Hello again fans and friends, it’s time for another round of “Prelims Predictions”. As my new “dark horse favorite”, I’ve done my best to constantly highlight the under-appreciated “UFC Prelims LIVE” specials that air on both Facebook and Spike TV. At their worst, they serve as additional free fights that are usually passable and mostly entertaining. And at their best, these preliminary mini-events are huge sleeper hits that sometimes steal the show. And there’s a lot of good-looking fights on the UFC 132 undercard, so let’s dive right in with “UFC 132 ‘Cruz vs. Faber 2’ Prelims Predictions”. ...

Hello once more fans and friends, I’m pleased to announce that it’s time for another round of my “A Closer Look” series! For the next two days, I’ll be diving head-first into this weekend’s UFC 132 fight card, which is shaping up to be one of the UFC’s big can’t-miss events of the summer. Much of the main card is loaded with talent and intrigue, and right now I’ll be giving a quick rundown of the undercard. This is “A Closer Look At UFC 132”, and these are the preliminary bouts scheduled to air live first on Facebook and then on Spike TV. ...

Top contender Melvin Guillard might have a few more tests before he heads into immediate title contention. The Greg Jackson product will next return to action for UFC 132 when he takes on former WEC contender Shane Roller. The news may come as somewhat of a surprise to most fans, who would have likely expected a "bigger name" talent for Guillard, who is slowly developing into one of the lightweight divisions most promising contenders for the title, which will be contested come this May between champ Frankie Edgar as he takes on rival Gray Maynard in their highly anticipated rubber match. ...

This past Thursday, both Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann battled it out in what will be considered an early candidate for "Fight of the Year". Both men had their moments, with Martin dropping Diego early in the first-round before "The Dream" was able to reverse fortunes and come out stronger in the second and third rounds, rocking Kampmann on multiple occasions. The fight was tight and contentious throughout, however Sanchez was able to pick up the very close decision win over the Xtreme Couture product. While the fight has since been hotly debated, both men didn't lose much in the eyes of the promotion, as they were both awarded an additional $160k in bonuses for their "Fight of the Night" performance. ...

After it was all said and done, nearly 10 years in the game, and I think it's safe to say that the WEC left the world of mixed martial arts with a bang, and a proper farewell casted off by all of their combatants just last night. In the main event of the evening, Anthony Pettis shocked the world when he displayed devastating arsenal of striking techniques which culminated in a highlight reel head kick knockdown executed by "Showtime" launching himself from the cage and landing the maneuver mid-air on former champion Ben Henderson, before a ruckus crowd in Glendale, Ariz. While Pettis' star shined the brightest in his lightweight title clash with the hometown favorite in Henderson, several others displayed a varied array of skills that netted them an additional ten thousand dollars for their efforts. ...

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. ...

Pettis definitely chose his moniker carefully, because "Showtime" appears now to be hitting the big time. The WEC lightweight contender, who is coming off the heels of his most recent victory over perennial contender Shane Roller--by a third-round triangle choke, will be featured in a new MTV special, coming out this September. ...

Ladies and gentlemen, fans and friends, we’ve got another contender for Fight of the Year. WEC 50 is now over and done, and while the major story revolves around Dominick Cruz making his first successful defense of his WEC Bantamweight Championship against Joseph Benavidez, the incredibly diverse, wildly entertaining all-out war between Anthony Pettis and Shane Roller was my Fight of the Night, and perhaps the most entertaining fight since my “Fight of the Half-Year”, Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung. It had all the right ingredients for an epic fight, and “Showtime” now stands poised as the next threat to WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. ...

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? ...

WEC: 50, which features a bantamweight showdown between champion Dominick Cruz defending his title for the first time against former foe Joseph Benavidez in a sure crowd pleaser, before a near sold-out crowd, at The Pearl and Palms casino, in Las Vegas, Nev. ...

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. ...

Shane Roller (4-1) choked out Mike Budnik (6-1) in a fast affair at 1:01 of the opening round during WEC 37 in Las Vegas. Budnik suffered his first zero after entering the fight undefeated. The bout started with Roller passing an armbar attempt and transitioning into mount. From the dominant position, Roller sunk a guillotine on Budnik but was unable to finish the fight. Soon after, Roller rolled to his back still clinching the choke. The second phase of the guillotine proved too much as Budnik tapped under pressure. Shane Roller took the official win at 1:01 of round one via submission. ...

"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. ...