He’s one of the WEC’s hottest commodities. He’ll be fighting for the first time at a major UFC event for the newly-established UFC Featherweight Championship. He’s riding high with a fantastic unbeaten streak that includes a number of amazing finishes. He’s young, talented, and looks to take the world by storm. And no, he’s not Jose Aldo. He’s Josh Grispi, the next man to challenge the Brazilian phenomenon, and he’s coming for the belt. In a recent interview, Grispi spoke at length about why he thinks he’ll be the first man to beat Aldo in nearly five years, and only the second man to beat Aldo in Aldo’s entire MMA career. ...

A lot of people are getting in their picks for their favorite or most-wanted “UFC vs. WEC” fantasy match-ups now that it’s been announced that World Extreme Cagefighting will be folded into the UFC at the start of the new year. However, one fantasy match-up recently took a firm step into the land of reality. Current UFC Lightweight Champion Frank Edgar recently revealed that he would be more than willing to drop down to Featherweight if it meant taking on WEC wrecking machine and current Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Here are all the details. ...

Josh Grispi has long been heralded as "the next big thing" in the 145-pound division. While Jose Aldo got their first, Grispi was never far behind. Opening up his WEC career with a first-round submission victory over current featherweight contender Mark Hominick, everyone knew that "The Fluke" was no joke. After going a perfect 4-0 within the organization, picking up wins over Micah Miller, Jens Pulver, and L.C. Davis in his last outing, finishing all competitors inside of the first-round, people were clamoring for a match up pitting the Massachusetts native against the Brazilian phenom, and when word had it that Grispi would next be taking on Eric Koch in November for WEC 52, it looked like his coveted shot at the title would have to wait. Well, Mr. Grispi, wait no longer. ...

We’re only a day removed from the shocking news that the UFC and WEC would be merging at the start of 2011, and already both fans and insiders have been tossing around several fantasy match-ups that would see the WEC's best and brightest take on the UFC's biggest stars. So, of course, you know I just had to get in on the fun. Without further ado, here’s my personal Top 5 list of the “WEC vs. UFC” match-ups I’d love to see. ...

Can we call him the former WEC champion yet? With the merge of the WEC organization being absolved into the UFC (finally), a lot of changes will be made. Perhaps the promotion's most recognized, or rather most dominant fighters, Jose Aldo will defend his title for the first time inside the UFC in January. Along with Dana White's formal announcement during today's teleconference with the mixed martial arts media outlets, he also gave notice that their now featherweight champion will defend his title on the big show at UFC 125 in Las Vegas. ...

Aldo has been every bit as dominant as his mentor and friend Anderson Silva has been in the UFC. While Jose takes the reigns of the WEC featherweight division, where he rests proudly as the promotion's champion, many have already speculated that there simply aren't enough challenges that exist in his weight class. Aldo began his career as a lightweight, even as low as 135-pounds in the bantamweight division, however found his best suit for him at 145 pounds, where he hasn't ran into any problems, going an amazing eight wins in a row under the WEC banner. ...

At WEC 51, we saw Jose Aldo continue to establish his dominance as the best featherweight on the planet, when he bested season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter", in Manny Gamburyan. Almost with surgeon like precision, Aldo felt out the first round before exploding on the Armenian in the second, quickly stunning him with a right cross and followed up with an uppercut. After a barrage of ground and pound, the fight was waived and the Brazilian was hailed the winner by way of knockout. However, even though the Nova Uniao product is widely considered as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, even he couldn't save the poor gate numbers that WEC 51 had produced, in Broomfield, Colo. ...

There can be no doubt that the WEC is home to the absolute best lighter-weight fighters in the world. Their recent string of fantastic shows proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Consider that, and then consider how dominant you would have to be for people to already be thinking that you should move up in weight because nobody in the WEC in your division poses a worthwhile threat. That’s exactly where current WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo finds himself: many fans and insiders are calling for a move up to Lightweight in either the WEC or UFC despite the fact that the WEC’s featherweight division is far from dead. And according to famed manager-to-the-stars Ed Soares, Aldo’s dream-fight does indeed lie within the Octagon and not the blue cage. It’s even against a UFC champion. Here’s what the sometimes-controversial manager/interpreter had to say in an interview on The MMA Hour. ...

Jose Aldo is a phenomenon. There’s really no other way to accurately describe the current WEC Featherweight Champion. At the recent WEC 51: "Aldo vs. Gamburyan" event, Aldo scored his eighth straight win in the WEC (with no defeats), his seventh stoppage win of those eight fights, and improved his record to 18-1, his first and only loss occurring almost five years ago. With such a record and penchant for putting on amazing performances, talks have quickly shifted from Aldo being one of the best Featherweights in the game to Aldo being one of the best pound-for-pound fighters period. However, Dana White thinks that a certain someone’s pound-for-pound dominance need not fear Jose Aldo. ...

Antonio McKee, if anything else, is a dominant fighter. He hasn't put together the most exciting fights in his career, which is made evident by his 18 decision victories in his 25 wins as a professional, but his wrestling base has been something that has carried him through a 13-fight win streak (with 1 draw in the 14 fight stretch). However, since turning a corner in his career, finally at the ripe old age of 40, McKee is now on the heels of a two-fight finishing streak, most recently dispatching notable veteran Luiz Azevedo in defense of his MFC lightweight title. The 7 years Azevedo has competed as a professional mixed martial artist, he has defeated some of the sports best, including Rodrigo Damm, Din Thomas, and currently holds a victory over WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo--the Novia Uniao product's only career defeat. Making a promise to himself in an effort to finish fights as a last "hoorah" to the big time, McKee has finally reached the pinnacle of his career when he was recently acquired by the worlds largest organization: the UFC. ...

