Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

After his scheduled September title opportunity was delayed two months by Hurricane Ike, Mike Thomas Brown decided not to waste any more time. The WEC featherweight who once doubted his ability to make a living in the sport upset the organization’s posterboy Urijah Faber with a first-round knockout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., to capture the WEC featherweight championship.

Off a scramble, Faber decided to throw a back elbow, while Brown threw a straight right. Brown’s shot landed first and Faber went down. Brown pounced, took Faber’s back and landed a series of hard rights until the fight was stopped at 2:23 of the round.

“I train with the best team in world, ATT [American Top Team], and we have so much depth,” he said. “I know what's out there. If I can perform like i do in training, I can beat anyone in the world.”

Faber (21-2) entered the fight as a solid favorite, riding a 13-fight win streak that stretched back over three years, including a decisive five-round dismantling of Jens Pulver in his most recent fight. But Brown (18-4) also came in on a roll, a winner of six straight.

The soft-spoken Brown and California cool Faber had little in the way of pre-fight fireworks, but both are known for keeping a strong pace in the fight, and many observers expected a drawn-out war. Faber, while disappointed, promised to return stronger.

“Yeah, I made small mistakes, he capitalized,” he said. “Congrats to Mike. I have no excuses. I love life, and I'll be back to get that belt. I'll be back.”

In stark contrast to the brief but explosive energy on display in the Faber-Brown fight, the co-main event pitting Chael Sonnen and Paulo Filho in a rematch will likely go down as one of the worst fights of the year, largely because of Filho’s lethargic performance.

The Brazilian continued a downward spiral that began with pulling out of the original date, reportedly checking into rehab [he denies it], missing weight during pre-fight weigh-ins, and now, the end of his unbeaten record.

Filho was clearly out of shape, looked slow and sluggish and showed little aggression in a sport that demands it. At times, it appeared as though he had no interest in fighting, looking away from his opponent. As a result, Sonnen was able to dance around him, land jabs, circle out and incur no damage or danger. Filho tried a few takedowns, but did not come close to putting Sonnen on his back, a position that would have given him a strong advantage.

Slideshow WEC 36 photos Take a look back at all the action, including Mike Brown's upset win over Urijah Faber.

The first round was completely one-sided, with Filho staying on the ground after getting stuffed on a takedown, and Sonnen peppering him with leg kicks and occasional punches for almost the entirety of the round. In the second, Sonnen refused to engage Filho at all on the ground, leaving the WEC middleweight champ to play punching bag, but despite the fact Filho was hardly interested, Sonnen played it cautiously. The third saw no increase in activity, despite the fact Filho had to know he was behind on the scorecards. The match was so lackluster that the WEC didn’t even bother with post-fight interviews.

The day prior, Filho failed to make weight, originally checking in at 192, seven pounds over the limit. Given two hours to lose the remaining seven pounds necessary – a virtual impossibility – Filho could only drop three pounds to 189.

As a result, he forfeited a percentage of his purse in order to get Sonnen to agree to take the fight, and the scheduled five-round title match was changed to a non-title, three-round fight. Filho’s camp also reportedly told Sonnen’s that should the challenger win, he would be presented with the title belt, though it wasn’t clear if that occurred afterward. Either way, it was an inglorious ending to the company’s middleweight division, which will be phased out in January.

Rounding out the trifecta of fallen WEC stars, MMA legend Jens Pulver suffered a first-round knockout in an upset stunning for its fashion more than the actual result.

The end came quickly for Pulver. In a short exchange, Garcia landed a right hook that visibly stunned Pulver. Garcia sensed his distress and pushed forward, landing a left-right  combo that caused Pulver to fall back against the cage. From there, Garcia teed off until the fight was stopped just 72 seconds into the first round.

With the dominant win over a former UFC champ, Garcia – now 2-0 as a 145-pounder—voiced a belief that he deserved the next featherweight title shot.

"I knocked out the legend,” said Garcia, who called Pulver his hero. “I knocked out the guy who said he was going to knock me out. Whoever has the belt after tonight, I want some."

In a middleweight fight, debuting former three-time NCAA wrestling champion Jake Rosholt earned a second-round TKO victory over Nissen Osterneck in a battle of unbeatens.

The 26-year-old Rosholt was a four-time All-American at Oklahoma State, and began training for MMA just 18 months ago, compiling four wins before signing with the WEC in the middle of 2008.

He showed his inexperience on his feet taking serious abuse in the striking game, but also proved he has a battle-ready chin by withstanding the assault before taking Osterneck down with 2:00 to go in the second round. He quickly earned back mount and hammered Osterneck for over a half-minute before referee Troy Waugh called an end to the action.

"I’ve got to keep getting better,” said Rosholt, who will move over to the UFC along with the rest of the WEC’s middleweights. “People saw tonight, I’ve got a long ways to go and things to work on, but trust me, I'll get better.”

Full results
Mike Thomas Brown def. Urijah Faber via TKO, Rd. 1
Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho via unanimous decision
Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver via TKO, Rd. 1
Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck via TKO, Rd. 2
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by unanimous decision
Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan by KO, Rd. 1
Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookings by TKO, Rd. 3
Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by split decision
Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias via TKO, Rd. 2
Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by guillotine submission, Rd. 1