Condit, Varner Defend, Cantwell Takes Lame Duck Title

“Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit (23-4) can take his WEC welterweight title defense over Hiromitsu Miura (9-5) in Las Vegas Sunday night one of two ways.

At 4:43 of round four, Condit touched – and, maybe that’s all too literal of a description – Miura with a knee to the noggin.

Miura’s body and heart gave in to a brutal back-and-forth battle.  He dove for Condit’s ankle, and that was it.  He had nothing left.

Several times, Condit could’ve similarly surrendered on the receiving end of clean punches from the one-time middleweight, but didn’t.

That’s why Condit is a champion and Miura isn’t, both tonight and in general.

However, before the fight Condit made clear that he didn’t feel like Miura should be on the other side of the cage from him.

Isn’t that always the preface to a brutal back-and-forth battle?

Condit sits on the precipice of the welterweight top ten; and, now, Miura sits on a 9-5 record.

Condit was dumped on the mat thrice in the first round alone, swept from the mount consistently, and tagged with clean power shots from Miura.

Should Miura have been such a challenge?  Untested at the top of the division, Condit’s “W” only exposed how far the rising star has to go.

“All American” Brian Stann (6-1) has still farther.

Stann didn’t so much collapse at the end of any particular strike from Steve Cantwell (6-1) as collapse at the end of all of them.

Cantwell won the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship by TKO at 4:01 of round two when Stann fell face first into the mat.

Both fighters were gassed at the second round’s opening bell after a first session fought in scintillating spurts and won by Stann on all three judges’ scored cards.

Cantwell sustained the pressure with a mixed bag of fists, knees, and feet while Stann withered.

Cantwell’s win was revenge for a 2007 TKO loss to Stann, but may be for naught as the WEC will knockout its 205-pound division before the end of this year.

Fighters.com speculates that the next time Stann fights it’ll be in the UFC’s middleweight division.

WEC Lightweight Champion “Worm” Jamie Varner (15-2) looked like he got hit by…well, a “Wrecking Ball” after a minute in the cage with Marcus Hicks (8-1).

Varner was slammed twice, nearly tapped in Hicks’s bread-and-butter guillotine, and couldn’t get a beat on the 5’7″ brawler standing-up.

“He kept taking me down.  I’ve never been taken down like that in MMA before,” Varner admitted after the fight.

But, one minute was about how long it took Varner to find his range.

Once Varner rattled Hicks with a knee as Hicks shot to dump Varner, it was all “Worm” digging holes in Hicks’s skull.

Varner unloaded a barrage that Hicks seemed to walk through until the final onslaught beginning with two knees square on Hicks’s jaw and three straight rights that finally left Hicks limp on the mat at 2:08 of round one.

“I’m sure I’ll see [Hicks] again,” Varner said after the TKO title defense.

Bantamweight Brian Bowles (6-0) fell “Angel of Death” Damacio Page (10-4) at 3:30 of round one in a guillotine choke cinched as Page hoisted Bowles for a slam.

Page stumbled with Bowles monkeyed around him holding the submission before rocking backwards and collapsing as he tapped out.

The fighters had exchanged evenly to begin the fight, Page taking his advantage standing while Bowles had nearly locked a guillotine on the mat early in the round.

“Fluke” Josh Grispi (9-1) tagged Micah Miller (9-2) with an overhand right to Miller’s temple that spiraled Miller to the mat.  Grispi closed the show with a pair of rights before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight at :50 of round one.

Brock Larson (23-2-1) slobberknocked Carlo Prater (23-6-1) with a straight left and finished him off on the mat at :37 of round one.

Las Vegas favorite Blas Avena (3-2) wheeled lefts and rights at the cage, dropping opponent Dave Terrel (5-2), then leaving him slumped and eating clean shots until the referee stoppage 1:07 of the first round.

Lightweight Shane Roller (4-1) finally locked in a guillotine choke on his third attempt at 3:00 of the first round to tap “Maniac” Todd Moore (9-2).

Lightweight Mike Budnik (7-0) tapped Greg McIntyre (5-3) by triangle choke at 3:21 of round three.

Bantamweight Scott Jorgensen (5-2) won a unanimous decision over Kenji Osawa (13-8-2).