Stay tuned here at ProMMA.info, as we will be bringing you live coverage of WEC 38, Varner vs. Cerrone.
Tonight’s event is going down at the San Diego Sports Arena in California, and will be headlined by a Lightweight Championship bout between WEC lightweight champion Jame Varner and undefeated contender Donald Cerrone. Urijah Faber will also be stepping back in the cage for the second time against Jens Pulver, in his quest for the opportunity to get in his words, “His belt” back from the winner of Brown/Garcia.
We will be giving round by round updates for the televised main card on Versus. Here are the quick results from the undercard:
PRELIMINARY CARD QUICK RESULTS
- Charlie Valencia def. Seth Dikun by unanimous decision
- Jesse Lennox def. Blas Avena via TKO (punches) – Round 2
- Scott Jorgensen def. Frank Gomez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:09
- Dominick Cruz def. Ian McCall by unanimous decision
- Edgar Garcia def. Hiromitsu Miura via TKO (punches) – Round 1
- Benson Henderson def. Anthony Njokuani via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2
Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
Round 1 – Quick start to the fight, with Aldo throwing nice strong leg kicks early. Aldo really working on Perez’s leg with kicks. Nice 1,2 combo followed by a high kick from Aldo. Aldo misses with a flying knee, but looks super quick in this fight. Nice body shot by Perez. Perez is now bleeding pretty badly. Huge knee from Aldo, and he drops Perez! Aldo jumps on him and gets in one more big right hand before being waved off. Aldo runs out of the cage and into the crowd. Aldo by TKO Round 1.
Mike Campbell vs. Danillo Villefort
Round 1 – Campbell aggressive to start mixing nice kicks and punches early. Villefort throws a kick that Campbell catches and drops him with a left. Campbell stands up in Villefort’s guard with Villefort hanging on. Campbell with the big slam. Nice transitions with Villefort looking for a leg. Campbell spins out and they are back on their feet. Big knee by Villefort. Campbell still pressing forward, and catches Villefort with a big left to the body that drops him. Campbell back in Villefort’s guard. Villefort goes for the armbar, then transitions to the knee bar. Villefort gets the sweep and is now on top. Back to the feet and Villefort goes up top but Campbell ducks the kick. Clinch, then judo toss by Villefort. Full mount now, and Campbell rolls over with Danillo looking for the finish. Campbell is flattened out and taking shots. Ref calls for Campbell to defend himself, but Campbell cannot answer and the ref stops the fight. TKO win for Danillo Villefort.
Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
Pulver comes out to Wu Tang Clan- “Triumph”, rocking a Justin Eilers tribute tee (rest in peace). Faber is next, walking in to Tupac and Dr. Dre- “California Love”, and looks confident.
Round 1 – We are off!! Kick by Faber, and Jens grabs his leg and throws him down. Big knee by Urijah, followed by a front kick. Urijah looks very aggressive and as he steps in, Jens lands a solid right. Urijah charges and pushes Jens into the cage. Urijah lands a huge left shot to the body that hurts Pulver badly, and he is retreating and eats a huge knee. Urijah goes for the guillotine and leans back, tightens it up and it’s over!! Win by guillotine for Faber in Round 1.
Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone comes in to “Cowboy” by Kid Rock… surprise!!! Varner comes in with “Stunna Shades” on! Did I miss something? He looks like a stunt double for a Chip’s reunion.
Round 1 – Much respect at the staredown from both with Varner tapping Cerrone on the shoulder. Right hand by Varner, countered by a kick from Cerrone. Brief exchange before the fighters disengage. Varner steps in and lands a big left followed by a right. We are now on the ground, with Varner on top. Cerrone working the rubber guard to control Varner’s posture. Varner stands and gets a slam, then works on grinding on Cerrone’s face with his glove. Short hammer fists from Varner. Varner now standing over and delivering big shots. Cerrone defends, and works on the guard pass. Cerrone is staying active from the back. Cerrone has a huge knot over his right eye on his forehead. Varner stands and delivers a big elbow. Big ground and pound by Varner, but Cerrone looks very composed.
Cerrone takes big punches but gets space stands and connects with a big knee!! End of Round 1.
Round 2 – Huge body kick by Cerrone, but Varner gets the takedown. Varner passes guard and is in side control. Cerrone replaced guard, then rolls and gets back to his feet. Varner loads up the right hand but misses. Cerrone with a nice big knee to the body of Varner. Cerrone is stalking and lands a knee but gets taken down again. Varner on top in Donald’s full guard. Cerrone is back on his feet. Both exchange kicks. Varner still backing up with Cerrone moving forward. Cerrone is really mixing up his kicks now. Varner with a 1,2 but misses with the right. Varner misses with a huge arching right hand. Back to the ground with Varner in full guard. Cerrone locks in a very quick triangle, but runs out of time as the round ends.
Round 3 – A big hug at the start of Round 3. Both have earned the other’s respect. Varner leans in with a shot to the body, with Cerrone countering with a right. Cerrone is beating Varner to the punch and staying out of range from Varner’s right hand. Nice stiff jab by Donald. Big kick blocked by Varner, and Cerrone slips but is back up quickly. Big right to the body by Cerrone. Varner connects with a big shot, and Cerrone reacts by wiping his head before being taken down. He is bleeding now from that punch. Guillotine attempt by Varner, but Cerrone pops out and is on top. Varner uses the cage to stand up and starting to look a little tired. Cerrone checks his eye for blood. He’s blinking now and may be having trouble with his vision. Kick to the body by Donald. Cerrone really having trouble seeing now. Nice jab, then a two punch combo from Cerrone. Varner connects with a straight right hand. Varner fakes a punch and shoots a double, taking Cerrone to the mat again. Varners take downs may be the difference in this fight. End of round 3.
Round 4 – Huge left kick to the head by Varner, and Cerrone smiles as a response. Big kick to the body by Cerrone. Quick jab lands by Cerrone. Big flying knee by Cerrone misses. Body kick from Varner. Varner still backing up. Varner fakes a punch again, and shoots for the takedown. Back in full guard with Varner on top. Varner looking to pass, and Cerrone goes for an arm, but Varner pulls it out easily. Cerrone working the rubber guard once again. Cerrone kicks off and stands back up. Varner with another take down. Cerrone conceded the take down pretty easily. Cerrone kicking from the bottom. Varner in half guard now with 10 seconds left in the round. End of Round 4.
Round 5 – Another big hug to start the fifth and final round. Varner shoots in for another take down. Elbows from the bottom by Cerrone. Cerrone kicks off and rolls backwards getting back to his feet. Varner still backpedaling. Cerrone shoots for a take down and gets it! Cerrone on top. Varner using the cage to stand up and Cerrone throws a knee grazing Varner. The knee catches Varner in the temple, and it was landed while he still had his knees on the ground. The ref steps in and the doctor is looking at Varner. It is ruled an unintentional fould, as it looked like Varner was getting to his feet with his knees off the mat when Cerrone loaded up the knee. Varner is saying he cannot see so it looks like we are going to the cards. Varner wins by split decision. Once of the 3 judges scored the fight for Cerrone, and 2 for Varner, eliciting boos from the audience while Varner was speaking. He made it clear that they would do it again, so we will see how this works out in the end.