Tuesday, November 17, 2009

WEC 44: The Predictions




PREDICTIONS FOR WEC 44
BROWN vs ALDO
Twenty-four hours to go before WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo and every fan is pumped to the max. Brown vs. Aldo represents something in the sport of MMA. Two relatively unknown guys -to the casual fan- are headlining a card that is fill to the brim with talent and high expectations. Brown (22-4) is the New England native who handed it to Urijah Faber twice with a win over Leonard Garcia squeezed in the middle. Aldo(15-1) is the face-paced, enigma that dropped Cub Swanson in his last fight with a flying knee that opened up a 2" gash over his eye. These two gentle man aren't messing around. They both have incredible power, Brown with his "old man strength" and Aldo with his youth and cat-like reflexes. It's tough to call, but I have to pick,
Brown via TKO early in the 4th.


MANVEL "MANNY" GAMBURYAN vs LEONARD GARCIA
Another tough one to call. Both men started in the UFC light weight division and have made a HUGE impact on the WEC since dropping to 145#. Garcia (13-4) fought FW champ Mike Brown last year in the "Bad Boy"'s home state of Texas; however, he unfortunately lost via an arm triangle less than two minutes into the first round. Brown is Garcia's only WEC loss, he has wins over Pulver, Takaya, and Massouh. Gamburyan dropped to 145# after his UFC 94 loss to Thiago Tavares and his only WEC fight to date -vs. John Franchi- is a unanimous decision. Gamburyan(9-4), like his cousin Karo Parisyan, has a background in Judo and has executed his skills on several occasions. In his fight against Nick Diaz on The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale he was winning -according to most- until his shoulder slipped out of socket and he had to stop the fight. I'm going to pick Garcia to win, but I'm confident this will be a dynamic fight.
Garcia via Sub (Arm Triangle) late 3rd.


ROB McCULLOUGH vs KAREN DARABEDYAN
"Razor" Rob (17-5) is returning after a eight month hiatus healing his hand that was fractured in his WEC 39 fight against Marcus Hicks. He's a newlywed and has spent several months training for his "comeback." Darabedyan (8-1) will be making his WEC debut after last fighting in September at Shark Fights 6. Darabedyan's record is almost spotless, except for his lone loss early in his career to Koji Oishi in Ring of Fire. A black belt in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do, Armenian Darabedyan expanded to mixed martial arts at the age of 18; since then he has became a black belt in Judo as well. He currently trains with fellow Armenians, Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan. I'm going to go out on a limb with my pick:
Darabedyan via TKO early 2nd


DANNY CASTILLO vs SHANE ROLLER
This is a hard one to call. I was at Danny's fight against Ricardo Lamas and the kid leaves his heart in the ring. He hails from Sacramento where he trains with Urijah Faber and Master Thong. That whole group has a passion for fighting that is hard to find sometimes. That being said, Roller fought the same night where I attended Castillo's fight and he's the same way. This kid went in tehre with Marcus Hicks and gave the fans something to be happy about. Roller (6-2) grew up in Bixby, OK but now trains in Las Vegas. I can't think this fight will do anything but go to a decision.
Roller via split dec.




Miss something? Questions? Comments? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

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