Just four days following a free night of exciting fights on Spike TV, mixed martial arts fans will be treated to even more complimentary action with WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo on the Versus network this Wednesday night.
For years Mike Brown has flown under the radar as an underappreciated competitor, but after two dominant victories over former champion Urijah Faber at WEC 36 and WEC 41, along with an absolute mauling of then top contender Leonard Garcia at WEC 39, Brown has established himself as the top Featherweight fighter in the entire world.
Fresh off his second victory over Faber, Brown will now meet quite possibly the toughest test in his eight year career when he collides with devastating Brazilian striker Jose Aldo.
Aldo is coming off five consecutive TKO victories and is hungry to claim the championship and take Brown’s spot atop the 145-pound mountain.
Also on the main card, Leonard Garcia looks to continue his road back into the top contender spot of the featherweight division, as Manny Gamburyan stands in his way.
Two lightweight match ups round out the main card, as Shane Roller takes on Danny Castillo, and “Razor” Rob McCullough looks to slice his way through WEC-newcomer Karen Darabedyan.
Let’s preview the main card.
WEC Featherweight title
Mike Brown vs. Jose Aldo
A product of American Top Team, Brown’s strengths lie in his explosive wrestling ability and powerful boxing. After spending most of his career competing at 155-pounds, Brown dropped down to Featherweight a few years ago and has since had a considerable size and strength advantage over all of his opponents.
While Brown undoubtedly has the power edge over his opponent, Aldo is much more dangerous on his feet and on the ground than the current champion.
Aldo is comparable to a Featherweight version of UFC Middleweight champ Anderson Silva, a 145-pound killing machine with devastating Muay Thai and world-class Jiu-Jitsu.
If Brown is able to control the pace with his wrestling and push Aldo to the championship rounds he could pull off a decision victory to successfully defend his belt.
Otherwise Aldo will pick the champ apart with Bruce Lee-esque striking en route to a stunning TKO victory in the first or second round.
Jose Aldo by first round (T)KO
Manny Gamburyan vs. Leonard Garcia
Nicknamed “The Pitbull”, Gamburyan is a freakishly strong Judo specialist much like his cousin Karo “The Heat” Parisyan. If Gamburyan can take this fight to the ground and keep it there then he will have his hand raised at the end and will have made a huge step up the divisional rankings.
The problem with that is that while Gamburyan is world renowned for his grappling ability, he is also known for his mediocre stand up. Against a heavy-handed striker like Garcia, Gamburyan will be at a huge disadvantage on the feet.
If Garcia can implement a sprawl n’ brawl game plan and effectively keep this fight standing up, expect to see the knockout of the night courtesy of the “Bad Boy”.
Leonard Garcia by second round (T)KO
Karen Darabedyan vs. Rob McCullough
WEC newcomer Darabedyan will have the opportunity to go from a relatively unknown fighter to a top contender as he battles former champion, “Razor” Rob McCullough.
Darabedyan is a training partner of Gamburyan and Parisyan, and he holds a black belt in Judo. He is also an accomplished amateur boxer with tremendous knockout power as evidenced in his recent KO victory over Estevan Payan at the Bellator Fighting Championships.
WEC fans remember a time when “Razor” Rob was the most feared striker in the division but sadly those days are over. McCullough has lacked the killer instinct in his recent outings and although is still proven to be an excellent kick-boxer, he is not as well rounded as his debuting opponent.
Expect Darabedyan to hold his own on the feet before viciously taking McCullough down and choking him out.
Karen Darabedyan by second round submission
Danny Castillo vs. Shane Roller
This is a battle between two elite wrestlers that quite possibly could turn out to be an all-out slugfest and the fight of the night. If their wrestling cancels each other out, the fight will take place on the feet where Castillo will have a slight advantage over his Team Takedown adversary.
On the contrary, Roller—a former Big 12 NCAA Wrestling champion—is the more accomplished grappler of the two. If Roller can dictate where the fight takes place and control the action, he could pull off the victory by either finishing Castillo or grinding out a unanimous decision.
Castillo showed excellent takedown defense in his last bout against another world class wrestler—Ricardo Lamas—so he should be able to negate Roller’s shot and win the fight with his powerful striking.
Danny Castillo by third round (T)KO
WEC 44 is live on Versus this Wednesday. Stay tuned to Inside Fights and our partner Fox Sports for breaking news and results from the WEC’s Nov. 18 card.
