Brown will be facing a tough opponent in the Armenian Judo expert and Former Ultimate Fighter finalist Manvel Gamburyan.  While Gamburyan is a tough fight for Brown, he is very confident in his match-up.

“I’ve got the reach which is rare for me because I’m 5’6” but I’ve actually got some reach here and I always do really well against shorter guys. I feel good with the power edge and with the technical striking edge. I think that’s (standing) my area and I’m not easy to takedown so I think it’s going to be a hard fight for him.”

Manvel believes there is no pressure going into the fight, as the two are headliners on WEC’s first PPV show.

“First of all, there is no pressure in my fights.  I just look at a fight.  Any fight is a fight, you know?  I can’t take anything away from Brown.  He’s a gamer.  I respect him as a person.  Right now he’s my enemy, but it doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy.”

To Gamburyan, April 24^th is very important to him, not only because he showcases on WEC, but because it is Genocide Remembrance Day for the Armenian people.

“It’s a special day for me,” said Manny when talking about what it means to compete on this particular date.  “Do or die, man.  I’m a die out there, bro.  I’m a do everything so I can win.”

If any one fighter wins the battle, it will mean a war against the winner of Urijah and Jose.  Both fighters are looking for that win, and that title shot.

“I think if I get a win—especially if I look good doing it—then I’ll be right in the spot (No. 1 contender) and I should get a shot at the winner of Aldo-Faber.” Mike Brown said.

Aldo is a deadly fighter, finishing his last 6 WEC bouts with terrifying KO victories.  His recent destruction was of Mike Brown who was coming off a 10 fight win streak.  Urijah Faber on the other hand, is coming off one win after being defeated by Mike Brown once again.  For Faber, he isn’t counting out Aldo, but he doesn’t care if the rest of the world is counting Faber out.

“He’s a fabulous fighter and there is merit to all the credit he’s getting,” Faber said. “I’m impressed by him. But his vulnerability is that I’m the better fighter.”

Faber has only lost to two people in his career, once against Tyson Griffin and then Mike Brown twice.

“This sport, you never know what is going to happen,” Faber said. “Too much crazy [stuff] could happen. But the one thing I know, and that I think anyone who is going to fight me knows, is that you’ll get the best of what I have that night and I’m going to keep coming and keep fighting and keep trying to find a way to win.”

Jose Aldo is a beast no matter what Faber says. He’s ranked No. 6 in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings and he’s on a nine-fight winning streak. He’s justifiably earned comparisons to the pre-UFC 112 version of Anderson Silva.

This fight will definitely be a battle, and expect it to end fast.

What Henderson forgot to say, was that he’s ready for a second 5 round war.  Last October Hendo and Donald Cerrone fought for the interim lightweight belt, and it was indeed a war.

“That was an absolute war,” said Ben Henderson in the cage immediately after the bout. “Now I don’t ever want to do it again.”

But they are doing it again, this Saturday at WEC 48 on Pay Per View.  This battle has more at stake, as last time they fought for the interim and this time they are fighting for the real deal.  The belt to prove who the best lightweight is in the WEC.

When they first met, the two would battle it out in a submission fest, where Bendo would spend close to four minutes in Cerrone’s submission attempts through the bout.  But every time Bendo was caught, he would sneak out in any way possible.  No matter how Cerrone caught Bendo, Henderson was more then able to continue, at one point where he gave thumbs up with his only free arm.  By the end of the bout, Ben Henderson was able to score a decision victory, due to his impressive submission escapes and attempts.

Henderson enters the rematch on a ten-fight winning streak, dating back to his second career fight. Cerrone got back on the winning track with a second straight Fight of the Night performance against Ed Ratcliff.

Cerrone was able to get the submission in that bout, as he has in ten of his eleven career wins. Had Henderson’s arms not been made of rubber and his will of steel, Cerrone might have eleven submissions in twelve victories.

