NEW YORK, N.Y. (July 31, 2009)- VERSUS, the exclusive cable television home of World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC®), will air its fifth live fight of the year on Sunday, August 9, at 9 p.m. ET with a main event featuring bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres (36-1) as he defends his title against Brian Bowles (7-0). The fight will originate from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. and will be presented in HD and Spanish language SAP where available.

Torres, 28-years-old, is continually ranked among the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world. In his most recent title defense, in April 2009, he successfully defeated Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki (11-3-2) in a five round battle to retain his title. His only professional loss came in 2003, but he later avenged the defeat and has been on a six year winning streak ever since. The undefeated Bowles is a fierce fighter who took down Will Ribeiro by submission in December 2008 and is the top contender to challenge Torres in the 135-pound weight class. While the Torres vs. Mizugaki bout is currently a leading contender for one of the top MMA fights of 2009, the much-anticipated Torres vs. Bowles match-up could surpass that fight as one of the best fights of the year.

Another fight on the August 9 card includes a bantamweight bout between undefeated Joseph Benavidez (10-0) and Dominick Cruz (13-1). Benavidez, who trains with former featherweight champion Urijah Faber, is a fast and accurate striker and recently won his first major victory over veteran Jeff Curran. After taking down Ivan Lopez by unanimous decision in April, Cruz has proven he has the conditioning and punching power to move on to the next level. This fight is important for both Benavidez and Cruz as the winner of the bout moves up to the top contender in the weight class and will have a shot at fighting for the bantamweight title.

Lightweight fighters Danny Castillo (7-1) and Ricardo Lamas (6-0) will also go head-to-head in the cage live on VERSUS. Castillo is a former two-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) All-American wrestler and displays lethal grappling skills. Chicago-based Lamas is a well-rounded fighter and a rising star in the lightweight division. Seasoned WEC fighters, bantamweight Jeff Curran (31-11-1) and featherweight Leonard Garcia (16-4) will round out the undercard, with Curran facing Mizugaki and Garcia taking on Jameel Moussouh (21-5).

The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network. WEC programming is also available on Fox Sports en Espanol. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN network in Canada and Cadena Tres in Mexico. For more information and current WEC fight news, visit wec.tv . World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC® are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.

VERSUS celebrates real competition across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 75 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the IndyCar® Series as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events and original programs, such as Sports Soup and FANARCHY, that audiences can’t find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.