It’s one thing to know that it has to happen, it’s another thing entirely to see it in motion. And make no mistake, fans and friends… the purge has begun. In addition to the recently-announced firings of major (albeit down-on-their-luck) WEC stars Jamie Varner and Chris Horodecki, it’s also being reported that Featherweight Tyler Toner has been released from his contract. It appears as if the UFC is finally cleaning house in earnest, wiping the slate clean and only allowing the best and brightest from the WEC into the UFC. Here are all the details, as well as some thoughts on the individual releases and what this means as a whole. ...

Well it looks like Varner didn't escape the dreaded UFC axe. The former WEC lightweight champion recently suffered another loss when he was pitted against former top contender Shane Roller at WEC 53, the promotion's final show which was to signal the assimilation of the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight into the the organization's sister promotion, the UFC which are both under the Zuffa LLC banner. Along with Jamie, former IFL star Chris Horodecki has also been released from his contract following a loss at the same show earlier this month, which took place at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. ...

Donald Cerrone scored a very impressive win during the recent wec 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis” event, locking in a tight triangle over former IFL standout Chris Horodecki. This latest win puts Cerrone on a two-fight win-streak, his previous fight being a five-round thrashing of arch-rival Jamie Varner in the rematch that was several years in the making. Never one to rest on his laurels, “The Cowboy” recently spoke candidly about the mistakes he made against Horodecki and who he wants to fight now that his place in the ufc is almost certainly assured. Here are the highlights. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the first entry in a brand-new series of articles: “Top 5 Best Moments”. This series of articles is designed to give fans who may have missed an event five big reasons to go ahead and check it out. These are the moments that will stand the test of time, the kind that fans can point to and say “this is what made that card so great”. And what better show to start out with than the final WEC show? So let’s get right to it with my Top 5 Best Moments of WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis”. ...

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally here, fans and friends: the WEC is no more, WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis” now exists only in the hearts and minds of the countless legions of fans it entertained. In the main event, Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis fought a five-round war that gave birth to one of the craziest strikes ever landed. But now that the WEC has officially ceased operations and will be folded into the UFC, what’s next for the big winners and losers of WEC 53? Let’s examine just that with the latest edition of my “What’s Next” series of articles. ...

It’s all over, fans and friends. WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis” is now a thing of the past, and with the close of this show, the “WEC Era” is no more. After this event the WEC will be folded into the UFC, and what an event it was. I think few WEC fans could have asked for a better way to end the WEC than with what I have no trouble calling one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen. Here are the full results to WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis. ...

wec 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis” will be the WEC's final stand. After this event, the promotion as we know it will no longer exist, and all we’ll be left with is fond memories of a ridiculously underrated MMA organization. WEC 53 in particular should give us an ample amount of things to remember, as it features two great title fights and (as usual) a stacked undercard. And it just wouldn’t be a major MMA card without another edition of “Picks and Predictions”, so here’s my thoughts on who I think will win, and why, at WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis”. ...

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to the latest edition of “Crash Course”, the series designed to give fight fans a quick rundown on the latest and greatest MMA card, including why you should care, what you should look forward to, and more. Today’s edition features WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis”. This event marks the end of an era: once it's completed, the WEC will cease operations and be folded into the UFC. So, is my “little promotion that could” going out with a whimper or a roar? Let’s find out with the latest edition of “Crash Course”. ...

The upcoming December 16 WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis” event will be the last event promoted by the soon-to-be-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. 2011 would have marked the WEC’s ten-year anniversary, instead, the promotion will be folded into the UFC, which adds two new weight divisions thanks to the merger. The full and complete lineup to the card has recently been finalized, so here’s how everything looks to be breaking down. ...

It’s going to be the end of an era… one of the best in recent history, if you want my opinion. The World Extreme Cagefighting promotion will look to end its stellar 2010 run with WEC 53: “Henderson vs. Pettis”, scheduled for December 16 at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. This will officially be the WEC’s swan song before the promotion is folded into the UFC, and recently, eleven fights were confirmed for the event. Here are all the details. ...

