LAS VEGAS - With the myriad of new stars being brought to the forefront
at each and every new WEC show, it's sometimes to easy to forget about the
old guard.

Such is the case with near-50-fight veteran Bart Palaszewski.

With his knockout win over Zach Micklewright at Wednesday night's WEC 50
event in Las Vegas, Palaszewski is now riding a three-fight win streak
in the organization and has his sights directed firmly on lightweight
champion Ben Henderson.

Shinya Aoki has a long history of sending his opponents to the emergency room with pretzel-shaped limbs and Tatsuya Kawajiri became the latest victim of the most lethal submission grappler in mixed martial arts during DREAM.15.

Aoki shot in for a takedown almost immediately in the first round of the DREAM Lightweight Championship bout before dropping to his guard and firmly attaching himself to one of Kawajiri’s legs. “The Crusher” did all he could to free his limb from the grip of Aoki, to no avail, as Kawajiri ultimately succumbed to one of the nastiest Achilles locks seen in the sport to date.

Kawajiri’s ankle showed visible damage following the bout and the lightweight was quickly transported to the emergeny room for X-rays.

Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante made his final return to the DREAM ring before hopping ship to Strikeforce count as the highly regarded lightweight battled tooth and nail with Katsunori Kikuno for the full fifteen minutes , utilizing takedowns and top control to pull away in the final round, on his way to a split decision victory.

Jake O’Brien embarrassed himself twice in Japan before it was all said and done. The first was when he showed up to Saitama grossly overweight and the second was when the UFC veteran submitted to a standing guillotine choke just 31 seconds into the very first round at the hands of Gegard Mousasi, who advances in the four-man DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Melvin Manhoef fans were met with disappointment for the second consecutive time during DREAM.15 as the feared striker hoped to rebound from a recent knockout defeat at the hands of Robbie Lawler but wound up tapping out to a painful kimura at the hands of Tatsuya Mizuno in the opening round. A series of monstrous punches from Manhoef had Mizuno in trouble early in the first round before the Japanese journeyman put K-1 veteran on his back and locked in the fight ending submission along with a crack at Mousasi at the upcoming DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals.

A full list of results from DREAM.15 are below:

Shinya Aoki def. Tatsuya Kawajirivia submission (Achilles lock) – Round 1

Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante def. Katsunori Kikuno via split decision

Gegard Mousasi def. Jake O’Brien via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1

Tatsuya Mizuno def. Melvin Manhoefvia submission (kimura) – Round 1

Michihiro Omigawa def. Young Sam Jung via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1

Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata via unanimous decision

Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision

Brendan Schaub notched his second consecutive official win in the UFC with a one-sided beatdown of Brock Lesnar training partner Chris Tuchscherer during the UFC 116 prelims this evening from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Tuchscherer wasn’t able to get anything going for the minute that the bout lasted, as Schaub delivered a crushing right hand to the temple that sent the former Division II All-American wrestler to the canvas and on his way to the second loss in three UFC outings.

The original Kimbo-slayer Seth Petruzelli was served up a submission defeat in his return to the Octagon at the hands of UFC newcomer Ricardo Romero. Petruzelli had the former Ring of Combat Champion in a lot of trouble during the first round thanks to a series of vicious strikes that left Romero on queer street until the New Jersey native took over in the second round, controlling “The Silverback” from the top position and finishing the fight with a nasty straight armbar.

Making an early bid for the coveted “Knockout of the Night” bonus was Gerald Harris who battled David Branch tooth in the middleweight division for the bulk of two and a half rounds before slamming his opponent to the canvas violently for the knockout stoppage when Branch attempted to jump into guard. Harris (15-2) improved his UFC record to 3-0 with the impressive win.

A full list of results from the UFC 116 preliminary action are listed below:

Brendan Schaub def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07

Ricardo Romero def. Seth Petruzelli via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 3:05

Kendall Grove def. Goran Reljic via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Gerald Harris def. David Branch via knockout (slam) – Round 3, 2:35

Daniel Roberts def. Forrest Petz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Jon Madsen def. Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

While many have viewed the recent defeat of Fedor Emelianenko at the hands of Fabricio Werdum is a sign of the passing of the guard in mixed martial arts’ heavyweight landscape, UFC President Dana White isn’t one of them.

