‘Rhino’ Fights the Hero in WEC
‘Rhino' Fights the Hero
Mar 25, 2008
While Paulo Filho
(Pictures)'s late withdrawal due to
personal issues puts a damper on Wednesday's World Extreme
Cagefighting proceedings, the main card, which airs live on Versus
(9 p.m. ET), features the organization's light heavyweight
champion, Doug Marshall
(Pictures), fighting decorated Marine
Brian Stann (Pictures).
Throw in some "9mm" spinning hook kicks and Tim McKenzie (Pictures)'s epic Mohawk, and you've got a formula for success. (If I turn out to be wrong on that one, it's your fault for not double-checking my math.)
Predictions, projections and full escape clauses delivered courtesy
of your favorite (read: opposite of favorite) MMA scribe.
Doug Marshall (Pictures) vs. Brian Stann (Pictures)
Adopting a noms de guerre like "All-American" may seem presumptuous to some. But even a cursory glance at Stann's biography is all the proof anyone would need that his moniker is well earned. A graduate of the Naval Academy who played linebacker for the Midshipmen, Stann went on to become a Marine and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was in Iraq that he truly proved his mettle by surviving a three-day assault from enemy forces and returning home with all 42 members of his unit.
Upon his return, Stann was awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat and somehow found the time to develop his burgeoning MMA skills. Quickly drafted into the WEC, he has done nothing but live up to expectations by reeling off four straight first-round TKO victories, albeit against the less than stellar competition that inhabits the WEC light heavyweight division.
That trend will come to a hasty end when Stann enters the cage with Marshall, who would love to get his Torquemada on against the division's prodigal son.
Nearing the two-year mark as WEC champion, Marshall once appeared to be on his way out the door of the only promotion he's ever known thanks to back-to-back losses against James Irvin (Pictures) and Tim McKenzie (Pictures). He faced his Darwinian dilemma head-on by moving past his days of simpleminded brawling and adding the fundamental skills to his repertoire that he had long been lacking.
Now sporting a more versatile striking style and surprising grappling ability, Marshall is the biggest fish in a small pond despite perpetually playing second fiddle to Stann, who has become the division's media magnet. Dynamic as fight sport may be, the story of the undervalued champion taking on the prematurely coronated prospect is a familiar one.
Whether Marshall can continue his evolution will be the factor that decides if the WEC title takes its place on Stann's impressive mantel.
As much as Marshall has improved, he remains a striker at heart and isn't likely to go into takedown mode once he realizes that his opponent will be all too willing to engage in toe-to-toe battle. Slugging it out with Stann will be Marshall's Waterloo, as he struggles with Stann's superior hand speed and accuracy. By the time Marshall realizes he desperately needs a takedown, it will already be too late. Stann's killer instinct takes over in this one and nets him a hard-fought stoppage win.
Afterward, Stann will get to go home to his wife, who happens to be a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader. If you weren't already jealous of the man, you might want to start now.
Chael Sonnen (Pictures) vs. Bryan Baker (Pictures)
While the MMA world at large hopes for Paulo Filho (Pictures)'s return to the WEC, his unfortunate dalliance with substance abuse has left Chael Sonnen (Pictures) with nothing more than dashed title hopes and an opponent eager to claim his status as a top contender.
Undefeated and quickly developing into one of the WEC's most promising middleweight prospects, Bryan Baker (Pictures) (6-0) has been all but handed the opportunity to become the latest homegrown star under the WEC banner. As with any prospect, however, the question remains as to how ready Baker is to assume that role. Despite that glossy record, his WEC career has been more "Easy Rider" than "Wild Hogs."
First came a back-and-forth struggle against TUF alumnus Jesse Forbes (Pictures), which Baker won thanks to Forbes' Pinto-sized gas tank. That was followed by a "Nip/Tuck" battle with Eric Schambari (Pictures) worthy of the FX Network. Yet again, Baker walked away with a "W" by the slimmest of margins.
Unlike Baker, Sonnen (19-9-1) knows what it feels like when the pendulum of probability swings the other way, and in his bout with Filho, the pendulum turned into a guillotine.
After roughhousing Filho for nearly two full rounds, Sonnen's willingness to take the bout to the ground caught up to him when the Brazilian scored a fight-ending armbar. Despite never tapping out, the bout was stopped by the referee after Sonnen had let out a yell reminiscent of vintage Axl Rose.
Flawlessly executed armbars will thankfully be far from Sonnen's mind against Baker, who actually employs the same style as his more experienced counterpart: straightforward ground-and-pound.
Keeping that in mind, expect this bout to look like a wrestling meet, as both men struggle for takedowns. Sonnen is a safe bet to take control because Baker has shown iffy conditioning in the past and lacks the strong amateur background and overall experience of his opponent.
More importantly, Baker has been out-wrestled in the past, and Sonnen remains one of the best wrestlers in the middleweight division. Don't expect anything spectacular, but do expect Sonnen to take a workmanlike unanimous decision.
