Torres and Mizugaki Given $10,000 Bonuses for Fight of the Year

(Torres discusses his war with Mizugaki in the post-event press-conference. Props: MMA Mania)

Yes, it’s only early April, but last night’s WEC main event between Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki established itself as a 2009 Fight of the Year front-runner that might not be touched in the next nine months. (We’ll post the video as soon as it turns up, but the Internet is failing us right now.) Honestly, Torres/Mizugaki made Torres/Maeda look like Lashley/Guida. And the fight was a lot closer than the scorecards (or Frank Mir’s biased, nuthugging commentary) would suggest.

Mizugaki shocked the crowd by fearlessly outstriking Torres in the opening round and keeping up an inhuman pace through 25 minutes; wisely, he avoided following Torres to the ground when the champion baited him. Torres may have had the edge in the later rounds, but he was never able to put the tough-as-nails challenger in danger of being finished. Still, he fought relentlessly, and once again proved himself the rightful owner of the 135-pound crown. His next thrilling victory will likely be in August against currently-sidelined #1-contender Brian Bowles.

For their efforts, both Torres and Mizugaki picked up $10,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. (That’s the best you can do, WEC? Now we know why Miguel wants to chase larger paydays in ill-advised weight classes.) Also taking home the extra 10 G’s were Anthony Njokuani for his Knockout of the Night over Bart Palaszewski, and Rani Yahya for his Submission of the Night (via first-round rear-naked choke) over Eddie Wineland.

WEC 40 bonuses and awards for ‘Torres vs. Mizugaki’

WEC 40: “Torres vs. Mizugaki” from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill., has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.

$10,000 fresh ones each to be precise, which is up $2,500 smackers from the last show.

The Zuffa-owned promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 20 fighters on the card. And it shouldn’t come as a shock whose wallets are leaving the “Windy City” a little heavier.

WEC, unsurprisingly, awarded bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and top-ranked contender Takeya Mizugaki with the “Fight of the Night” for their thrilling back-and-forth five-round 135-pound battle. Both fighters put on gutsy and crowd-pleasing performances, but only one of them could walk away with his hand raised … and that honor went to Torres.

Anthony Njokuani picked up the “Knockout of the Night” for putting numerous stamps on the very tough and typically resilient Bart Palaszewski in their 155-pound clash. And Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya earned “Submission of the Night” for making quick work of Eddie Wineland in preliminary card action.

Here are the special fight bonuses for “Torres vs. Mizugaki:”

Fight of the Night : Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Submission of the Night : Rani Yahya
Knockout of the Night : Anthony Njokuani

Again, each fighter received $10,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible if they are made available. The live Versus event drew 5,257 attendees. Total live gate figures were unavailable at press time.

For complete WEC 40 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.

Miguel Torres post Takeya Mizugaki WEC 40 fight reaction (Video)

WEC 40 Bonuses And Attendance

MMA Weekly has the information on the performance bonuses handed out at WEC 40 from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Performance bonuses were $10,000 each.

Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki received Fight of the Night.
Rani Yahya got Submission of the Night.
Anthony Njokuani got KO of th Night.

Announced attedance was 5,257.

WEC 40 recap and final thoughts for ‘Torres vs Mizugaki’

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) made its first trip ever to Illinois tonight. And an absolute war broke out between main event participants, bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki, at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Mizugaki — a top five 135-pound fighter in the world who took the fight on relatively short notice when Brian Bowles was forced out because of a back injury — did what no man has been able to do in almost exactly four years: Take Miguel Torres the distance.

In fact, Torres revealed that he had never gone five full rounds at anytime in his sparkling career. That says quite a bit about the Japanese import who was also making his debut for the promotion this evening.

Mizugaki made it quite clear early on that he was going to go toe-to-toe with the champion and take his chances standing rather than mess around on the ground with the slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Torres was more than happy to oblige, sticking his jab and stinging Mizugaki from the outside all night long.

Torres was also very effective in close quarters, working the clinch and “dirty boxing” whenever the distance was shortened. He attempted a few leg locks and submission holds here and there, but Mizugaki avoided those attempts like the plague.

Mizugaki cut Torres open in the the third round, which required a stoppage and medical attention. There was a moment there where it looked like the ringside physician was considering whether or not to let Torres continue; however, he smartened up fast and fortunately and the action was allowed to continue.

And boy was it a slugfest — both fighters put it all on the line to the delight of everyone watching.

