After dropping a unanimous decision loss to Benson Henderson in an interim title fight at WEC 43, Donald Cerrone came back strong with a submission victory over Ed Ratcliff at WEC 45 Saturday night.
The first two rounds featured several nice combinations from each fighter, and some not-so-pretty knees to the groin of Ratcliff, courtesy of Donald Cerrone. Yet Cerrone managed to dictate most of the fight for the first couple rounds.
Cerrone seemed on cruise-control the first two rounds, but really turned it on against “9mm” in the third round after being penalized two points by Herb Dean after several violations of the rules.
“The Cowboy” managed to control Ratcliff on the ground completely, throwing on strange submission attempts after taking his opponent’s back. The fight went back to the feet, but was quickly sent back to the floor where Cerrone locked in a rear naked choke to finish the fight.
In another lightweight bout, Anthony Njokuani welcomed former IFL standout Chris Horodecki to the WEC in a bout that was not likely going to require the work of the judges.
Horodecki struggled with the length and size Njokuani had on him and was unable to effectively get inside to utilize his boxing. Horodecki did not seem frustrated and seemed to be calm as the two engaged in another exchange.
Horodecki broke away from the small scuffle and turned his back to Njokuani. The error cost “The Polish Hammer”, who caught a bomb from Njokuani with a kick that floored Horodecki. Njokunai moved in for the kill and finished off his prey when Steve Mazagatti decided he had taken enough damage.
From one knockout to another, Joseph Benavidez did battle against jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya, in a bout that ended with some absolutely brutal ground and pound.
Following some small exchanges, Benavidez caught Yahya square, sending the submission wizard to the ground. Benavidez dove into Yahya’s guard and continued the onslaught, leading to a stoppage early in the first round.
The only bantamweight bout on the main card was a war between Takeya Mizuagaki and Scott Jorgensen. Each fighter entered the bout coming off big wins, but Jorgensen was the only one to continue that streak.
Jorgensen managed to control the fight for two and one-half rounds, while Mizugaki really only controlled the end of the third round and some other very small points of the fight. Jorgensen walked away with a unanimous decision victory and took another step towards the title shot he has long awaited.
