The “California Kid” Urijah Faber will be back to face Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46. The two fighters will square off on January 10th at the Arco Arena in Sacramento CA. It is rumored that the winner of this match up will get a chance to challenge the recently crowned WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

Faber, a fan favorite has been out injured since he broke his hand on Mike Brown during their phenomenal WEC 41 battle back in June 2009. While Faber lost to Brown via unanimous decision, most fight fans will agree that Faber showed he is at or near the top of the featherweight food chain as he continued to go toe to toe with Brown in spite of his severely broken hand. Faber now (22-3) is healed up and anxious to work his way back to being the WEC feather weight champ but has no easy task with Assuncao in his way.

Raphael Assuncao is no doubt a far less popular MMA figure than Faber, but is none the less ranked #4 in the world just under Faber #3 according to MMA Weekley. Assuanco is (15-1) with his only professional loss going to a very tough Jeff Curan back in 2006. Assuncao has been undefeated since this loss and is gaining momentum with two consecutive wins now in the WEC. A win against Faber would not only likely boost Assuncao in the world mma rankings but will also surely help to build his name and popularity among fight fans.

This should be a great match up since both fighters are very well rounded and both are very hungry to gain a title shot.  It’s anyone’s guess whether this fight will go to the ground or if it will remain standing, but it is very likely that it will be very action packed.  It’s a must watch.