BY JOHN SILVER, Chicago Sun-Times - World Extreme Cagefighting announced this week its first pay-per-view event.

Owned by Zuffa, the same parent company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the WEC has always aired for free on Versus.

The organization has loaded up the April 24 card with two championship fights to entice fans. The hugely popular Urijah Faber -- fighting in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. -- will try to regain the featherweight title against champion Jose Aldo, a powerful Brazilian who has earned ''Knockout of the Night'' honors in three of his last four fights.

Middleweight contender Chael Sonnen and light heavyweight Brian Stann have more in common than their presence on the UFC 109 fight card. They’re both smart (Sonnen’s degree is in sociology; Stann’s in economics), well-spoken, accomplished athletes. Both have served their country – Sonnen as an elected official; Stann in the US Marines. And if you look closer into their MMA resumes, they share something else – a pro career in the WEC.

On the heels of the announcement of WEC's star-studded pay-per-view scheduled for April 24, headliners Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber have been added to the event lineup for the UFC's Super Weekend.

The February issue of FIGHT! magazine is on newsstands now, with a cover star none other than the WEC's own featherweight champion, Jose Aldo. Read about Aldo -- named 2009 Fighter of the Year by the mag -- as well as the rest of their awards for the year.

Frank Curreri, WEC - Le MMA est un sport.

And Bendy Casimir, a lifelong French citizen, envisages the day when his disapproving countrymen come to believe it. As it stands today, the pro fighter remains a reluctant outcast of sorts in his own country, courtesy of his unpopular and widely misunderstood career choice.

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer - World Extreme Cagefighting will stage its first pay-per-view event April 24, scheduling a star-stacked card for its first attempt to persuade mixed martial arts fans to pay $44.99 for its fights.

Urijah Faber will meet featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event of WEC 48 from Sacramento, Calif., the lighter-weight MMA promotion’s leaders told The Associated Press before Wednesday’s announcement.

WEC lightweight Anthony Njokuani, winner of three consecutive “Knockout of the Night” honors, will pen an exclusive WEC blog for ESPNDallas.com's "In the Clinch."

Njokuani, a Dallas native, will provide insight into life as a fighter, as well as provide commentary on all of the latest WEC fight news.

Photographer Paul Thatcher shoots FIGHT! Magazine’s 2009 Fighter of the Year Jose Aldo for the cover of the Feb. issue. Shot and edited by Rick Lee. Music Provided by LD.