WEC 27 5/12/07 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel & Casino |
Marcus Hicks vs. Sergio Gomez. You don’t want to be a one-dimensional fighter, but sometimes you can beat yourself by not sticking to your obvious advantage. Gomez is an electric puncher with super fast hands who was rocking Hicks anytime he had the distance to do so, landing some brutal uppercuts and nearly closing Hicks’ left eye by the end of the exciting, fast-paced opener. Gomez is apparently more comfortable on the ground due to his jiu jitsu background, but jiu jitsu is the majority of Hicks’ game. Gomez was certainly capable of hanging if not matching Hicks on the ground, but what was the point? Hicks showed nothing in standup, but Gomez would close the distance, clinch, and go for the takedown, which potentially exposed him to Hicks major weapon, the guillotine choke. Gomez landed a nice knee from the clinch and did score with the takedowns, but then Hicks had a chance. Hicks tried to apply the standing guillotine in R1, but Gomez stopped his shoot and used his hands to defend so it was never a threat. In R2, Hicks transitioned into the guillotine from the ground, attaining body control before Gomez tried to react, and by then it was too late. Good match.
Jason Miller vs. Hiromitsu Miura 3R. Miller is a Muay Thai & BJJ fighter against boxer & judo practicioner Miura. Though one would expect Miller to have the advantage in standup, Miura is a very loose striker with shoulders forward and head bobbing while Miller is the typical erect Muay Thai stylist, the stance exacerbated by the fact he keeps his hands down and presents a stationary head. Round 1 & 3 were mostly on the mat, with Miller having Miura’s back for the majority. It’s hard to remember a match under the modern round style where someone had their opponent’s back for so long without being able to submit them, but Miura did a great job of maintaining wrist control and composure. Miller dominated the first with a tight body triangle, but Miura kept the second in standup, landing some good punches. Though right handed, Miura showed a nice left hook to supplement his jab. Miura had a nice hip toss to seal the second, evening the fight. Miller started the third crumpling Miura with one of the most egregious low blows in MMA history. It was just a straight up field goal similar to when your scorned little sister seeks retribution. Ironically, Miller was pissed when Miura returned the favor when he scrambled to his feet after a late judo throw that highlighted Miura’s comeback. It was too little too late though as the majority of the round was once again spent in Miller’s body triangle. This was one of those fights you would have liked to have been able to send to the extension, not that Miller didn’t deserve his unanimous decision but Miura was close and still had a lot of fight in him. Good match.
