What does the future hold for Miguel Torres? When the WEC was folded into the UFC, it seemed as if everyone was eagerly anticipating the UFC debut of the former long-reigning WEC Bantamweight Champion. Unfortunately, Torres would debut in the UFC a completely different fighter than the one he was in the WEC. But with a recent change in opponents, a certain “Mighty Mouse” may finally bring out the best in Miguel “Angel” Torres. Here are all the details, as well as some early commentary on this upcoming bout. ...

When it was announced that the WEC would be fully folded into the UFC at the start of 2011, former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres was on the shortlist of the most-anticipated fighters fans wanted to see debut in the UFC. “Angel” would end up making his UFC debut at UFC 126, beating the tough Antonio Banuelos in a supremely underwhelming fight that left many WEC fans, including myself, wondering what happened to the Torres we once knew and admired. In a pretty controversial new interview, Torres took the time to address those critical of his performance at UFC 126. Here are the highlights. ...

As the UFC has since assimilated with it's sister promotion in the now defunct World Extreme Cagefighting organization, a slew of top-level talent has been pitted against one another in order to determine new contenders for their respective divisions. Dominick Cruz recently picked up the UFC bantamweight title by defeating perennial contender Scott Jorgensen in his last bout under the WEC banner before transitioning to the prestigious mixed martial arts organization. Both Brad Pickett and Miguel Torres have made a case for themselves to become the next challengers to the title, though the two 135-pound stars will be pitted against one another to create a more concise picture. ...

Following ufc 126 this past weekend, a lot of new story lines have arose. Anderson Silva re-solidified himself as not only the best middleweight in the world, but arguably best pound-for-pound fighter and the greatest of all time, when he knocked out Vitor Belfort in impressive fashion in his middleweight title bout. Forrest Griffin deftly defeated former champ Rich Franklin in a pivotal light heavyweight match-up, moving him closer to the title, however Jon Jones beat him to it when he submitted then-undefeated prospect Ryan Bader with a second-round submission. However nothing surprised me more then some of these fighter pay-outs with some seeming valid, while others have me scratching my head in humble confusion. ...

With absolutely no disrespect meant to Demetrious Johnson, I really wish this list would have been “Top 5 Opponents for KID Yamamoto”. I’m saying that solely as a big Norifumi Yamamoto fan. But there can be no debate: in the preliminary fight broadcast live on Facebook, “Mighty Mouse” Johnson outright dominated “KID” with flawless takedowns, blistering speed, and constant pressure. With this win Johnson sets himself up as a fighter that UFC fans should pay close attention to, because big things are in store for him in the very near future. So without further ado, here’s my list of the Top 5 Opponents for Demetrious Johnson. ...

In a WEC throwback for the ages, two of some of the best bantamweight fighters in the world will square off tonight as the first fight on the pay-per-view televised portion of "UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort". The event, which is headlined by a middleweight title clash pitting champ Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort, is held before a sold-out crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, in what is sure to be a ruckus crowd in attendance. If there was any one fight that would be a good pick-me-up for those in attendance, Torres and Banuelos would be just that. ...

Today marks the end of what I fully believe will one day be remembered as one of the most important Mixed Martial Arts promotions of all time. Just like the UFC itself broke down barriers with the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and live, free events on Spike TV, the WEC broke the weight barrier by putting all the best lighter-weight fighters together and making them fight each other time after time. In the process, the WEC helped proved that weight is only a number, and that exciting finishes and amazing fights can happen regardless of how big or small you are. I know I’ve only been a fan of the WEC for a short time, and believe me, I wish that wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, since all the major sites are bidding farewell to the WEC in their own special way, here’s my top 5 memories from my all-too-brief time as a WEC fan. ...

Initially, ufc head honcho Dana White insisted during a media teleconference concerning the WEC/UFC merger that the first sign of former WEC's fighter's assimilating into the UFC would be the featherweight title fight pitting champion Jose Aldo against contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on January 1st. Since then, additional match ups have been added to some future UFC event's, including the return of Leonard Garcia when he meets fellow featherweight slugger Tyler Toner for "The Ultimate Fighter 12" finale show in December. Slowly but surely, former WEC competitors are becoming do dissent into the UFC ranks, and there's truly no better time to be a fan than right now. Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, who is quite possibly the most recognized Mexican-American-Mullet bearer in the sport, will return to action to meet former title challenger Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126, in February of next year. ...

One of the major stories of the recent WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” event revolved around former long-reigning WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres. Torres got back to his winning ways in a big way, with a throwback performance to his earlier days of dominance. Torres outright crushed opponent Charlie Valencia before locking in a Rear Naked Choke that won him a "Submission of the Night" award. But according to the always-humble Torres, this big win represented only one step, albeit a large one, on the long road back to Bantamweight relevancy and, one day, another shot at WEC gold. ...

