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WEC notes: Karalexis heeds wake-up call

dave doyle

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Alex Karalexis isn't afraid to admit it: He compares himself to his fellow cast members on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and for awhile, he didn't like what he saw.

While cohorts like Forrest Griffin and Ken Florian competed for UFC titles, and others like Diego Sanchez work their way up the ladder, the Whitman, Mass., native lost two straight fights in the WEC and was in danger of dropping off the national radar.

"I thought to myself, 'You've got to stop being a dumb [expletive],' "Karalexis said. "Those guys wanted it. I didn't want it enough. I wasn't being serious enough. I was happy to fight hard and get a round of applause from the crowd at the end if I didn't win. I was pissing away my career and I knew I had to change."

If Sunday night's performance at the American Bank Center is any indication, Karalexis is ready to turn the corner. The lightweight scored a convincing win against Greg McIntyre, who was making his WEC debut, winning via TKO at 4:19 of the first round.

"I came to a point where I needed to grow up," said Karalexis, who recently began working with Boston-based trainer Mark DellaGrotte. "I was into everything that went with being a fighter, but I wasn't dedicated enough to make it to the top. I always had my reasons why I lost, I hurt my hand, or this, or that. That's all over. I've got too good of an opportunity to let it go all to waste."

The San Diego-based McIntyre (5-4), who has a wrestling and jiu-jitsu background, spent the first half of the round attempting to take Karalexis down without much success. Karalexis then changed the fight's momentum with a sweeping trip and followed up soon thereafter with a huge slam. A ground-and-pound assault finished the fight.

"That was Mark's doing," Karalexis said. "He had me focused on his shot. Once I got the match under control, I didn't want it to go to the judges. I wanted to finish it. The fans know when they see me I'm going to bring it, they're going to see an exciting fight."

Curran comes home: After losing back-to-back matches against the big dogs of the WEC's featherweight division, Jeff Curran had a decision to make. He could stay at 145 pounds and move to the back of the line, or he could drop down and remake his career.

The 31-year-old veteran known as "Big Frog" chose the latter. He'll make his bantamweight debut in one of the feature matches of next month's WEC 40 in Chicago, taking on hotshot Joseph Benavidez.

"I decided I didn't have anything left to prove against guys who are bigger than me anymore," said Curran, who cornered Bart Palaszewski for his fight against Ricardo Lamas on Sunday night. "I might go back to 145 if the right fight's there, but the way I look at it, 135 is my new home, this is where I'll be from here on out.

"I've fought at a catchweight of 138 and I've boxed at 135 before," he said. "If anything, I think I'm better off not having to add the extra muscle weight to fight at 145."

Curran (29-10-1) was on a string of 15 victories in 16 fights before losing matches to current featherweight champion Mike Brown and former champ Urijah Faber. His first opponent at bantamweight, Benavidez, has won all nine of his pro fights and trains with Faber in Sacramento, Calif.

"He's basically like a clone of Faber, only shorter," Curran said. "They fight the same style. I think he's going to give me a battle, but I think in the end I have more experienced than him, and I'll have a better grasp on what to do when the going gets tough."

Curran, who has been fighting professionally since 1998, is a mainstay of the Chicago MMA scene. When the Crystal Lakes, Ill., native is not fighting, he's running his successful local promotion, Xtreme Fighting Organization, and running his Curran MMA Academy.

"Fighting in my hometown is nothing new for me, but it's never been in this big of a spotlight," Curran said. "I don't think of it as a pressure situation. It's always a rush to have your friends and family out there watching you. You want to put on a show for them."

Officiating woes: The local officials assigned by the Texas State Licensing and Control Board didn't exactly bathe themselves in glory during the undercard. First, referee Mark Calo-oy didn't penalize Alex Serdyukov after a flagrant eye gouge in the third round of his loss to Johny Hendricks. Hendricks handily won both of the first two rounds, but took a beating in the remainder of the third as Serdyukov attacked his blindside. Then in the next fight, Rafael Ramos was slow to respond to Demacio Page's brutal KO of Marcos Galvao. Galvao was clearly out before he hit the mat after Page drilled him with a right to the temple, but Galvao ate two more shots on the ground before Ramos stopped the fight. Garcia twitched violently after the knockout and needed oxygen administered in the cage before he was taken out on a stretcher. Galvao was taken to a local hospital and released after a CAT scan came up negative.