“I think you have to have fights where you’re just dominant, and you show the world that you’re that much better than your opponent,” Henderson said on his radio appearance. “But you have to have those fights where the fans, the crowd know that you were pushed to your limit, and you went out there and you showed your heart and soul. You gave it everything you had.”

Despite his promises to the contrary, he and Cerrone will be giving everything again on Saturday night.

Before the end of the first round Bowles was bloodied, and after the 2^nd round he had to forfeit due to doctors wishes.

“I’ve just got to get this hand better,” said Bowles, who also broke his hand last time out.

Miguel Angel Torres has hoped to use the co-main event to bounce back from losing his 135-pound title to Bowles last time out, Instead he had to tap out to a Joseph Benavidez guillotine choke at 2:57 of the second round.

Featherweight Javier Vazquez (14-4) used his ground skills to submit former UFC lightweight champion Jens (Lil’ Evil) Pulver via armbar at 3:41 of the first round. For the 35-year-old Pulver (22-13-1), it was his fifth straight loss and seventh in eight outings. His last four losses have all come in the first round.  It was suggested that Pulver may have retired from MMA

“I love you all way too much to keep putting you through this,” Pulver said.

Other fights on the main card go to LC Davis by majority decision, and Bart Palaszewski by submission in the first round.

Fight of the Night Honors go to Leonard Garcia and George Roop who fought to a Split draw.  Anthony Pettis won KO of the night after a first round headkick and punches stopped Danny Castillo.  Joseph Benavidez earns Submission of the night after defeating Miguel Torres in the 2^nd round.

First off, the return of Jens “Little Evil” Pulver vs Javier Vazquez

This fight is being overshadowed by Jens Pulver’s return after his loss almost a year ago.  He’s been plagued with a very uneventful career in the WEC, only once beating out Cub Swanson.  However he’s a veteran of the sport, fighting all over the world, and even holding the UFC Bantamweight belt later renamed the lightweight.  Across the ring is Javier Vasquez, a submission specialist, who as well as Pulver is coming off a few loses in the WEC.  Those two losses however, went straight to split decision, which means Vazquez did something right.  Now I have never really watched a Vazquez fight, and Pulver pisses me off just a little, my decision is hard.  But after much researching, and playing out the odds, I call Javier Vazquez to win by submission in the 2^nd round.

Miguel Torres vs Joseph Benavidez

Both fighters have an amazing record.  At one time Torres held the bantamweight title, and dominated the division, until Brian Bowles threw a punch that ultimately took the belt away from Torres.  Benavidez on the other hand, is not a fan favorite, and hasn’t had many wins under his belt.  But he’s a fighter, and a good one at that.  With only one loss at the hands of #1 contender Dominick Cruz, Benavidez bounced back with an impressive TKO victory over Rani Yahya, were Miguel Torres has yet to fight again after the loss.  Now I’m a huge fan of Miguel Torres, and I love to watch him dominate inside the octoagan, but I always seem to go for the underdog.  Joseph Benavidez by Split Decision

Champion Brian Bowles vs Dominick Cruz

Bowles took the belt after beating Miguel Torres with a hard right hook and a flurry of punches.  Going undefeated in his professional career and pulling off wins by either Submission or a KO, he’s definitely the favorite in this fight.  Dominick Cruz went undefeated before stepping into the WEC Octagon against then Featherweight champion Urijah Faber, where he was submitted fast.  There’s not much to say about these two warriors other then they are amazing in their sport and both carry different styles.  Brian Bowles by KO in the 2^nd round

Other Fights

Deividas Taurosevicius vs LC Davis

-LC Davis by Split Decision

Bart Palaszewski vs Karen Darabedyan

-Karen Darabedyan by TKO 2^nd round

Odds are against Benavidez who stands small to the lanky physique of the Former WEC Champion Miguel Torres.  However Benavidez is unconcerned with the challenges Torres’ reach and height.  In fact, Benavidez is more then comfortable, and quite used to the differences in his fights.