“No matter what happened last weekend, this fight will determine the best heavyweight in the world,” said White during the recent pre-UFC 116 press conference.

The winner of Saturday evening’s heavyweight title clash between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will not only serve to establish a definitive undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, but also to crown the victor as the consensus top rated fighter in the closely watched division. The submission defeat suffered by Fedor, a man long recognized as the king of the weight class, has put the pieces in place to crown a new king of the mountain at heavyweight.

White went on to state in regards to Emelianenko, “You want to prove you’re the best in the world, come fight the best in the world.”

When asked if he was still interested in eventually bringing Fedor to the UFC, White seemed less than optimistic.

“I’m interested in these guys,” said White, referring to Lesnar and Carwin. “Now that he loses, he wants to come fight over here now? No, I don’t care.”

While many have viewed the recent defeat of Fedor Emelianenko at the hands of Fabricio Werdum is a sign of the passing of the guard in mixed martial arts’ heavyweight landscape, UFC President Dana White isn’t one of them.

“No matter what happened last weekend, this fight will determine the best heavyweight in the world,” said White during the recent pre-UFC 116 press conference.

The winner of Saturday evening’s heavyweight title clash between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will not only serve to establish a definitive undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, but also to crown the victor as the consensus top rated fighter in the closely watched division. The submission defeat suffered by Fedor, a man long recognized as the king of the weight class, has put the pieces in place to crown a new king of the mountain at heavyweight.

White went on to state in regards to Emelianenko, “You want to prove you’re the best in the world, come fight the best in the world.”

When asked if he was still interested in eventually bringing Fedor to the UFC, White seemed less than optimistic.

“I’m interested in these guys,” said White, referring to Lesnar and Carwin. “Now that he loses, he wants to come fight over here now? No, I don’t care.”

“Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum” did not just surpass expectations, it absolutely smashed them. Such was the aura of invincibility surrounding Fedor Emelianenko that many are calling Fabricio Werdum’s submission victory the greatest mixed martial arts upset of all time.

It is difficult to disagree with this description. Other results, such as Georges St Pierre’s loss to Matt Serra, might have been equally surprising but no figure in MMA history has ever attracted the same levels of adulation as Fedor.

Werdum’s surprise win was the good. It is a fantastic story which will dominate the MMA media for months to come and make this arguably the most memorable Strikeforce card in history.

Strikeforce’s decision to match Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos with Jan Finney was the bad and referee Kim Winslow’s failure to stop the fight thereby allowing Finney to sustain a completely unnecessary amount of punishment was the ugly.

The bookmakers were under no illusions as to how competitive a contest the fight between Santos and Finney would be, Finney was a 15/1 outsider to win this fight. If this card taught us one thing it is that upsets do happen in MMA but there was only ever going to be one outcome from this mismatch.

Fights like this simply should not be allowed to take place on a promotion of the stature of Strikeforce. If the Strikeforce matchmakers really cannot find credible female opponents for Cyborg then perhaps they need to give serious consideration to allowing her to fight against members of the opposite sex.

This was a horrible match up which firstly, should have been stopped before it started, and secondly, should have been stopped a lot sooner after it did start. Refereeing might be primarily about enforcing the rules but as with any supervisory job involving potentially dangerous pursuits a degree of common sense is required.

It was immediately obvious from the opening exchanges that Finney was not going to win the fight. A sensible referee should have been looking for the slightest excuse to stop the fight from this moment onwards. Winslow seemed absolutely determined to allow Cyborg to batter Finney for as long as possible. Even Cyborg herself at times seemed to be reluctant to inflict any more punishment on an opponent who was clinging helplessly to her leg.

I have nothing against women fighters and I have nothing against women referees but this ‘fight’ seriously detracted from an otherwise excellent show and Strikeforce should take steps to ensure we are never forced to witness another debacle like this again.

