Condit remains WEC champ

In front of a jammed packed Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vega, CarlosCondit defended his WEC welterweight title in an absolute war with Hiromitsu Miura.

The first round was full of action as both fighters traded some serious leather, but withstood the others onslaught. On several occasions Miura used his size to toss Condit, but the champion was able to reverse and control the remainder of the round with better ground control. The second round was much of the same as Miura continued to tag Condit on the feet with hard crisp combinations. As the fight hit the ground, Condit was able to control the round with better ground positioning, mounting Miura and working for submissions and strikes.

The third was much of the same, but Miura was able to reverse Condit on this occasion and started to drop some huge bombs that seemed to have Condit hurt on several occasions. They made it back to their feet and Condit was able to wrestle it the ground, mounting Miura again as the round came to a close.

Again, the two fighters came out swinging leather to start the fourth with Miura getting the better of the exchanges as he took the fight to the ground, where he proceeded to drop some heavy bombs before being reversed and mounted by Condit again. After some struggling, Miura reversed position and started to drop heavy-handed punches that again looked to have Condit hurt. They got back to their feet and Condit landed a big knee that dropped Miura, who was done as Condit landed a handful of strikes before the fight was stopped at 4:01 of the fourth round.

Steve Cantwell avenged his loss to Brian Stann, stopping the WEC light heavyweight champion with strikes to become the new titleholder. These two traded shots from the onset with both fighters landing strikes at will, but as the fight wore on Cantwell displayed the better technique. Stann would throw wildly with not many connecting, while Cantwell started to pick his spots to effect.

In the second round, Cantwell started to work the body and it started to pay off as Stann began to slow down. As the fight wore on Cantwell began to takeover, stunning Stann with precise knees and punches before finally dropping him and finishing him off with strikes at 4:01 of the second round.

In a true moment of class, former champion Stann wrapped the title around the waist of the new champion Cantwell as he was being announced as the winner.

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner defended his title for the first time against undefeated submission fighter Marcus Hicks. From the onset, Hicks wanted the fight on the ground as he took Varner down, but was unable to keep him there. Varner started to get going on the feet, but again Hicks took the fight to the ground. Varner quickly got back to his feet and teed off on Hicks with some brutal knees that stunned the Texan. Smelling blood, he charged in with vicious combinations that dropped Hicks as he poured it on. Hicks stayed tough and got back to his feet, where he again was met with devastating punches that finally put him down for good at 2:08 of the first round.

"He's tough, he's got a lot of heart and an iron chin," said Varner of Hicks. When asked what's next for him, Varner simply replied "I'm going to have a shootout with a cowboy or with 'Razor' Rob again."

Bantamweight contenders Brian Bowles and DamacioPage fought a short war. They didn't hold back as they both threw caution to the wind, connecting on several occasions before Bowles got the fight to the ground. From there Bowles started a brutal ground and pound attack before going for a guillotine choke that Page escaped. Now on top, Page unleashed a furious barrage of strikes before Bowles was able to get to his feet. Again they continued to trade at a furious pace before Page made a critical mistake that cost him the fight. He picked Bowles up for what looked to be a big slam, but left his head out and this time Bowles was able to lock on the guillotine choke, forcing Page to tap at 3:30 of the opening round.

In an intriguing battle of young featherweights, American Top Team fighter MicahMiller took on Northeast fighter Josh Grispi. Grispi came out throwing low kicks, dropping Miller with a solid one. After being stood back up, both fighters continued to trade leather until Grispi landed a huge overhand right that dropped Miller. He followed up with two punches before referee Herb Dean waived the fight off at 50 seconds of the first round, in what some argued could be considered an early stoppage.

With a possible shot at the WEC welterweight title at stake, former title challengers Brock Larson and Carlo Prater squared off. After a brief feeling out process, Larson charged in with a huge left straight that dropped Prater, following it up with vicious strikes that knocked Prater out only 37 seconds into the fight. After the fight, Larson made it known that he wanted a shot at the WEC welterweight championship once again.

In a battle for Las Vegas bragging rights, local fighters Blas Avena and DaveTerrel faced off. They started out quick as Avena went for a guillotine choke against the fence that Terrel was able to escape. Avena didn't let up as he landed a hard knee that rocked Terrel, dropping him with a combination and finishing him off with strikes at 1:07 of the first round.

Making his WEC debut on late notice, Shane Roller survived early trouble to submit Texan fighter Todd Moore. Moore started the fight with crisp combinations that found their mark. For some odd reason through, Moore took the fight to the ground getting caught in a guillotine choke in the process that he narrowly escaped. Moore then proceeded to land some effective ground and pound, but Roller stayed calm and locked in a guillotine choke that forced Moore to tap at 3:00 of the opening round.

In a battle of WEC newcomers, Californian fighter Greg McIntyre took on former pro inline skater Mike Budnik. From the beginning, McIntyre took the fight to the ground and kept it there, working the occasional ground and pound. Towards the end of the round Budnik almost locked on triangle choke, but McIntyre survived until round's end. Budnik started the second round with some flash as he landed a spinning back kick to McIntyre's body, but was immediately taken down. Again McIntyre controlled the fight on the ground, but not doing much damage. The third round looked to be going the same way until Budnik locked on a slick triangle choke, forcing McIntyre to tap at 3:21 of the final round.

Opening the night was a bantamweight bout between former NCAA All American wrestler Scott Jorgensen and Shooto veteran Kenji Osawa. Right off the bat, Osawa started to land crisp punches, forcing Jorgensen to take the fight to the ground. Jorgensen then proceeded to land some vicious ground and pound for the majority of the round until getting caught in a guillotine choke that he escaped after some struggling. The next two rounds were much of the same with Jorgensen taking the fight to the ground and landing solid punches that kept Osawa on the defensive for the most part. After three rounds, Jorgensen won a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30-27.

Carlos Condit def. Hiromitsu Miura by TKO at 4:43, R4

Steve Cantwell def. Brian Stann by TKO at 4:01, R2

Jamie Varner def. Marcus Hicks by TKO at 2:08, R1

Brian Bowles def. Damacio Page by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, R1

Josh Grispi def. Micah Miller by TKO at 0:50, R1

Brock Larson def. Carlo Prater by KO at 0:37, R1

Blas Avena def. Dave Terrel by TKO at 1:07, R1

Shane Roller def. Todd Moore by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:00, R1

Mike Budnik def. Greg McIntyre by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:21, R3

Scott Jorgensen def. Kenji Osawa by Unanimous Decision (30-27 on all three cards)