WEC™ MIDDLEWEIGHT KING PAULO FILHO RETURNS TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AGAINST CHAEL SONNEN

Courtesy of WEC Public Relations:

For Immediate Release
November 15, 2007

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 LIVE FROM THE HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO

LIVE ON VERSUS 9p.m. ET/6p.m. PT

Tickets on Sale Now

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Seen by many as the premier middleweight in the world today, Brazilian powerhouse Paulo Filho returns to the World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) organization on December 12 to defend his WEC Middleweight Championship against seasoned veteran Chael Sonnen in what has the makings of a Fight of The Year showdown. All the action takes place live from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Also on the explosive December 12th card is the featherweight championship bout between Urijah Faber and Jeff Curran, a light heavyweight title match between Doug Marshall and Ariel Gandulla, and a featherweight battle between former UFC® champion Jens Pulver and rising star Cub Swanson.

WEC: Faber vs. Curran will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. All live WEC events will be presented in Hi-Definition (HD) where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.

Tickets for WEC: Faber vs. Curran are on sale now, and are priced at $225, $200, $150, and $75 (not including applicable services or taxes). Tickets are available at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino box office and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available online through www.wec.tv or www.ticketmaster.com.

Considered by many as the top middleweight fighter in the world, Brazil ’s Paulo Filho (15-0) is eager to get back into the Cage and defend his middleweight crown. Filho made his United States and WEC debut in impressive fashion on August 5, knocking out tough veteran Joe Doerksen at 4:07 of the first round. But despite his success, Filho knows that he will have to once again be on top of his game when he squares off against Chael Sonnen.

“Winning the WEC middleweight title is the best thing I’ve done in my career so far. I earned the belt and I’m not going to give it to anyone anytime soon,” said Filho. “Sonnen is a tough competitor, but he is not as good as me on the ground or standing up. I will walk away as the champion once again.”

Chael Sonnen (19-8-1) is a former UFC veteran who holds notable wins over Jason Miller, Trevor Prangley, and Jason Lambert. Currently on a five fight win streak, with all but one of those victories coming via TKO or submission, Sonnen is looking forward to challenging Filho, knowing a win over him will propel him to the top of the food chain in Mixed Martial Arts.

“It is an honor to be fighting Paulo for the title,” said Sonnen. “He is a great champion, but I feel that I have the skills to beat him wherever the fight goes.”

The remaining bouts for WEC: Faber vs. Curran will be announced in the near future. All bouts subject to change. For more information about WEC: Faber vs. Curran and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.

About World Extreme Cagefighting

The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations in the United States . Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN network in Canada . For more information and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.

World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.

About VERSUS

VERSUS (VERSUS.com) celebrates real competition in all its forms. Now in more than 74 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

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Press Contacts:
Loren Mack , WEC Public Relations
702-221-4786 (office)
702-419-9950 (cell)
lmack@wec.tv

Katie Bradshaw, Versus Public Relations
203-406-2517 (office)
kbradshaw@versus.com