Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the second part of today’s new entry into my “5 Reasons Why” series. For the first part, detailing the five reasons why I think Damacio Page could beat Brian Bowles when the two meet on March 3 as part of the UFC’s “UFC on Versus 3” event, please click here. Now it’s time for the reverse: here are the five reasons why I think Brian Bowles could beat Damacio Page. ...

As we head closer and closer to the next “UFC on Versus” or “UFC Live” special, all eyes are rightfully on the main event, a major showdown between top Welterweight fighters Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann. But as a diehard fan of the WEC, there’s one fight at “UFC on Versus 3” that I find especially appealing. Former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles will make his return to MMA and his debut in the UFC on March 3 against the always-tough Damacio Page. It’s a fight that’s got “sleeper hit of the night” written all over it, so to give it some of the hype it deserves, here’s a new “5 Reasons Why” two-parter. First up: the five reasons why Damacio Page could beat Brian Bowles. ...

Now that the “ufc on Versus” specials are all that the UFC has to offer up to MMA-starved fans on the Versus network, a lot of time, effort, and planning is going into the first “UFC on Versus” event of 2011. “UFC on Versus 3” is set to feature match-ups like Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann and Takeya Mizugaki vs. Francisco Rivera. Most recently, two additional bouts have been all-but-confirmed for the event, featuring both major UFC stars and former WEC champions. Here’s the latest on the “UFC on Versus 3” card. ...

wec 52: “Faber vs. Mizugaki” represented an important, close-to-final stepping stone for the WEC and its best and brightest less than two months away from the highly-anticipated UFC/WEC merger. We saw some great fights, plenty of finishes, and a “California Kid” take the first step in rising from the ashes. Recently both the official fighter salaries as well as the official medical suspensions of WEC 52 have been made public, so here’s how everything breaks down. ...

WEC 52: “Faber vs. Mizugaki” is now a thing of the past, and now more than ever, fans and insiders are wondering: what’s next? The WEC has only one show left before it’s folded into the UFC and the UFC adds both a Bantamweight and a Featherweight division to its roster. How big a part will the WEC 52 winners and losers play in the UFC? Where do they all go from here, and what do they have to look forward to? Here’s the latest installment in my “What’s Next” series, featuring the stars of WEC 52: “Faber vs. Mizugaki”. ...

Today marked the beginning of the end of an era: wec 52 “Faber vs. Mizugaki” is now a thing of the past, with the promotion itself soon to be in the history books as well. In the main event of the evening, the man who initially put the WEC on the map defiantly proved that he wasn’t going down without a fight, as former long-reigning WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber made a dominant statement when he debuted at Bantamweight and choked out former championship challenger Takeya Mizugaki. Here are the full results as well as my thoughts on “Faber vs. Mizugaki”. ...

Tomorrow (November 11) will mark the second-to-last WEC show in the promotion’s nine-year history: WEC 52 “Faber vs. Mizugaki”, which is scheduled to take place at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. After WEC 53 in December, the promotion that gave us some ridiculously amazing fights in 2010 and was home to the best lighter-weight fighters in the planet will finally be folded into the juggernaut that is the UFC. And how fitting it is that the man who arguably began the “lighter fighter” boom, “The California Kid” Urijah Faber, is called on once again to carry the WEC into the future. It’s a pivotal show with some great fights, so here are my picks and predictions for WEC 52: “Faber vs. Mizugaki”. ...

Former bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles, was expected to make his return to the cage at wec 52 in November, in hopes to bounce back from a disappointing loss to current title-holder Dominick Cruz at WEC 47. The once undefeated fighter tore his way to a title shot after dispatching some of the best in his weight class, in Will Ribeiro, Damacio Page and Marcos Galvao, en route to a title shot against then champion, Miguel Torres. Seemingly unbeatable, the Georgia boy made quick work of the mullet-wonder with a swift first round knockout, cementing his spot as the best bantamweight in the world--though his glory and accolades didn't hold up for all that long. ...

