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.

Pictured: Urijah Faber

The Versus-televised event follows November’s WEC 44 card, which will be held at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas and is headlined by featherweight champ Mike Brown vs. challenger Jose Aldo.

Originally expected to feature the return of lightweight champ Jamie Varner against recently-crowned interim title-holder Ben Henderson as well as the return of former featherweight champ Urijah Faber, it remains to be seen what matchup will headline the event as Henderson’s injuries suffered in last weekend’s win over Donald Cerrone will sideline him until early next year and Faber’s return is currently slated for January.

During the latest installment of ESPN’s “MMA Live,” Cerrone’s teammate Rashad Evans said “The Cowboy” could get his anticipated rematch with Varner with Henderson hurt, and the Cerrone-Varner matchup appears to be a possibility to headline WEC 45, though a non-title bout, including the return of former bantamweight king Miguel Torres, could be tapped for the WEC 45 main event.

One confirmed participant for WEC 45 is Bart Palaszewski, who returns to the WEC after scoring a knockout win outside the promotion earlier this month.

For the latest WEC 45 news and WEC 45 rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki

• Miguel Torres (c) def. Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous  decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Joseph Benavidez def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ben Henderson def. Shane Roller via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:41
• Raphael Assuncao def. Jameel Massouh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 0:27
• Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:07
• Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnik via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Miguel Torres

WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres, challenger Takeya Mizugaki, and the rest of the ten-bout WEC 40 card tipped the scales Saturday afternoon in Chicago.

The event takes place on Sunday at the UIC Pavilion and airs live on Versus.

Both Torres and Mizugaki weighed in exactly at 135-pounds for their bantamweight championship matchup. Except for Mike Budnik, who weighed in at 149-pounds for his 145-pound featherweight preliminary bout, the remainder of the card successfully made weight for their contests.

The official WEC 40 weigh-in results were:

• Miguel Torres (c) (135) vs Takeya Mizugaki (135)
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Joseph Benavidez (134) vs Jeff Curran (135)
• Ben Henderson (156) vs Shane Roller (156)
• Jameel Massouh (146) vs Raphael Assuncao (145.5)
• Anthony Njokuani (156) vs Bart Palaszewski (155)
• Ivan Lopez (134.5) vs Dominick Cruz (135)
• Fredson Paixao (144) vs Wagnney Fabiano (146)
• Rani Yahya (136) vs Eddie Wineland (135)
• Akitoshi Tamura (135.5) vs Manny Tapia (135.5)
• Rafael Dias (145) vs Mike Budnik (149)*

* Dias and Budnik will fight at a catchweight of 149 pounds.

Bart Palaszewski

Bart Palaszewski will replace Anthony Pettis and take on Anthony Njokuani at WEC 40 on April 5th in Chicago.

Pettis was forced out of the bout with a broken hand, according to MMA Junkie.

Palaszewski (30-10) became an IFL standout with wins in eight of his first nine bouts in the promotion, but  next suffered three-straight losses to Deividas Taurosevicius, Chris Horodecki, and Jim Miller. After defeating Jeff Cox at Adrenaline MMA’s debut event, “Bartimus” signed with the WEC and successfully debuted with a win over Alex Karalexis, but most-recently suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Lamas at WEC 39.

After losing just once in his first ten career bouts, Njokuani (9-2) debuted in the WEC at WEC 38, losing to Ben Henderson via second-round submission.

For the latest WEC news check out the MMAFrenzy.com WEC category.

Mike Brown

WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown sent challenger Leonard Garcia to the canvas with an overhand right in the opening minute of their WEC 39 headliner then went to work to finish his opponent, working ground and pound and attempting a rear naked choke before ultimately forcing Garcia to tap to an arm triangle at 1:57 of the first.

Brown improved to 21-4 with his first title defense, while Garcia falls to 12-3 with the unsuccessful challenge.

The event took place on Sunday, March 1st, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas and aired live on Versus.

Former champion Urijah Faber is likely to rematch Brown for the belt this summer. Brown captured the title with a first-round TKO of Faber last November. Meanwhile, Garcia could square off with top-contender and WEC 39 victor Jose Aldo to get back into the 145-pound title picture.

Ricardo Lamas, Aldo, and Rob McCullough also earned victories on the evening’s main card.

