If a 10-fight card, including a world title bout between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson, wasn't enough, World Extreme Cagefighting is pleased to announce that four of the sport's biggest names will be heading to the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, to take part in the fight week festivities.
WEC Vice President Peter Dropick, along with General Manager Reed Harris, on Sunday confirmed two huge events that will take place at the Covelli Centre in the days and hours leading up to WEC: Cerrone vs. Henderson.
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, former UFC heavyweight champion and current WEC color commentator Frank Mir will join former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber for a unique Q&A session at the Covelli Center. Time will be announced at a later date.
Then, just hours before the first fight on Sept. 2, one of the greatest fighters of all-time, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, will sign autographs on the main concourse at the Covelli Centre from 4PM-6PM EST.
"For our first trip to Ohio, we wanted to make sure fans were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Dropick said. "To attend a title fight is a special experience. To have four of the best fighters of all-time also in attendance makes this an absolute can't-miss event."
Cerrone vs. Henderson will be televised nationally live on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber's picks for the UFC 100 title fights.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (Welterweight): GSP in my opinion is the much more complete fighter and is the more disciplined fighter. As far as just being a fighter and, in general, the type of guy that loves to get down and probably would be fighting once a week on the street anyways if he wasn't fighting, you gotta go with Thiago on that one. You've got a killer instinct on that guy that is really dangerous, but unless he can knock out St. Pierre, I think St. Pierre is gonna take it.
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (Heavyweight): Lesnar has been improving quite a bit. With the right training partners, he's gonna be very, vary hard to stop. But Frank Mir is crafty and this is the most dedicated he's been in the sport and working the hardest, more than he ever has in this sport. He looked the biggest, the strongest that I've seen him as well. I'm expecting a great fight. It's either gonna be Lesnar by TKO or Mir by tricky submission.
Okay, so Bionic is a bit of an exaggeration. But here are some pictures that Urijah posted on his Twitter account today after going to the doc to get his stitches removed.
Does this mean his right hand will now be stronger and faster?
ESPN's MMA Live breaks down Saturday's UFC 99 fight card featuring Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva and takes a look back at this past weekend's WEC 41 "Brown vs. Faber 2" and Strikeforce "Lawler vs. Shields."
VERSUS, the exclusive television home of World Extreme Cagefighting, will re-air the most-anticipated featherweight championship re-match in MMA history between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber on Wednesday, June 10, at 9 p.m. ET and again at 12 a.m. ET.
The fight, which aired live on VERSUS on Sunday, June 7, featured five full rounds of intense action in the cage in which Mike Brown proved to viewers that he is still the #1 featherweight fighter in the world. Faber, who broke his hand in the first round, battled it out until the very end, but without full use of both hands, Faber was unable to overcome Brown and win back his belt.
"The five-round championship battle between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber was not only one of the must-see WEC events of year, but one of the best fights in MMA history," said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS. "From the moment the fight ended last night, we began receiving a ton of feedback to re-air the epic battle as soon as possible. So to keep in line with our mission of super-serving passionate fans, we decided to give them what they asked for and re-air the entire card just days after the live action took place in Sacramento."
In addition to the Brown vs. Faber re-match, the card also featured several other top featherweight fights, including Josh "The Fluke" Grispi vs. former UFC lightweight champion Jens "Lil Evil" Pulver, Cub Swanson vs. Jose Aldo and John Franchi vs. "The Ultimate Fighter" runner-up in season five, Manvel Gamburyan. The fight between Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and James Krause was the featured lightweight bout on the card and the battle between Antonio Banuelos and Scott Jorgensen was the featured bantamweight match.
The California State Athletic Commission on Monday released the final gate and attendance numbers for Sunday's WEC 41 held in Sacramento, Calif.
The WEC's unofficial numbers stood at 13,027 attendees, but official figures were lower.
Officially, 12,706 fans took in the event, with 10,110 paid attendees for $815,415 in live gate revenue.