“Everybody that I practice with or fight usually has the reach on me, so that’s just a way of life for me – just getting past someone’s reach,” Benavidez said in a recent media call promoting the event. “That’s just my style of fighting.”

Benavidez, who was once considering a drop to 125 if the WEC institute the division, is slowly adding muscle to his frame.  He’s been familiarizing himself with reach advantage in both training and fighting.

“He does have an extremely long reach, and the only thing that I’ve really done different that I probably actually would have never done before is I actually sought out some boxers that were the same height and same reach – Mexican-style, a few amateurs and a few pros,” Benavidez said. “Just trying to go with as many tall guys as I can. That’s the most I can do is just try to get people in there to mimic him with their height. It worked out pretty good, and I’m feeling good against tall people like that.”

But there’s also another discrepancy that’s shadowing this fight.  Most attention has been towards Torres and his eventual rematch against Bowles who only a few months ago stripped Torres of his belt.  Benavidez is taking it all in strides, not looking past the fight, and understands he’s the underdog in this fight.

“People are going to be excited to see him come back and want to talk to him more. I’ve got to pave my way just like everyone else did and get people excited about watching me fight. He was a world champion, so that’s expected.”

Joseph Benavidez and Miguel Torres are set to face each other this Saturday March 6^th, on Versus.

August saw Torres’ defeat by the hands of Brian Bowles, but Torres’ first concern was his mother, who had been sitting in the front row to witness her son’s KO loss.  Torres had never been KO’d in his career, until that night in Las Vegas.

“There was nothing I could say,” Torres said when asked how he approached his mother following the loss. “I apologized. I told her it was my fault. I reassured her that everything was ok.”

During that fight, Torres’ young daughter was also in attendance.

“I know she didn’t know what was going on, but I wanted to make sure she was fine as well.”

After the completely one-sided fight, Torres made sure he waited enough time before returning to the gym and training.

“I focus now on training right, eating right, and surrounding myself with coaches that are dedicated to the fight game. It has made a huge difference.”

Although Torres is hoping for a possible dream match with former featherweight Champ and Fan favorite Urijah Faber, he’s not looking past his next opponent, Joseph Benavidez.  Benavidez also happens to be a training partner, and almost exact replica, of Faber.  Could this fight help Torres in visualizing a future fight against Faber.

“I’m not looking past him at all,” Torres said of Benavidez. “The keys to win this fight are simple: to stay elusive, to use my range, to use my timing. Don’t make it a slugfest, because that’s what he’s looking for.”

If Torres is able to pull of the win however, it could secure him the #1 contender spot for the bantamweight title, which also happens to be on the line that night.  Brian Bowles and Dominick Cruz are slated to fight for the belt, March 6^th in Columbus, Ohio.

Torres is very confident entering into this fight, and hopes to pull off a second round submission.  But anything is possible, as seen last August against Bowles.

“I will use that as motivation for my next fight.”

10.  Jason “Mayhem” Miller: He’s had a good run in MMA and is still running.  At his UFC debut he went 3 full rounds with current UFC Welterweight Champ Georges St. Pierre.  Mayhem fought a tough opponent in one bloody match.  Mayhem went on to fight in smaller organizations, winning the ICON Sport Middleweight Champion, and fighting for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Title against a tough Jake Shields.  Besides fighting Mayhem finds time to appear on Bully Beatdown, a reality show, and a weekly spot on Jason Ellis’ radio show on Sirus Radio.

9.  Jake Shields:  The self-proclaimed leader of the “Scrap Pack” from Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Shields has been undefeated in his past 13 bouts while fighting tough competition. The current Strikeforce middleweight champ, people seriously doubt him against Dan Henderson.

