WEC: Filho vs. Sonnen II will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT. All live WEC events will be presented in Hi-Definition (HD) and Spanish language SAP where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.

WEC: Filho vs. Sonnen II  features a solid undercard with Ed Ratcliff vs. Marcus Hicks; Steve Cantwell vs. Tim McKenzie; Hiromitsu Miura vs. Blas Avena; John Alessio vs. Brock Larson; Sergio Gomez vs. Richard Crunkilton, Ryan Stonitsch vs. Alex Serdyukov Chris Manuel vs. Kenji Osawa, and Logan Clark vs. Bryan Baker.

Considered by many to be the premier middleweight fighter in the world today, WEC Champion Paulo ‘Eli’ Filho (16-0) has fought the best that the 185-pound division has to offer, both here and abroad, and he has yet to taste defeat.  In 2007, Filho made his WEC debut in stirring fashion, stopping Joe Doerksen in the first round to win the organization title.  He was pushed to the limit in his first title defense last December though, when Chael Sonnen got him in trouble early and dominated the first round.  In the second round, Filho rebounded, catching Sonnen in an Armbar with only seconds to go in the frame.  And while there was some controversy over whether Sonnen verbally submitted or not, the fight was halted with five seconds left in the round and Filho retained his crown.  Yet like a true champion, Filho respected the challenger’s performance and didn’t want his victory to have any question marks surrounding it, so he granted Sonnen a rematch.

Chael Sonnen (21-9-1) left quite an impression in his WEC debut last December with his stellar performance against Filho.  But this six-year MMA veteran is no stranger to competing at the top levels of the sport, having beaten world-class fighters such as Jason Miller, Jason Lambert, Trevor Prangley, and Amar Suloev.  Now approaching his prime as a fighter at 30, Sonnen plans on bringing the belt home in his second shot on March 26.

One of the hardest hitting competitors to ever set foot in the WEC cage, Light Heavyweight Champion Doug ‘The Rhino’ Marshall (7-2) will always leave opponents knowing that they’ve been in a fight.  Winner of three in a row, Marshall – who has fought his entire career in the WEC – showed some new wrinkles in his game in his first title defense last December as he submitted Ariel Gandulla in just 55 seconds.

A first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps who was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in battle during the Iraq War, Brian “All-American” Stann (5-0) has made a significant impact in and out of the WEC cage.  Inside of it, the 27-year old Pennsylvanian has gotten better and better with each performance en route to a perfect record that has seen all of his bouts end in the first round.  In his last match, on September 5th, Stann stopped Jeremiah Billington at 3:07 of the opening frame.

San Diego lightweight Ed “9mm” Ratcliff will return to the cage for the first time since his impressive victory over Alex Karalexis in December, and this charismatic and flashy fighter is looking to continue his climb up the 155-pound ranks at the expense of fellow unbeaten Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks. Undefeated in his professional career, Hicks burst onto the WEC scene with two impressive Submission wins over Sergio Gomez and Scott McAfee. But somebody’s “0” must go on March 26.

After a spectacular 47 second stoppage of Justin McElfresh last August, Steve Cantwell returns to square off against “The Wrecking Machine”, Tim McKenzie, an aggressive battler who is the last man to defeat current WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall. McKenzie would like nothing better than a rematch against the ‘Rhino’ with the belt on the line, but Cantwell will obviously have something say about that later this month.

And that’s not all, additional bouts will feature a clash between two former number one contenders looking to fight their way back into a title shot against WEC Welterweight champ Carlos Condit, as John Alessio battles Brock Larson. Also on tap, Las Vegan Blas Avena will take on Hiromitsu Miura in his biggest challenge yet. Avena looked impressive in his last outing, submitting Tiki Ghosn in just 29 seconds, but he will have to bring his ‘A’ game once again when he takes on Miura in what should be a crowd pleasing match.

Rounding out this explosive night of world-class MMA action, always tough Sergio Gomez will battle former world title challenger Richard Crunkilton in a lightweight bout, unbeaten welterweight prospect Ryan Stonitsch will make his WEC debut against veteran Alex Serdyukov, American Top Team’s undefeated lightweight star Chris Manuel will be taking on Japanese standout Kenji Osawa, and once-beaten middleweight Logan Clark will be stepping back into the cage against 6-0 Californian Bryan Baker.

For more information about WEC: Filho vs Sonnen II and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.

About World Extreme Cagefighting

The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed Martial Arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN network in Canada. For more information and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.

World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.

About VERSUS

VERSUS celebrates real competition in all its forms across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD).  Now in more than 74 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing.  The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere.  VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

---