WEC 51 “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” was one for the history books, and now that it’s actually in the history books, I’m left looking towards the future once again. Like all of my previous installments in the “What’s Next” series, I’ll be giving my thoughts on what the future will hold for some of the big winners and losers of “Aldo vs. Gamburyan”. So let’s get right to it. ...

Just like every event, WEC 51 has produced yet again. At the 1st Bank Arena in Broomfield, Colorado, we witnessed Aldo establish his dominance once again, when he was able to easily dispatch the season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter", knocking out Manny Gamburyan with a flurry of punches on the ground, after connecting with a vicious uppercut that sent him to the mat. While the Brazilian claimed the knockout victory, it was George Roop's kick-to-head connection against "The Korean Zombie" which eventually garnered the nights "Knockout of the Night" award, and allowed him to pocket an additional ten thousand dollars for his efforts. ...

It's now come and gone, and WEC 51 reads like some crazy, bizarre storybook now that it's all over. A Korean Zombie was defeated, an Angel was reborn, a Mongolian Wolf chewed up the competition, a historic rivalry had its next (and almost certainly not last) chapter written in the blood of a great fighter, and in the main event of the night, the WEC Featherweight Champion once again proved that he is without equal. Here are all the results as well as my thoughts on the unsurprisingly fantastic WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” event. ...

Today marks the fifty-first show held by the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. The card is so stacked that it was once rumored to be the next WEC Pay-Per-View, and it features big-name stars like Jose Aldo, Manvel Gamburyan, Mike Thomas Brown, Leonard Garcia, Miguel Torres, Donald Cerrone, and Jamie Varner. I’ve tried to be as vocal of a supporter of the WEC as I can possibly be in my time with fighters.com, so I can’t wait to see this show. Here are my predictions on all the big matches scheduled for WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan”. ...

As wec 51 looms our way tomorrow night, all competitors at the 1st Bank Arena in Broomsfield, Colorado made it to the scale, with no controversy. The main event of the evening, a featherweight match up against two of the best in the class, will feature Jose Aldo putting his belt on the line against season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter" Manny Gamburyan, and taking on co-headlining duties will be a grudge match for the ages when former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner steps back into the cage for the second time this year when he faces nemesis and crowd favorite Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, who is coming off of a loss to current champion Ben Henderson in an attempt to vie for the title. ...

While the WEC is recognized as being under the Zuffa umbrella that also is associated with the UFC, which is unarguably the worlds largest leading promotion in the world of mixed martial arts--the WEC does not remain as the red headed stepchild of the group. The "little" big promotion has made many strides in the last few years, improving their fundamentals and becoming a leading competitor to any organization that embodies the lighter weight classes. Currently, of the WEC's bantamweight and featherweight classes, most if not all of the top-10 competitors exist within the promotion. And while the WEC has consistently put together solid shows, time after time--WEC 51 will be no exception. In fact, it may be on their better cards to date. ...

As the fantastic year MMA had in 2010 draws closer and closer to a close, I’m left wondering what 2011 could bring us that could possibly hold a candle to some of the crazy events of this year. This year gave us amazing shows, unpredictable outcomes, the continued growth of the sport, new champions, new challengers, and so much more. It’s going to take a lot to outdo 2010. In that regard, here are five fantasy match-ups that I think could realistically happen in 2011 and would go a long way towards outdoing 2010 in terms of excitement, anticipation, and fight quality. ...

Featuring one of the most stacked cards of the year, WEC 51: “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” is going to be a real treat for WEC fans. It may not have the star power of WEC’s first Pay-Per-View event, WEC 48: “Aldo vs. Faber”, but it comes very close. So here are my five top reasons why anybody and everybody should be excited for WEC 51. ...

I just can’t get enough of the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. I’ve been a fan of their’s for several years running, but only recently have I begun to realize that if the UFC did not exist, the WEC would be putting on the best cards on the planet right now. I think there’s even an argument to be made that some of the recent WEC shows have actually been better than some of the recent UFC shows. No matter what your opinion may be in regards to the friendly competition between the two companies both owned by Zuffa, the WEC is riding an incredible wave of momentum heading into their WEC 51 event, which looks to be another great night of fights. WEC 51 features a highly-anticipated WEC Featherweight Championship showdown, the next chapter in one of the bitterest rivalries in the WEC’s history, and the return of a former division kingpin looking to try and regain his former glory. Nine fights have recently been made official for WEC 51, so here’s how the card breaks down so far. ...