The opening fight saw Josh Thomson get the reward he deserved for a series of ambitious submission attempts eventually forcing Pat Healy to tap due to a rear naked choke late in the third round. Healy spent the majority of the fight in dominant positions but never looked like coming close to finishing or even hurting Thomson.

Thomson showed great persistence in repeatedly trying to submit Healy and after coming close with triangles and armbars he finally found success with the late rear naked choke. Healy managed to withstand the choke for an inordinate amount of time but was finally forced to tap with just over 30 seconds remaining in the fight.

Cung Le’s first fight with Scott Smith came close to being stopped early as Smith seemingly had no answer for Le’s eclectic selection of strikes. Smith was given the benefit of the doubt and in this instance the referee was vindicated as he came from behind to knock Le out in an amazing comeback.

It was the first loss of Le’s MMA career and one he was anxious to avenge. Smith seemed determined not to leave it until late in the third round to land his first meaningful punch and came out swinging. Le was extremely composed and easily avoided Smith’s combinations while landing a few swift counters of his own.

It was one way traffic, much like the first meeting, but this time Le was actually able to finish the fight. Smith survived until early in round two when Le landed with a devastating back kick to the liver which left his opponent entirely incapacitated.

Earlier in the evening another Le victim Frank Shamrock announced his retirement from MMA. Le, at 38, is a year older than Shamrock and is surely approaching the end of his fighting career which is a shame because he is one of the most gifted fighters on the planet. He would surely have achieved even more in the sport had he started his MMA career a little earlier and not allowed himself to become sidetracked by acting opportunities.

The fight between Fedor and Werdum was over almost as soon as it had started. Normal service appeared to be underway when Fedor knocked Werdum to the floor but the Russian made an uncharacteristic error of judgement and was punished for it. Rather than letting the fight remain on the feet, where he clearly had the advantage, he elected to attempt a little ground and pound.

Werdum’s only realistic chance of victory was to secure a submission and Fedor should have seen the warning signs when he narrowly escaped an armbar attempt by the Brazilian. Instead the ‘Last Emperor’ chose to remain in and around Werdum’s guard and quickly paid the ultimate price as Werdum sank in an inescapable triangle choke.

This loss does not make Fedor any worse a fighter than he was a week ago. It does not alter the fact that he had won his previous 18 fights beating a who’s who of heavyweight opposition in the process. It definitely does not make the prospect of Fedor fighting Strikeforce Champion Alistair Overeem, UFC champion Brock Lesnar, or any of the other heavyweights in the UFC for that matter, any less palatable.

What this loss does demonstrate is just how competitive the sport of mixed martial arts has become. At an elite level even the slightest hint of a mistake is likely to be ruthlessly exploited. Fedor learned this lesson the hard way against Werdum and I expect him to be a better fighter in the future because of it.

In the opening moments of his main event bout against Fedor Emelianenko, Brazilian heavyweight Fabricio Werdum almost appeared to get knocked down by a punch.

Werdum talked with Tatame.com about that punch and clarified what happened.

Did his punch caused a knockdown or did you lose your balance and fall?
It wasn’t a knockdown, it was more like I lost my balance because of the punch, but I’d go for the ground anyway, so I felt on the ground wanting to go there. It wasn’t a knockdown, not at all. I felt the blow, but it wasn’t that strong, I just lost my balance.

On that moment that you felt, did you already try to pull him to your guard?
We don’t think about being hit and going to the ground, but when you get hit by him, even if you are a Muay Thai fighter and have a good standing game strategy, it’s good for you to go to the ground and try to work it on there. The strategy was to calm him down and make some space so that I could work.

Werdum also noted that a rematch is still up in the air at the moment, which he’s fine with as he just wants to enjoy the moment of his victory.

After the fight you complimented Fedor and said you would like a rematch with him. Did (Strikeforce) say anything about that matter after the event?
No, they told me they’d see, so let’s enjoy this win and maybe they’ll put me to confront Overeem, but let’s see. I just beat the best of the world, I don’t want to give a step backwards and fight against Overeem. I want to fight against Fedor from 6 to 8 months from now in Russia, Rocky Balboa style.

