Former WEC contender Wagnney Fabiano has made a choice. Originally fighting in the 155-pound class, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt originally pared down to the bantamweight class, however has found little success in the new division. After going 2-1 in the new division, Fabiano is committed to returning to the more comfortable weight-class of 145-pounds upon his UFC debut, and hopes that he can regain some of the early success that he attained not so long ago. ...

Former top contender at both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions inside the WEC, Wagnney Fabiano will still be in the UFC fold despite a loss to Joseph Benavidez. World Extreme Cagefighting, the sister promotion of the UFC under the Zuffa banner, has since merged with the worlds largest mixed martial arts organization and as such, with the heavy influx of new fighters, a lot will be cut heading in. More than likely, those of whom are coming off of losses heading into the UFC will be cut pre-merger, however Fabiano is still secured to be among the few to transition into the organization's new bantamweight class. ...

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. ...

When it comes to the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, all eyes are rightfully on the upcoming WEC 51 show. Featuring such stars as Jose Aldo, Manvel Gamburyan, Jamie Varner, Donald Cerrone, Miguel Torres, Chan Sung Jung, and Leonard Garcia, WEC 51 is shaping up to be another fantastic event in a year filled to the brim with fantastic WEC events. Looking further into the future, WEC 52 recently received a big boost when it was announced that both former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles would be making their returns to the famous blue cage at WEC 52. ...

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. ...

Featherweight Wagnney Fabiano (11-1) defeated "The Ironman" Akitoshi Tamura (12-7-2) via arm triangle submission at 4:48 of the third round at WEC 37 in Las Vegas Wednesday night. Round one opened with some light punches by both fighters.  Fabiano shot in for a double leg take down and ended up in an open half guard position on the mat.  Fabiano then worked to gain head and arm control and transitioned to the mount. ...

IFL Featherweight Champion Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) has signed with the WEC, reported Tatame Friday. Fabiano was undefeated in the IFL, and knocked out Shad Lierley (2-2) in 0:37 in April in his only title defense. He already has his eyes set on current WEC Featherweight Champion “California Kid” Urijah Faber (21-1). Fabiano said, “My goal is to fight for the belt and do my best. “Faber is the best of the world now. To beat him, I think you have to be in good shape. He’s an expert fighter and he has good gas, it’s complicated to beat a guy like him. You have to set a good game plan and be calm and watch the elbows, because if he hits you it can change a whole fight.” ...

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. ...

IFL titleholders “The Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko, “The Thorobred” Jay Hieron, and Wagnney Fabiano will defend their belts when the International Fight League returns to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., with a nine-bout card on Friday, April 4.  In addition to the three Championship bouts, competition between camps will feature athletes from Renzo Gracie Academy, Midwest Combat, Miletich Fighting Systems, and American Top Team. Tickets went on sale on Monday, Feb. 25, and are available at the IZOD Center Box Office (located at the Meadowlands), www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (201) 507-8900. Of particular interest is the addition of Florida-based American Top Team, which is “outside” of the core IFL camps to compete under the new IFL format which encourages challenges from the top MMA camps across the world. Matyushenko, who defected to the U.S. while a member of the Belarus national wrestling team in the early 1990’s, was the IFL’s first individual champion, capping an unbeaten 2007 by winning the light heavyweight title by defeating Alex Schoenauer last November in Chicago.  On April 4, Matyushenko will battle “The Suit” Jamal Patterson, a Colgate University graduate who now serves as regional sales manager for an orthodontics company in addition to his MMA career. Hieron, a Long Island native who will be fighting in front of a decidedly hometown crowd, knocked out “Pe de Chumbo” Delson Heleno in Connecticut in December to claim the welterweight crown.  His opponent in New Jersey will be Mark Miller, a former machine gunner in the U.S. Marines who was one of the big surprises at 170-lbs. last year in the IFL. Fabiano is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who used that skill to record five submissions, four of them in the first round, in a perfect 2007, culminating in a win over LC Davis in the featherweight championship in December.  He takes on Shad Lierley, a former collegiate conference wrestling champion at New York University who moves to 145-lbs. after impressing with two victories and a well-documented thrilling battle with “The Polish Hammer” Chris Horodecki last year. “I like the local feel of this card,” said Bas Rutten, IFL Vice President, Fighter Operations.  “In addition to three outstanding championship matchups, featuring fighters from New York and New Jersey, you have Renzo Gracie’s camp, which was the champion last year, Midwest Combat, which features our top fighters from the Chicago area, and great battles with the Miletich camp and American Top Team, which we are very excited to have on board.”  Among the intriguing matchups in the Miletich-ATT pairing are those between welterweights Rory Markham and Emyr Bussade and light heavyweights Mike Ciesnolevicz and Lew Polley.  LC Davis will also compete against a yet-to-be-determined featherweight opponent. The Gracie-Midwest bouts include a rematch of last year’s exciting Deividas Taurosevicius vs. “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski matchup.  Delson Heleno will also fight at 170 lbs; his opponent is TBD.  Outside of the camp matchups, Chris Horodecki will battle a yet unnamed lightweight for a planned minimum nine-bout card. IFL East Rutherford, N.J. Friday, April 4, 2008 (order TBD) Additional Bouts 155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) (7-1 IFL, 11-1 overall MMA) vs. TBD American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems 145 lbs.: TBD vs. LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 9-1) 170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (0-0, 10-5) vs. Rory Markham (Chicago) (6-2, 12-3) 205 lbs.: Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (0-0, 6-0) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) (5-3, 13-3) Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy 155 lbs.: Bart Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) (8-3, 29-10) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (3-0, 9-2) 170 lbs.: TBD vs. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (6-3, 13-4) *205 lbs.: **Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus) (5-0, 20-3) vs. Jamal Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.) (4-1, 4-1) Additional Championship Bouts *170 lbs.: **Jay Hieron (Freeport, N.Y.) (6-2, 14-4) vs. Mark Miller (Chicago) (2-1, 8-2) *145 lbs.: **Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (5-0, 9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (Seattle) (2-1, 2-1) *Championship Bout **Current Titleholder ...