| 21 June 2010
Prior to their battle at WEC 49, former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner described Iranian-born, Austin-based grappler Kamal Shalorus as the “best fighter you never heard of.” While that may be true to the majority of fight aficionados, those of us here in North Texas are quite familiar with the cage exploits of Shalorus who has made a number of dominate showings at local Supreme Warrior Championship cards. Shalorus has since made it to the bright lights of the WEC where he has quickly made a name for himself by displaying the iron chin and concussive punching that made him a regional favorite. Sunday night Shalorus headlined his first WEC promotion when he and Varner tangled at WEC 49 which took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For Varner, the fight represented another shot at a title, for Shalorus, a victory over the extremely tough Varner would immediately catapult him to fame.
What is it about Varner and controversial fights? Sunday’s clash with Shalorus followed in this trend as Varner was ribbed of a victory, settling on a draw, over his Iranian counterpart. For all the praise we can heap on Shalorus’ iron chin, his power, and his will to win, the fact of the matter is that Varner exploited his methodical attacking style with quick movement and vicious boxing. While Shalorus tenderized Varner’s legs with an assault of low kicks, Varner was able to slip in and tee off on Shalorus’ head. In fact, a wicked straight right nearly buckled Shalorus, who seemed a step too slow throughout the contest. Unfortunately, the judges didn’t quite see the fight the way that the world did, and instead of a decision victory for Varner, a majority draw was the result. The one good thing about the verdict hs to be that a rematch is inevitable.
Campuzano Stopped by Wineland
Dallas’ own Will Campuzano fared far worse in his bout against Eddie Wineland on the WEC 49 undercard. Though Campuzano is a fighter who typically goes balls-out in battle, against Wineland, a seasoned vet, his relative lack of experience seemed to be his demise. Wineland came out aggressively stalking Campuzano throughout most of the fight and found great success in plastering his straight right hand on the head of his opponent. Though Campuzano showed tremendous heart in weathering Wineland’s barrage in the first round, his luck quickly ran out one the second stanza began. After eating a couple of right hands that staggered him against the cage, Campuzano was left in a precarious position of having to defend the ensuing barrage by Wineland. And Wineland’s barrage was brutal. After crumpling along the cage from a straight right to the body, Campuzano was knocked out cold from the follow up barrage from Wineland.
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