Two match ups are reportedly in the works for WEC 51 this September. In a featherweight bout, former 145-pound champion Mike Brown is set to take on Cole Province, while lightweights Alex Karalexis and Zhang Tie Quan will also fight on the card.
Both bouts were reported by MMAjunkie.com earlier today.
Brown, who is most notable for his technical knockout victory over Urijah Faber to end the longtime champions run, lost his featherweight title to Jose Aldo last year and was on the comeback trail before getting knocked out at WEC 48 by Manny Gamburyan. His opponent, Province, debuted in the promotion at WEC 37, dropping a unanimous decision to Diego Nunes. He followed the loss up with a No Contest and then a win, though the win came with a different promotion.
The lightweight bout pits Karalexis, who lost his last contest, a submission defeat to Anthony Pettis at WEC 48, against Tie Quan, an undefeated submission ace fighting out of China. Tie Quan has finished seven of his 10 fights by way of submission, with the other three victories coming by knockout. Karalexis, who has finished five of his 10 victories via knockout, has lost three of his last four fights.
WEC 51 is set for Broomfield, Colorado on September 30 and features a main event between featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top contender Manny Gamburyan. The event also includes a lightweight rematch between Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner. The five-fight main card will be broadcast live on Versus.