After dropping a unanimous decision loss in an interim lightweight
title fight at WEC 43, Donald Cerrone came back strong with a
submission victory over Ed Ratcliff at WEC 45 on Saturday night in
Las Vegas.
The first two rounds featured several nice combinations from
each fighter, and some not-so-pretty knees to the groin of
Ratcliff, courtesy of Cerrone. Cerrone did manage to control the
early portion of the bout as well.
He seemed to be on cruise-control the first two rounds, but
really turned it on in the third after being penalized two points
by referee Herb Dean after several violations of the rules.
Cerrone managed to control Ratcliff on the ground, 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, IFL standout Chris Horodecki
lost his WEC debut to Anthony Njokuani.
Horodecki struggled with the length and size of Njokuani 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 him as he was floored by a big
kick. Njokunai moved in for the kill and finished off his prey when
Steve Mazagatti decided he had taken enough damage.
Earlier, Joseph Benavidez defeated jiujitsu ace Rani Yahya by
TKO.
Following some small exchanges, Benavidez caught Yahya
square, sending him 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 dominated most of the bout to walk away with a
unanimous decision victory and take another step toward the title
shot he has long wanted.
