Urijah Faber next fight possible against Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46 on Jan. 10

Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber's (22-3) will likely return to action against one-loss submission expert, Raphael Assuncao, at WEC 46 from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2010, according to MMAWeekly.com.

"The California Kid" is on the mend from a broken hand suffered during the first round of his rematch with Mike Brown in the WEC 41 main event back in June. Of course, Brown is the man who originally defeated Faber to snatch his 145-pound championship title last year.

Faber manned up and lasted the full five rounds in the rematch, but he fell short on the scorecards. MMAmania.com talked to the Sacramento resident the day after the rematch with Brown. Here's what he said his plans were following the injury and loss:

"I plan on healing and I would like to come back, fight one fight, and get back in there for another title fight. I don’t make the rules, but I think I proved that I was ready to compete last night and am one of the top fighters in the world. Brown is number one, and I am number two, for now."

He'll get his wish with at least one fight before a potential third installment of the Brown/Faber saga, but he's no lock to win.

Assuncao has won both of his fights in the WEC since joining the promotion earlier this year. In fact, the Brazilian ha only been defeated once in his career -- a majority decision loss to Jeff Curran three years ago. At WEC 40 he outpointed Jameel Massouh for a unanimous decision win and sic months later at WEC 43 he held off a game Yves Jabouin for the split decision nod.

While the Brazilian didn't get the finish in either of his first two fights under the WEC banner, he's still displayed some impressive skills and toughness in gutting out the two wins.

This is certainly a worthy opponent for Faber's return from injury. A good showing in this fight would likely mean Brown vs. Faber III. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this developing fight card.