It’s finally happened, fans and friends. After roughly five months of indecision, I have now found a new “dark horse favorite”. I’ve made reference to this little race on many different articles I’ve written, and now it’s time to finally do this topic justice. So that’s just what I plan on doing. Today’s two-part article, “A New King Is Crowned”, will focus on two distinct things: why it was so hard for me to pick a new “dark horse favorite”, and the reasons why I chose my new favorite. With that said, let’s dive right for the first part of “A New King Is Crowned”. ...

Ever since Frank Edgar dethroned BJ Penn to claim the ufc Lightweight Championship, the UFC’s 155-pound division has been blown wide open. Currently, Edgar is set to meet Gray Maynard for the third and most likely final time, in a rematch to their epic UFC 125 encounter that ended in a draw. Meanwhile, the final WEC Lightweight Champion, Anthony Pettis, is set to fight Clay Guida. And despite all the notable fighters that have been blasting their way up the Lightweight rankings, it’s recently been confirmed that Anthony Pettis is still next in line for a shot at the title so long as he beats Clay Guida. Here are all the details. ...

It was one of the best fights of the final era of the gone-but-not-forgotten World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. It’s Leonard Garcia vs. The Korean Zombie… and it’s happening again. Many fans and insiders attribute a chunk (the exact size depends on who you ask) of the success of the WEC’s first and only Pay-Per-View to this free preliminary fight, which saw both men battle to a magnificent fifteen-round decision that Garcia somewhat-controversially won. Garcia was set to rematch another fighter who he controversially beat, Nam Phan, but with Phan’s recent removal from the card due to an injury, the stage is set for “Garcia/Zombie 2” at UFC Fight Night 24. Here are all the details. ...

While most of the attention surrounding Bellator 37 will be focused on the featherweight quarter-finals, which features previous finalist Patricio "Pitbull" Freire back in action against the always tough Georgi Karakhanyan who last year made it to the semi-finals before both men were dispatched by current Bellator champion Joe Warren, some attention should be paid to the preliminary portion of the card. In action will be a bevy of former Zuffa castoffs, including former top middleweight prospect and former UFC fighter Jake Rosholt, three-time WEC veteran Jameel Massouh, and former "The Ultimate Fighter" competitor, Roli Delgado. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Former WEC lightweight champion Rob McCullough is now official for the upcoming 155-pound tournament under the Bellator banner. Bellator Fighting Championships begin their fourth-season which kicks off this March on MTV2, which has become a new home for the upstart promotion following their stint on several other networks including ESPN Deportes, Fox Sportsnet, Telemundo, among others. Since his departure from the World Extreme Cagefighting organization in November of 2009 following a decision loss to newcomer Karen Darabedyan, McCullough has rattled off two consecutive wins, a first-round TKO of Isaac DeJesus and decision win over UFC veteran Corey Hill, both under the Tachi Palace Fighting banner. ...

While UFC 126 offers some exciting match-ups, a fight pitting former champions, budding contenders, and a title fight, there was one fight that I felt that was getting highly overlooked. But, the UFC being the fan-friendly organization that it is made things right, as a preliminary bantamweight bout will now be streamed live and free on Facebook. While most casual fans are still largely unaware of this Japanese star, come Saturday night everyone will know who "Kid" Yamamoto is. The owner of one of the best highlight reels in the sport, Norifumi made a name for himself in his native Japan by defeating larger opponents in devastating fashion. Now finally in the UFC fold, the DREAM veteran will be taking on arguably one of his toughest challenges to date, ironically enough in a man dubbed "Mighty Mouse". ...

While many fans were anticipating the UFC debut of "The Korean Zombie" as he would be taking on former title challenger Rani Yahya in Texas earlier this month, they were treated to another high-profile fight nonetheless, in the newly minted featherweight division. Former champion Mike Brown stepped in for the injured Chan Sung Jung, and while the American Top Team product was the decided favorite, Yahya capitalized on the opportunity presented to him and earned a well-deserved decision win, capturing arguably the biggest win of his career. Now that the future is looking bright for the Brazilian, who snapped a two-fight skid with the win over Brown, according to his coaches he is still looking forward to a potential bout with the Korean brawler. ...

Joe Stevenson may be on his last leg in the UFC. The former title challenger is now 2-4 over his last six fights, recently having been knocked out by fellow "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran Mac Danzig in devastating fashion last December at UFC 124 in Montreal, Canada. Now, instead of preempting for a fight that could implicate his stay within the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion. Stevenson will be taken on newcomer Danny Castillo. He may be a UFC newbie, but this dynamic lightweight fighter has seen his fair share of battles inside the cage and will prove to be a difficult challenge for a Stevenson who is hoping to resurrect his career. ...

