WEC 51 opener: Hominick makes Garcia look silly with his jab

Leonard Garcia has been in some wars. Maybe too many at this point. He looked slow and at times defenseless to avoid Mark Hominick's jab. The Canadian landed just about whenever he wanted and by the end of the fight, Garcia's face was blown up. It was an easy call for the judges, who somehow scored it a split decision, 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28, for Hominick in the opening bout on the televised portion of WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colo.  "We know Leonard's got a big right. We wanted to make him miss and
make him pay for missing," said Hominick. "You know he's very
durable, very tough, so he's very hard to finish. So we just wanted
to keep attacking, stay one up on him." Garcia (14-6-1, 4-3-1 WEC) has raw power but his form just wasn't there to compete with a compact striker like Hominick. When Garcia swung wildly with overhand left and rights, Hominick side-stepped him to counter with jabs and double-jabs. When Garcia was stationary, Hominick made great use of the jab and landed a ton of right hand leads. It's clear the wear and tear of Garcia's all out style over the years has slowed him down. It's a solid win for Hominick (19-8-1, 3-2 WEC, 2-0 UFC) who is slowly moving into the conversation for a shot at the top at 145 pounds in the WEC. At 28 years old, Hominick's got a ton of experience and physical talent, now he finally feels like he's putting it all together.  "The mental approach is now I'm not fearing my opponent," said Hominick. "I'm not fearing what they're bringing to the table. I know what I can do and I'm just to go out there and do it." The judge who gave the fight to Garcia was Joe Garcia (no relation). Wait until the postfight striking stats come out, Garcia may be second-guessing his original decision.  Randy Couture Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Brock Lesnar Frank Mir Brock Lesnar