WEC 52 officially is set to take place Nov. 11 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

MMAjunkie.com first passed along news of the event location earlier this month, and Nevada State Athletic Commission executives recently made it official.

The night's Versus-televised main card is headlined by former featherweight champ Urijah Faber's bantamweight debut, which comes against former title challenger Takeya Mizugaki.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Strikeforce’s Rising Star video features former Olympian, Daniel Cormier. Watch highlights of his recent victories and hear his training plans for the future.

HT: Strikeforce.com

Yes, it's Hammertime on MMAjunkie.com Radio. Pop icon MC Hammer (aka Stanley Burrell) today joins the show to talk about his new MMA ventures, including Alchemist Management and Alchemist Clothing.

Additionally, former UFC champ and UFC 119 competitor Sean Sherk calls in after a 14-month layoff from the sport, and heavyweight Dave "Pee Wee" Herman discusses his upcoming Bellator 31 bout.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Young featherweight prospects Josh Grispi and Erik Koch are on tap for WEC 52.

Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com
that both fighters have verbally agreed to the matchup and are soon expected to
make things official.

WEC 52 takes place Nov. 11 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in
Las Vegas. Grispi vs. Koch is expected for the evening's main card,
which airs live on Versus.

CHICAGO, Ill. (September 15, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today officially announced a September 30 Season 3 Women’s semi-final fight between explosive striker Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto and top submission specialist Jessica “Jag” Aguilar at Bellator 31, taking place at L’Auberge du Lac Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

“Zoila and Jessica were both very impressive in their quarterfinal wins, so fans should expect a great fight between these two fast-rising stars in women’s MMA,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Whoever is eventually crowned Bellator Women’s Champion, they will have certainly earned that title.”

To get to this point, both Frausto and Aguilar faced tough competition in the Bellator quarterfinals. “The Warrior Princess” made her way to the final four at Bellator 25 when she faced the previously undefeated Jessica Pene, who entered the fight holding a perfect 7-0 record. After three rounds of punishing Pene with a wide range of strikes, Frausto was not only awarded a 30-27 unanimous decision victory, but the fight against Aguilar in the semi-finals.

Making her Bellator debut in the Season 3 opener in Hollywood, Fla., Aguilar squared off against Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez in quarterfinal action. An overmatched Alvarez had no answer for the dangerous submission arsenal of Aguilar, who finished the fight in the first round with an air-tight arm-triangle choke to move onto the semi-finals at Bellator 31.

Aguilar knows the chance to become the first Bellator Women’s Champion is within reach, and is ready for the challenge.

“Becoming the first Bellator Women’s Champion is very important to me,” said Aguilar. “This has been my dream since I started my MMA career, and this is the opportunity to make it all come true. I want to leave my legacy as the first-ever Bellator Women’s Champion.”

Frausto holds similar beliefs, and has her sights set on becoming champion.

“Winning this tournament would be a dream come true,” said Frausto. “Winning this tournament would make me the best of the best, and I want that more than anything in the world right now and will do anything in my power to accomplish that.”

Tickets for Bellator 30 are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Welcome back to another edition of “MMA Link Club”, Five Ounces of Pain‘s weekly smorgasbord of work from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy…

An Intimate Look at Josh Koscheck’s Training/Life (FIGHT! Magazine)

Greg Jackson Talks About Nate Marquardt’s Recent Win Over Rousimar Palhares (MMAScraps.com)

WEC Officials Comment on Donald Cerrone’s Inflammatory Comments (MMAConvert.com)

A Japanese Trailer for EA Sports MMA (MiddleEasy.com)

TUF 12 Contestant Talks Comparisons to Mike Tyson (MMAFighting.com)

Dustin Hazelett fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 124 (CagePotato.com)

Kevin James, a.k.a. “Paul Blart”, Starring in MMA-Related Movie (Versus.com)

Aaron Simpson Fighting Mark Munoz at UFC 123 (WatchKalibRun.com)

UFC Lightweight Jim Miller Talks About his Present and Future (Heavy.com)

After all Josh Barnett has been through, it's hard for him to get excited about something that hasn't happened yet.

And that's exactly how he characterizes his new multi-fight contract with Strikeforce, which was finalized this past weekend.

As he recently told MMAjunkie.com's Steven Marrocco in an exclusive interview, at best, the contract is a good opportunity he hopes to fulfill. At worst, it's just a piece of paper.

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show "The Ultimate Fighter 12" cast member Kyle Watson, who's joined MMAjunkie.com as our "TUF 12" blogger and radio correspondent. Today, he helps us break down Wednesday's season debut of the Spike TV reality series.

Additionally, UFC 119 fighters and teammates Ryan Bader (who co-headlines against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) and C.B. Dollaway (who fights Joe Doerksen) also call into the show.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Detroit will be infused with adrenaline on Saturday, November 20, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship® returns to the Motor City for the first time since UFC IX in 1996. In the main event, two former UFC® light heavyweight champions collide as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson takes on Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 123: RAMPAGE vs. MACHIDA, presented by Bud Light and live from the Palace at Auburn Hills in Detroit, Michigan.

