The Nevada State Athletic Commission has issued medical suspensions to 7 of the 20 fighters who were in action at Wednesday’s WEC 44 event, which took place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Headliner Mike Brown, the former WEC featherweight champ who suffered a second-round knockout to Jose Aldo in the WEC 44 main event, was suspended until January 3 due to facial lacerations, while Diego Nunes, Cub Swanson, and Antonio Banuelos could be out of action until May after suffering fractures in their fights.

Main card winners Manny Gamburyan and Jose Aldo topped the $236,500 payroll for Wednesday’s WEC 44 event, which took place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas and aired live on Versus.

Gamburyan earned $36,000 for his decision win over fellow featherweight contender Leonard Garcia in the WEC 44 co-main event, while Aldo scored $26,000 (and the featherweight title) for his second-round knockout of champ Mike Brown in the event’s headliner.

Jose Aldo, Shane Roller, Cub Swanson, and John Franchi each earned a $10,000 “fight night” bonus for their performances at Wednesday’s WEC 44 event, WEC general manager Reed Harris announced at the card’s post-fight press conference.

Jose Aldo became the WEC’s new featherweight champion on Wednesday with a second-round TKO of title-holder Mike Brown in the main event of WEC 44, which took place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Also on the Versus-televised main card, Manny Gamburyan topped fellow featherweight contender Leonard Garcia by unanimous decision, newcomer Karen Darabedyan scored a split decision win over former lightweight champ rob McCullough, Shane Roller submitted Danny Castillo with a third-round rear naked choke, and Kamal Shalorus knocked out Will Kerr in the opening round.

WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, challenger Jose Aldo, and the rest of the WEC 44 card successfully made weight today for Wednesday’s Versus-televised event, which takes place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Brown and Aldo both tipped the scale right at the 145-pound featherweight limit, while featherweight contenders Manny Gamburyan and Leonard Garcia, who co-headline the event, weighed in at 146-pounds.

Will Kerr has been tapped to make his WEC debut as a late-replacement for an injured Alex Karalexis, taking on fellow newcomer Kamal Shalorus at WEC 44 on November 18 in Las Vegas.

Karalexis was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a hand injury, according to the WEC’s announcement. A timeline for his return was not released.

The WEC announced today via it’s official Twitter page that Jamie Varner would defend his lightweight belt against interim lightweight champion Benson Henderson at WEC 46 on January 10. The event is scheduled for the Arco Arena in Sacramento California.

Popular featherweight Urijah Faber, sidelined since a June loss to Mike Brown due to a broken hand, will square off with Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46 on January 10 in Sacramento, California. Despite losing four-straight and six of his last seven, veteran Jens Pulver will return to featherweight action in the WEC cage in early-2010.

World Extreme Cagefighting on Thursday officially announced WEC 46: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff, which takes place on December 19 at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and is headlined by a matchup between lightweight contenders Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff.

The Versus-televised event also features a lightweight co-main event between former IFL standout Chris Horodecki and Anthony Njokuani and a featured bout between bantamweight contenders Joseph Benavidez and Rani Yahya.

Newcomer Karen Darabedyan has been tapped to replace an injured Anthony Pettis and take on Rob McCullough at WEC 44, again completing the fight card for the November 18 Versus-televised event which takes place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

A lightweight matchup between WEC newcomer Chris Horodecki and Anthony Njokuani and a bout between bantamweight contenders Damacio Page and Takeya Mizugaki have been added to WEC 45 on December 19 in Las Vegas, according to reports from MMAjunkie and Sherdog.

Lightweights Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff have agreed to square off at WEC 45 on December 19 in Las Vegas, according to Sherdog, in what is expected to be the co-main event of the Versus-televised card. The matchup is the first rumored for WEC 45, which is expected to take place at The Joint at The Hard Rock.

Lightweight fighter, Chris Horodecki is expected to sign with the WEC very soon. Jeff Curran has recently signed a contract with Strikeforce. Middleweight Robbie Lawler is expecting a December return to action in Strikeforce.

Details on these stories, and many more in our MMAFrenzy Quick Hits.

World Extreme Cagefighting is expected to remain in Las Vegas through the end of the year, as the promotion’s rumored WEC 45 event will reportedly take place on December 19 in Sin City, likely at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

The WEC on Monday announced the complete fight card for its Versus-televised WEC 44 event on November 18 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Headlined by featherweight champ Mike Brown vs. Jose Aldo, the main card also includes Manny Gamburyan vs. Leonard Garcia, Rob McCullough vs. Anthony Pettis, and Danny Castillo vs. Shane Roller.