With World Extreme Cagefighting putting on its first ever event in Canada last night, WEC 49, they were undoubtedly hoping for a conclusive finish to put an exclamation point on the American mixed martial arts promoter’s first trip up North.
Instead, they got a draw.
Lightweight-championship contenders Kamal Shalorus and Jamie Varner fought a three-round back and forth fight where neither opponent was able to finish the other. At the end as scores were announced, the crowd was in disbelief and booed as one judge had the fight scored 29-27 Shalorus, another had it scored 29-27 Varner and the third had it as a 28-28 draw.
WEC 49 was held in Edmonton, Alberta, at Rexall Place on Sunday, showing the WEC, which focuses solely on the lighter 135, 145 and 155 pound divisions has hopes for expanding into Canada’s lucrative MMA market.
The result places the WEC in an interesting situation, as the fight was widely expected to have determined who would be the next contender to Benson Henderson’s 155-pound lightweight division belt. Now they may either have to hold a rematch, or simply pick one fighter over the other.
A rough, foul-filled fight
After the fight, Varner said he disagreed with the decision.
"I definitely felt I did enough to win the fight," Varner said. "I landed the better strikes. I felt like I was more active. He was walking me down, but that's who he is. He's like the Terminator. I had to pick my shots, and that's how I was able to wobble him."
Shalorus caught Varner with three unintentional low blows throughout the fight, and was deducted a critical point in the second round after having caught Varner for a second time with a kick to the groin. Shalorus attempted to use leg kicks throughout the fight but didn’t have the proper accuracy, to the point another low blow would have likely disqualified him. While he kicked Varner in the groin a third time in the third round, the referee did not opt to take another point away, which would have probably disqualified the Persian fighter.
Varner managed to rock Shalorus during the first and second rounds. Varner appeared to have won the first round clear in most people’s eyes 10-9. The second round was close and could have gone either way, while Shalorus clearly took the third round. Had Shalorus not picked up a point deduction he would have won on the judges’ scorecards, but Varner insisted he deserved the victory regardless of point deductions.
“I thought I won the fight without any of the low blows," Varner said. "The first round, I won. I had him [badly hurt]. I felt I won the first round and the second round. I lost the third round. He's a tough dude."
Despite being an accomplished wrestler, Shalorus, Persian, chose to mostly trade strikes with Varner for most of the fight. Shalorus is also well know for being an anomaly in the MMA world in that while he is listed as being 37 years old, he has said he doesn’t really know when he was born in his native Iran, and is perhaps closer to 30.
Canadian talent shines in undercard fights
While the main event ended inconclusively, the other fights on the card provided the Edmonton crowd with the chance to see some of Canada’s best lighter fighters. Mark Hominick of Thamesford, Ontario defeated another Canadian,Yves Jabouin in 145 pound action, while Chris Horodecki of London, Ont. Beat a previously undefeated American fighter Danny Downes by choking him out in the third round to thrill the Canadian crowd.
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