8.  Mike Pyle:  UFC Fighter Pyle is one of the best submission specialists in the UFC welterweight division.  Out of his 27 professional fights, he has won 15 of them by submission and usually in the first round.  In his first professional fight he went the distance with fellow newcomer and former Pride and UFC champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  Any one of Jacksons 37 opponents will tell you that it is not an easy task.  Pyle also recently co-starred in the third installment of Universal Soldier: Regeneration alongside Andrei Arvloski and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

7.  Heath Herring:  Any man who can KO another man before the fight starts is okay in my books.  But I guess his excessive career in MMA also helps.  He’s faced the best, and whether he’s lost or won, he always seems to display excellent skill.  He is the only man to go the distance with Brock Lesnar, after having to step in for Mark Coleman.  I’m still waiting for his long overdue return to the Octagon.

6.  Eddie Alvarez:  He may be one of the least known fighters on the list, but his record will prove otherwise.  Alvarez holds multiple titles in 2 weight classes from Bellator and MFC.  He’s only gone the distance twice, out of his 21 professional fights, from which he has won.  He may not have the best laundry list of fighters he’s stopped, he has stopped them and in devastating fashion.  His only two losses have come from Nick Thompson and #2 Lightweight in the world Shinya Aoki.  Alvarez is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s only a matter of time until we see him dominating Strikeforce, WEC, or even the UFC.

5.  Shinya Aoki:  Unless you’re a hardcore MMA fan, you’ll probably recognize Shinya Aoki from “Hello Japan” on youtube.  Not to well known on the American market, Shinya Aoki has been dominating Japan since 2003.  Sherdog and MMA Weekly have even called him the #2 Lightweight fighter in the world.  The American market may be ready to see him on TV, as rumors have been circulating about a possible Strikeforce deal, and a possible fight against Lightweight Champ Gilbert Melendez.

4.  Yushin Okami:  Probably one of my favorite fighters in MMA, he holds notable wins over Evan Tanner, Anderson Silva, and Mike Swick.  Fans and critics alike tend to criticize Okami’s show and tell in MMA.  Regardless of his lackluster fights and slow starts, he finishes fights and in excellent fashion.  After only his second loss in the UFC against #1 contender Chael Sonnen, he will step back in to fight Lucio Linhares.

3.  Evan Tanner:  The self taught MMA fighter has had a string of wins in MMA, and even held the UFC Middleweight title at one time.  He’s fought many veterans including Heath Herring twice, Phil Baroni, Rich Franklin, and Tito Ortiz.  During his career, Evan Tanner had a serious alcohol problem, which he expressed after his fight with Kendall Grove, but he always managed to show promise in the UFC.  Sadly he was taken too soon from us, and we can only imagine how his career would have been.

2.  Dan Severn:  The man is 51 years old and still showing he can stand and fight with the young ones.  A UFC hall of famer, UFC 5 and Ultimate 95 Tournament winner, UFC Suprefight title, and 13 National AAU wrestling championships are only a few of his many accomplishments.  He’s scheduled to face Buddie Dixon at KOTC Calgary on March 18^th, 2010.  Expect this MMA writer to be there just for the one fight.

1.  Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford:  This man is so under rated it’s not even funny.  He may not be in the UFC or Strikeforce, but he’s a deadly force in MMA.  Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta he has been dominating the scene in Edmonton and across Canada.  A deadly force standing and on the ground, he’s finished most of his fights by either KO or submission.  His most recent fight came with a 13 second finish against John Walsh this past December.  It’s only a matter of time before we see Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford in big leagues.

On Saturday, March 6, 2010, WEC heads to Columbus, Ohio with a stacked card headlined by a world bantamweight title fight between champion Brian Bowles and number one contender Dominick Cruz. What’s more, WEC’s first trip to Columbus features the return of former bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres, as well as the comeback of former UFC® lightweight titleholder Jens Pulver.

Tickets for WEC: Bowles vs. Cruz are now on sale at $125, $75, $45, and $25. Tickets may be purchased at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.  Tickets are also available at the FOX Sports Ohio Blue Line store at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing and ticket outlets at Chiller Dublin, Chiller Easton and Chiller North.  Tickets are subject to service charges.

6pm ET Venue doors open to ticket holders
7pm ET First bout
10pm ET Main card