WEC 40: "Torres vs. Mizugaki" — the promotion’s first trip to the "Windy City" — will take place tonight (April 5) live from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The main card will air live on the Versus network, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Featured in the main event of the evening will be 135-pound champion and Chicago-area native, Miguel Torres, defending his world title for the third time in the WEC cage against Japanese newcomer, Takeya Mizugaki.
As always, MMAmania.com will provide detailed coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 9 p.m. ET telecast on Versus. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 7:00 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the Versus telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after WEC 40.
Without further delay, see below for the latest WEC 40 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest fight updates!)
WEC 40 QUICK RESULTS:
WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres defeats Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision
Joseph Benavidez defeats Jeff Curran via unanimous decision
Ben "Smooth" Henderson defeats Shane Roller via technical knockout (strikes) at 1:41 of round one
Raphael Assuncao defeats Jameel "The Sergeant" Massouh via unanimous decision
Anthony Njokuani defeats Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:27 of round two
Dominick Cruz defeats Ivan Lopez via unanimous decision
Wagnney Fabiano defeats Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision
Rani Yahya defeats Eddie Wineland via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of round one
Akitoshi "Ironman" Tamura defeats Manny "The Mangler" Tapia via unanimous decision
Rafael Dias defeats Mike Budnik via unanimous decision
WEC 40 MAIN CARD FIGHT COVERAGE:
WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (35-1) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (11-2-2)
Fight recap:
Round 1: Mizugaki came out stalking the champ and landed some nice shots before Torres answered with hard left hook, right hand combo. Torres started working the jab more, but Mizugaki stayed very aggressive with hard, power shots and continued to win the exchanges. Torres locked the challenger in a Muay Thai clinch and started working the knees, but Mizugaki slammed him hard to the mat to break the clinch. Torres bounced right back up and started landing a few more punches of his own. Mizugaki again came forward right at Torres, pushing him against the cage and initiating a momentary clinch. After separating, Torres took the center of the cage and started working some kicks along with more punching combinations. An extremely tough Mizugaki, however, never seemed to let up. He ended the round with another hard flurry, and clearly stole the first frame from the hometown champion. Looks like we have a fight on our hands here.
Round 2: More back pedaling from Torres to start the round. Mizugaki continues to stalk him. Torres fired with a big flurry, but fell to his back because he was backing up. Mizugaki let him right back up and after a a few seconds Torres fired with another flurry. Mizugaki was forced to clinch for a second, but punched out. The two fighters continued to go toe to toe in the center of the cage for a while longer before Torres looked to have Mizugaki wobbly a few times. Torres again initiated a Thai clinch and he pushed the challenger against the cage, landing knees and strikes. After separating, Torres lost his mouth piece and the action was stopped for a second for him to put it back in. After restarting, Torres again grabbed the Japanese fighter in a clinch and closed out the round landing more knees and strikes. Much closer round than the first. Through two, it's probably one to one.
Round 3: Torres worked the leg kicks to start the round, and continued to try and avoid Mizugaki's power combos. Another clinch from the champ allows him to do a little bit more damage with some knees. After separating, Torres started really stalking the challenger, who looked to be wearing down. A cut on the champ's forehead led to a small break in the action while the cageside doctors examined the situation. After getting the okay, Torres continued to stalk and wear down the challenger. Like a machine, the champ just kept coming forward, but Mizugaki held his ground and kept inflicting damage of his own on Torres as well. The round came to an end with Mizugaki missing on a wild punch attempt and Torres staring him down as he walked back to his corner. That was another close round for the champ.
Round 4: The challenger came out stalking in round four, landing more hard strikes on the champion. Torres shot for a takedown, but ended up pulling guard. However, he couldn't hold onto the slippery Mizugaki, and the Japanese fighter easily got back to his feet, much to the delight of his corner. Torres went back to the clinch on the feet, landing more knees, punches and elbows from there. Mizugaki attempted some knees of his own, but seemed to be wearing down, while the champ was gaining momentum and energy. Torres continued to pin Mizugaki against the cage and eventually tried a submission attempt which led to them separating. They stood toe to toe from there to close out the round with Mizugaki eating some hard kicks and punches. Torres probably won that round too and at this point should be ahead by a decent margin even though this is a very competitive fight.
Round 5: A bloody champion comes out for round five and both guys look to have found some extra energy. After a brief clinch Torres backed the challenger against the cage and land a nasty combination of punches. Somehow the Japanese fighter took the punishment and stayed on his feet. In the clinch, Torres worked more punches, knees and elbows before Mizugaki pushed out. Torres slipped to the mat momentarily after trying a wild kick. More big exchanges followed, and they went right back to the clinch with Mizugaki's back against the fence. Mizugaki pushes out again and Torres tries to pull guard unsuccessfully. Nice body shot, head shot combinations led to another tie up with Mizugaki eating strikes. With about thirty seconds to go, Mizugaki urged Torres to exchange with him and the champ abliged, bringing a great main event fight to an end. Mizugaki made a name for himself tonight taking Torres the distance, but the champ will retain his title in this one.