As the year is coming closer to an end, the now annual World MMA Awards, which is hosted by Fighters Only Magazine, has recently announced their finalists for the December 1st event, which will take place once again in Las Vegas, Nev., which has become a hot bed for all things fighting related. The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Lightweights "Polish Hammer" Chris Horodecki (13-1) of Canada and Anthony Njokuani (10-2) of the USA will matchup at WEC 45 in Las Vegas December 19, the WEC confirmed Thursday. ...

Affliction lightweight "Polish Hammer" Chris Horodecki (12-1) will match-up versus Hiroki Shishido (0-0) in the first round of S-Cup 2008, Shootboxing's eight-man, one night tournament in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 24 November. Shootboxing is like MMA without the ground game.  Strikes, throws, and standing submissions are permitted, but fighters don't fight on the mat. Horodecki is scheduled to fight "The Upgrade" Dan Lauzon (10-2) at Affliction's Day of Reckoning in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 24 January. Lauzon will also fight "Sledge" Justin Hammerstrom (7-7) at World Championship Fighting before he and Horodecki stand across the ring from each other in Anaheim. ...

Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion and WAMMA Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) and third-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-5) will headline Affliction: Day of Reckoning, which will take place 24 January at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, the organization confirmed on their official website. Emelianenko versus Arlovski had been reported previously, as well as the date of the event, but Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio last week would confirm neither the main event, the date, nor the venue for their second show. Other fighters on the card are sixth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (23-5), “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (14-3), “Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3), “Babalu” Renato Sobral (30-7), “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8), “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-5), and the IFL’s Jay Hieron (16-4) and Chris Horodecki (12-1). The match-ups have not yet been announced. ...

Chris Horodecki (12-1) will face Dan Lauzon (10-2) at Affliction’s January event, and will not fight “Punk” Josh Thomson (16-2) at Strikeforce next month, according to MMA Weekly Saturday. Horodecki’s management team confirmed the lightweight bout with Lauzon, who was his original opponent for Day of Reckoning on 11 October before the event was postponed. Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed that Horodecki will not be on the Destruction card on 21 November. Horodecki said, “I’d like to fight Thomson, but now I’m thinking about November and Affliction.” Horodecki is also considering a November fight in Japan’s Shoot Boxing organization. ...

Fighters.com has confirmed with sources that Strikeforce is in negotiations with both Affliction and K-1 to find lightweight champion "Punk" Josh Thomson's (16-2) first title defense in San Jose 21 November. According to Fighters.com's source, Strikeforce has narrowed their list of opponents to up-and-coming Chris Horodecki (12-1) and veteran "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno (25-11-4). Twenty-one-year old Horodecki won a UD over Nate Lamotte (6-3) in East Rutherford, west of New York City, 4 April, then signed with Affliction and agreed to fight on Affliction's 11 October event before it was rescheduled. A veteran of Shooto, UFC, K-1 Hero's, and DREAM, Uno lost a UD to Fighters.com's ninth-ranked lightweight "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (18-3) in the semi-finals of DREAM's Lightweight Grand Prix in Osaka 21 July. ...

Affliction on Wednesday confirmed a middleweight bout between “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-5) and “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) and announced a heavyweight match between “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (26-10) and Roy Nelson (13-2), and to take place in Las Vegas 11 October. Belfort must first be cleared to fight by a doctor.  He is currently serving a 180-day medical suspension. Buentello won a unanimous decision over “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge (23-18-1) at Affliction: Banned in July. Nelson, the IFL Heavyweight Champion, most recently won via first-round TKO over “Hillbilly Heartthrob” Brad Imes (11-5) in May. The Buentello-Nelson match is part of the preliminary card which will air on HDNet before switching to the main card on pay-per-view, according to MMA Junkie. Affliction also announced that IFL lightweight Chris Horodecki (12-1) has signed a three-fight deal with them and will make his Affliction debut at the October event. No opponent has yet been named for Horodecki. Not participating in the event is Fighters.com's tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), who is still dealing with licensing issues. He was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission for his scheduled fight in July. ...