The final tally stands as the highest live gate figure in the promotion's history. The first WEC held at the Arco Arena, featuring Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver 1, was the previous record holder with 12,682 fans in attendance for a $738,855 take.
Steve Cofield of ESPN Radio 1100 and Cagewriter.com talks at length with Mike Brown as the hours dwindle down to his WEC featherweight title defense against former champ Urijah Faber.
UFC president Dana White's second installment of his WEC 41 video blog. Includes Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, and others leading up to the rematch between current WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown and former champ Urijah Faber.
Not only are WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown and challenger Urijah Faber guests on a special edition of MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday night, but Damon & Jeff will also be taking calls to give away two of the BRAND NEW Urijah Faber Silver Star t-shirts.
Brown and Faber will rematch on June 7 at WEC 41 in Sacramento, Calif., seven months after Brown defeated Faber in Hollywood, Fla., to capture the title belt. Since then, Brown has gone on to defend against Leonard Garcia, while Faber bounced back by defeating former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver for a second time.
A preview of the upcoming WEC featherweight title fight between champion Mike Brown and former champ Urijah Faber. Can the California Kid come back and beat the man that beat him?
Although there is never a certainty in the business of mixed martial arts, for now former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion, Urijah Faber, won't be booking a flight for Chicago for a rumored bout against Brazilian stand-out, Wagnney Fabiano, as confirmed to the MMA Insider's Blog on Monday.
The rumor began to circle after Fabiano stated in an interview with Tatame.com that he thinks "it will be Faber" as an opponent at the April show set for Chicago, Ill.
Sources close to the "California Kid" indicated on Monday that there was no truth to the proposed bout, and all indications are that Faber is waiting for the winner of Mike Brown and Leonard Garcia, who are set to do battle on March 1 for the 145lb title.
Originally, Faber was a candidate to get an immediate rematch with Mike Brown after losing to the American Top Team fighter in Nov 2007, but when Brown suffered a rib injury and had to sit out for a time, the Sacramento native didn't want to wait that long for a fight and opted for a January showdown with Jens Pulver instead.
Faber went onto defeat Pulver and now all signs point to the former champion getting another shot at the gold in early summer barring any injuries to either competitor in the championship bout.
Tonight, the participants in the co-main event coming up for the WEC's first show in San Diego stop by MMAWeekly Radio.
Former WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber, kicks off the show at the top of the hour to talk about the rematch with Jens Pulver, his hopes of getting back to a title shot, and his thoughts on the growth of the WEC.
Also his opponent, Jens Pulver, will stop by to give us the lowdown on his training camp in Seattle, the birth of his new son, and much, much more.
Tune in tonight starting at 9pm EST/6pm PST for MMAWeekly Radio with Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver live!
Las Vegas, NV (USA) – World Extreme Cagefighting® today announced that for the first event of 2009, the cage will head west to the hotbed of mixed martial arts - California - to hold the first ever WEC® event in San Diego. Two blockbuster matchups will lead the main card, with the World Lightweight Championship fight between Jamie Varner and undefeated Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone as the main event, and the mega-rematch pitting Urijah Faber against Jens Pulver in the co-main event. World Extreme Cagefighting, featuring Varner vs. Cerrone and Faber vs. Pulver 2, takes place live from the San Diego Sports Arena on Sunday, January 25, 2009.
World Extreme Cagefighting will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:30 pm ET/6:30 pm PT. All live WEC events will be presented in Hi-Definition (HD) where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.
Tickets for World Extreme Cagefighting go on sale at 10 a.m. PT Thursday, Dec. 4 and will be priced at $175, $125, $75 and $35 (not including applicable services or taxes). Tickets will be available for purchase through the San Diego Sports Arena Box Office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 619-220-8497.
Don't blink when WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner (15-2, 1 NC) meets up with No. 1 contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (9-0, 1 NC). Varner has finished his last four opponents, and now the Tempe, Arizona fighter will face his greatest test in the red hot Cerrone.