Final result: WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres defeats Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision
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Jeff Curran (29-10-1) vs. Joseph Benavidez (9-0)
Fight recap:
Round 1: The fighters exchanged leg kicks and punches early on, with both landing some hard shots and missing on others. After a brief clinch they separate with a Jeff Curran left hook. Benavidez answers a few seconds later with a hard uppercut, but Curran just shrugged it off. Curran landed a big right hand while Benavidez was attempting some kick of jumping move. Benavidez went right to the clinch and recovered from the punch from there. After a lull, Curran swings and misses on huges punch and momentarily slips. Back to the center of the cage, and Benavidez lands a nasty uppercut. Not long after, Benavidez exploded with another damaging flurry and Curran ended up on his back. Benavidez took the top position and worked some ground and pound before standing up and landing kicks to a grounded Curran's legs to end the round. Close round. The action at the end from Benavidez certainly may have swayed the judges towards giving him that round. But again, real close.
Round 2: Curran took the center of the cage to start round two. Benavidez missed a couple times with some kicks before eating a few from Curran and momentarily getting shoved to the mat. After a nice exchange in the center of the cage, Benavidez ended up getting a takedown and landing in Curran's full guard. Benavidez worked more ground and pound from there, but Curran was able to get back to his feet when Benavidez tried to stand. Back on their feet and there's an exchange. Benavidez shot for a takedown, but Curran ended up pulling guard looking for a guillotine. Benavidez escaped the choke as well as a few other submission attempts before attempting a guillotine of his own. Curran escaped pretty easily and the round ended similarly to round one with Benavidez on top working the ground and pound. Another close round. Benavidez's round probably.
Round 3: Nice combinations and exchanges from both fighters to start round three of a very close fight. Benavidez got his leg trapped on a body kick attempt and tried a spinning back fist only to eat a high kick from Curran in a nice exchange. After some more circling and kick boxing, Benavidez shot for and got another takedown. He worked the ground and pound from there with Curran against the fence for a few seconds before Curran was able to work back to his feet. Curran took the center of the cage again, but was still eating punches and kicks from Benavidez. Curran then shot in for a takedown of his own, picking Benavidez up and slamming him to the mat. Benavidez right away got back to his feet and got another takedown of his own landing on top of Curran. More ground and pound followed from there. Curran tried to secure a couple late submissions, but was unsuccessful. The final bell came with Benavidez landing more ground and pound. Another close round in a very close fight. I give the edge to Benavidez though. He had an answer for everything Curran did. He scored more takedowns, and he won a lot of the stand up exchanges.
Final result: Joseph Benavidez defeats Jeff Curran via unanimous decision
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Shane Roller (5-1) vs. Ben "Smooth" Henderson (8-1)
Fight recap:
Round 1: Henderson took the center of the cage and started stalking Roller right away with jabs and kicks. After dodging a few of those strikes, Roller exploded with a combination that put Henderson on his butt. Roller pounced and locked in his signature guillotine choke, but somehow Henderson escaped and got back to his feet. After a clinch Smooth came with a flurry of hard, quick strikes that hurt Roller and put him on his ass this time. Henderson wasted no time trying to finish and it wasn't long before the referee was forced to call a stop to the onslaught. A very impressive turnaround win for Ben Henderson.
Final result: Ben "Smooth" Henderson defeats Shane Roller via technical knockout (strikes) at 1:41 of round one
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Raphael Assuncao (12-1) vs. Jameel "The Sergeant" Massouh (20-4)
Fight recap:
Round 1: After a feeling out process Massouh appeared to land a big left hand that floored Assuncao, but after seeing the replay Assuncao just slipped on the mat. He got back to his feet and ended up dropping Massouh with a big right hand of his own. Assuncao worked the ground and pound from the top position for a while, standing and dropping big bombs to a grounded Massouh numerous times. After a scramble from Massouh, they got back to their feet and exchanged some leg kicks. More right hands and leg kicks followed from Assuncao. A hard right hand put Massouh on the mat with about 20 seconds left and the round ended with Assuncao locking in a guillotine choke, but Massouh was saved by the bell. Definitely Assuncao's round.
Round 2: More big punches from Assuncao to start the round. Massouh countered with a hard body kick, but he was having a hard time keeping up with Massouh on the feet. More big combos came from Assuncao, followed by a nice methodical takedown. Once on the mat, he attempted another guillotine submission from the north south choke, but Massouh defended and escaped and worked back to his feet. After a brief clinch they separated and Assuncao landed a hard leg kick that wobbled Massouh. Again Assuncao landed a nasty leg kick, this time backing it up with a hard overhand right. Massouh tried to answer with a high kick, but ended up on his back with Assuncao on top of him. More hard ground and pound from Assuncao brought the round to an end. Another clear cut round for Assuncao.
Round 3: Assuncao came out for round three and attempted a high kick, but had it blocked by the much taller Massouh. He continued to work the leg kicks, mixing him more hard right hand, left hand combos. Assuncao eventually took the tired and battered Massouh to the mat, landing him half guard. He quickly took a full mount. After giving up his back momentarily, Massouh reversed to take the top position. From there he worked some nice ground and pound for a few seconds before Assuncao scrambled back to his feet. Immediately Assuncao put his opponent back on the mat, again landing in half guard. He worked some elbows and strikes from there. For a second Massouh gave up his back and it looked like Assuncao might get the finish, but a resilient Massouh fought his way back to his feet and made the final bell. Another round for Assuncao, who will definitely win this decision.
Final result: Raphael Assuncao defeats Jameel "The Sergeant" Massouh via unanimous decision
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