Fighters.com's second-ranked heavyweight,current UFC co-Heavyweight Champion, and UFC Hall of Famer "The Natural" Randy Couture(16-8) spoke exclusively with Fighters.com from his Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas Monday afternoon. Couture graciously confronted and answered questions about his beef with the Zuffa, LLC and UFC President Dana White and third-ranked "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia's (24-4) and his own prospective fight with sixth-ranked "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), shared opinions about fifth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (42-7), "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0), and Brock Lesnar (1-1), and made picks on future fights. Fighters.com: You've said you've accepted that you might get a bad court ruling and not fight again. Have you lost some competitiveness from being inactive for so long? The Natural: I still want to compete. I'm still in training as much as I can be with all this other stuff going on. I still seem to be able to hold my own, even with the lack of serious, hardcore training, with all the top guys that I have in the gym. I'm having fun being in the gym learning new tools, new skills and being there with a lot of the other guys that have been there for me, so I'm not too worried about that. The courts are going to do what the courts are going to do. We'll deal with it when it comes in. Fighters.com: Not many fighters have wives who also train. Does that give you both a different perspective and more understanding? ...

Three IFL title-holders tightened the straps on their belts in the Izod Center just through the Lincoln Tunnel from New York City Saturday night. "The Janitor" Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3), Wagnney Fabiano (10-1), and Jay Hieron (15-4) all defended their respective titles with knockouts. Lightweight standout Chris Horodecki (12-1) picked up a unanimous decision, while one-time top 155-pounder "Bartimus" Bart Palaszewski (28-11) continued his slide with a loss by unanimous decision. Featherweight Fabiano set-up a right slobber-knocker to Shad Lierley (2-2) with just his reputation as a submission specialist. "People think I'm just a jiu-jitsu fighter," Fabiano explained after the fight.  "Today I knew he would expect me shooting, so I changed my game plan." The KO came after just 37 seconds. Hieron, an Xtreme Couture 170-pounder, dispatched Mark Miller (8-3) in just 2:10. "It went quicker than I thought, but man it was not easy," said Hieron after his right hook set-up a single-leg takedown leading to a G'n'P finish. "The Janitor" had the toughest time of the IFL's three defending champions. Hometown Jamal Patterson (4-2), who's won exclusively by submission, cranked up striking flurries in the first round causing Matyushenko to duck-and-cover. But, Matyushenko handed Patterson his ass in the second with a ground'n'pound barrage the required the ref to wave the fight finished at 3:35. IFL newcomer Jim Miller (11-1) ran "Bartimus" ragged for three rounds, dumping the winless-in-three lightweight at will and filing through submission attempts like he had an extra limb.  Palaszewski fought back valiantly with several crafty escapes, but Miller took all of the cards in his IFL debut. Horodecki had a handfull named Nate Lamotte (6-3) to contend with in Horodecki's return from his first loss to "The Lion" Ryan Schultz (19-9-1) in IFL's Lightweight Grand Prix final. Lamotte delivered some vicious G'n'P when he was able to catch Horodecki, but the IFL vet kept Lamotte at bay with a snapping jab and pin-pointed punches to take a UD by 29-28 times three. And the rest of the story saw light heavyweight "Shark" Emyr Bussade (11-5) win his IFL debut with a kneebar of Jesse Lennox (6-1) at 1:25 of round two. "Bad" Brad Blackburn (12-9-1) TKO'd "Pe de Chumbo" Delson Heleno (13-5) at 1:50 of the third round of a welterweight matchup. Featherweight LC Davis (10-1) kicked Rafael Dias (10-4-1) in the head for the KO "W" at 3:56 of round three. Xtreme Couture middleweight Alex Schoenauer (13-9) eeked out a split decision over Brendan Barrett (3-3). Finally, heavyweight Miletich fighter Mike Ciesnolevicz (13-3) cut Kongo-conqueror "The Fury" Carmelo Marrero (7-2) with an unintentional headbutt in a fight declared a No Contest after 1:37. The IFL returns 16 May in at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. ...