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.

World Extreme Cagefighting’s attempt to add a 125-pound flyweight division to join its three existing weight classes remains stalled, with WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby telling Sherdog he’s hopeful the division, which was expected to be added earlier this year, will finally debut in 2010.

Lightweights Shane Roller and Danny Castillo will square off on the main card of WEC 44 on November 18 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced during Saturday’s WEC 43 broadcast. Roller (6-2) is coming off a victory over Marcus Hicks, while Castillo has won three-straight, most-recently defeating Ricardo Lamas.

Former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber, out of action since suffering a broken hand in a June loss to Mike Brown, is now expected to return in January, the fighter announced during Saturday’s WEC 43 broadcast. Though Faber failed to mention an opponent for the bout, it appears WEC 43 winner Rafael Assuncao is the leading candidate

A unification matchup between WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, sidelined with injuries since his January title defense over Donald Cerrone, and interim title-holder Ben Henderson is expected to take place in early-2010 in Arizona, both fighter’s home state.

Donald Cerrone, who suffered a narrow unanimous decision loss to Ben Henderson in the WEC 43 main event, doesn’t agree with those who think he won the fight: “I think [Henderson] won the fight. Some people will say it might have gone the other way, but he definitely won the fight.”