Aldo, Faber Greenlit for WEC 48

The two men at the center of arguably the most anticipated bout in featherweight history have cleared their final hurdle.

World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo tipped the scales at 145 pounds for his showdown with former titleholder Urijah Faber (144.5) at WEC 48 “Aldo vs. Faber” on Saturday at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The 20 other men on the WEC 48 lineup -- including lightweight champion Benson Henderson (155) and challenger Donald Cerrone (154.5) -- also met their mandated weight requirements at Friday’s official weigh-in. The event will serve as the promotion’s debut on pay-per-view.

One of the sport’s fastest-rising stars, Aldo will carry a nine-fight winning streak into the matchup. Spawned by the Nova Uniao camp, the 23-year-old Brazilian has finished all six of his opponents, three of them inside one round, since joining the WEC ranks in 2008. Aldo has not competed since he stopped American Top Team standout Mike Thomas Brown on second-round strikes in November to capture the WEC featherweight crown. Now widely regarded as one of MMA’s top 10 pound-for-pound fighters, he has secured 11 of his 16 career victories by knockout or technical knockout.

Faber, the longtime WEC poster boy, has lost to only one man, Brown, in the past five years. The 30-year-old Team Alpha Male frontman submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46 three months ago and holds other notable victories against reigning WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, current Sengoku featherweight titleholder Bibiano Fernandes and one-time UFC lightweight kingpin Jens Pulver. Faber has secured more than half (12) of his 23 career wins by submission and has 11 first-round finishes on his resume.

In the co-headliner, Henderson and Cerrone will engage in a rematch of their 2009 “Fight of the Year.” The once-beaten Henderson won a hotly contested decision from the “Cowboy” in a memorable five-round encounter at WEC 43 in October.

WEC 48 “Aldo vs. Faber”
Saturday, April 24
Arco Arena
Sacramento, Calif.

WEC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Urijah Faber (144.5)

WEC Lightweight Championship
Benson Henderson (155) vs. Donald Cerrone (154.5)

Mike Thomas Brown (146) vs. Manny Gamburyan (146)
Anthony Njokuani (156) vs. Shane Roller (155.5)
Scott Jorgensen (136) vs. Antonio Banuelos (136)
Leonard Garcia (145) vs. Chan Sung Jung (145.5)
Anthony Pettis (155.5) vs. Alex Karalexis (156)
Brad Pickett (135.5) vs. Demetrious Johnson (135)
Chad Mendes (145.5) vs. Anthony Morrison (145)
Takeya Mizugaki (134.5) vs. Rani Yahya (136)
Brandon Visher (144.5) vs. Tyler Toner (145.5)