WEC 53

Last updated
WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis
WEC 53 Poster.jpg
The poster for WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis
Information
Promotion World Extreme Cagefighting
DateDecember 16, 2010
Venue Jobing.com Arena
City Glendale, Arizona
Attendance6,348 [1]
Event chronology
WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis

WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. [2] The event was the first time that Zuffa has hosted an event in Arizona. This was the final WEC event, due to the merger with the UFC.

Contents

Background

This was the final WEC event before merging with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2011. [3]

This event was unique in that the WEC and AMP Energy allowed fans to choose the location of the event. [4] The fans were given 30 options and the finalists were Milwaukee, Nashville and Phoenix. During the live telecast of WEC 50, Phoenix was announced as the winner of the contest. [5]

Maciej Jewtuszko was expected to face Ricardo Lamas at this event. [6] However, Jewtuszko had to withdraw as he suffered a broken hand during training. [7] Jewtuszko was replaced by WEC newcomer Iuri Alcântara. [8]

This event was named Sherdog's 2010 Event of the Year. [9]

The event drew an average of 615,000 viewers on Versus. [10]

UFC Lightweight title eliminator

The winner of the WEC Lightweight Championship fight between reigning champion Benson Henderson and challenger Anthony Pettis was scheduled to face the winner of the UFC 125 Frankie Edgar (C) vs. Gray Maynard title fight in order to unify the WEC and UFC lightweight championships. However, the Edgar/Maynard fight ended in a draw necessitating a UFC 136 rematch (which Edgar won). Though Anthony Pettis won the final WEC lightweight title bout, defeating Henderson via unanimous decision, he opted not to wait for the winner of Edgar/Maynard rematch and instead fought Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale, losing by unanimous decision and negating his promised title shot (though he would win the UFC Lightweight Championship in his own right over Henderson in August 2013.)

UFC Bantamweight Championship

The winner of the Bantamweight Championship fight between reigning champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Scott Jorgensen determined both the final WEC Bantamweight Champion and the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Champion. [11] This is the only UFC title fight to ever take place on another promotion's card, and the first UFC title bout to air on free television since UFC 75 in July 2007. Cruz defeated Jorgensen via unanimous decision to retain his title and become the new UFC champion.

Results

Main card
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Lightweight Anthony Pettis def Benson Henderson (c)Decision (unanimous) (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)55:00 [lower-alpha 1]
Bantamweight Dominick Cruz (c)def Scott Jorgensen Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)55:00 [lower-alpha 2]
Lightweight Donald Cerrone def Chris Horodecki Submission (triangle choke)22:43
Lightweight Kamal Shalorus def Bart Palaszewski Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 29–28)35:00
Preliminary card
Lightweight Danny Downes def Zhang Tiequan Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 29–28)35:00
Lightweight Shane Roller def Jamie Varner Submission (rear-naked choke)13:55
Bantamweight Brad Pickett def Ivan Menjivar Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)35:00
Bantamweight Eddie Wineland def Ken Stone KO (slam)12:11
Lightweight Danny Castillo def Will Kerr KO (punches)11:25
Lightweight Iuri Alcântara def Ricardo Lamas KO (punches)13:26
Bantamweight Renan Barão def Chris Cariaso Submission (rear-naked choke)13:47
  1. ↑ For the WEC Lightweight Championship.
  2. ↑ As part of the UFC-WEC merger, the WEC Bantamweight Championship will become the UFC (Men's) Bantamweight Championship.

Bonus Awards

Fighters were awarded $10,000 bonuses. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urijah Faber</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Urijah Faber is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Wineland</span> American mixed martial arts fighter (born 1984)

Eddie Wineland is an American retired mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2003 until 2022, Wineland was the inaugural WEC Bantamweight Champion.

Carlos Enrique "Charlie" Valencia is an American mixed martial artist. He has fought for the WEC and UFC in their Bantamweight divisions, and is the former King of the Cage Bantamweight Champion. He is one of only two men to ever finish Ian McCall in a professional MMA fight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Banuelos</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Juan Antonio Banuelos is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division.

Scott Roger Jorgensen is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TJ Grant</span> Canadian mixed martial arts fighter

TJ Grant is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benson Henderson</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1983)

Benson Henderson is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Lightweight division for Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion. He is considered one of the greatest lightweight MMA fighters of all time and is tied with BJ Penn for most UFC lightweight title defences.

Damacio James Page is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly competed for the WEC, the UFC, Pancrase, King of the Cage, and also fought at K-1 Premium Dynamite 2006!!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominick Cruz</span> American mixed martial artist

Dominick Cruz is an American professional mixed martial artist, sports analyst and commentator. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cruz has also competed for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), and was the final WEC Bantamweight Champion. As of March 12, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEC 43</span> WEC MMA event in 2009

WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Pettis</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1987)

Anthony Paul Pettis is an American professional mixed martial artist. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. Pettis was also the final WEC Lightweight Champion prior to the promotion being merged into the UFC.

William Campuzano is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, Campuzano has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, Vale Tudo Japan, and Legacy FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEC 46</span> WEC MMA event in 2010

WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on January 10, 2010. It took place at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEC 50</span> WEC MMA event in 2010

WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 18, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Maciej Jewtuszko is a Polish mixed martial artist who most recently competed in 2019. A professional since 2005, he has fought in the UFC, WEC, and KSW. He is the former KSW Lightweight Champion.

Kenneth Alan Stone is an American mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Stone had fought mostly in regional promotions on the east coast, before signing with Zuffa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UFC 164</span> UFC mixed martial arts event in 2013

UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis 2 was a mixed martial arts event held on August 31, 2013, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov</span> UFC mixed martial arts event in 2014

UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov was a mixed martial arts event held on June 7, 2014, at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 in WEC</span> WEC MMA events in 2010

The year 2010 was the 10th year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2010 WEC held 8 events beginning with, WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson.

References

  1. ↑ "WEC 53 scores 6,348 attendance in Arizona, seventh-highest mark in history". mmajunkie.com. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ "WEC: Henderson vs. Pettis". wec.tv. September 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Dana White To Announce UFC Merger With the WEC". Bloody Elbow. 28 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "WEC and AMP Energy allow fans to determine location of December's WEC 53 event".
  5. ↑ ""Hometown Takedown" sends WEC to Phoenix; Henderson likely for WEC 53 card". MMAjunkie.com. August 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ "MMAnews.pl knows the next opponent of Maciej Jewtuszko (Polish)". mmanews.pl. October 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Maciej Jewtuszko has broken his hand (Polish)". mmarocks.pl. October 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Ricardo Lamas meets newcomer Yuri Alcantara at WEC 53 in December". mmajunkie.com. November 4, 2010.
  9. ↑ Sherwood, Jeff. "Sherdog's 2010 Misc. Awards Event of the Year". Sherdog . Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ "WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis | MMA Event".
  11. ↑ "WEC 53: Dominick Cruz, Scott Jorgensen Fight To Be First UFC Bantamweight Champion". sbnation.com. December 14, 2010.
  12. ↑ Morgan, John; Stupp, Dann (December 17, 2010). "WEC 53 bonuses: Wineland, Roller, Pettis and Henderson earn $10K awards". MMAjunkie.com . Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.