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Dec 15, 2009 - 9:19:16 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, will once again play host to an MMA event under the Zuffa umbrella the weekend of The Arnold Sports Festival, as WEC 47 has officially been announced for March 6th, 2010 at the venue. The venue has hosted UFC events for the past three years on that March weekend, with UFC 68, UFC 82 and UFC 96 all taking place there.

In the night's main event, Brian Bowles will make the first defense of the WEC Bantamweight Title he won by knocking out former Champ Miguel Torres in August, as he takes on Dominick Cruz. Cruz is 14-1 overall in his MMA career, including a 4-1 mark in the WEC. His victory over Joseph Benavidez on that same August card solidified his spot as the number one contender.

Speaking of former Champ Miguel Torres, he is set to make his return to action on this card as well, and will likely earn a shot back at his Title with a victory.

Also making a return to the blue cage will be Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver, who will attempt to get only his second victory in his last eight fights. His last victory came in his WEC debut against Cub Swanson, and that victory had snapped a two fight losing streak to end his UFC career. He most recently lost to Josh Grispi in 33 seconds in June.

Penick's Analysis: I'm not all too excited to see Pulver get back into the cage after the four fight losing streak he's currently on, but sometimes fighters just want to fight and you've got to step aside and let them do what they do. It's a similar situation with Chuck Liddell, though Pulver's only had one major TKO loss in that span while Liddell's major KO losses brought more concern towards the head injury aspect. But on the event as a whole, Bowles vs. Cruz should be an extremely competitive fight, and Bowles will get a chance to solidify his standing as Champ by getting that first defense under his belt. For Miguel Torres, it will be a time to get back on the horse after suffering his first loss in 6 years and only second overall.

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