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 loss in 2009 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.
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