"I have a lot of respect for Cerrone, but I consider him just one more undefeated fighter that I have to put in his place," said Varner. "I think it's awesome to have this fight in Southern California; there is a huge MMA following there, so I think this event will be huge, and a big step for the growth of WEC."
Undefeated lightweight contender Cerrone ( 9-0,1 No Contest) is one fight away from securing his place as the new champion of the WEC, and he plans on doing everything in his power to get there. The Albuquerque, New Mexico trained mixed martial artist, who is known for his relentless stand-up attack and equally effective ground game, most recently scored a Fight of the Night win against world class striker and former champ "Razor" Rob McCullough.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to fight for the title, and to take on Jamie Varner," said Cerrone. "He's well rounded and very athletic, but I'm going to work hard in training camp and on my game plan to win the title. I'm looking forward to fighting in San Diego, and to headline the first WEC event there."
Urijah "The California Kid" Faber (21-2) is the former WEC Featherweight Champion, a title he has owned since March of 2006. Faber was upset by Mike Brown in November, but he is on a mission to reclaim his status as best featherweight fighter in the world. But first, he has to fight his way through a rematch with Jens Pulver. The two first met in June 2008, fighting toe-to-toe in a five round battle that became one of the best WEC fights to date.
"I know this is going to be another classic for the fans," said Faber. "Jens is always ready to fight, he's a competitor, and I expect a tough battle, but I'm going to try to finish it this time - I don't want it to go the distance."
Former UFC® lightweight champion Jens Pulver (22-10-1) looks to rebound from two consecutive losses at the expense of Faber. And with a new team behind him, the 33-year-old with the legendary left hand is refocused and ready to continue on his road back to the top.
"Now that I train with Matt Hume, I'll be doing things a lot differently," Pulver said comparing his first fight with Faber. "Did I show it against Leonard Garcia? No, it takes time. But I know I'm still competitive... Great fights are still in me."
All bouts subject to change. For more information about current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.
UFC President Dana White returns for his UFC 91 video blog.
In this edition, Dana visits the Tony Hawk Foundation and talks with Anthony Kiedes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, WEC fighter Urijah Faber, and rapper 50 Cent, while talking Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar along the way.
Following the biggest win of his career, American Top Team fighter Mike Brown walked away from the cage and as cameras followed him to the back, he was noticeably wincing in pain and holding his rib cage area.
At first it was thought that Brown somehow broke a rib during his first round knockout of former champion, Urijah Faber.
MMAInsider confirmed after further analysis that Brown actually suffered torn rib cartilage during the fight that caused him extreme pain after the match-up was over.
According to inside sources, Brown still has no idea when the injury occurred and it was only after the fight was over that he actually felt any pain in his rib cage area.
The new WEC featherweight champion had to receive medical attention and didn't even get to enjoy his post fight party!
No word on how long the injury will sideline the new top featherweight, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
Just a heads up for everybody tuning into Versus on Wednesday night to check out the latest World Extreme Cagefighting show, that the broadcast will begin at 8pm EST/5pm PST.
This is an hour earlier than the normal showtime so just want to make sure everyone is aware of the time difference.
The main event pits WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber, against American Top Team stand out, Mike Brown, for the 145lb title.
The co-main event will be a rematch between champion, Paulo Filho, and top contender, Chael Sonnen.
Full Card:
-Urijah Faber (#1 Featherweight in the World)* vs. Mike Brown (#6 Featherweight in the World)* -Paulo Filho (#3 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Chael Sonnen -Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia -Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone -Jake Rosholt vs. Nissen Osterneck -Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yahya -Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Brookins -Carmelo Marrero vs. Steve Steinbeiss -Danny Castillo vs. Rafael Dias -Johnny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov -David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson
ESPN's MMA Live Episode 25 covers everything from UFC 90 in Chicago this past weekend and breaks down next week's WEC 36, which features Urijah Faber vs. Mike Thomas in Hollywood, Fla.
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