Jose Aldo defeated Mike Brown at WEC 44 to become the new WEC Featherweight Champion.

Jose Aldo (16-1) took Mike Thomas Brown’s (22-5) WEC Featherweight Title Wednesday night, Nov. 18, at WEC 44, at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. Brown seemed one step behind Aldo through the entire first round as Aldo landed more strikes and Brown could not get him to the ground. Round two started the same way, but Aldo quickly poured on the heat, got his own takedown, and pounded out the win at 1:20 of the second round.

It was Nov. 2008 at WEC 36 when Mike Thomas Brown first knocked out Urijah Faber in the first round to become the WEC Featherweight Champion. For his first title defense, he submitted Leonard Garcia via first round arm triangle at WEC 39. They gave Faber one more chance at WEC 41, but Brown once again proved his dominance by taking home the five round unanimous decision.

Brazilian Jose Aldo arrived in the WEC in June 2008 when he took on Alexandre Franca Nogueira at WEC 34 in Sacramento. He knocked him out in the second round. Then Aldo, in his subsequent five fights, proceeded to knock out Johnathan Brookins, Rolando Perez, Chris Mickle, Cub Swanson, and finally Mike Thomas Brown.

Six straight knockouts in the WEC is no easy feat my friend. It almost seems as if each new featherweight champion’s skill level is increasing exponentially. Urijah Faber was looked at as near invincible when he was champ, but then Brown made him appear sub-par. Now Jose Aldo totally outclasses Brown. Where does it end? Whatever your opinion of Aldo, at only 23-years-of-age, chances are he will be hanging around the top tier for years to come.

In other WEC 44 fights, Karen Darabedyan defeated Rob McCullough by split decision, and Manny Gamburyan defeated Leonard Garcia by unanimous decision. For the complete WEC 44 results check out: WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo results.

By: Jack Bratcher

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