A lightweight bout between former WEC lightweight champion "Razor" Rob McCullough (16-5) and one-time number one division contender Marcus Hicks (8-1) will take place at WEC 38: "Varner vs. Cerrone" at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif., on January 25, 2009.

Hicks announced the news while attending a small show just outside of Plano, Texas, last Friday.

Just four months ago Hicks was the top 155-pound contender, battling reigning division champion Jamie Varner for the lightweight title at WEC 35. He would, however, suffer the first loss of his career in that fight because of a first round blitzkrieg from "The Worm."

Prior to the loss, "The Wrecking Ball" had won three straight contests for the promotion against Sergio Gomez, Scott McAfee and Ed Ratcliff. Only one of the three fighters lasted past the first round and they each eventually tapped out to guillotine chokes.

He'll look to return to that previous winning form in this fight. And he will get an opportunity to do that against a very credible opponent to say the least.

Although McCullough has dropped two of his last three fights, he still remains one of the toughest outs in the WEC's 155-pound division. His last match against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone -- a hard fought unanimous decision loss -- was an absolute war.

He held the organization's lightweight title for an entire year from January of 2007 to February of 2008, but ran into a red hot Varner at WEC 32 and lost his strap. A win against Marcus Hicks would certainly put McCullough right back into the mix for a shot at the winner of Varner and Cerrone, which is scheduled to headline this event.

Also scheduled for the card is a rematch between former featherweight champion Urijah "The California Kid" Faber and ex-UFC lightweight champ Jens "Little Evil" Pulver, making this a great event for the WEC to kick off 2009.

WEC 38 will air live on the Versus network, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on fight night.