For perhaps the first time in his career, Urijah Faber is at a crossroads. The man who started his career with an eight-fight win streak and exploded into the mainstream with a thirteen-fight win streak is now 2-3 in his last five fights. It seems that the WEC’s Featherweight division, the division he once ruled with an iron fist, has finally caught up to him. Some fans and industry insiders have even speculated that the Featherweight division has in fact passed Faber by, their chief example being the five-round thrashing he received at the hands (and most notably, the leg kicks) of current WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Like so many other great fighters before him, Faber is hoping that a change in weight divisions will result in a reversal of fortunes and help get him back to his winning ways. After his debut in the WEC’s Bantamweight division was put to a halt due to a knee injury, Faber recently revealed that his return to active competition should be in November of this year, and that he’s ready to remind WEC fans why “The California Kid” became so famous in the first place. ...

It's no secret that Joseph Benavidez is one of the WEC's hottest commodities. With his fast-paced style and charismatic demeanor, he's an easy fan favorite, reminiscent of mentor, training partner, and friend Urijah Faber. But, doe's that mean that Benavidez, a challenger to champion Dominick Cruz' title, should earn more then the number one guy in his weight class? ...

Here we are after WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio and a few things stood out as I watched the event.There were highlight reel knock outs, great submissions and a couple of failures during the evening. ...

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (36-2) and Joseph Benavidez (7-1) will matchup in a contender battle at WEC 47 in Columbus March 6, according to MMA Junkie. ...

WEC 47 will feature a main event title fight between bantamweight champion Brian Bowles (8-0) and challenger Dominick Cruz (14-1) in Columbus March 6, the promotion announced Monday. ...

Two-time WEC featherweight Cole Province (6-1) tested positive for methasterone, a banned performance enhancing steroid, after winning a UD over Fredson Paixao (8-4) at WEC 42 in Las Vegas 9 August, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission which issued a report Monday. Also tested at WEC 42, but returning negative results were new WEC featherweight champ Brian Bowles (8-0), former champ Miguel Torres (36-2), Dominic Cruz (13-1), Takeya Mizugaki (10-3-2), "Bad Boy" Leonard Garcia (13-4), Shane Roller (5-2), "9mm" Ed Ratcliff (7-1), and "The Gun" Diego Nunes (11-2). Province's fight license in Nevada has been suspended pending an NSAC review of the positive test result. ...

WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (35-1) defeated challenger Manny Tapia(10-1-1) via TKO in the second round at WEC 37 in Las Vegas Wednesday night to retain his title. As round one opened, Torres utilized his nine-inch reach advantage by throwing repeated unanswered jabs to the face of Tapia.  Tapia was able to return some punches of his own in the form of hooks to the body of Torres.  Torres seemed unfazed by any striking from Tapia and began to mix in leg kicks with his jabs. ...

The WEC officially announced Thursday that their Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (34-1) will defend his belt against “Mangler” Manny Tapia (10-0-1) 3 December in Las Vegas. The two were originally scheduled to meet in June, but Tapia withdrew due to injury. Torres won the title when he submitted Chase Beebe (11-3) in February and successfully defended in June when doctors stopped his fight against Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2) at the end of round three. Tapia last fought in February when he won a split decision over Antonio Banuelos  (14-5). ...

WEC Featherweight Champion "California Kid" Urijah Faber (21-1) fended off a game, but outclassed "Li'l Evil" Jens Pulver (22-9-1) in a five-round unanimous decision in Sacramento Sunday night. The "California Kid" packed a big right hook counter to Pulver's southpaw boxing in the first session.  Faber landed the punch just enough to make Pulver think twice. The fight only went to the mat once in round one, when Faber fell mid-kick and Pulver pounced; but, Faber locked up Pulver and stood out of "Li'l Evil's" mount. In round two, Faber felt Pulver respected his stand-up enough to shoot to the mat with single-leg takedowns.  Faber scored most attempts; but, Pulver's guard smothered Faber's offense. Faber decided to throw with the noted striker, Pulver, in round three and beat "Li'l Evil" by popping in and out with jolting shots and mixing in a high kick to keep Pulver guessing. In the fourth, Faber took Pulver back to the mat and hammered elbows into his skull until the bell. By the final round, Pulver was gassed and Faber closed the UD with jabs and right hooks to Pulver's head. ...

"The Mangler" Manny Tapia (10-0-1) has tapped out of his planned WEC bantamweight title challenge versus new champ Miguel Torres (32-1) due to a knee injury aggravated in training. A replacement challenger for the 1 June card in Sacramento will be named shortly according to the WEC. ...