Following a decision victory over former title holder Mike Brown earlier this month at "UFC 125: Resolution", Diego Nunes is flying high. Though he suffered a rather nasty-swollen eye, he is in good spirits. In his bout with the former WEC featherweight champion, Diego was able to land kicks successfully on the world-ranked fighter, keeping him at bay before following up the action with effective strikes. In the end, he was awarded the decision win, in an unlikely upset for Brown's second inception into the UFC. And like Nunes, Dustin Poirier has been doing a little over achieving of his own, handily defeating former number one contender Josh Grispi in a decision win. ...

With all of the accolades bestowed upon him in his career, UFC lightweight champion, number one ranked lightweight and featherweight fighter, you would think that those alone would be enough to cement your legacy and move on. But when that man, Jens Pulver, was on the verge of ending an illustrious career on the heels of a six-fight losing streak, his heart was sunk. Live to fight another day and get a normal job that doesn't consist of becoming a proverbial "crash test dummy", or give it another go and end the way you intended? Those were the kind of questions Jens has had to ask himself. But coming out on top is what Pulver did when he served headlining duties at XFO 38 and took his opponent out in less then a minute, reigniting the "Lil Evil" bandwagon. ...

It's been a longtime coming for Mark Hominick. While the Canadian striker found some early success in his career when he nabbed a 2-0 record inside of the UFC, with victories over veterans Jorge Gurgel and Yves Edwards, things took a turn for the worse when he dropped down to the featherweight division in order to compete against the best-of-the-best in the WEC. Consecutive losses to Rani Yahya and Josh Grispi sent him packing from the promotion. However, Mark returned just a couple of years later and lit a fire in the 145-pound division. Now after making a successful run there and an equally impressive return to the UFC when he knocked out teammate George Roop this past Saturday, Mark is now primed and ready to go for his upcoming title fight against one of the pound-for-pound best, in Jose Aldo. ...

George Roop, a veteran of the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter", will now be returning to the largest mixed martial arts promotion as he takes on fellow teammate Mark Hominick. Though not a contender in the talent-rich pool of 145-pounds, Roop is exciting none the less. After dropping down to the featherweight division after his brief stint as a lightweight in the UFC, Roop was competitive in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, earning "Fight of the Night" when he battled former title challenger Leonard Garcia. Though a point deduction given to George for a low blow inevitably cost him a win over the "Bad Boy" who went to a split-draw with the Team Tompkins fighter, he followed up the gritty performance with a vicious head-kick knockout over fan favorite Chan Sung Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie". Now following the WEC-UFC merger of the lighter weight classes, Roop finds himself in a vicarious position. He's either going to be the stepping stone that Mark needs in order to secure a title shot against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, or he's going to cause an upset that will shoot him up the ranks. ...

For the last several years it’s been a long, sad road to rock bottom for former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver. “Lil’ Evil” was once equal parts famous and beloved for being a scrappy veteran that showed up to bang, unfortunately, those days seem to be long gone. It’s been three long and painful years since Jens Pulver won a fight, and he currently holds a six-fight losing-streak. So why does Pulver keep fighting? In a new interview, the former champion answered just that question. ...

Ever since it was announced, a lot of people have been buzzing about the impending encounter between top UFC Lightweight Clay Guida and the last man to ever hold the WEC Lightweight Championship, Anthony Pettis. A certain section of the fanbase, however, has called into question whether or not Pettis made the right decision by opting to not wait for his Championship Unification bout and take this fight with Guida. I definitely think Pettis made the right call, and to prove my point, here's a “Top Five” listed devoted to the five reasons why Anthony Pettis made the right decision. ...

Season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter" Manny Gamburyan will now be making his second-foray into the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he returns to the organization this March. The Judo specialist left the organization's lightweight division after dropping back-to-back fights to Rob Emerson and Thiago Tavares. The move also signaled Gamburyan's comittment to his new weight class of 145-pounds, where be became an immediate contender in the WEC's featherweight class. Now that the organization has merged with it's sister promotion in the UFC, Manny will find himself in familiar territory when he returns to the organization that built his star in the mixed martial arts community. But in order to stick around, he's going to face and defeat veteran Raphael Assuncao in his next outing. ...

I’m honestly a bit conflicted when it comes to the proposed match-up between Anthony Pettis and Clay Guida. First and foremost, I’m one of the ones that think that Pettis isn’t being treated fairly by being shoved to the side in order for Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard to fight a third time. Secondly, Guida didn’t even register in my recent “Top 5 Opponents For Anthony Pettis” list. But this is the fight that’s supposedly going to happen, and as a perennial optimist (despite what some of my readers may think), I’m definitely looking forward to Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis. Here’s how I think the fight will go down. ...

