It was a roller coaster ride of emotion at Wednesday night's World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 36 in Hollywood, Florida, but when all was said and done, the numbers added up in the promotion's favor.

WEC 36 drew 5,227 fans accounting for $563,578 in revenue at the gate, according to WEC Vice President Peter Dropick, who said they were "just shy of a sellout".

The promotion's centerpiece, Urijah Faber, was upset in a featherweight title bout by American Top Team's Mike Brown. Chael Sonnen also knocked off middleweight champ Paulo Filho in a lackluster non-title affair, while Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and "Razor" Rob McCullough put on the Fight of the Night, which may also end up a "Fight of the Year" candidate.

The attendance pales in comparison to the promotion's draw at WEC 34 earlier this year in Sacramento, California, which drew 12,682 and also featured Faber in the main event. The dollar amount at the gate, however, isn't that far off considering the difference in attendance. WEC 34 garnered $738,855 at the gate.

------------

WEC 36 results:

• Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber by TKO (strikes) at 2:23 of Round 1

• Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho by unanimous decision

• Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver by TKO (strikes) at 1:12 of Round 1

• Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck by TKO (strikes) at 3:48 of Round 2

• Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by unanimous decision

• Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan by KO (punch) at 0:18 of Round 1

• Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookins by TKO (strikes) at 0:45 of Round 3

• Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbeiss by split decision

• Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias by TKO (strikes) at 2:54 of Round 2

• Rani Yahya def. Yoshiro Maeda by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:30 of Round 1

"Let's get it on!" Remember the sentence? Yes, now we will hear that sentence again from the cage.

The California State Athletic Commission has assigned "Big" John McCarthy a referee's position at Strikeforce "Destruction" on November 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The assignment will mark the 15-year veteran's return to officiating after McCarthy announced his retirement in December 2007 to join The Fight Network, a Canadian-based cable channel, as an on-air analyst and strategic advisor.

McCarthy oversaw his 535th bout between dynamic lightweights Clay Guida and Roger Huerta at "The Ultimate Fighter 6" Finale last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. He officiated his first bout at UFC 2 "No Way Out" in March 1994 in Denver, Colorado, and was among the original authors of the MMA's first set of guidelines in 1998.

In his analyst's role, the 45-year-old McCarthy provided color commentary for Canada's TKO and Hardcore Championship Fighting promotions, and most recently called the action alongside FOX Sports Network regulars Frank Trigg and Jay Glazer at Affliction "Banned" last July in Anaheim, California.

McCarthy resigned from The Fight Network on October 7, amidst rumors the channel was awash with financial difficulties.

"I had a good time doing (commentary) and it was fun," said McCarthy. "The Fight Network overextended itself and wasn't ready to do certain things that they said that they were going to be able to do. It just didn't work out there."

Rather than take another offer that would keep him outside the cage, McCarthy said he chose to return to the role he originated inside it.

"I missed doing it," said McCarthy. "Sometimes when you walk away from something and you think it's time, once you're away you realize what you're missing –- it's kind of like why guys come back to fighting. It's what I like doing. It's what I was meant to do."

Retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) where he served for 22 years, McCarthy instructed over 10,000 recruits in arrest and control procedures and survival tactics.

McCarthy has not veered far from his teaching roots. He conducted his second Certified Officials for MMA National Development (COMMAND) referee and judges' instructional course in October and has a third seminar planned for late November at his mixed martial arts academy in Valencia, California. The program is recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

Though most recognizable from his tenure with the UFC, Big John said he has no expectations of where or when he will be placed for assignment.

"I have no control over that," he said. "That's up to athletic commissions and what you get assigned to. I may do one show a year. I may do 50. I don't know, but if I get assigned to something, then I'll be going if I can."

McCarthy was recently re-licensed as a referee with the athletic commissions in California, Ohio, and the River Cree in Alberta, Canada. He said he plans apply for licensure in additional states as well.

Satoshi Ishii, the Beijing Olympic gold medalist in the men's over 100 kg judo division, announced on Monday that he has started his career as a professional mixed martial arts fighter.

"I'm a professional fighter from today," the 21-year-old judoka said at a press conference on Monday, where he made an official announcement about his new career. "To become the strongest of the world's six billion people has been my dream since I was little. I think mixed martial arts is the toughest combat sports."

