WEC 43 Preview

Damacio Page vs. Will Campuzano

The Breakdown: I’m not gonna lie: Page is pretty awesome, and Campuzano has produced minimal awesome in his short career. One of the ongoing influx of undefeated prospects reaching the WEC’s shores, Campuzano has yet to face anywhere near the level of resistance that Page will bring. He’s also a late-notice replacement for the previously announced Akitoshi Tamura. From what I’ve seen, Campuzano plays your standard-issue ground-and-pound game, which won’t be easy to manage against Page’s fist-first striking and brute physicality.

The X Factor: Plenty of prospects have made an unexpected splash in the WEC thus far, and Campuzano has dominated the middling competition he’s faced. No extra credit for that, but at least he has the wrestling to ground Page. Whether or not he has the wrestling to keep him in place for more than five seconds is what will decide his chances against the perpetually pressuring style of Page, a man with quite possibly the greatest nickname in the history of the universe. Whoever came up with “The Angel of Death” deserves a Nobel prize of some sort.

The Bottom Line: There isn’t a good reason why anyone with just six fights against no-name opponents should be fighting Page. Expect something along the lines of Page’s terrifying knockout of Marcos Galvao, as he shrugs off Campuzano’s takedown attempts and batters him in the clinch with overhands and digging body blows for a violent TKO win.