WEC 46 Fight Announcement: Urijah Faber v. Raphael Assuncao

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber will return at WEC 46:

MMAWeekly.com sources on Thursday confirmed that Faber would return at WEC 46 on Jan. 10 to face fellow featherweight contender Raphael Assuncao. They have verbally agreed to fight when the promotion returns to Faber’s backyard of Sacramento, Calif., at the ARCO Arena.

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Faber and Assuncao is a possible headliner for the January card, but a lightweight title unification bout between champion Jamie Varner and interim titleholder Ben Henderson is the first choice to head the card. The title bout, however, hinges on Henderson gaining clearance from doctors for an injury suffered in his championship victory over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone earlier this month in San Antonio.

Faber remains the one name on the WEC roster that can sell a card on name value alone and as such I'd think it may be prudent for the promotion to hold off on the Henderson/Cerrone fight to use the allure of a title fight as a selling point for WEC 47.  Still, it would be silly to complain about a card full of great fights.

Assuncao is no joke and could give Faber some trouble as he looks to improve on his 14-1 record.

More updates to come on the fight and the card as they develop.