Finally putting an end to all the commotion regarding his retirement from judo, Ishii showed no regret about his decision. He revealed that he had decided to quit judo before he was chosen as a representative for the Beijing Olympics. "You only get one life, and I don't want to have any regrets. I will start as a beginner in mixed martial arts," said Ishii.

Although Ishii said he had yet to decide on when to debut and which MMA organization to join, he is expected to take part in the DREAM fighting event alongside his high school senior Yoshihiro Akiyama.

World Victory Road presented Sengoku 6 last Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Here are the complete results for the show:

Main Card

• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Moises Rimbon by unanimous decision

• Muhammad "Mo" Lawal def. Fabio Silva by TKO (strikes) at 0:41 of Round 3

• Sergey Golyaev def. Takanori Gomi by split decision

Lightweight Grand Prix Semifinals

• Kazunori Yokota def. Mizuto Hirota by unanimous decision

• Satoru Kitaoka def. Eiji Mitsuoka by submission (heel hook) at 1:16 of Round 1

Lightweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

• Jorge Masvidal def. Seung Hwan Bang by unanimous decision

Lightweight Grand Prix Finals

• Satoru Kitaoka def. Kazunori Yokota by unanimous decision

Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinals

• Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Yuki Sasaki by unanimous decision

• Jorge Santiago def. Siyar Bahadurzada by submission (heel hook) at 1:10 of Round 1

Middleweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

• Joe Doerksen def. Izuru Takeuchi by TKO (strikes) at 0:41 of Round 3

Middleweight Grand Prix Finals

• Jorge Santiago def. Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO (strikes) at 0:49 of Round 3

COUNT Urijah Faber among those disappointed to see EliteXC close its doors last week and join the list of mixed martial arts promotional companies that saw their dreams of riches crumble under a flood of financial losses.

Faber wasn't directly affected by EliteXC folding because he's aligned with the WEC, which is owned by Zuffa, LLC, the same company that owns the highly successful UFC.

There was a time not so long ago when EliteXC appeared to be a viable threat to the UFC's dominance of mixed martial arts. EliteXC had Kimbo Slice and a contract for primetime shows on CBS. Now that EliteXC has folded, the UFC's stranglehold on the sport is that much tighter.

That's not necessarily a good thing as far as Faber is concerned. He would like to see more promotional companies in play, breeding the kind of competition that would ultimately benefit fighters.

"Fortunately, I'm with the best team out there," Faber said during a quick visit to Manhattan Thursday. "But competition is important. It's important for our economy; it's important for fighting and it's important for the fighters themselves."

Faber, 29, is one of the superstars of mixed martial arts, the reigning WEC featherweight champion. Nicknamed "The California Kid," he'll take a 21-1 record into the cage Wednesday night when he defends his title against Mike Brown (19-4) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Versus will televise live, hoping to attract the more than 1.5 million viewers who turned in to see Faber's victory last June over Jens "Li'l Evil" Pulver, who is on Wednesday's undercard.

If this were baseball or football or even boxing, Faber would be earning close to seven figures each time he steps into the cage. He's smart, personable and the ladies like his golden blond hair. But Zuffa dictates who fights who, and for how much. With the absence of any type of free agency among fighters, purses will remain limited as long as there is no real competition among promoters. Faber has earned about $40,000 for each of his past three fights.

"It's not that I would ever want to go fight there," Faber said of EliteXC, "but the more companies around, the better. It's like if you have one casino, a few people are going to show up. But if you have 20 casinos, you have a bunch of people there. It's kind of the same idea."

Faber isn't complaining though. He's making a living doing what he loves to do - fight - and he's the headliner for the WEC, which was founded in 2001 to highlight fighters in the smaller weight classes.

"The UFC has the best fighters and I would have stood out in the UFC as well," Faber said, "but they want to use me as a catalyst for the WEC. I feel like I'm really lucky to be where I am and I'm fortunate to be the guy being pushed. But I'm also winning on top of that."

A former collegiate wrestler at UC-Davis, Faber will carry a 13-fight winning steak into the cage against Brown, the No. 2 ranked 145-pounder in the world. The fight was originally set for September but had to be postponed because of a hurricane threat.

Brown is known as an aggressive fighter who likes to overpower his opponents. But Faber is deceptively strong and his wrestling skills are complemented by an improved stand-up attack, making him one of the more versatile fighters in the sport.

"He does a lot of things pretty well," Faber said. "But what he does pretty well, I'm going to do just a little bit better."

Taken from: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11012008/sports/boxing/fighters_like_faber_concerned_with_mma_f_136265.htm