Mizugaki was throwing with bad intentions, but Torres was just too elusive and could not be pinned down or hurt throughout the entire fight. Torres went on to earn an extremely gritty unanimous decision nod from all three judges.

He deserved it.

But, Mizugaki, too, deserves a ton of credit for doing what he did this evening. And there is no question that we will see more of him soon on Versus … possibly even in a rematch against Torres in the near future.

For now, however, it appears that Torres’ next opponent will be Bowles, pitting the top two 135-pound fighters in the world against each other once and for all. That’s one heck of a match up that, just like tonight, will spark some crazy fireworks.

Can’t wait.

In the co main event, former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber’s protege, Joseph Benavidez, kept his perfect record intact with a very impressive showing against a very dangerous veteran, Jeff Curran, to earn a unanimous decision.

Curran — a former featherweight — was the favorite heading into the 135-pound tilt and was even calling out Torres prior to the fight against Benavidez. It appears that he got a little ahead of himself because he had no answers for Benavidez’ unorthodox and relentless attack.

Benavidez kept Curran off balance all night, pushing the pace and staying in his face for the full 15 minutes. It’s clear that Benavidez has been working diligently alongside Faber to hone his skills — he is very unpredictable and explosive just like the “California Kid.”

While he may not be quite ready for a title shot, Benavidez is certainly ready to challenge the other contenders in the 135-pound division. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.

In other televised action, Shane Roller — known for his outstanding wrestling credentials — showed off his power, drilling Ben Henderson with a big right in the opening seconds of the 155-pound bout. “Smooth” perhaps should have kept the snazzy bifocals on that he wore into the ring — he clearly didn’t see that one coming.

But Henderson had an answer … two of them.

He was able to shake the cob webs, as well as defend a very serious-looking guillotine choke attempt while trapped up against the cage, to reverse Roller and get the fight on equal footing once again.

It didn’t stay that way for very long.

Henderson clipped Roller with a big straight left and followed it up with a looping right, which put Roller on the express train to Queer Street. Roller appeared to go limp and was not defending himself from the barrage of strikes the Henderson was throwing at his face.

The referee had no choice but to jump in and save him.

Roller protested the stoppage, but he appeared to be in serious danger. Talk about a change of fortunes — he appeared to be well on his way to a first round stoppage of his own before Henderson turned the tables.

Great action.

Last but not least, featherweight newcomers Raphael Assuncao and Jameel “The Sergeant” Massouh touched ‘em up in a nice battle to kick-off all the televised action. There was a ton of hype behind Assuncao coming into the match — he’s being talked about as a possible 145-pound title challenger.

He delivered, earning a unanimous decision win.

It wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. Massouh demonstrated a fantastic chin and solid submission defense throughout the entire fight. Assuncao mixed up his attack all night long — strikes, submission attempts, ground and pound. You name it and Assuncao tried it, but it just wasn’t enough to but away the very tough Massouh.

But a win is a win and it will go a long way toward his chances of one day challenging for a title. He’s a fight or two away, meaning that we hopefully get to see him test his skills against other division players such as Wagnney Fabiano or even Benevidez.

Put simply, there are tons of great fights in the featherweight class.

WEC 40 was a solid night of fights when all was said and done. The Torres-Mizugaki fight alone was worth the price of admission. All the other action was just gravy.

For complete WEC 40: “Torres vs. Mizugaki” results click here.

Torres wins barnburner over Mizugaki, keeps WEC belt

Miguel Torres retained his WEC bantamweight championship belt on a much longer fight than anyone expected. Torres won with a unanimous decision, 49-46, 48-47. This was only the third time Torres won by decision, and the first time in a five-round bout. 

Torres came into deafening applause, accompanied by Mexican music. The crowd at the UIC Pavilion stood the second that the Torres’ entrance music began. You almost felt bad for Mizugaki, because the place was so in love with Torres.

Mizugaki was clearly not intimidated by Torres’ presence, or the crowd behind him. He came out swinging, landing some knees and punches early on, and then knocking Torres to the ground. The first round was controlled by Mizugaki.

The second round was more even, but by the third, Torres had a cut over his left eyebrow. After the doctor checked his eye and cleared him to fight, Torres came out with a flurry.

In the fourth round, Torres tried to take Mizugaki to the ground, which drew a round of applause from the pro-Torres crowd. Mizugaki, however, got right back to his feet, and continued the stand-up heavy fight. Torres finished that round well.

By the fifth round, Torres wanted to show off some jiu-jitsu, trying a flying guard. That didn’t garner him much, so he went back to standing and trading. The crowd came to its feet in the final minute of the fight and chanted Torres, trying to will their hometown hero to victory. 

