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.

“Four of our top lightweights are going to be competing on Dec. 19, each with his sights set on securing a coveted shot at the world title,” WEC GM Reed Harris said in a release announcing the card. “Cerrone vs. Ratcliff has the potential to be an explosive standup war. We can expect much of the same from Njokuani and Horodecki as well. This is the perfect holiday gift for fans.”

“On Dec. 19, we are showcasing two of the world’s most dynamic bantamweights,” Harris continued. “Benavidez-Yahya has the potential to steal the show. We are really excited to bring this card to The Palms.”

Tickets, priced from $50 to $175, go on sale to the general public this Saturday, October 31 at 12 pm PT and are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest WEC 45 news and WEC 45 rumors.

Bowles ($18,000), Leonard Garcia ($24,000), Shane Roller ($20,000), and Rani Yahya ($16,000) were also among the top earners for the card, according to the official fighter salaries released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday.

The disclosed payroll for the Versus-televised event was$234,500.

In addition to the salaries listed below, which are simply the figures the WEC is required to report to the NSAC and exclude some taxes, fees, and payments such as sponsorships and bonuses, Bowles, Yahya, Dominick Cruz, and Joseph Benavidez each took home an extra $10,000 “Fight Night” bonus for their performances at the event.

“Knockout of the Night” went to Bowles for his first-round KO of Torres, “Submission of the Night” went to Yahya for his north-south choke submission of John Hosman on the WEC 42 prelims, and “Fight of the Night” was awarded to Cruz and Benavidez for their back-and-forth bantamweight scrap, which was won by Cruz via unanimous decision.

The official fighter salaries for WEC 42 were:

• Brian Bowles* ($18,000 – includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Miguel Torres ($25,000)
• Dominick Cruz* ($14,000 – $7,000 win bonus) def. Joseph Benavidez ($12,500)
• Danny Castillo ($14,000 – $7,000 win bonus) def. Ricardo Lamas ($4,000)
• Takeya Mizugaki ($12,000 – $6,000 win bonus) def. Jeff Curran ($8,000)
• Leonard Garcia ($24,000 – $12,000 win bonus) def. Jameel Massouh ($3,000)
• Cole Province ($6,000 – $3,000 win bonus) def. Fredson Paixao ($2,000)
• Shane Roller ($20,000 – $10,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Hicks ($8,000)
• Ed Ratcliff ($14,000 – $7,000 win bonus) def. Phil Cardella ($3,000)
• Rani Yahya* ($16,000 – $8,000 win bonus) def. John Hosman ($3,000)
• Diego Nunes ($8,000 – $4,000 win bonus) def. Rafael Dias ($4,000)
• L.C. Davis ($10,000 – $5,000 win bonus) def. Javier Vazquez ($6,000)

* Bowles, Yahya, Cruz, and Benavidez each received an additional $10,000 “Fight Night” bonus.

Pictured: Brian Bowles

Bowles rocked Torres early in round and also scored a takedown in the frame, but appeared to be in trouble as Torres landed a series of punches that forced him to backpedal. But Torres’ aggressiveness left an opening for Bowles, who connected with a right hook that dropped Torres to the canvas, where Bowles was able to quickly finish off the champ with a barrage of punches.

Bowles remains undefeated, improving his record to 8-0 following the surprising first-round knockout, while Torres falls to 37-2 after having his 17-fight win streak that dated back to early-2004 snapped.

In the WEC 42 co-main event, bantamweight contenders Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez engaged in an entertaining bout that saw Cruz pick up a unanimous decision victory to improve his record to 14-1 and extend his win streak to 5-straight.

Danny Castillo came from behind to score a second-round knockout of Ricardo Lamas on the WEC 42 main card, while Takeya Mizugaki picked up a questionable decision victory over Jeff Curran and Leonard Garcia topped Jameel Massouh at the Versus-televised event.

Rani Yahya earned the only stoppage on the six-bout WEC 42 preliminary card, submitting late-replacement John Hosman with a north-south choke in the opening-round of their matchup. In other prelim action, Shane Roller topped Marcus Hicks in a back-and-forth bout, LC Davis edged fellow Affliction-import Javier Vazquez, and Ed Ratcliff, Diego Nunes, and Cole Provice also picked up decision victories.

