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-Saturday night “WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz” was a great night for the bantamweights.  Brain Bowles put his title on the line against Dominick Cruz. Cruz put the pressure on Bowles landing hard shots while Bowles landed his own shots and broke his hand. The referee was forced to stop the fight after the second round. Cruz (15-1) hands Bowles (8-1) his first career loss and takes his WEC bantamweight belt.

In the co-main event of the night Joseph Benavidez (12-1) faced former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (37-3). Benavidez dominated Torres and cut him open in the second round with an elbow. Benavidez locked on a deep guillotine choke and Torres was forced to tap. A Cruz, Benavidez rematch looks to be next for the bantamweight title. 

Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver (22-13-1) fighting at featherweight faced Javier Vazquez (14-4). Pulver, loser of four straight, tried to end his streak by keeping the fight on its feet. Pulver wasn’t able to do it. Once it got on the ground Vazquez took control and was able to land some ground and pound and lock in a slick armbar 3:41 into the first round. Pulver lost his fifth straight fight and will retire. Vazquez wins for the first time in the WEC in three tries and says he is ready for the best in the division. 

-WEC will have its first pay-per-view event April 24. “WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber”. The fight will be co-headlined by a featherweight title match between champion and “2009 Inside the Fight Game: Fighter of the Year” Jose Aldo (16-1) and former champion Urijah Faber (23-3). The WEC lightweight championship will also be on the line when challenger Donald Cerrone (11-2) will try to take the belt from champion Ben Henderson (11-1). It will be a rematch of their 2009 bout that was one of the best of the year. Also on the card former featherweight champion Mike Brown (23-5) will face Manny Gamburyan (12-5) in what looks to be a #1 contender match.

UFC:

-UFC legend Randy Couture (18-10) said he would love to welcome world boxing champion James Toney to the UFC. The more likely fight will be a bout between Kimbo Slice (4-1) and Toney on April 17 which the UFC is trying to put together on short notice to challenge Strikeforce’s show on CBS the same day. 

Upcoming shows 

-“UFC Live Vera vs. Jones” on Versus March 21

Main event – Brandon Vera (11-4) vs. Jon Jones (9-1)

Junior Dos Santos (10-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4)

Chieck Kongo (14-6-1) vs. Paul Buentello (27-11) 

-“UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy” March 27

Co-main event (WW Champion) Georges St. Pierre (19-2) vs. Dan Hardy (23-6)

Co-main event (Interim HW Title match) Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)

Jon Fitch (24-3) vs. Thiago Alves (16-6) 

-“UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi” March 31

Main event – Kenny Florian (14-4) vs. Takanori Gomi (31-5)

Roy Nelson (15-4) vs. Stefan Struve (19-3)

Nate Quarry (12-3) vs. Jorge Rivera (17-7) 

-“UFC 112: Invincible” April 10

Co-Main event – (MW Champion) Anderson Silva (25-4) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)

Co-Main event – (LW Champion) BJ Penn (15-5-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)

Matt Hughes (43-7) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) 

-“UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2” May 8

Main event – Lyoto Machida (16-0) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)

Josh Koscheck (14-4) vs. Paul Daley (23-8-2) 

Strikeforce: 

-Strikeforce has announced two upcoming shows and the signing of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki. 

-Strikeforce April 17 on CBS

Main event – (MW Champion) Jake Shields (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)

(LHW Champion) Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) vs. Muhammed Lawal (6-0)

(LW Champion) Gilbert Melendez (17-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (23-4) 

-Strikeforce May 15

Main event – (HW Champion) Alistair Overeem (32-11) vs. Brett Rogers (10-1) (non-title match)

Andrei Arlovski (15-7) vs. Antonio Silva (13-2) 

Area shows: 

Team Florez Muay Thai in La Puente will be holding a Heavyweight Kickboxing Super Hulk tournament. The night of fights will also include MMA bouts and boxing matches. Show starts at 5 pm. 

Location: Team Florez Muay Thai 15813 Main Street La Puente, CA 91744

George Hernandez can be reached at  ko_king_georgeh64@yahoo.com