So says MMA Weekly:

Reliable independent sources confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the WEC is looking to kick 2009 off in style, going big right out of the gate. Current plans call for the promotion to make its first stop ever in San Diego on Jan. 25 with one of its most loaded cards to date.

As mentioned, Urijah Faber is set to be part of the fight card, although he won't get the immediate rematch with Mike Brown that he had hopes for. Brown suffered torn rib cartilage in winning the belt from Faber on Nov. 5 and is unlikely to return to action before March. It is currently unknown whom the WEC will match Faber up against, but the short list includes Leonard Garcia and Jose Aldo.

"Urijah wants to fight in January," his manger, Mike Roberts, stated in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. "We’re still trying to sort out who he’s going to fight."

Current WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner will make the second defense of his title when he faces Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in what is likely to land as the main event at WEC 38. Cerrone earned a shot at Varner with his "Fight of the Night" performance against "Razor" Rob McCullough at WEC 36. Cerrone overcame two knockdowns in the opening round to batter McCullough en route to a three-round unanimous decision.

Welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit will also don the card, looking to keep his eight-fight winning streak intact. No opponent has been locked down at the time of publication, but indications are that a rematch with Brock Larson could be in the works for Condit, who recently made the move to train at Arizona Combat Sports with Varner.

I doubt sources told MMAWeekly.com "WEC is looking to kick 2009 off in style, going big right out of the gate" rather than they told MMAWeekly.com "WEC is holding WEC 38 in San Diego on January 25th", but that's just a personal annoyance.

As for the news, not much to add at this point except Condit told me he believes Larson shouldn't be the next challenger as he only really has one win in the WEC since losing to Condit. Clearly though, the problem Condit faced before his most recent title defense is the one he'll face next as the number of potential challengers to his belt are few and far between.

And, of course, it's welcoming news the WEC is able to move around and expose their product to more audiences. Sticking to the hospitable territory of California is also the safe but smart strategy. Hosting the event in San Diego makes it more likely the venue will be full by main event time, but it also indicates the WEC product can venture too far from warm waters. Still, steady as she goes.