Sun Releases DVD Library on DISH Network

DALLAS, TX–(Marketwire – April 3, 2009) – SUN Sports & Entertainment, Inc. ( PINKSHEETS : SUNR) today announced that its “Art of War” and “Steele Cage” Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) DVD libraries will be distributed by DISH Network, a leading distributor of Pay-Per-View (PPV) and Video-On-Demand (VOD). The agreement was provided by Impulse Media Group, LLC.

The combined MMA Library showcases some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, featuring: Pedro Rizzo, Jeff Monson, Shane Carwin, David Loiseau, Ron Waterman, Luis Arthur Cane, CB Dollaway, Ryan Bader, Jeremy Horn, Rob Kimmons and many other professional MMA Stars.

“We’ve been very successful with producing and distributing Pay-Per-View events, and are very excited about the opportunity to promote the ‘Art of War’ and ‘Steele Cage’ brands both here in America and internationally. We believe these are spectacular events,” said Impulse Media President David Simpkins. “Many times, the reason quality VOD and PPV content goes unseen is due to of the lack of marketing and advertising for those pieces. For every content piece Impulse Media Group, LLC provides, there will be a major, specifically-targeted marketing/advertising campaign on all major social networks: MySpace, Facebook, MiGente, Blackplanet and Twitter.”

SUN President Clyde Gentry III stated, “Branding is a very important initiative for SUN and the relationship with Impulse Media, and DISH Network, allows us to create brand awareness as we ramp up our new live show schedule beginning with the FAME USA series in May 2009. We’ve had repeated requests for licensing our combined library internationally and intend on forging more licensing agreements in the future.”

The non-exclusive DISH license rights will be for all forms of media to include (without limitation), satellite, cable, wire-line and wireless, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV),Pay-Per-View (PPV) and Video-On-Demand (VOD) in the USA, Puerto Rico and in US Virgin Islands.

Bellator Eyes Dayton on May 1st

Dann Stupp, the man behind MMAJunkie, broke some news in his Dayton Daily News column, with information that the Bellator Fighting Championships would bring their

Bellator Fighting Championships, the first mixed-martial-arts organization backed by ESPN, is heading to Dayton for a May 1 show, according to Hara Arena officials.

Bellator made their debut Saturday Night on ESPN Deportes. Deportes currently has a smaller carriage rate, but according to the Sports Business Journal, ESPN may be looking to boost the channels profile in a channel shuufle that would see ESPNU and ESPN Deportes see gains while ESPN Classic is downgraded. This point may be moot however. MMAPayout.com has viewed the investor summary for Bellator and the revenue projections presented are inconsistent with a long term home on Deportes. The initial season on Deportes reads more as a dry run, with a home in the future on ESPN or ESPN2 being probable. Some moves recently by ESPN, namely their moves to embrace the WAMMA rankings, could be read as a branching out of their vision for MMA beyond a strictly UFC view.

Benavidez grabs torch and runs with it with win over Curran

Joe Benavidez showed he wasn’t willing to back down against WEC veteran Jeff Curran and cemented his status as a contender in the bantamweight division, winning by a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28. He was the aggressor early in the fight with kicks and punches. From the beginning, it was clear that Benavidez wanted this to be a stand-up fight, while Curran wanted the fight on the ground.

In the second round, Curran took himself to the ground by missing on a wild punch. Curran tried for Benavidez’s ankle, but Benavidez was too fast for the veteran. Any jiu-jitsu that Curran attempted to practice was thwarted by Benavidez’s celerity. Benavidez ended the round with a flurry of ground and pound.

In the final round, Benavidez took the fight to the ground for a second, taking down Curran with a big inside trip. He then brought Curran back to his feet, traded punches, and then took him down again. Curran again tried for a submission, but had no chance with the young and quick Benavidez. 

Benavidez is still undefeated, while Curran has lost his third straight fight in the WEC. This is his first loss after dropping down to bantamweight. 

WEC 40 Quick Results

(Fred Sanford, bitch. Photo courtesy of the WEC 40 weigh-ins gallery on Combat Lifestyle.)

From tonight’s "Torres vs. Mizugaki" show at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois:

Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnick via unanimous decision
Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision
Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:07 of round 1
Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision
Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez via unanimous decision [fight halted in third round after Lopez took an illegal knee and couldn't continue; match went to the scorecards, with the incomplete third round included]
Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski via TKO, 0:27 of round 2

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