If having your 'friend' ask you to "pray to whatever Demon effigy you prance and dance in front of with your piglet tribe of savages that I decide not to CRUCIFY you" is what Ed Soares' idea of what a friend should be, than George Bush and Osama bin Laden are sharing a condo on the coast, drinking margaritas and laughing about 'stupid American bureaucracy', and plan to adopt an underprivileged child from North Korea. The Ed-Chael feud had been well documented in the lead up heading into ufc 117 where Chael faced Soares' client Anderson Silva just last August. After many outlandish claims directed towards Soares himself and Anderson Silva primarily, it was later discovered that after failing to capture the UFC middleweight title from "The Spider" after a dominant four-rounds turned in (before the Brazilian submitted Sonnen with a late-rally fifth-round arm bar), Sonnen was found to have been possibly under the influence of performance enhancing drugs. Despite the fall out, and all of the negative tension shared in the media, Ed sympathizes with Sonnen and even goes as far as to say that his 'friend' is innocent of said allegations. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Tonight's fights for wec 51 are nothing short of spectacular. If you've been following the WEC since it's inception to the main stream, especially with the aid of the Versus network, then you should be familiar with the bad blood between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone, Manny Gamburyan serving notice to the featherweight division, or Jose Aldo's dominance inside of the cage--something that has him often likened to the middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva. So for those of you who think this card is worthy of PPV honors, your right. ...

WEC 51 in Broomfield, CO tonight should deliver far more excitement than than the lackluster UFC 119 show this past weekend in Indianpolis.  First off - I simply can't remember a WEC show which didn't bring the funk.  Not exactly sure why the lighter weights seem to offer a more consistent product, but they do.  Is it the speed of the fights, fighter endurance is better, more to prove with a lower pay scale ...? Regardless, WEC 51 lines up to be another stellar card. For obvious reasons, every MMA fan should make time to watch Jose Aldo live every chance possible ... a no-brainer.  He is arguably the best pound for pound fighter on the planet.  However, the real hidden gems on the card are The Korean Zombie and newcomer Nick Pace. ...

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. ...

Longtime veteran Din Thomas, has made his intentions known. A former UFC lightweight contender, Thomas dropped down to the 145-pound division after back-to-back losses at 155 inside the octagon, and is now riding a three fight win streak in his first three tries at the featherweight class. After a bout that pitted former boxing champion and bad boy Ricardo Mayorga against Thomas failed to materialize in the Shine Fights promotion, "Dinyero" wants a change...a BIG change. ...

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. ...

2010 is drawing closer and closer to a close, and with UFC 118 now over and done with, there are only a handful of major-name events left for MMA in 2010. Despite that, I think the end of the year will have some of 2010’s best fights. There’s still a lot of great action left to look forward to, so here are my top 5 (officially announced) fights I’m looking forward to for the rest of 2010. ...

While this might not be as cataclysmic as the DREAM tag team with Sengoku for last years Dynamite!! 2009 show at the Saitama Super Arena before a near 50,000 seated crowd, this is important none the less. Recently crowned Sengoku featherweight champion Marlon Sandro, the proverbial knockout king with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt to boot, is rumored for the September 25th event for DREAM 16. ...

As WEC 51 looms our way with a featherweight match up pitting pound-for-pound great Jose Aldo up against "The Ultimate Fighter" season five finalist Manny Gamburyan for the 145-pound title, another match up on the preliminary card that night may affect the title picture for the future. A match between Diego Nunes against Tyler Toner has been announced as part of the 9-fight card, though additional bouts may take place on September 30th at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. ...

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. ...

Without a single doubt in my mind, I believe that 2010 has been the craziest year in MMA since the fall of PRIDE back in 2007. A month doesn’t go by where we haven’t had a crazy story that gets everyone talking. Take your pick: Brock Lesnar returned from a possibly career-ending injury and submitted Shane Carwin, Fedor Emelianenko lost in the opening minutes of Round 1 to a Triangle Choke applied by Fabricio Werdum, Lyoto Machida was destroyed by Mauricio Rua, Chael Sonnen came within inches of beating Anderson Silva and dominated him for twenty-three minutes, Jason Miller got into a crazy brawl with almost the entire Team Cesar Gracie fight camp…the list goes on and on, and on. I think 2011 will be an even bigger year in MMA. Moving forward, here are five things I’m already looking forward to for next year. ...

In the same vein as my “Fight of the Half-Year” article focusing on what I thought was the best fight of 2010 so far, today’s article focuses on what I consider the best MMA event of 2010 now that half the year has come and gone. 2010 has been a great year for our beloved sport, with shocking moments seeming to spring up at least once per fight card. From Fedor Emelianenko losing to Brock Lesnar winning by submission, and everything in-between, Mixed Martial Arts in 2010 has been a rollercoaster ride. But only one event not only turned in amazing fight after amazing fight, but practically defined the promotion itself and truly solidified its company as one that is ready for an explosion into the mainstream. For what it accomplished and the fights it produced, WEC 48: “Aldo vs. Faber” is my “Event of the Half-Year”. ...

Saturday night the North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) held Fight Night in the Flats VI. The main event saw Chris Lozano (5-0) take on "Dynamite" Jason Dent (21-11) in a five round title fight. ...