Anthony Pettis Is New Wec Champ

The end is finally here. WEC 53 was broadcast Thursday night for the last time. The WEC has been my long time favorite fighting organization because of the faster tempo of the lighter weight classes and the fact that they have been so readily available for free on the Versus channel. I was praying, that in order to deal with with the end of the WEC, that all of the fights would end in a decision with every fight having very little to no action. On the other hand, the WEC put on another awesome card and in the last moments of the WEC's career, they presented one the most incredible kicks in MMA history.

The under card of WEC 53 had the makings of a great show in itself. The very first fight of the card, featured Renan "Barao" Pegado submitting Chris Cariaso by rear naked choke in the first round. The next two fights ended in first round knockouts. The next fight, Eddie Wineland vs Ken Stone, wound up in a vicious slam by Wineland at 2:11 of Round 1. Stone was escorted out on a stretcher but sustained no serious injuries and seems to be moving and operating without problems. Jamie Varner was also on the under card taking a bout against Shane Roller. Varner was able to knock down Roller in the first round but Roller eventually found his opponents back in the resulting scramble. Varner was in no danger initially with Roller on the back but then tried to slam Roller which put himself in a bind. Roller was able to lock in the choke after the slam and Varner has to tap to the rear naked choke at 3:55 of round 1.

The televised card had no scarcity of action either. Donald Cerrone was matched up with Chris Horodecki in his final fight as part of the WEC. The first round was a lot of back and forth on the feet, with each fighter getting a good set of punches in during the course of the round. Cerrone was able to get a take down early and nearly got mount but Horodecki escaped only to have his back taken at the end of the round. Cerrone used the second round to showcase his advantage on the ground. Horodecki scored a take down inside of the first 30 seconds of the round and it ended up not being his best idea. With his back on the mat, Cerrone went to work trying an omoplata and neck crank mix until finally transitioning into a triangle. The choke isn't tight enough to begin with but Horodecki hangs out in the hold while Cerrone is able to readjust and reapply the triangle. After being held in the hold for over a minute, Cerrone is finally able to adjust to the side employing more pressure to the throat and forcing Horodecki to tap at the 2:43 mark of round 2.

There's almost nothing to say about the Bantamweight Championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Scott Jorgensen. Jorgensen has become popular on the site for his guillotine of Chad George but there was no choke to be had here against Cruz. Cruz handled Jorgensen with takedowns and punches. The data from CompuStrike only will help underline how dominate Cruz really was. Cruz out-struck Jorgensen by a margin of 283 to 55. With numbers like that, it's not hard to imagine why Cruz won on the score cards with a score of 50-45 from all three judges.

The final fight of the night was Benson Henderson vs Anthony Pettis for the WEC lightweight belt. Pettis was appointed the fighter to watch in a prior article and he did not let us down. We totally redeemed ourselves from that Dustin Hazelett pick. The fight was a back and forth affair for the first couple of rounds until round 3 where Pettis seemed to get going. Pettis was able to secure a take down and get Henderson's back during the round. He spent most of his time peppering the face and body of Henderson with punches to get in position for the rear naked choke. Unfortunately for Pettis, he was not able to sink the choke in after riding Henderson for the majority of the round.

The fourth round saw the renewal of Henderson. Henderson guarded off a guillotine attempt and was able to get Pettis' back while in the scramble. Henderson was able to sink in the body triangle and was working for the choke. Pettis used great defense and remained relaxed to outlast the clock and survive to the final round.

The fifth and final round features some back and forth from both fighters. At this point, the fight is a toss up with neither fighter showing the pure authority to assure a decision. In the last minutes of the fight, Pettis sprinted forward and used his right foot to spring off the cage and uses the same foot to kick Henderson right in the jaw. The kick sends Henderson to the mat and Pettis pounces. Henderson shows some resilience and is able to survive to the end of the round. Pettis is labeled the new WEC lightweight championship and will meet the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard for the UFC lightweight belt.

I have re-watched that kick a hundred times and each time I am still amazed at the athletic capability. Pettis himself said that he practices this kick a lot with his coach, Duke Roufus. But to be able to launch yourself off the cage and use the same foot to kick your opponent square across the face. amazing. Not to mention, this is the final scene aired in the history of the WEC. There is no more fitting of an ending for an incredible MMA promotion than to end on a history making kick. Congratulations to the World Extreme Cagefighting organization to not only be able to boom in a competitive market, but also be able to put on fight cards that fired up fans every time. We will miss you.

By: Aiden Wesley

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