WEC 43 Review: Wars of Attrition
Published by Jim Genia on October 11th, 2009 in Current Events

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For all its lack of gravity or match-ups compelling, WEC 43: “Cerrone vs. Henderson” sure delivered in the action department, and none bout more so than the eponymous pairing of Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson. It was a war of attrition, this five-round affair, a constant seesaw battle for dominance with the subsequent submission and ground-and-pound dust cloud obfuscating what should’ve been a clear-cut decision. However, when Henderson’s hand was raised after the scorecards were read, justice was served; Cerrone may have waged his war effectively, but it was too late to tip the scales. Henderson clearly had won.

And if the wrestler had managed to keep up the pace he’d set for the first three rounds, no one would be questioning that. In the opener, Henderson put Cerrone on his back early and picked and chose where and when he dropped his bombs – a modus operandi he repeated through Rounds 2 and 3. The Greg Jackson-trained fighter was, of course, a constant threat with his submissions, with Cerrone coming perilously close with chokes and armbars from the beginning of the first to the end of the fifth. Yet Henderson survived, impossibly calm in the face of near-certain doom, and when his cardio faded by the fourth frame, he remained in the game. Cerrone couldn’t finish him, nor capitalize on his striking advantage, and when time expired the score was three rounds to two. Henderson is now the owner of a shiny, new WEC Interim Lightweight Championship belt, which guarantees him a shot at full-fledged champ Jamie Varner when Varner’s hand is healed enough for combat.

Also a war of attrition was the bout between Rich Crunkilton and Dave Jansen, which saw the grizzled veteran Crunkilton tagging the newcomer repeatedly throughout and hunting for an assortment of finishes on the ground. Meanwhile, the Team Quest fighter just kept on taking him down and taking him down, doling out punishment whenever he could, and though they both slowed as fatigue set in, it was Jansen who seemed the more successful in imposing his will. That was enough to convince the judges, who awarded him the unanimous decision.

Rafael Assuncao didn’t so much wage a war of attrition with Yves Jabouin as he waged a shock-and-awe campaign. A crafty Canadian newcomer with an arsenal of flashy kicks, Jabouin had the right idea in avoiding Assuncao’s dominant grappling to blast him on the feet. Unfortunately, he likely didn’t count on the Brazilian’s very capable boxing, which enabled Assuncao to score often in the exchanges and rack up enough points to garner the split decision. This one wasn’t that close (one blind judge somehow saw Jabouin taking all three rounds!), but it was at least entertaining.

Also not close: Damacio Page’s minute-long destruction of Will Campuzano. The two men came out swinging for the fences, with Page taking his foe to the canvas and slapping on a rear naked choke faster than you could say, “Oh crap, Campuzano is way out of his league”. Scott Jorgenson, too, appeared out of (as in, way above) his opponent’s league. Meeting TUF washout Noah Thomas head on, Jorgenson simply steamrolled over him with punches on the feet and then punches on the ground, prompting the referee to step in at 3:13 of the opening round. And it should’ve been another day at the office for jiu-jitsu ace Wagnney Fabiano, who for years now has been untouchable in the groundfighting department. WEC rookie Mackens Semerzier had other ideas, ideas that manifested themselves in the form of a triangle choke and Fabiano tapping out just over two minutes into their bout. The word “upset” doesn’t even begin to describe that one.

There wasn’t much fanfare for WEC 43 pre-show. After all, who really cares about an interim belt in a weight class where the best fighters are fighting somewhere else? But this installment provided all the usual WEC fireworks, and Cerrone vs. Henderson alone made it worth watching.