Also on this stacked UFC 123 card, former welterweight champions will settle their score as UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes and former two-division champion BJ Penn face off in the rubber match of one of the greatest trilogies in fight history.

“When you think of Detroit, the first names that come to mind are legends like Joe Louis and Tommy Hearns,” UFC President Dana White said. “This is a real fight town with diehard fight fans, so I’m happy to be the guy bringing big fights to the Motor City.”

“We’re bringing the best UFC fighters here on November 20th,” added White, who is heading to Detroit on Thursday, September 16th, to meet with the media and officially announce UFC 123. “Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida are two of the top light heavyweights in the world. I expect this fight to be a war, as both of these guys want to get back in the title run. The co-main event is Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn, two of the best fighters in UFC history. They have both beat each other and jumped at the opportunity to fight a third time.”

“We’ve stayed in constant touch with the UFC for several years now in working together to develop an opportunity to place one of their electrifying events at The Palace of Auburn Hills,” said Stu Mayer, Senior Vice President, Sports & Events for Palace Sports & Entertainment. “We’re both extremely pleased that it’s finally become a reality. UFC 123 will no doubt be embraced by the greater Detroit area and throughout the state of Michigan.”

Tickets for UFC 123 will go on sale Monday, September 20 at 10 a.m. ET and will be priced at $400, $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50. Tickets are available at Palacenet.com, Ticketmaster.com, charge-by-phone (800.745.3000) and all Ticketmaster retail locations.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Friday, September 17 starting at 10 a.m. ET via UFCFightClub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Saturday, September 18 starting at 10a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC 123 will be available live on Pay-Per-View on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available). UFC 121 will also be available on Pay-Per-View in Spanish in the United States.

A ferocious competitor known for his aggressive slams and knockout power, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (fighting out of Memphis, Tenn. / professional record: 30-8) has been in there with the best and has beaten the best. A former Pride® veteran and UFC light heavyweight champion, the Memphis native’s UFC stint has seen him score knockout victories over Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva and decision wins over Dan Henderson and Keith Jardine, making it clear that the 32-year-old can stand in the Octagon with anyone.

“I started this camp very early,” Jackson said. “I stayed in shape from the last fight and the weight hasn’t been an issue this time. Every single minute of this camp will be focused on technique, not getting back in shape or shaking the ring rust after a long time off.

“If Machida decides to fight me, it will be an exciting fight for one round before he goes to sleep. I am expecting him to run from me, though. He’d wear sneakers into the Octagon if he could! But don’t worry, I will hunt him down and get him anyway.”

A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Machida Karate, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (fighting out of Belem, Brazil / 16-1) has proved he is dangerous anywhere the fight goes. The former UFC light heavyweight champion won his first 16 professional fights and is focused on getting back into the title picture. Winning five of his first six fights in the UFC, the 32-year-old has finished three bouts, including a submission win over Rameau Sokoudjou and knock out victories against Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans.

“I know what it’s like to be the champion and I want to be the champion again,” Machida said. “I respect Rampage and I think he is an incredible fighter, but I’m going to expose his weaknesses – I’m going to win this fight on November 20 and go after the light heavyweight title.”

A fighter that is seeing a renaissance during an already brilliant career, Matt Hughes (fighting out of Hillsboro, Ill. / 46-7) has won his last three fights, putting himself back in the title picture once again. After a unanimous decision win against Matt Serra, a KO victory over Renzo Gracie and a submission victory over Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida, the 36-year-old has cemented his UFC Hall Of Fame status as he looks to get his welterweight title back.

In a move back to the 170-pound class after a very successful run as champion at 155 pounds, former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn (fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii / 15-7-1) will meet Hughes in a highly-anticipated rubber match. After Penn won their first fight via submission at UFC 46 and Hughes evened the score via TKO at UFC 63, both fighters are hungry to break the tie. Penn, a highly decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has always been known as a finisher, and with fighters such as Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk, Joe Stevenson, Jens Pulver and even Hughes on that list, the 31-year-old Hawaiian is one of the sport’s most dangerous competitors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship® – www.ufc.com

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually and 30 live arena events around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s Versus network. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 130 countries, territories and jurisdictions, reaching 430 million homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. Ancillary businesses now include UFC.com with over 5 million unique visitors per month, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™,

UFC Fight Club™ affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a U.S. bimonthly magazine.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

AUSTIN, Texas -
MMAjunkie.com is on scene and reporting live from
tonight's "UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares" event.

UFC Fight Night 22 takes place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The main card airs live on Spike TV.

Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results, which
begin at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT local time) for the preliminary card and 8
p.m. ET for the main card.