MMA Universe

Here are the official results of last nights WEC 45 fight card.

Main Card
• Donald Cerrone def. Ed Ratcliff via submission in Rd. 3
• Anthony Njokuani def. Chris Horodecki via TKO in Rd. 1
• Joseph Benavidez def. Rani Yahya via TKO in Rd. 1
• Scott Jorgensen def. Takeya Mizugaki via decision

Undercard
• Bart Palaszewski def. Anthony Pettis via decision
• Zach Micklewright def. Mushin Corbbrey via decision
• Chad George def. John Hosman via decision
• Brandon Visher def. Courtney Buck via TKO
• Brad Pickett def. Kyle Dietz via submission in Rd. 2
• Erik Koch def. Jameel Massouh via decision

A lightweight match-up between former No. 1 WEC 155-pound contender Donald Cerrone (10-2) and Ed Ratcliff (7-1) has been verbally agreed to by both fighters for WEC 45, which is expected for Dec. 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to Sherdog.com.

“Cowboy” is coming off a loss to Benson Henderson in a fight to determine the WEC interim lightweight title holder due to current champion Jamie Varner’s inability to defend his belt. This was Cerrone’s second consecutive loss and a derailment of his plans to receive a rematch with “C-4″.

Prior to his previous two losses, Cerrone boasted an undefeated record with nine of his ten victories coming by way of submission.

Ratcliff returns to the cage after a decision victory over Phil Cardella at WEC 42, which was a rebound after his first professional loss at WEC 33 to Marcus Hicks. He is 3-1 in for the promotion, defeating Alex Karalexis and Johnny Sampaio, along with Cardella.

“9MM” has gone to the judges’ scorecards just one time, with the vast majorities of his victories coming by way of knockout.

This match up features a knockout artist and a submission ace, leading to expectations that each fighter will have a very different game plan from the other. However, Cerrone is ever-confident in his stand up and is never scared to utilize it.

WEC 45 has yet to be announced, but Cerrone and Ratcliff may serve as the main event. A bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Brian Bowles could also fall to the Dec. 19 date, making Cerrone vs. Ratcliff a great supporting bout for the WEC’s final show of 2009.

Keep it locked in to MMAmania.com for more on this developing fight card.

During last Saturday night’s five-round, back-and-forth WEC 43 main event between Ben “Smooth” Henderson and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the promotion’s interim lightweight title, both fighters left absolutely everything they had inside the cage.

It was an epic battle for the ages and a surefire candidate for “Fight of the Year” honors.

For Henderson the win meant he had earned himself an opportunity to unify the 155-pound title with a showdown opposite injured champion, Jamie Varner, during a future WEC event set for “The Worn’s” hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., in December.

It is a match up that would certainly have a great chance to live up to the high standard the WEC has set for main event fights so far in 2009.

However, Varner and Cerrone have waged a fierce verbal battle outside the cage since their initial encounter at WEC 38 earlier this year, which ended ugly (and early) via split decision because of fifth round foul from which Varner could not recover. He got the win from the judges, but he was ridiculed in the court of public opinion for how he handled the decision afterward.

So it seemed that with a win over Cerrone, Henderson had spoiled the chances of there being a grudge match anytime soon between “Cowboy” and Varner.

Not so fast.

It now appears that the fight between Henderson and Varner has possibly been put on hold. And there’s a chance that “Cowboy” could be stepping in as a replacement for Henderson, who suffered extreme dehydration after the fight last weekend.

In fact, Henderson reportedly collapsed in the locker room shortly after the match and was rushed to more than one hospital, needing multiple IVs to recover.

In addition, Henderson injured his left eye after eating an upkick in the last minute of the fight that split it open that will need time to heal.

Perhaps more time than the WEC is willing to wait.

Earlier today on ESPNs “MMA Live,” guest host and teammate of Donald Cerrone at Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting, Rashad Evans, had this to say when asked if it looked like Henderson and Varner would still be fighting in December to unify the belts even in spite of “Smooth’s” medical issues:

“No it doesn’t, and it looks like “Cowboy” is going to go ahead and get the fight with Varner.”

Interesting “unofficial” news if it is indeed true. And either way, the promotion is in a win-win situation — Varner, Cerrone and Henderson all fighting, regardless of the order, have all the ingredients for more fireworks.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this developing story.

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.

“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.

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