WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz Re-Airs Tonight on Versus

Versus will re-air a night of action-packed fights from the March 6 live WEC 47 event on Wednesday, March 10, at 9 p.m. ET. The two- hour presentation will feature seven fights from this past weekend's card, including the non-televised bout between Ricardo Lamas (8-1) and Bendy Casimir (19-6-2) - an intense battle that is already being touted as one of the best knockouts of 2010.

The re-air will also feature the bantamweight championship bout between Brian Bowles (8-1) and Dominick Cruz (15-1) as well as of the fight between former bantamweight champ Miguel Angel Torres (36-3) and seasoned wrestler Joseph Benevidez (12-1). Additional fights include UFC legend and crowd favorite Jens 'Lil Evil' Pulver (22-13-1) against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Javier Vazquez (14-3) and 23-year old Karen Darabedyan (9-2) in the cage with veteran Bart Palazewski (33-13) in a lightweight fight. Rounding out the night are battles between Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen (9-3) and Chad George (11-5) and lightweight opponents Danny Castillo (8-3) and Anthony Pettis (8-1).

Faber And Bonnar Pay Tribute To Sakuraba

Legendary Japanese fighter, Kazushi Sakuraba, is a very familiar name to most hardcore fans, but there are many new fans that may have never seen the former Pride star grapple his way to the top of the sport several years ago, and many fighters today still talk about the "Gracie Hunter" and his fights.

Two of the fighters who proudly claim Sakuraba as their favorite are WEC featherweight, Urijah Faber, and UFC fighter, Stephan Bonnar, who both mentioned the Japanese fighter when speaking to fans at a recent Q&A session.

"I would say past or present, favorite fighter for me is Sakuraba," Faber said when asked who his favorite fighter was. "If you watch the guy, first off he's a wrestler, a top level wrestler, but he really has a great attitude out there. He's always out in front, really, really creative, and he's been in one of the most inspiring fights that I've ever seen."

The fight that Faber referenced was Sakuraba's last fight against Zelg Galesic, in which he pulled off a kneebar after suffering damage throughout the fight. Faber also mentioned Sakuraba's historic 2000 no-time limit win over Royce Gracie as a favorite performance.

Stephan Bonnar went one step further when paying tribute to the former Pride star.

"I love that guy, I even named my cat after him," said Bonnar.

The ageless Sakuraba continues to come up in conversations when fighters mention who they admire most, and for anyone that isn't sure about how good he really is, go back and watch his 2000 fight against Renzo Gracie, but don't expect to hold down your lunch when you see the finish.

Miguel Torres' Cut Gets 20 Stitches

The elbow that landed from Joseph Benavidez on Miguel Torres left the former bantamweight champion wearing a crimson mask for the remainder of their fight on Saturday night.

On Sunday, Torres posted a picture of the cut on his Twitter page (@MiguelTorresMMA) and said in a separate post that it required 20 stitches to close up.

The Indiana based fighter also said that he was breathing in blood during the fight, and obviously struggle to see much of anything.

Guess the old saying is true. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Benavidez and Torres Break Down WEC 47 Main Event

Joseph Benavidez and Miguel Torres fight each other in Saturday night's WEC 47 co-main event. But both had a lot to say about the evening's main event between WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles and challenger Dominick Cruz.

JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ:
I like Brian Bowles. He's a great guy, so as far as fighting him, we've trained together a little bit, and I'd love to have the fight with Dominick Cruz again. Of course I want to avenge my loss, and I know I'm better than that, so I could beat him. There's that aspect of wanting to fight Cruz again, but as far as the outside looking in, if I had to pick someone, I'd definitely pick Bowles.

I just think he has more ways to finish the fight. And if it's a five-round fight, the only way Dominick really has at beating him is a decision. It's going to be hard to stay away from his submissions and power for five rounds. He can maybe do it for three rounds. I just think that Bowles has more ways to finish the fight, and Cruz has one, which is to out point him.

You can't underestimate Cruz. He has that point, beating people on points down to a science basically, so it's going to be a great fight, but if I had to bet, I'd pick Brian.

MIGUEL TORRES:
At first when I looked at the fight I thought Dominick Cruz would have the edge, and then I started watching fights on Bowles and fights on Cruz, and Cruz fights with his hands down a lot, and he's fought a lot of shorter guys. A lot of his opponents have been shorter guys, so I think the same strategy that he's used against his past opponents and keeping his hand real low, Brian just needs one big punch to hurt Cruz. I haven't seen Cruz get rocked yet. I'm leaning more towards Bowles because with one punch you can change everything.

The fights that I've seen of Cruz, he moves very well, and he's a very good striker, but he leaves his hands real low. He might have the edge in wrestling. I think Dominick's wrestling is better than Bowles', but I haven't seen Bowles get pushed yet. I couldn't push him past the first round, so we're going to see. It's an interesting fight.

ESPN's MMA Live: James Toney, Strikefoce & WEC 47

This week on ESPN's MMA Live: New UFC signee and former boxing champion James Toney, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and a WEC 47 preview.

A Day In The Life of WEC Fighter Scott Jorgensen

Take a journey to Boise, Idaho, and meet up with Scott Jorgensen as he prepares for his upcoming fight with Chad George. See Scott spar with Jens Pulver in the gym, and have sword fights with his kid at home.

A Day In The Life of WEC Fighter Chad Mendes

Check out a day in the life of WEC fighter Chad Mendes as he prepares for his WEC 47 bout with Erik Kotch.

WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz Video Preview

An extended video preview of the WEC bantamweight championship between champion Brian Bowles and challenger Dominick Cruz...