WEC 48 Preview – Urijah Faber Vs. Jose Aldo
On Versus, Jose Aldo vs. Uriah Faber is a hot show. On PPV, it’s even bigger. WEC’s much talked about transition into PPV has been talked about before, with Urijah Faber and Mike Brown as the main event being the first time I’d heard it discussed. The timing is interesting because this show follows UFC 112 and Strikeforce: Nashville in the previous weeks, and those were bad shows. Will the bad recent momentum hurt WEC or will fans buy out of clamoring to see some great fights?
My FGB brothers and I, as well as Stevie J from Angrymarks.com, are here to give our predictions on the top two fights.
Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson
Duan: Cerrone by 3rd round submission
Alan: Cerrone by 2nd round TKO
Stevie J: Henderson by decision
Cactus Jim: Cerrone by 4th round submission
GG: Cerrone by decision
Duan says:
The Cowboy was been desperately unlucky in his two previous title challenges. This has to be his night.
Alan says:
Hmmmm, could probably use that coin for this one too. I think Cerrone will take it but it really could go either way. I just think that he’s going to be so hungry after his two previous misses at the title that he’ll come out firing and be too much for Ben. However Ben has ridiculous heart and physical endurance so it wouldn’t shock me if we got a repeat of the first fight either.
Stevie J says:
A lot of MMA fans and writers list their last fight as one of the best in all of 2009. As GG and I discussed on the last AMP, this one was so close it was easy to call it for either man and not be mad about it, although I was surprised to learn we had both picked Cerrone even though Henderson got the nod and won the interim lightweight title. His submission win over Jamie Varner unified the title and proved he deserves to be recognized as a top guy in the sport. There’s a lot to like about ‘The Cowboy’ though – he’s been a lot of wars and has won Fight of the Night honors four times in WEC – FOUR times. Just like their last fight, I expect Cerrone to put it on him and leave nothing but his hat outside the cage, but (once again reluctantly) I think Henderson has come into his own since becoming the champ and I don’t think he’s going to relinquish the title so soon. Five rounds, Henderson gets the unanimous decision, although it will be on cards of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.
Cactus Jim says:
I think that Cerrone will take Henderson by submission in the 4th. The last fight was incredible, so I’m trying to keep my expectations in check. I think this time around that Henderson will still get the takedowns, but I can’t see him surviving all the submission attempts again.
GG says:
This was probably my second favorite fight of 2009. I had Cerrone winning 3-2 based on giving him the first round, which was the swing round on just about every card. You can’t go wrong with either guy. It’s the wrestling of Henderson vs. Cerrone’s kickboxing and submissions. Because I see there being a third fight between these two, I’m taking Cerrone in a decision this time around.
Urijah Faber vs. Jose Aldo
Duan: Aldo by 2nd round TKO
Alan: Faber by decision
Stevie J: Aldo by 3rd round TKO
Cactus Jim: Aldo by 4th round TKO
GG: Aldo by 4th round TKO
Duan says:
Faber was just out-matched physically against Mike Thomas Brown, and I think he’s going to run into the same problem with Aldo.
Alan says:
Wow, so hard to call. The only question mark here to me is how Aldo responds when he’s in trouble. We don’t know, because we’ve never seen him in trouble. Faber is really good though, really REALLY good. If there’s only one person in the world at 145 that can hurt Aldo, it’s Urijah. I think that if this turns into a long dramatic fight, Faber has the experience to eek it out. However it’s just as likely that the scary firepower we’ve seen from Aldo in his last few fights will be prevalent here too and he’ll blow out Urijah in the first 90 seconds. Might as well toss a coin on this one, but I’m gonna say that we get the long back and forth war and Urijah gets the split decision.
Stevie J says:
I go into this one admitting my record picking fights lately has been less than stellar, and this fight is so close in my mind that it’s not any easier to get this one right since it could go either way very easily. Jose Aldo is faster than greased lightning and absolutely devastating with his striking. Faber is small for a featherweight (and how odd is that sentence) but at one time his streak of five straight title defenses put him at the top of the “pound for pound” list in all of MMA. The thing I like most about Faber is his heart – when he’s winning he’s relentless and when he’s losing he never quits – he gives it everything he’s got in every second of a fight. Aldo’s had so many quick stoppages I’m not sure his heart has been tested, but you can’t use that to take away the fact he’s dominated (some would say terrorized) 145 since arriving in WEC. I love Faber, and nothing would make me happier than getting this prediction wrong too… but I see Aldo forcing the ref to call a TKO in the third round.
Cactus Jim says:
I’m going with Aldo in the 3rd by TKO. I think he’ll set the pace and will overwhelm Faber with his speed. Both of these fights should be very competitive and I can see them going either way.
GG says:
I really enjoy watching Urijah Faber fight. Few can hype a building up like Faber can hype up Arco Arena. That thing is going to be jumping. I think he’ll give Aldo a lot, but Aldo is one of the few WEC guys who I think can step into the UFC right now and be really competitive. The one thing that hasn’t been tested yet is his heart. If Faber is able to get this thing late into the rounds, it could switch to his favor. However, I think Aldo still wins. I’m really excited for this one.
We’ll have live play by play of this show on Saturday.
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