Urijah Faber's stunning loss to Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 36 on Wednesday was yet another reminder that mixed martial arts is much different than pro wrestling. In MMA, there are no "bookers" in the back deciding which fighters will win and which will lose. This leaves MMA promoters in a never-ending game of Russian roulette where its star fighters are susceptible to losing every time they enter the ring or cage.
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| New champ Brown has his work cut out for him. (WEC) |
While there is some fear that Faber's loss could have an adverse effect on the WEC's business in the short run, it won't hurt the promotion's growth over a long-term period. Faber is not another Kimbo Slice; in addition to being the promotion's franchise player, he's also a world class fighter. He's also not another Chuck Liddell, an aging veteran. Faber is just 29 in comparison to Liddell, who is 37.
There's every reason to believe that Faber possesses a good chance to stand atop the featherweight mountain again. And while he's making that climb, he's had enough exposure that he can continue to headline events even without a title on the line.
As for Brown, he has begun to shatter the glass ceiling and with a title around his waist, he could be in a position to headline shows on his own. Having a third man to join Faber and WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres as a fighter who can headline a show is imperative for a promotion that has plans to hold more shows in 2009 than it did in 2008.
In the end, the WEC will not only survive Faber's loss, but it will thrive. Its marquee division -- 145 pounds -- is stronger than ever. A quick look at one man's WEC featherweight top 10 illustrates that point:
1. Mike Thomas Brown: Brown has had a strong reputation with the sport's hardcore for quite some time but was a virtual unknown to casual fans. The dramatic TKO over Faber has Brown's name all over the MMA headlines and has done wonders for his profile. His fighting style isn't dynamic like Faber's, and he can't rival The California Kid's charisma, but Brown brings a lot of credibility with him and is a legitimate championship-caliber fighter who can provide some intriguing matchups.
2. Leonard Garcia: Formerly a UFC lightweight, Garcia put legal issues behind him and returned to the WEC in a big way on Wednesday. Facing former UFC lightweight champion and lighter weight pioneer Jens Pulver, Garcia showed tremendous power and speed and was able to walk away the winner via first-round TKO. Nothing is official, but the win likely earned him a title shot vs. Brown and it will likely be the first featherweight matchup during Zuffa's ownership of the WEC to headline a show without Faber's name attached.
3. Urijah Faber: Faber wasn't beaten by Brown because he was a product of the hype and wasn't legit; he was defeated because he gambled with a spinning elbow and lost. Had he not made such a careless mistake, who knows what would have happened? Faber will get another shot with one or two wins, and if you take a quick glance at all the names listed below, it's easy to see that there is no shortage of intriguing matchups for Faber to be involved with as he attempts to climb back.
4. Wagnney Fabiano: The former IFL featherweight champion will make his WEC debut at WEC 37 on Dec. 3 against Akitoshi Tamura. Fabiano was 6-0 while competing in the IFL as a lightweight and featherweight and is 10-1 in his pro career. A tremendous grappler, Fabiano's wrestling is also extremely impressive and he started to show some power in his hands toward the end of his tenure with the IFL. A consensus top 10 featherweight in all of the major rankings polls such as Sherdog, MMA Weekly and the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, Fabiano has the tools needed to ascend to the No. 1 spot.
5. Akitoshi Tamura: While Fabiano has the potential to be the WEC's top dog at featherweight, he's going to have to get past Tamura, and that's far from a given. Tamura, who is 12-6-2 in 18 pro bouts, is rated as the No. 2 featherweight in the world by MMA Weekly and No. 7 by WAMMA. With notable victories over Takeshi Inoue, a top 10 caliber fighter, and lighter weight pioneer Rumina Sato, Tamura's profile will increase after leaving Japan in order to compete full time in the U.S. Yoshiro Maeda and Hiromitsu Miura have proved that the WEC's MMA audience is more than willing to embrace Japanese fighters, which means that the opening exists for Tamura to become a star.
6. Jens Pulver: Pulver is the WEC poor man's version of Liddell. Despite high-profile losses to Faber and Garcia, he's a familiar face that the WEC faithful will always cheer for. It remains to be seen whether he will ever return to title contender status again, but at the very least the WEC has a fighter in Pulver who it can use as a measuring stick for many of its featherweight prospects.
7. Jose Aldo: Did someone say prospect? The 22-year old Brazilian improved his MMA record to 12-1 following Wednesday's third-round TKO over Jonathan Brookins. Before that, Aldo recorded a minor upset over Alexandre Franca Nogueira in his WEC debut back in June during WEC 34. Much like Pulver and Sato, Nogueira is considered a pioneer of the lighter weight divisions in MMA, and the win proved that Aldo was legit. He's almost a lock to appear in a televised bout the next time he fights, and if he continues to progress, his televised fights will be main events.
8. Josh Grispi: The WEC discovered Grispi after he was recommended by lightweight competitor Alex Karalexis, with both having worked out of the same Boston-area gym for a time. Despite having an impressive 10-1 record, the 20-year-old was considered the underdog when he made his WEC debut in February against the vastly more experienced Mark Hominick. Despite having the deck stacked against him, Grispi improved to 11-1 following a first-round submission over Hominick, courtesy of a rear naked choke. He then improved to 12-1 after he TKO'd fellow featherweight prospect Micah Miller just 50 seconds into their fight at WEC 35 in August. The time might be right to see where Grispi is at in his development by matching him up with Pulver.
9. Micah Miller: Despite the quick loss to Grispi, Miller's future in the WEC remains bright. The younger brother of UFC lightweight Cole Miller, Micah works out of American Top Team alongside his brother and many of the world's best fighters. The 21-year-old has a respectable 9-2 record and is definitely a name to watch.
10. Hiroyuki Takaya: A former lightweight competitor, Takaya was riding high following his third-round TKO over Antonio Carvalho during a Shooto event in Japan last November. The win earned him a contract with the WEC, but Takaya's stock took a hit with a first-round knockout loss against Leonard Garcia at WEC 32 in February. Takaya has not fought since, but suddenly the loss doesn't look so bad following Garcia's first-round TKO over Pulver on Wednesday.
Brown's victory brings parity to the WEC's division, and with a stacked top 10, the promotion will be able to offer multiple intriguing matchups over the course of the next six to eight months while fighters jockey for position in light of Faber's loss.
In addition to being a contributing writer for CBSSports.com, Sam Caplan is also the publisher of his own MMA website, FiveOuncesOfPain.com. You can contact him via e-mail at: SCaplan8@comcast.net.
