The body contact games like boxing and Mixed Martial Arts are getting more and more dangerous each day and the increasing list of injuries and early retirements is enough establish this point. The MMA universe has recently been torn apart with a number of injuries and in order to add some insult to injury, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has recently issued a medical suspension that includes the names of nine “World Extreme Cagefighting” performers. The list contains the name of Jamie Varner; the headliner from past Sunday’s “WEC 46” along with eight other fighters. According to the CSAC authorities, these fighters won’t be able to compete until they are declared fit.

The injuries of some fighters are a bit serious. The suspensions on fighters like Dave Jansen, Mackens Semerzier, Akitoshi Tamura and George Roop are limited to two months; but five key stars of the brand may well be out for the next six months. Jamie Varner, Charlie Valencia, Kamal Shalorus, Will Campuzano and Coty Wheeler are each suspended until June 2010 as they are suffering from a variety of threatening injuries. WEC 46 was held at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California on January 10. In the main event of that show, Varner was defeated by Ben Henderson who became the first ever Unified WEC Lightweight Champion. But the match also cost Varner a 180 day suspension as he had some injuries on his right knee and foot. He must be cleared by the doctors before being licensed again. Varner was out of the ring most of 2009 with a left-foot injury and broken hand and it seems that 2010 won’t be much different either.

Valencia, on the other hand, was suspended for up to six months with a probably-fractured left elbow after his three-round bout with Japanese import Akitoshi Tamura. The complete list of suspensions is as follows:

* Jamie Varner: suspended for 180 days or until cleared by physician for right foot and right knee
* Kamal Shalorus: suspended 180 days or until cleared by physician for left thumb fracture
* Dave Jansen: suspended 60 days or until cleared by physician for face and right-ear laceration
* Mackens Semerizer: suspended 60 days with a right eyelid laceration
* Charlie Valencia: suspended 180 days or until cleared by physician for possible left-elbow fracture
* Akitoshi Tamura: suspended 60 days or until cleared by physician for left-eyelid laceration
* George Roop: suspended 60 days for facial laceration
* Will Campuzano: suspended 180 days or until cleared by physician for left-shoulder strain
* Coty Wheeler: suspended 180 days for possible orbital fracture and nose fracture

One way or the other, stars will always remain the stars! The same is proved again when the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions Urijah Faber and Mike Brown remain the top earners at the WEC 46 event that took place last weekend. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has recently declared the list of paydays which revealed this stunning fact.

The event took place at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California on January 10th and the total payroll for the event was a staggering $272, 000! The show was aired on Versus and the key attraction of the event was the first-ever title unification match in the history of the brand. It was also the headliner of the match where the then-Lightweight champion Jamie Varner competed against the interim-title holder Benson Henderson. Benson earned $22,000 from the match and unified the titles with a third round submission victory over Jamie Varner who earned $18,000 from the match. Deividas Taurosevicius earned $14,000 as he won against Mackens Semerzier who earned $4,000. This match has now put Semerzier away from the ring for several injuries. Urijah Faber was the highest earner of the event; he earned $52,000 as he defeated Raphael Assuncao who won $13,000. The second highest amount was paid to Mike Brown who earned $38,000 on his way to defeat Anthony Morrison who earned $4,000 from the bout. The rest of the payment details are as follows:

Kamal Shalorus: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Dave Jansen: $4,000

Charlie Valencia: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Akitoshi Tamura: $8,000

Wagnney Fabiano: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Clint Godfrey: $3,000

Mark Hominick: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Bryan Caraway: $4,000

Eddie Wineland: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. George Roop: $3,000

Will Campuzano: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus)
def. Coty “Ox” Wheeler: $3,000

The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. They don’t include the money paid by sponsors either which can often be a substantial portion of a fighter’s income.
In other words, the above salary figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

Good news for all WEC fans! The organization has successfully sorted out all the late injury problems and is now ready with a recently shuffled lineup. With just one week in hand before they return to the Versus airwaves, it certainly will help the promotion authorities to breathe easy. The organization faced a serious blow when a couple of late injuries left bantamweight fighters Eddie Wineland and George Roop without any opponents. But the promotion has now sorted this problem out by pairing the two against each other to contest the 10-fight card of the evening.

The event will feature a Lightweight title unification match and the current champions Benson Henderson and Jamie Verner will contest in this match to win the prestigious title. The event is scheduled to take place on January 10th at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California and the main card will be aired live on Versus. Roop gained a considerable popularity for his stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 8”. This Arizona native defeated John Polakowski and Rolando Delgado to earn his place in the semi-finals of the tournament; but he was defeated by finalist Phillipe Nover by submission. This had been a rough year for Roop as he suffered most of the season with an injured and badly swollen hand. But his zeal and passion for the game finally earned him a place in the season finale. This is going to be Roop’s first in a UFC ring.

Wineland, on the other hand, must be looking forward to use this opportunity and climb back the Bantamweight ladder of WEC. His recent victory over Manny Tapia is sure to be a huge moral boost for him before the WEC 46 main event. In fact, Wineland was the first-ever Bantamweight Champion of this promotion who lost his belt to Chase Beebe on March 2007. The final WEC card is as follows:

MAIN CARD
* Champ Jamie Varner vs. interim champ Benson Henderson (to unify lightweight title)
* Raphael Assuncao vs. Urijah Faber
* Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
* Mike Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
* Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Akitoshi Tamura vs. Charlie Valencia
* Bryan Caraway vs. Mark Hominick
* Wagnney Fabiano vs. Clint Godfrey
* George Roop vs. Eddie Wineland
* Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler