Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yahya WEC fight booked for Hard Rock

by James Iannotti on Aug 20, 2008 9:01 PM EDT

Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yahya WEC fight
A solid bantamweight fight between Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2) and Rani Yahya (12-4) was announced by the WEC today for its at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on September 10.

We all remember Maeda from his three round war against division kingpin Miguel Torres at WEC 34 in June. Unfortunately for the Japanese fighter, he wasn't able to answer the bell for the fourth round because of a doctor's stoppage.

But he was able to open a lot of eyes with the way he went toe-to-toe with the champ, who is widely considered to be a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It's a step up in competition for anyone when they face Torres, and Maeda was ready for the challenge.

However, he can't expect a huge drop off in talent when he faces Rani Yahya. Obviously, the 23-year-old Brazilian has a long way to go in his development as a complete mixed martial artist, but the kid is a submission whiz, boasting 10 wins by way of tapout.

Yahya has won one and lost one while fighting in the WEC. His win was a a first round submission (rear naked choke) over Mark Hominick (16-8) at WEC 28 in June of last year. His loss was a unanimous decision to former champion Chase Beebe (11-3) at WEC 30 last September.

The 135 pounders are always exciting to watch. The WEC has done a nice job introducing them to the main stage of the mixed martial arts world. This fight is a very nice addition to an already promising show.

WEC 36 features a main event featherweight title fight between champion, Urijah Faber and challenger Mike Brown. The highly anticipated rematch between middleweight champion Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen is also set for this card. Throw in two other high profile fights (Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia and Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone) and the WEC has another can't miss event set for mid September.

To check out the most recent WEC 36 fight card, which was today all but confirmed, click here.

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Good fight but I don’t think Yahya will last with Maeda if he comes out like he did against Torres

by sbud on Aug 20, 2008 9:10 PM EDT reply actions

“Unfortunately for the Japanese fighter, he wasn’t able to answer the bell for the fourth round because of a doctor’s stoppage.

But he was able to open a lot of eyes with the way he went toe-to-toe with the champ"

HOWEVER, he was unable to open HIS OWN eye after 3 rounds with Torres!

I do beleive that Chase Beebe would have probably gotten this fight with Maeda, but he lost in June to Will Ribiero.

by ViolentMike on Aug 21, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions

this is definently gonna be an exciting one, but maeda has the edge, yahya is one dimentional unless he has improved his standup game

by mitt romney on Aug 20, 2008 9:36 PM EDT reply actions

In my opinion, this is a waste of a fight. Maeda vs. Beebe would have been better. Yahya being one dimensional will probably take a lot away from Maeda’s potential for a performance.

by UFCAddict on Aug 20, 2008 9:51 PM EDT reply actions

i think cerrones first name is donald, but i could be wrong. might be doug. i think maeda will do very well against yahya. yahya’s way too one dimensional. i expect someone with standup like yahyas to expose that harshly

by medecine balls on Aug 20, 2008 9:56 PM EDT reply actions

stand-up like maedas*

by medecine balls on Aug 21, 2008 3:01 AM EDT up reply actions

It’s cool to see how Torres has seemed to “come out of nowhere” this year to be considered one of the top 10 P4P fighters. The first time I saw him fight I wondered why he wasn’t more popular. I can’t say that now. Beebe might be a better opponent for Maeda. I really appreciate the WEC.

by Muscle Dolphin on Aug 20, 2008 10:48 PM EDT reply actions

totally am aware that this is off topic, but i had to ask.. DOES anyone know why their is so much hype behind the UFC 90 cote anderson?? not that im complaining but i haven’t seen the press conference for the liddel/ rashad or leben/ bisping .. and they already had it in chicago for anderson vs cote… does anyone know why the big jump??

by Ricky on Aug 20, 2008 10:55 PM EDT reply actions