena def. Joe Benoit via submision (guillotine choke) — Round 1 (0:29)
* Donald Cerrone def. Kenneth Alexander via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1 (0:56)
* Bryan Baker def. Jesse Forbes via TKO (strikes) — Round 1 (4:15)
* Marcus Hicks def. Scott McAfee via submision (guillotine choke) — Round 1 (2:15)
* John Alessio def. Marcelo Brito via unanimous decision
* Miguel Torres def. Jeff Bedard via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1 (2:30)
* Brian Stann def. Jeremiah Billington via TKO (strikes) — Round 1 (3:07)
* Bantamweight champ Chase Beebe def. Rani Rahya via unanimous decision
* Lightweight champ Rob McCullough def. Rich Crunkilton TKO (stoppage) — Round 1 (1:29)
* * * *
The other big WEC-related news from today was the organization’s announcement it has extended its television-broadcasting deal with Versus.
The agreement calls for the addition of 15 additional live WEC events and 20 episodes of WrekCage, the WEC-themed highlights show.
Versus will next air a live event on Dec. 12. The WEC today announced that featherweight champion Urijah Faber (19-1) will defend his title against Jeff Curran (28-8-1) at the event.