Saturday’s World Extreme Cagefighting event, “WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz” event took place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio marking the promotions first event in that state.

WEC General Manager Reed Harris marked the event as a success noting that the attendance figure broke the top-five mark for past events. A total of 8,345 spectators watched WEC 47 in Columbus making it the fifth largest attendance total for any WEC event.

“Fight Night” bonuses of $10,000 were handed down to Leonard Garcia, George Roop, Anthony Pettis and Joseph Benavidez for their efforts at WEC 47.

The “Fight of the Night” award was handed down to Garcia and Roop who fought it out for fifteen minutes in an action packed bout. Roop appeared to be winning the match until an inadvertent knee to the groin in the third round cost Roop a point and the victory as the judges scored the bout 29-27, 27-29 and 28-28 declaring the fight a draw.

The “Knockout of the Night” award was given to Pettis after he dropped opponent Danny Castillo with a high kick to the head at 2:17 of the first round.

Benavidez earned the “Submission of the Night” after he dominated former WEC champ Miguel Torres, opening a nasty gash in the second round. Benavidez sunk in a guillotine choke at 2:57, just after cutting Torres with an elbow.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Following Dominick Cruz's upset of Brian Bowles for World Extreme Cagefighting's bantamweight title, WEC General Manager Reed Harris - in all-too-familiar scene - said it's too early to know what's next for the new champ.

The fight executive hates to announce fights until he and matchmaker Sean Shelby have a chance to chat, gameplan and determine fighters' injuries and availability.

But following Saturday's WEC 47 event, Cruz and co-main-event winner Joseph Benavidez respectfully ignored Harris' plea for patience and campaigned for a title fight - and a rematch of their initial August 2009 meeting.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Saturday's post-WEC 47 press conference essentially served as a going-away party for Jens Pulver.

The MMA trailblazer and superstar returned from a short-lived retirement and dropped a submission loss to Javier Vazquez during the WEC's Ohio debut at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Pulver all but took a final bow after the Versus-televised loss, and soon after the presser, WEC General Manager Reed Harris told MMAjunkie.com that "Little Evil's" latest fight is all but guaranteed to be his last in the organization.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - After drawing a "little better than expected" attendance figure of 8,345 for the promotion's latest event, World Extreme Cagefighting General Manager Reed Harris said a return trip to Columbus, Ohio, is now likely.

Saturday's event, "WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz" at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, marked the WEC's Ohio debut and also now ranks as the fifth-largest event attendance in WEC history.

Following the show, Harris told MMAjunkie.com that the WEC is likely to host another show in Ohio in 2011.

As the WEC prepares to offer two star-studded cards in the span of just
seven weeks, the promotion's general manager, Reed Harris, believes his
organization has primed itself for success at both events.

With strong ticket sales for March's "WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz" event
and a "booming" pre-sale for April's blockbuster "WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber"
card, Harris believes company records may soon be falling.

And while the promotion, along with the remainder of the Versus
channel's programming, remains on the outs with DirecTV and has met
with some criticism for its choice to price WEC 48 as a $44.99
pay-per-view event, Harris says his company will deliver.

The NBA's Sacramento Kings will honor a hometown sports star on Tuesday with "Urijah Faber Day."

The Kings host the Detroit Pistons at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. (7 p.m. PT), and fans purchasing a pair of tickets worth at least $40.50 receive a free Urijah Faber hoodie. Additionally, the first 500 get the Form Athletics hoodie autographed by the former champ.

Faber isn't the first WEC fighter to be honored by a local sports team, but WEC executive Reed Harris said it's well-deserved.

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes WEC general manager Reed Harris in-studio to discuss the upcoming "WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz" event, as well as the latest happenings in the WEC organization.

Also calling in will be WEC 47 and Team Alpha Male fighters Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes, while grappling ace Vinicius Magalhaes will stop by to help preview this weekend's "UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez" event.

MMAjunkie.com Radio begins at noon ET (9 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.

Though rumors have long been circulating in regards to World Extreme Cagefighting testing the waters of PPV, nothing conclusive had ever surfaced regarding the card’s line-up, location, or date…until now! WEC CEO Reed Harris recently spoke with the Associated Press, stating the company is targeting April 24th and Sacramento to put on “the biggest event we’ve ever done.”

The show will feature former featherweight champion Urijah Faber attempting to reclaim the 145-pound strap in front of his hometown fans with current title-holder Jose Aldo standing in his way. Aldo is 16-1 and has won his last nine fights.

Harris also announced Aldo’s fellow promotional champ, Benson Henderson, will defend his lightweight belt against Donald Cerrone in a rematch from their October 2009 fight in which “Smooth” earned a unanimous decision win. It will be Henderson’s first defense of the title since submitting Jamie Varner at WEC 46 and eliminating the “interim” tag previously attached to his name.

Additionally, former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown and TUF 5 finalist Manny Gamburyan will lock horns on the undercard in a bout likely determining the next opponent for whomever emerges victorious between Aldo and Faber.

It is expected the PPV will cost $44.99 to order.

World Extreme Cagefighting General Manager Reed Harris has a message for anyone objecting to WEC 48's $44.99 price tag: "You'll be satisfied."

Additionally, in an exclusive interview with MMAjunkie.com, the WEC executive today said that the move to PPV came about only because the star-studded April 24 fight card warranted it and, that outside of a "major event or two per year," the company's focus will remain on its free Versus shows.

Harris also explained why the WEC chose a $44.99 price point, what it means for WEC fighters, and what kind of future expansion the additional revenue could create.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Any time WEC general manager Reed Harris is asked about a
potential future fight, he gives the same canned answer about necessary
meetings and the unknown will of matchmaker Sean Shelby.

But some fights are just too good to wait.

Harris broke character at Sunday's post-WEC 46 press conference when pressed by
MMAjunkie.com and confirmed to all in attendance what
the MMA world already assumed: WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo
(16-1 MMA, 6-0 WEC) will defend his title for the first time against
the organization's poster-boy, Urijah Faber (23-3, 8-2 WEC).