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

Dan Cramer has been released by the UFC following a Saturday loss to Matthew Riddle at UFC 101. The UFC.com profiles for Cramer, Thales Leites, George Roop and Danillo Villefort, have all been taken down, fueling speculation that Leites, Roop, and Villefort may have also been cut following their UFC 101 fights.

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Pulver, a former UFC lightweight champion who suffered his fourth-straight loss and likely retired at the event, took home an event-high $31,253 for his first-round submission loss to Josh Grispi.

Gamburyan, the runner up on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter 5, surprisingly out-earned both Brown and Faber with his unanimous decision victory over John Franchi on the WEC 41 preliminary card, scoring $26,960 for his debut win.

Brown and Faber took home nearly identical purses, with Brown earning $25,256 (including a $13,000 win bonus) for his main event victory while Faber received $25,790.

WEC 41, which aired live on Versus, attracted a WEC record live crowd of 13,027 for a WEC record live gate of $818,415.

The official WEC 41 salaries, as reported to the CSAC, were:

• Mike Brown ($25,256 – includes win bonus of $13,000) def. Urijah Faber ($25,790)
• Jose Aldo ($17,625 – includes win bonus of $11,000) def. Cub Swanson ($8,940)
• Donald Cerrone ($17,682.54 – includes win bonus of $9,000) def. James Krause ($1,692)
• Josh Grispi ($17,381 – includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Jens Pulver ($31,253)
• Manny Gamburyan ($26,960 – includes win bonus of $14,000) def. John Franchi ($3,108)
• Rafael Rebello ($3,650 – includes win bonus of $2,000) def. Kyle Dietz ($1,840)
• Anthony Pettis ($3,302.10 – includes win bonus of $2,000) def. Mike Campbell ($2,950)
• Antonio Banuelos ($9,840 – includes win bonus of $5,000) def. Scott Jorgensen ($5,530)
• Frank Gomez ($3,962.41 – includes win bonus of $2,000) def. Noah Thomas ($2,630)
• Seth Dikun ($3,940 – includes win bonus was $2,000) def. Rolando Perez ($2,890)

The total disclosed payroll for the card was $216,222.05.

Brown, Faber, Aldo, and Dikun all took home additional $10,000 “fight night” bonuses for their WEC 41 performances.

Check out MMAFrenzy.com’s recap and official results for WEC 41 here.

[Pictured: Urijah Faber]

Brown stalked Faber throughout the bout, using superior striking to pick Faber apart en route to a unanimous decision victory with official scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 (MMAFrenzy.com scored the bout 48-47 Brown). Faber, unable to muster much offense from the middle of the first round onward after suffering a broken hand, attempted several submissions and connected with elbows but was unable to finish Brown off over the five, 5-minute rounds.

Brown, who has now defended his title twice since winning it from Faber last November, improves to 22-4 with the victory, his 11th-straight, while Faber falls to 22-3.

In the evening’s co-main event, Jose Aldo made extremely quick work of Cub Swanson, knocking out his opponent with a flying knee and followup punches a mere 8-seconds into the opening round. The win likely secures Aldo the next crack at Brown and his featherweight title later this year, though should Brown win the matchup a rubber match with Faber likely looms once his hand is healed.

In other notable action, Donald Cerrone picked up a first-round submission win over James Crause then called out lightweight title-holder Jamie Varner for a rematch, Josh Grispi retired Jens Pulver with a 33-second submission victory, and Manny Gamburyan got his first featherweight win with a unanimous decision over John Franchi.

The rest of the undercard was a submission clinic with four of the five fights ending by submission as Rafael Rebello, Anthony Pettis, Frank Gomez, and Seth Dikun picked up submission victories while Chuck Liddell-cornered Antonio Banuelos defeated Scott Jorgensen by split decision.

The official WEC 41 results were:

• Mike Brown (c) def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
  WEC Featherweight Championship
  
• Jose Aldo def. Cub Swanson via KO (flying knee) — Round 1, 0:08
• Donald Cerrone def. James Krause via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:38
• Josh Grispi def. Jens Pulver via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 0:33
• Manny Gamburyan def. John Franchi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Rafael Rebello def. Kyle Dietz via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:55.
• Anthony Pettis def. Mike Campbell via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:49
• Antonio Banuelos def. Scott Jorgensen via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Frank Gomez def. Noah Thomas via submission (arm triangle choke) — Round 2, 3:12
• Seth Dikun def. Rolando Perez via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:30

[Pictured: Mike Brown]

After getting taken to the canvas in the opening seconds of the fight, “Lil Evil” was forced to tap to a guillotine choke just 33-seconds into the Versus-televised contest.

“I started right here, and I’m not going to be that guy who keeps saying he’s retiring, but I think I just ended where I started,” an emotional Pulver told the ARCO Arena crowd in Sacramento, California. “This has been an incredible run.”

A winner of just three of his last ten bouts, Pulver went just 1-6, including losses to Urijah Faber, BJ Penn, Joe Lauzon, and Leonard Garcia, since resigning with Zuffa and returning to the UFC in 2006. Following a major upset loss to Lauzon in his UFC return in September 2006, Pulver appeared as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter 5 before suffering a loss in a rematch with opposing coach Penn in mid-2007. After defeating Cub Swanson in December 2007 in his WEC debut, Pulver would lose four-straight to Faber (twice), Garcia, and Grispi.

