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Tickets for WEC 46: “Varner vs. Henderson,” which is slated for Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2010, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. PT.

WEC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption two days earlier on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. PT.

WEC 46 will feature the return of Jamie “C-4″ Varner, defending his lightweight belt against 155-pound interim champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson in the main event of the evening.

The Arco Arena is a venue with which the promotion is extremely familiar with thanks in larger part to former featherweight champion and local fan favorite, Urijah Faber. “The California Kid,” who is also coming back from a hand injury like Varner, will collide with top-ranked contender Raphael Assuncao in the co-featured fight of the night.

WEC 46 tickets can be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is “sold out”). It will also be available to watch on Versus at 9 p.m. ET on fight night.

For more on WEC 46 stay dialed in to MMAmania.com and remember to check out the latest WEC news and rumors right here.

MMA Mania Ben Henderson, Jamie Varner, MMA Mania, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) today announced its first show of the New Year, which will feature the return of Jamie Varner, defending his lightweight belt against 155-pound interim champion, Benson “Smooth” Henderson, in the main event of the evening.

WEC 46: “Varner vs. Henderson” is scheduled for the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2010.

It’s a venue with which the promotion is extremely familiar thanks in larger part to former featherweight champion and local fan favorite, Urijah Faber. “The California Kid,” who is also coming back from a hand injury like Varner, will collide with top-ranked contender, Raphael Assuncao, in the co-featured fight of the night.

The line up thus far is one that WEC General Manager, Reed Harris, is thrilled to promote.

Here’s a snip:

“ARCO Arena is one of our favorite venues to bring fights, the fans in Sacramento are some of the best. The world title bout between Varner and Henderson is a perfect way to start off the New Year. The title fight, plus the return of Urijah, makes this an instant winter classic.”

Henderson (10-1) defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at WEC 43 via razor-thin unanimous decision to successfully capture the interim gold. “Smooth” avoided countless submission attempts from Cerrone, while inflicting good damage in the early rounds. The victory was a large upset, introducing the relatively unknown Henderson to the fans of the sport.

A product of Arizona’s MMA Lab, Henderson has managed to string together nine straight victories since his only loss, which was to Chad Klingensmith at Ring of Fire 27: “Collision Course” in Dec. 2006. He is perfect (3-0) in the WEC with victories over Shane Roller, Anthony Njokuani and Cerrone.

Varner (16-2) gained the lightweight belt back in 2006 when he defeated “Razor” Rob McCullough via technical knockout. “C-4” has gone on to defend his belt twice with victories over Marcus Hicks and Donald Cerrone.

Varner has been sidelined for some time now because of injuries he sustained during the battle at WEC 38 in earlier this year January against Cerrone. One year later, Varner will finally be able to put his belt on the line again, hoping to defend it for a third time.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for breaking news and updates on WEC 46.

MMA Mania Ben Henderson, Jamie Varner, MMA Mania, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

Props: Sherdog.com

And it’s a good thing, as he won what’s widely considered one of the best fight of 2009.

Click here for our complete WEC 43 recap.

MMA Mania Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone, MMA Mania, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

“No excuses. I take my hat off to the guy. He did what he had to do. No excuses. It was a great fight and I’m ready to do it again anytime … I think he won the fight. Some people say it might not have gone that way, but he definitely won the fight.”

– Donald Cerrone tips his cap to Ben Henderson, saying “Smooth” did enough in their five-round, back-and-forth battle to earn the unanimous decision from the judges sitting ringside. “Cowboy” admits that he got off to a slow start — despite several tight submission attempts in the early going — which more than likely cost him the interim lightweight title, as well as rematch against his nemesis, 155-pound champion Jamie Varner, in the near future. But it was close. Real close. And there are more than a handful of fans who thought Cerrone should have had his hand raised when all was said and done. Are you one of them … or do you agree with the cowboy? Talk about one helluva fight.

MMA Mania Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone, MMA Mania, UFC Quick Quotes, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

Props: CombatLifestyle.com (Click the link to check out the complete gallery)

MMA Mania Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone, MMA Mania, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)