In the opening moments of his main event bout against Fedor Emelianenko, Brazilian heavyweight Fabricio Werdum almost appeared to get knocked down by a punch.

Werdum talked with Tatame.com about that punch and clarified what happened.

Did his punch caused a knockdown or did you lose your balance and fall?
It wasn’t a knockdown, it was more like I lost my balance because of the punch, but I’d go for the ground anyway, so I felt on the ground wanting to go there. It wasn’t a knockdown, not at all. I felt the blow, but it wasn’t that strong, I just lost my balance.

On that moment that you felt, did you already try to pull him to your guard?
We don’t think about being hit and going to the ground, but when you get hit by him, even if you are a Muay Thai fighter and have a good standing game strategy, it’s good for you to go to the ground and try to work it on there. The strategy was to calm him down and make some space so that I could work.

Werdum also noted that a rematch is still up in the air at the moment, which he’s fine with as he just wants to enjoy the moment of his victory.

After the fight you complimented Fedor and said you would like a rematch with him. Did (Strikeforce) say anything about that matter after the event?
No, they told me they’d see, so let’s enjoy this win and maybe they’ll put me to confront Overeem, but let’s see. I just beat the best of the world, I don’t want to give a step backwards and fight against Overeem. I want to fight against Fedor from 6 to 8 months from now in Russia, Rocky Balboa style.

During last night’s “WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus” post-fight press conference, WEC official Reed Harris announced the “Fight Night” bonuses for the event.

Walking away with a $10,000 bonus were Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin for “Fight of the Night,” while Eddie Wineland earned the “Knockout of the Night,” and “Submission of the Night” was warded to Josh Grispi.

Hominick and Jabouin fought in the co-main event and saw both men push the pace. Near the middle of the second frame, Hominick put Jabouin into the fence and presses the attack. Jabouin climbs back to his feet and responds with a right hand that put’s Hominick on the mat. As Jabouin jumps in to finish he’s caught in Hominick’s guard who rolls him over to gain mount and finishes the fight.

Wineland was awarded the “Knockout of the Night” after stopping opponent Will Campuzano in the second round at 4:44. Wineland used a couple of tough body shots to Campuzano to put him to the mat and finishes with a good shot to the jaw to win the fight.

Grispi won the “Submission of the Night” after submitting opponent L.C. Davis in the middle of the first round. He beat out four other fighters who also earned submission victories on the evening. Davis refused to tap out and was put into unconsciousness by the choke.

Moments before Barral had to signal his injury to the referee. All photos courtesy cohost Dan.

It was shaping up to be another excellent year for Gracie Barra’s Romulo Barral. Barral was the gold medalist of the medium heavyweight black belt division and silver medalist in the absolute division in 2009, and he was on track to repeat in 2010. Going in to the final day of the 2010 Brazilian Jiu-jitsu World Championship, Romulo was set to face Tarsis Humphreys in a rematch of last year’s final at the medium heavyweight division, and had another rematch in the finals of the absolute division later that day lined up against fellow Gracie Barra athlete, the indestructable Roger Gracie. But it was not meant to be.

Romulo Barral is attended to by paramedics at the 2010 BJJ World Championship in Long Beach.

During Barral’s match against Humphreys, he sustained a knee injury that ended the match. Humphreys, who has been incorporating more leg attacks since 2008, torqued Barral’s knee in an unusual leg lock just under the six and a half minute mark in a scoreless match. Barral was done for the day.

The FightWorks Podcast caught up with Romulo Barral yesterday to learn how his knee is doing. Barral visited a doctor last week who referred him for an MRI. The MRI results have come back and reveal that Barral has an MCL that is mostly torn, and a partially torn ACL. He is now wearing a “big brace”, and has been told to return in 30 days for another MRI to determine how well his body recovers on its own, or whether surgery will be required.

At this point “it’s 50-50″ said Barral, who was not referring to the 50-50 guard but the chances he will indeed need surgery. Barral is hoping to know sooner rather than later so he can begin recovery and get in gear for the 2011 Pan-Ams and Mundials.