Pulver peaked between 2000 and 2002, becoming the first UFC lightweight champion with a victory over Caol Uno in early-2001, then defended the title twice with victories over Dennis Hallman and Penn before relinquishing the belt to fight outside of the Octagon.

Pulver ends his career with a 22-12-1 record.

The event’s preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm ET with the main, Versus-televised card, headlined by a rematch between WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown and former title-holder Urijah Faber, getting underway at 9pm ET.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com all night for live results, plus stop by after the fights for extensive post-fight coverage.

WEC 41: BROWN VS. FABER 2 RESULTS

• Mike Brown (c) def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
  WEC Featherweight Championship
  
• Jose Aldo def. Cub Swanson via KO (flying knee) — Round 1, 0:08
• Donald Cerrone def. James Krause via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:38
• Josh Grispi def. Jens Pulver via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 0:33
• Manny Gamburyan def. John Franchi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Rafael Rebello def. Kyle Dietz via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:55.
• Anthony Pettis def. Mike Campbell via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:49
• Antonio Banuelos def. Scott Jorgensen via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Frank Gomez def. Noah Thomas via submission (arm triangle choke) — Round 2, 3:12
• Seth Dikun def. Rolando Perez via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:30

[Pictured: Mike Brown and Urijah Faber]

Brown and Faber came in under the 145-pound limit for the championship matchup, both tipping the scales at 143.5 pounds.

Bantamweight Frank Gomez, who is scheduled to fight late-replacement Noah Thomas on the WEC 41 preliminary card, was the lone fighter to miss weight, weighing in 1.5 pounds over the 136-pound division limit. He has up to two additional hours to make weight.

The WEC 41 weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD

• Mike Brown (c) (143.5) vs. Urijah Faber (143.5)
  WEC Featherweight Championship
• Jose Aldo (144.5) vs. Cub Swanson (144)
• Donald Cerrone (155) vs. James Krause (155)
• Josh Grispi (145.5) vs. Jens Pulver (144)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• John Franchi (145.5) vs. Manny Gamburyan (144)
• Kyle Dietz (134) vs. Rafael Rebello (134.5)
• Mike Campbell (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (156)
• Antonio Banuelos (135.5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (134)
• Frank Gomez (137.5)* vs. Noah Thomas (134.5)
• Seth Dikun (136) vs. Rolando Perez (135.5)

* After missing weight on his first attempt and given an two additional hours to make weight, Gomez made weight on his second attempt.

Urijah Faber and Mike Brown

The WEC could make its pay-per-view debut in June for the anticipated rematch between WEC featherweight title-holder Mike Brown and former champion Urijah Faber.

WEC Vice President Peter Dropick confirmed the news in the recent interview with Ariel Helwani at Versus.

According to the interview, the WEC is planning an early-June event which would air on Versus followed by another event, tentatively scheduled to take place later in the month, which would feature Brown-Faber and air on pay-per-view.

A location for the event has not yet been determined, with Dropick commenting that three or four cities, including Sacramento, California, under consideration.

Dropick hopes to have the pay-per-view be “completely stacked,” with WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres possibly scheduled to co-headline the card, which will cost less than UFC PPVs. Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver is also likely to be added to one of the June cards.

In the interview, it was also confirmed that the WEC will add a 125-pound flyweight division later this year, with plans to debut the weight class in the fall or early-winter and have the new fighters participate in a tournament to crown a champion. Dropick also commented that the WEC has no plans to dissolve it’s lightweight division, the final weight class it shares with the UFC.

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

Jens Pulver

Jens “Little Evil” Pulver has lost 3 straight and has lost 5 out of his last 6 fights. Most fighters would take this sign and hang it up, but not Jens. It is no doubt that Pulver is one of the most important lightweights in the history of the sport, but it appears that his career could be coming to a close. I say appears because that is only if you are looking at his glass as half empty. In Pulver’s eyes the glass may not appear half full, but it is certainly not empty. In his most recent blog entry on his website, Pulver had this to say about his future in the sport:

“I meant what I said I am not done, I am gonna stay the course cause I believe in AMC and Matt Hume. I know that I am improving and I know that what I am learning out there is relevant and I will come back from all this. My life has been a roller coaster full of ups and downs, but it is a ride I am not ready to get off of just yet. I am too Driven and enjoy being around the fans too much to pack it in just yet. I hope all is well with all of you.”

Jens Pulver began fighting in the UFC well before many of the current fighters on the roster. Although he has been around awhile don’t call him old. At worst you could call him seasoned. In his illustrious career he is 22-11-1. He has wins over B.J. Penn, Cub Swanson, Robert Emerson, Caol Uno, and Joe Stevenson. He has been a coach on the UFC’s reality show The Ultimate Fighter, and is a face of the old school Miletich camp. He is one of those fighters that you can’t help but like. At this point in time it is unknown who Pulver will take on next, but he now has an upward climb in the future if he wants another title shot.