An explosive bantamweight showdown has been added to WEC 52. The promotion, which is coupled with the UFC under the Zuffa banner, is taking out all the stops to make their 52nd show one to remember. ...

Although all eyes are currently on the upcoming wec 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” fight card, WEC 52 continues to get figured out and continues to have quality matches added to a card that already contains big names like Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles. I reported earlier about Faber and Bowles returning at WEC 52, but recently, two additional fights have been added to the card, and they look to be very solid match-ups. ...

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez is making changes. After his losses to former champion BJ Penn at lightweight, and then budding welterweight star John Hathaway, Diego will try his hand once again at the 170-pound division at UFC 121 against Paulo Thiago. Sanchez largely made his name after winnings "The Ultimate Fighter" season one as a middleweight, before dropping down to the welterweight division in dominating fashion. After defeating fellow finalist Kenny Florian at the TUF finale, Diego would make a name for himself in victories over Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz, and Joe Riggs. While Diego can attribute a large amount of his success to his hard work and dedication, but in some respects a little of that success also needs to be addressed to the man, the myth, the legend--Greg Jackson. ...

Due to an injury "The Angel of Death" Damacio Page (10-5) has been forced to withdraw from his fight with Antonio Banuelos (17-5) at the WEC 48 pay-per-view next month. Stepping in to replace him will be none other than "Young Guns" Scott Jorgenson (8-2). ...

Lightweight “Smooth” Ben Henderson (9-1) won the WEC interim title in a five-round unanimous decision upset of “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (9-3) by judges' scores of 48-47 three times at WEC 43 in San Antonio Saturday. ...

"Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (23-4) can take his WEC welterweight title defense over Hiromitsu Miura (9-5) in Las Vegas Sunday night one of two ways. At 4:43 of round four, Condit touched - and, maybe that's all too literal of a description - Miura with a knee to the noggin. Miura's body and heart gave in to a brutal back-and-forth battle.  He dove for Condit's ankle, and that was it.  He had nothing left. Several times, Condit could've similarly surrendered on the receiving end of clean punches from the one-time middleweight, but didn't. That's why Condit is a champion and Miura isn't, both tonight and in general. However, before the fight Condit made clear that he didn't feel like Miura should be on the other side of the cage from him. Isn't that always the preface to a brutal back-and-forth battle? ...

Fighters.com was at Body English inside the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas Saturday for the WEC weigh-ins. Everyone made weight, except for WEC lightweight title challenger "Wrecking Ball" Marcus Hicks (8-0), who needed an hour to drop one pound before stepping into the cage across from Champ "Worm" Jamie Varner (14-2). Curiously, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann (6-0) weighed 201 1/2 pounds, causing "Version 2.5" Rory Singer (11-8) to shout from the crowd, "201!  What!?" Stann's opponent, Steve Cantwell (5-1), weighed-in at the 205-pound limit. Refresh Fighters.com tonight for live coverage from The Joint in Las Vegas. ...

The WEC on Thursday added two more fights to its 3 August card in Las Vegas. Bantamweight Brian Bowles (5-0) will fight “Angel of Death” Damacio Page (10-3), and Micah Miller (9-1) will meet “The Fluke” Josh Grispi (8-1) in a featherweight match-up. Bowles, from Athens, GA, last fought in WEC 31 in December, where he KO’d “Louro” Marcos Galvao (6-2) in the second round. He made his professional debut two years ago. Albuquerque’s “Angel of Death” made his WEC debut in February when he replaced an injured Jesse Moreng (8-1) on short notice to win a unanimous decision over Scott Jorgensen (4-2). American Top Team fighter Miller will look to win his third fight in a row after his first career loss last June at WEC 28, a unanimous decision that went to Cub Swanson (12-2). Nineteen-year-old Grispi also made his WEC debut in February, submitting “The Machine” Mark Hominick (15-8) with a rear-naked choke in the first round. ...