Anthony Pettis says he won't wait, and UFC President Dana White was listening. The World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion will now be making his UFC debut either by May or June, and it looks like Clay Guida will be part of his welcoming party. Pettis originally earned the UFC number one contenders' position when he earned the WEC lightweight title last December, when he bested former titleholder Ben Henderson during a rousing five-round affair. Cementing the win in the fifth-round with a flashy jumping-push-kick-off-the-cage that floored Henderson, Pettis returned cage side at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 to see who he would be fighting next in order to unify the WEC-UFC titles, however champ Frankie Edgar drew with Gray Maynard and now the two studs will fight again. Rather then wait for the fight to play out and be sidelined for the better part of 2011, Pettis will risk his chance at the title when he meets with the Greg Jackson fighter. ...

Some featherweight action will be hitting Louisville, Ky. as Erik Koch and Cub Swanson are set to collide inside the octagon. Swanson, a veteran of the now defunct World Extreme Cagefighting promotion will take on Koch in a bout that could have likely happened some time ago, however their paths will now cross under the worlds largest mixed martial arts banner, the UFC. Since the assimilation of the WEC into their sister promotion, a field of fighters have joined the UFC ranks in hopes to add to an already lavish roster, and as far as 145-pound fighters go, the fans in attendance for "UFC on Versus 3" will be in for a treat. ...

Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Mike Brown is now 0-2 in the UFC. One of the top 145-pound fighters in the world, Brown still has some proving to do under the big stage, though if there is anyone who could redeem themselves in a big way, it's for sure the American Top Team product, who counts stoppage victories over Leonard Garcia, Urijah Faber, and Mark Hominick to his career highlights. Most recently, Brown was last in action when he was bested by Brazilian Diego Nunes at UFC 125 last weekend. The two went toe-to-toe for the 15-minute affair, however the Nova Uniao protege edged Brown slightly to earn the split-decision win. ...

Former WEC title challenger Donald Cerrone will make his much anticipated UFC debut sooner than most expected. The Greg Jackson product has been tabbed as a replacement for an injured Sam Stout, and will now face lightweight standout Paul Kelly at UFC 126. The event takes place on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and will feature a main event pitting current middleweight champion Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort for the title. ...

With his WEC days long behind him, former champion Ben Henderson can take solace in the fact that he is now a UFC lightweight fighter. Following a devastating loss to Anthony Pettis a little over two weeks ago at WEC 53, Henderson relinquished his title to the Duke Roufus product along with a promised number contender's spot pending the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard III for the UFC lightweight title. However, despite the setback Ben will move on to the worlds largest mixed martial arts organization (which has since been assimilated with the WEC promotion following the organization's last event; both promotion's fall under the Zuffa LLC banner) and look to reassert himself as one of the best in his weigh class. ...

How soon the MMA world changes. Many fans were lukewarm and even outright cynical of a proposed rematch between Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard, and now fans are clamoring for a rematch to the rematch now that both men recently gave us an early Fight of the Year contender in the main event of ufc 125. Early post-fight reports saw UFC President Dana White remain adamant that Anthony Pettis, the final WEC Lightweight Champion, would be the next man to get a shot at Edgar. Now it appears that White has succumbed to the peer pressure of the situation after all, and we will indeed be getting an immediate rematch. Here are all the details. ...

Former WEC contender Danny Castillo is now officially part of the UFC roster. The lightweight star comes into the fold following a two-fight win streak under the WEC banner, with his most recent victory coming earlier this month at WEC 53, which marked the promotion's final show before becoming fully assimilated with it's sister promotion following a merger of the bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions. Castillo left the organization in an impressive fashion when he was able to knockout Will Kerr in just 85 seconds of the opening round, a perfect way to cap off his inception into the worlds biggest mixed martial arts promotion. ...

When it was announced that the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion would cease operations in 2010 and that all the best WEC fighters would be making their way into the UFC in 2011, one fighter in particular was on everyone’s mind and remains that way to this day: the WEC’s Featherweight engine of destruction, Jose Aldo. Now the UFC Featherweight Champion, Aldo recently had to pull out of a fight with Josh Grispi due to an injury. However, that hasn’t deterred Aldo in the slightest, and looking forward, Aldo recently stated that not only does he want to keep his championship firmly around his waist, he also wants to add the UFC Lightweight Championship to his trophy case. ...

Former WEC lightweight contender Bart Palaszewski is one of the lucky few to enter the ufc fold despite coming off of a loss. The native of Poland most recently competed at WEC 53, the promotions last show before being assimilated into the UFC fold, where he lost a close split-decision to undefeated mixed martial artist, Kamal Shalorus. The wrestling Olympian had his moments on the feet and was able to work Palaszewski to the mat several times which likely played a big part in the tight-nit decision win. The loss snapped a four fight win streak for Bartimus under the WEC banner, however the loss has not deterred the former IFL star from being one of the few lightweight stars to transition into the UFC. ...

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. ...