Henderson-Pettis Official for WEC 53

The main event for the WEC's final event will go on as planned, as both headliners met their contracted weights at Wednesday's weigh-in.

WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (155) will defend his crown on Thursday against challenger Anthony Pettis (154.5) from the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The winner of the contest will automatically become the No. 1 contender for the UFC title, which will be contested between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard on Jan. 1 at UFC 125.

Henderson comes off an April victory in a rematch against rival Donald Cerrone. A winner in his last 10 outings, the MMA Lab product holds eight of his career 12 victories by submission. Henderson captured the WEC interim title at WEC 43 in his first fight with Cerrone, and he legitimized his claim to the belt when he defeated Jamie Varner for the undisputed title just three months later at WEC 46.

A powerful striker with good submissions, Pettis has won three consecutive fights. His only pro loss came to veteran Bart Palaszewski at WEC 45 in a split decision. Just 23 years old, the Roufusport product has finished all but one of his defeated opponents.

Both co-main event competitors also made weight on Wednesday, as bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz tipped the scales at 134.5 pounds, and challenger Scott Jorgensen registered 135 pounds. The winner of the contest will be crowned the UFC's first-ever 135-pound champion.

Cruz has won his last seven fights, and his only career defeat came to longtime featherweight champion Urijah Faber in Cruz's promotional debut at WEC 26 in 2007. Since his drop to bantamweight Cruz has conquered all comers, earning victories over Charlie Valencia, Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez (twice).

Jorgensen is riding a five-fight winning streak, earning “Fight of the Night” honors twice in that span. “Young Guns” holds victories over Brad Pickett, Antonio Banuelos and Takeya Mizugaki. Jorgensen has only lost thrice in his career, and he has never been knocked out.

WEC 53 Weigh-In Results:
WEC Lightweight Championship
Benson Henderson (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)

WEC Bantamweight Championship
Dominick Cruz (134.5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)

Donald Cerrone (155) vs. Chris Horodecki (155)
Bart Palaszewski (156) vs. Kamal Shalorus (156)
Tie Quan Zhang (155.5) vs. Daniel Downes (154.5)
Jamie Varner (156) vs. Shane Roller (155)
Brad Pickett (136) vs. Ivan Menjivar (135)
Eddie Wineland (136) vs. Ken Stone (135)
Danny Castillo (155.5) vs. Will Kerr (155)
Ricardo Lamas (156) vs. Yuri Alcantara (154.5)
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (136) vs. Chris Cariaso (136)