If Sonnen does lose, you can expect him to join Filho in that rehab center.
Throw in some "9mm" spinning hook kicks and Tim McKenzie (Pictures)'s epic Mohawk, and you've got a formula for success. (If I turn out to be wrong on that one, it's your fault for not double-checking my math.)
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Doug Marshall (Pictures) vs. Brian Stann (Pictures)
The proverbial redheaded stepchild of the WEC will finally have a
chance to shine as the light heavyweight division takes center
stage with a long-anticipated title bout between reigning champion
Doug "Rhino" Marshall and lifelong alpha male Brian "All-American"
Stann.
Adopting a noms de guerre like "All-American" may seem presumptuous to some. But even a cursory glance at Stann's biography is all the proof anyone would need that his moniker is well earned. A graduate of the Naval Academy who played linebacker for the Midshipmen, Stann went on to become a Marine and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was in Iraq that he truly proved his mettle by surviving a three-day assault from enemy forces and returning home with all 42 members of his unit.
Upon his return, Stann was awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat and somehow found the time to develop his burgeoning MMA skills. Quickly drafted into the WEC, he has done nothing but live up to expectations by reeling off four straight first-round TKO victories, albeit against the less than stellar competition that inhabits the WEC light heavyweight division.
That trend will come to a hasty end when Stann enters the cage with Marshall, who would love to get his Torquemada on against the division's prodigal son.
Nearing the two-year mark as WEC champion, Marshall once appeared to be on his way out the door of the only promotion he's ever known thanks to back-to-back losses against James Irvin (Pictures) and Tim McKenzie (Pictures). He faced his Darwinian dilemma head-on by moving past his days of simpleminded brawling and adding the fundamental skills to his repertoire that he had long been lacking.
Now sporting a more versatile striking style and surprising grappling ability, Marshall is the biggest fish in a small pond despite perpetually playing second fiddle to Stann, who has become the division's media magnet. Dynamic as fight sport may be, the story of the undervalued champion taking on the prematurely coronated prospect is a familiar one.
Whether Marshall can continue his evolution will be the factor that decides if the WEC title takes its place on Stann's impressive mantel.
As much as Marshall has improved, he remains a striker at heart and isn't likely to go into takedown mode once he realizes that his opponent will be all too willing to engage in toe-to-toe battle. Slugging it out with Stann will be Marshall's Waterloo, as he struggles with Stann's superior hand speed and accuracy. By the time Marshall realizes he desperately needs a takedown, it will already be too late. Stann's killer instinct takes over in this one and nets him a hard-fought stoppage win.
Afterward, Stann will get to go home to his wife, who happens to be a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader. If you weren't already jealous of the man, you might want to start now.
Chael Sonnen (Pictures) vs. Bryan Baker (Pictures)
While the MMA world at large hopes for Paulo Filho (Pictures)'s return to the WEC, his unfortunate dalliance with substance abuse has left Chael Sonnen (Pictures) with nothing more than dashed title hopes and an opponent eager to claim his status as a top contender.
Undefeated and quickly developing into one of the WEC's most promising middleweight prospects, Bryan Baker (Pictures) (6-0) has been all but handed the opportunity to become the latest homegrown star under the WEC banner. As with any prospect, however, the question remains as to how ready Baker is to assume that role. Despite that glossy record, his WEC career has been more "Easy Rider" than "Wild Hogs."
First came a back-and-forth struggle against TUF alumnus Jesse Forbes (Pictures), which Baker won thanks to Forbes' Pinto-sized gas tank. That was followed by a "Nip/Tuck" battle with Eric Schambari (Pictures) worthy of the FX Network. Yet again, Baker walked away with a "W" by the slimmest of margins.
Unlike Baker, Sonnen (19-9-1) knows what it feels like when the pendulum of probability swings the other way, and in his bout with Filho, the pendulum turned into a guillotine.
After roughhousing Filho for nearly two full rounds, Sonnen's willingness to take the bout to the ground caught up to him when the Brazilian scored a fight-ending armbar. Despite never tapping out, the bout was stopped by the referee after Sonnen had let out a yell reminiscent of vintage Axl Rose.
Flawlessly executed armbars will thankfully be far from Sonnen's mind against Baker, who actually employs the same style as his more experienced counterpart: straightforward ground-and-pound.
Keeping that in mind, expect this bout to look like a wrestling meet, as both men struggle for takedowns. Sonnen is a safe bet to take control because Baker has shown iffy conditioning in the past and lacks the strong amateur background and overall experience of his opponent.
More importantly, Baker has been out-wrestled in the past, and Sonnen remains one of the best wrestlers in the middleweight division. Don't expect anything spectacular, but do expect Sonnen to take a workmanlike unanimous decision.
If Sonnen does lose, you can expect him to join Filho in that rehab center.
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