Memories from the WEC

Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone's 2009 "Fight of the Year": Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Jason Probst: At an early 2007 show, Paris and Nicky Hilton materialized out of nowhere during the prelims, sitting in comped front-row seats. They were completely unseen for several minutes; it was like I was the only person that noticed, which was surreal. I contemplated approaching them and asking if they had any 20-sided dice on them, but they probably hear that all the time. They said nothing, merely preening and staring ahead. Nicky looked like she was about to fall asleep. When someone did notice, and the stampede ensued. Within a few minutes there was a motley caste making a fuss over them. The ruckus lasted for a while and then, finally, the group had to be cleared out because apparently there was a fight or something in a cage nearby. When it died down, they introduced the dudes kicking off the main card. I looked again, and Nicky and Paris were gone before the televised portion began. They were off to their next adventure, no doubt. Late-arriving people that kept swinging by their empty seats, only to miss them. I’m sure they scoured the clubs that night hoping to make up for it. Suckers.

Cameron Conaway: August 2007 was the first semester I spent across the country from where my family lived. I was a young grad student at the University of Arizona already itching to fly back to my family in Pennsylvania for the holidays. I remember walking in the door on Dec. 12, shedding tears while I hugged my mom and sister, then settling into the couch with my stepdad to watch Urijah Faber against Jeff Curran. Family, love and elite-level fights on cable -- life was perfect.

D. Mandel

Leonard Garcia's brawls became
part and parcel of the WEC saga.

John Evans: My fondest WEC memory is any fight with Leonard Garcia. Skill and athleticism are one thing, but mediocrity with balls is another, and you've got to admire a guy when you know he is going to throw hard, gas out and dig deep as if it were all part of the plan. He loops wild punches with death written all over them, but when he smiles at an opponent it is out of respect, or simply because he is having fun. His fights are pure humanity, a tiny window into some hard, sharp facets of life that those of us on the outside of the cage wouldn't recognize if he weren't there to show them to us. That being said, if Jens Pulver would have had better luck, I'd have found a way to pick him.

Tony Loiseleur: Living in Japan, most local fighters are too light to enter the UFC and saw WEC as their opportunity to live out their dreams of becoming an international professional athlete. It wasn't uncommon for Japanese featherweights and bantamweights to ask me "how do I get into WEC?" at various local events. Invariably, I'd always told them the truth as I knew it: "just win fights and Zuffa will eventually come calling." I'd enjoyed watching Takeya Mizugaki in Shooto and Cage Force for years. After winning the Cage Force bantamweight title, he reached out to me to do an interview in the hopes of catching Zuffa's eye to get his shot in the little blue octagon. Two months later, he got it, fighting then-bantamweight champion Torres in the main event of WEC 40, where they turned in a five-round war that one of the best fights of the year. Thanks for the memories, WEC. It's been real.

Mike Fridley: On an April night in 2009, Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki changed the way I will view mixed martial arts for the rest of my life. As a connoisseur of quick finishes and “don’t blink, or you’ll miss it” violence, I had long been opposed to five-round fights, and often voiced this opinion to my colleague Jordan Breen, a proponent of five-round bouts for most (if not all) contests. Up until this memorable evening in the Windy City, where the gutsy challenger gave a dominant champion all he could handle in his own backyard, visions of excitement in championship rounds were but a pipe dream. 25 minutes of back-and-forth action at WEC 40 changed that forever. In one night an outlook was changed from dreading a fourth round, to craving a sixth.

Rodolfo Roman: The first bout that comes to my mind is Donald Cerrone-Benson Henderson at WEC 43. Both of these men proved to the sports world the desire and hunger it takes to be a champion in mixed martial arts. Henderson displayed a sense of perseverance, resilience and heart in order to capture the gold. It was Sherdog.com's 2009 "Fight of the Year" for a reason. It will go down in MMA history as one of the most exciting duels of all time.

D. Mandel

Miguel Torres' wars proved the
value in five-round fights.

J.R. Riddell: Joseph Benavidez came into WEC 47 to face former champion Miguel Torres, who was hungry coming off just the second loss in his career at the hands of Brian Bowles. Although he was at a severe reach disadvantage, Benavidez took Torres to the ground and destroyed his forehead with an explosive elbow. As a blood-soaked Torres struggled to get his bearings, Benavidez sunk in a trademark Team Alpha Male guillotine to earn his biggest victory to date.

Rob King: Living in Saskatchewan, Canada, I am thousands of miles away from most big shows so I didn't get to attend a WEC until WEC 49 in Edmonton. That show turned out to be one of those cards that looked weak on paper and lacked the big names, but ended up being an outstanding night of action in the cage. Seeing Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin trade in the middle of the blue cage in person is the first thing I will think of whenever someone says WEC to me.

Wojek Rysiewski: My most memorable moment has to be Maciej Jewtuszko’s debut at WEC 50 in August 2010. Since the moment his fight against Anthony Njokuani was announced, I thought this was a really bad stylistic match-up for the Polish lightweight standout. Not only didn’t I pick my fellow Pole to win, but I predicted a quick KO victory Njokuani. Imagine my surprise when I learned that “Irokez” took him out with spinning back elbow in 95 seconds. During the telecast, I prayed for early finishes so Jewtuszko’s KO would make the broadcast. It didn’t happen, but they did post the fight on the WEC Web site. I sent Jewtuszko a congratulatory text; he instantly replied, making fun of my fight predicting skills. He admitted later that he wasn’t even aware of Njokuani’s striking skills, and that his plan was just to throw hands with him in order to earn a bonus.