Issue 094
November 2012
Even before it was absorbed into the UFC, the World Extreme Cagefighting brand was seen as a guarantee of quality by MMA fans. Here’s just a handful of the superstars of the blue canvas
About
Dominick Cruz
American bantamweight supremo.
Urijah Faber
‘The California Kid’ was the long-time face of the WEC.
Miguel Torres
Former WEC bantamweight champion.
Jose Aldo
In the top three of any respectable pound-for-pound list.
Anthony Pettis
Final WEC lightweight belt holder.
Carlos Condit
‘The Natural Born Killer’ is the final WEC welterweight king.
Paulo Filho
Pride vet who ruled in the days when the WEC had a middleweight division
Known For
Dominick Cruz
His speed and movement make him almost unhittable at times.
Urijah Faber
Unconventional striker and founder of Team Alpha Male.
Miguel Torres
Slick submissions and a superb mullet.
Jose Aldo
Solid punching and killer knees make him one of the most exciting fighters on the planet.
Anthony Pettis
Classy kickboxer trained by the legendary Duke Roufus.
Carlos Condit
All-rounder fighting out of Jackson’s MMA.
Paulo Filho
Brazilian with black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu.
Won Belt
Dominick Cruz
The doctor intervened to end his contest with Brian Bowles at WEC 47.
Urijah Faber
Stopped Cole Escovedo way back at WEC 19 in March 2006.
Miguel Torres
A first-round guillotine saw off Chase Beebe at WEC 32.
Jose Aldo
The featherweight bombed out Mike Brown at WEC 44.
Anthony Pettis
Dethroned Benson Henderson at WEC 53, the last WEC event.
Carlos Condit
Took the vacant title with a rear naked choke win over John Alessio at WEC 26.
Paulo Filho
Scored first-round TKO of Joe Doerksen to snatch the vacant title at WEC 29.
Highlight
Dominick Cruz
Cruz had to dig deep to retain his title in a thriller that went the distance against Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50.
Urijah Faber
His five-round war with Jens Pulver in 2008 was action packed from start to finish.
Miguel Torres
Battered Yoshiro Maeda to claim a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus at WEC 34.
Jose Aldo
Kicked Urijah Faber’s legs to pieces in his first defense; the biggest fight in WEC history.
Anthony Pettis
In the fifth round, at WEC 53, he bounced off the cage ninja style to unleash the ‘Showtime kick’ – a move that almost made the Internet explode.
Carlos Condit
His fourth-round TKO of Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 35.
Paulo Filho
His armbar on Chael Sonnen at WEC 31 had the American yelling in pain. The referee controversially took this as a verbal submission and waved it off.
Post WEC
Dominick Cruz
The crossover UFC champion is currently on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
Urijah Faber
The emergence of José Aldo forced him down to 135lb. Recently came up short in his interim title shot against Renan Barao.
Miguel Torres
Patchy form and some unsavory Twitter comments have meant his transition to the UFC has been less than smooth.
Jose Aldo
The euphoria generated by his UFC 142 demolition of Chad Mendes in Rio confirmed his superstar status.
Anthony Pettis
UFC title shot was delayed by the Edgar-Maynard saga, and a setback loss against Clay Guida on his debut.
Carlos Condit
Currently UFC interim champion, Condit is seen as a credible threat to king Georges St Pierre.
Paulo Filho
Filho was not picked up by the UFC after the merger. He has since drifted around various promotions and flirted with retirement.
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