WEC 53 recap: Pettis lands flying ninja kick and wins belt in classic, Cruz dominates, Horodecki gets submitted

By Mike Johnston

The World Extreme Cagefighting ship has finally sailed as WEC 53 is over and there will never be another WEC event again. The promotion’s farewell saw Dominick Cruz retain his bantamweight title, Canadian Chris Horodecki take on Donald Cerrone, and Anthony Pettis become the final WEC Lightweight Champion in the organization’s history. It also saw one of the best moves to ever land in a mixed martial arts bout

London Ontario’s Chris Horodecki became the last ever Canadian to compete in the WEC, but fell short against perennial contender Donald Cerrone. Horodecki was submitted in the second round with a triangle choke. Cerrone had the choke locked in for a long time but Horodecki defended it well until Cerrone tightened it and forced the tap. With the loss, it is unclear whether or not Horodecki will get a shot at the UFC, but if he does it will likely come at UFC 129 in Toronto.

In the main event, Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis went to war for five rounds in a fight that saw perhaps the greatest move ever land in a mixed martial arts bout. Pettis won a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46), but that was overshadowed by a highlight-real kick he landed in the final minute of the final round of the final WEC fight. Pettis ran up the side of the cage wall and landed a flying roundhouse kick that dropped Henderson. Although he didn’t finish Henderson, it sealed the victory for Pettis who also earned a UFC title shot against the winner of UFC 125’s Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard.

The co-main event saw Dominick Cruz dominate top contender Scott Jorgensen to defend his WEC Bantamweight Championship and become the first ever UFC Bantamweight Champion. In all five rounds Cruz used his incomparable footwork, precision punching, excellent leg kicks, and knee-tap takedowns to control the action for 25 minutes. The win cemented Cruz as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts today.

Also on the main card, Kamal Shalorus defeated Bart Palaszewski by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) in a lightweight bout. Shalorus used his wrestling and powerful strikes to overcome Palaszewski’s more precise striking. Shalorus was also able to mix in takedowns to secure the victory. The win improves Shalorus’ record to 7-0-2. He should be a handful for any UFC lightweight.

The event was seen live in Canada on The Score. MAIN CARD




Anthony Pettis def. champ Benson Henderson via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) - claims WEC featherweight title

Champ Dominick Cruz def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) - defends WEC title and becomes first-ever UFC bantamweight champ

Donald Cerrone def. Chris Horodecki via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 2:43

Kamal Shalorus def. Bart Palaszewski via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD



Danny Downes def. Tiequan Zhang via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Shane Roller def. Jamie Varner via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:55

Brad Pickett def. Ivan Menjivar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Eddie Wineland def. Ken Stone via knockout (slam) - Round 1, 2:11

Danny Castillo def. Will Kerr via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 1:25

Yuri Alcantara def. Ricardo Lamas via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 3:26

Renan Barao def. Chris Cariaso via submission via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:47
 
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