The event’s complete results were:

• Mike Brown (c) def. Leonard Garcia via submission (arm triangle) — Round 1, 1:57
  WEC Featherweight Championship
• Ricardo Lamas def. Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jose Aldo def. Chris Mickle via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:39
• Rob McCullough def. Marcus Hicks via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Danny Castillo def. Phil Cardella via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Damacio Page def. Marcos Galvao via knockout — Round 1, 0:18
• Johny Hendricks def. Alex Serdyukov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Kenji Osawa def. Rafael Rebello via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Alex Karalexis def. Greg McIntyre via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 4:19
• John Franchi def. Mike Budnik via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Mike Pierce def. Justin Haskins via TKO (punches) — Round 3, 3:39

Mike Brown

All twenty WEC 39 fighters, including featherweight champion Mike Brown and challenger Leonard Garcia, successfully made weight this morning at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia takes place tomorrow evening at the American Bank Center and airs live on Versus.

Mike Brown, who captured the 145-pound title from Urijah Faber in his last bout, tipped the scales at 144.25 pounds while UFC veteran Leonard Garcia weighed-in exactly at 145 pounds.

The complete weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD (Versus – 9pm ET)

• Mike Brown (144.25) vs. Leonard Garcia (145)
• Bart Palaszewski (155.5) vs. Ricardo Lamas (154.5)
• Jose Aldo (145.5) vs. Chris Mickle (145)
• Rob McCullough (156) vs. Marcus Hicks (155.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-televised)

• Danny Castillo (156) vs. Phil Cardella (155.5)
• Marcos Galvao (136) vs. Damacio Page (136)
• Johny Hendricks (171) vs. Alex Serdyukov (171)
• Kenji Osawa (135.25) vs. Rafael Rebello (135.25)
• Alex Karalexis (156) vs. Greg McIntyre (155)
• Mike Budnik (145.25) vs. John Franchi (145)
• Justin Haskins (170.25) vs. Mike Pierce (170)

Bart Palaszewski

Richard Crunkilton has been forced out of his WEC 39 matchup against Bart Palaszewski after suffering a knee injury less than a week before the lightweight co-main event was to take place on March 1st in Corpus Christi.

Ricardo Lamas, a 5-0 WEC newcomer, has been tapped to replace Crunkilton and face Palaszewski on short-notice, according to MMA Weekly.

Palaszewski announced that Crunkilton had been forced to withdraw from the fight during an appearance on “The Ground and Pound” earlier Tuesday.

For the latest WEC 39 fight card check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

Jeff Curran

Injuries have forced two lineup changes for WEC 38 as featherweight Rolando Perez has been tapped to replace Fredson Paixao on the evening’s main card against Jose Aldo and lightweight Ben Henderson will meet Anthony Njokuani in place of Ed Ratcliff on the unaired preliminary card.

WEC 38 “Varner vs. Cerrone” takes place this Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The event, which airs live on Versus, features lightweight title-holder Jamie Varner against Donald Cerrone and a rematch between top featherweights Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver

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In other WEC news, several upcoming bouts have been reported in recent days:

– Lightweights Bart Palaszewski and Richard Crunkilton will square off at WEC 39 on March 1st in Corpus Christi, Texas. Two title bouts will headline WEC 39 as welterweight champion Carlos Condit battles Brock Larson and featherweight champ Mike Brown defends his title for the first time against Leonard Garcia.

– Bantamweight contenders Jeff Curran and Joseph Benavidez will clash at WEC 40, which is slated to take place on April 5th in Chicago. The event will also feature bantamweight title-holder Miguel Torres against challenger Brian Bowles.

Bantamweight contender Brian Bowles (7-0) remained undefeated in a featured undercard bout, submitting Will Ribeiro (9-2) early in the third round.

WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia Results

• Miguel Torres (c) def. Manny Tapia via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:04
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Wagnney Fabiano def. Akitoshi Tamura via submission (arm triangle) — Round 3, 4:48
• Brian Bowles def. Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine) — Round 3, 1:11
• Joseph Benavidez def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Johny Hendricks def. Justin Haskins via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 0:52
• Mark Munoz def. Ricardo Barros via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:26
• Diego Nunes def. Cole Province via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Bart Palaszewski def. Alex Karalexis via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:11
• Cub Swanson def. Hirouki Takaya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Shane Roller def. Mike Budnik via submission (guillotine) — Round 1, 1:01