The complete results for WEC 42 were:

• Brian Bowles def. Miguel Torres (c) via KO (punches) — Round 1, 3:57
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Dominick Cruz def. Joseph Benavidez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Danny Castillo def. Ricardo Lamas via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:15
• Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Curran via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Leonard Garcia def. Jameel Massouh via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cole Province def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Shane Roller def. Marcus Hicks via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ed Ratcliff def. Phil Cardella via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Rani Yahya def. John Hosman via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 2:08
• Diego Nunes def. Rafael Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• L.C. Davis def. Javier Vazquez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Follow along below for live results from the 11-bout card, which is currently in progress:

• Brian Bowles def. Miguel Torres (c) via KO (punches) — Round 1, 3:57
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Dominick Cruz def. Joseph Benavidez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Danny Castillo def. Ricardo Lamas via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:15
• Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Curran via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Leonard Garcia def. Jameel Massouh via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cole Province def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Shane Roller def. Marcus Hicks via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ed Ratcliff def. Phil Cardella via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Rani Yahya def. John Hosman via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 2:08
• Diego Nunes def. Rafael Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• L.C. Davis def. Javier Vazquez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

• WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Dominick Cruz def. Joseph Benavidez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Danny Castillo def. Ricardo Lamas via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:15
• Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Curran via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Leonard Garcia def. Jameel Massouh via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cole Province def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ed Ratcliff def. Phil Cardella via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ed Ratcliff def. Phil Cardella via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Rani Yahya def. John Hosman via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 2:08
• Diego Nunes def. Rafael Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• L.C. Davis def. Javier Vazquez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Pictured: Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles

Both fighters weighed in at 134-pounds, one-pound under the 135-pound division limit, at the official weigh-ins, which were held at Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Tomorrow’s event takes place at The Joint at the Hard Rock and airs live on Versus.

The rest of the 11-bout card also successfully made weight with the exception of lightweight Marcus Hicks, who weighed in at 159-pounds for his preliminary bout against Shane Roller. Roller will receive 15-percent of Hicks’ contracted purse and the fight will go on as scheduled.

The official weigh-in results for WEC 42 were:

MAIN CARD

• 135: Miguel Torres (c) (134) vs. Brian Bowles (134)
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• 135: Joseph Benavidez (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135)
• 155: Danny Castillo (156) vs. Ricardo Lamas (155)
• 135: Jeff Curran (136) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 145: Leonard Garcia (145) vs. Jameel Massouh (146)
• 145: Fredson Paixao (145) vs. Cole Province (146)
• 155: Marcus Hicks (159)* vs. Shane Roller (156)^
• 155: Phil Cardella (155) vs. Ed Ratcliff (155)
• 135: John Hosman (135) vs. Rani Yayha (136)
• 145: Rafael Dias (145) vs. Diego Nunes (145)
• 145: L.C. Davis (145) vs. Javier Vazquez (146)

* Hicks weighed in at 159-pounds on his only attempt and will lose 15-percent of his purse to Roller, with the fight going on as scheduled.
^ Roller weighed in at 157-pounds on his first try, but reached an acceptable 156-pounds without his fight shorts on a second attempt.

Remember: Fighters are granted a one-pound allowance for non-championship bouts.

[Weigh-in results via MMAjunkie]

Pictured: Miguel Torres

Joining a headlining matchup between bantamweight champ Miguel Torres and challenger Brian Bowles on the Versus-televised main card are Joseph Benavidez vs. Dominick Cruz, Danny Castillo vs. Ricardo Lamas, Jeff Curran vs. Takeya Mizugaki.

The now-complete WEC 42 fight card features:

MAIN CARD

• Miguel Torres (c) vs. Brian Bowles
  WEC Bantamweight Championship
• Joseph Benavidez vs. Dominick Cruz
• Danny Castillo vs. Ricardo Lamas
• Jeff Curran vs. Takeya Mizugaki

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Leonard Garcia vs. Jameel Massouh
• Fredson Paixao vs. Cole Province
• Marcus Hicks and Shane Roller
• Phil Cardella vs. Ed Ratcliff
• Kenji Osawa vs. Rani Yahya
• Rafael Dias vs. Diego Nunes

[Pictured: Miguel Torres]

The event, which is headlined by WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his title against Brian Bowles, takes place at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and airs live on Versus.

A teammate of Urijah Faber, Benavidez (10-0) improved his undefeated record to 10-0 in April with a unanimous decision over Jeff Curran at WEC 40. Following nine-straight victories, Cruz (13-1) made his WEC debut in a featherweight title bout against Urijah Faber at WEC 26, but was submitted in the opening round. He’s since dropped down to 135-pounds, where he’s won four-straight bouts to return to title contention, including a decision victory over Ivan Lopez at WEC 40 in April.

Paixao (8-3) made his WEC debut in April, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Wagney Fabiano at WEC 40. Province (5-1) debuted in the WEC last December, losing to Diego Nunes via unanimous decision at WEC 37.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest WEC news and WEC rumors.

[Pictured: Joseph Benavidez]

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.