WEC 36: Warriors and FOTY Candidates

Rarely do cards get me as excited as WEC 36. It has two title fights with top 5 title holders (in fact, one is #1 and the other is probably #2), but more important are the great matchups on the card, where we could have three or four Fight of the Year candidates coming off of this card.

Admittedly, I’ve been waiting on this card for a while, for a lot of reasons. The first and foremost is that I’ve been in second in my fantasy league since the kickoff of the season and I’m hoping that the title fight tag team of Filho and Faber can put me in the lead.

More importantly, at least for everybody else, is the return of Paulo Filho to the cage against the man who almost beat him, Chael Sonnen, and Urijah Faber coming off a fight against the only man to take him to a decision in three years (and that’s only going back to his one career loss, not back farther, where there are still no decisions). Filho is looking to reestablish his now questionable dominance and clarify his emotional state while Faber is looking to put his skills on display against a fighter with a solid record that he should easily outclass.

The #2 featherweight in the world, that guy who took Faber to that decision, Jens Pulver, is set to fight Leonard Garcia and again showcase his skills at this weightclass that, while not necessarily new, hasn’t been well publicized. Garcia is looking for an upset that will make him a huge title contender.

Rob McCullough is trying to establish himself for a rematch against Jamie Varner, but he’ll be taking on a fighter with an 8-0 record with 8 submissions. The wrestler against the killer guard game of Donald “the Cowboy” Cerrrone. If this fight hits the ground it may be an exciting fight even for those who don’t care much for the nuances, as both fighters will be working their asses of looking for a finish.

Then we have what seems to be, in my opinion, the most interesting fight on the card: Yoshihiro Maeda vs. Rani Yahya. Yahya is looking for a title fight against Miguel Torres and Maeda is just coming off of his. Maeda made that fight a war and showcased his judo, and Yahya is coming off of back-to-back losses, one to former WEC titleholder Chase Beebe and the other to the ever dangerous Norifumi Yamamoto, who more or less smashed the Brazilian’s face in.

Both of these guys are stellar grapplers and the Judo vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu matchup always proves interesting. It’ll also test both fighter’s striking skills, as well as their ability to groundnpound or escape the groundnpound if they end up on the bottom.

The entire top of this card is phenomenal and will be well worth watching. I hope everybody is as excited about it as I am, or at least that they understand the potential of these fights.