By Zach Arnold

And you thought the Elite XC show on CBS lacked buzz.

This Sunday, WEC has a completely-under-the-radar event in Las Vegas that airs on the Versus network. The card is headlined by a triple main event title series, as champions Carlos Condit (Welterweight), Brian Stann (Light Heavyweight), and Jamie Varner (Lightweight) defend their titles against Hiromitsu Miura, Steve Cantwell, and Marcus Hicks respectively.

On paper, the card is weaker than recent WEC shows in terms of marketing and star power, but in terms of fight quality there is plenty to be satisfied with in terms of match quality. Admittedly, you can tell that this event has nobody’s attention publicly because none of the online sportsbooks have odds on the main fights from this show. All three champions go in as heavy favorites.

Carlos Condit, a very marketable fighter from Albuquerque, faces an opponent in Hiromitsu Miura who is all about striking. Condit is a terrific grappler and submission artist, so Miura’s contrasting fight style should give Condit plenty of openings to win the bout. Condit has won seven consecutive fights, including his four previous WEC bouts (against Kyle Jensen, John Alessio, Brock Larson, and Carlo Prater respectively). Miura, to his credit, is a tough fighter who gave Jason “Mayhem” Miller some problems in a previous WEC bout. However, he has never faced someone as good as Condit and the outcome of this bout should not really be in much doubt.

Brian Stann is the most famous name on this card. He’s the “All American” marine that Zuffa has pushed very hard in the press because of his life story and all-around crowd-pleasing fight style. Stann is 8-0 and all of his wins have come by KO/TKO. Stann faces Steve Cantwell, who is 5-1 and his one loss happens to be against Stann in 2007. It’s a re-match for the Light Heavyweight title and unless some variable has dramatically changed, Stann should defend his title in style. Stann is coming off of a big win over Doug “Rhino” Marshall, which was considered a definite credibility booster in the eyes of a lot of Stann’s doubters.

Jamie Varner is a name that some UFC fans will recognize because of his previous bouts with Hermes Franca and Jason Gilliam. Varner has two impressive wins in WEC against Sherron Leggett and “Razor” Rob McCullough. The win over McCullough in Albuquerque was a big surprise because Varner dominated the fight on both a physical and tactical level. Varner will defend his Lightweight title against Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks, who is 10-0 overall and 3-0 in WEC (all three wins by submission). Hicks is the decided underdog against the very talented Varner, but it will be a competitive fight and entertaining to watch.

In addition to the three WEC title matches, the undercard is stacked with a lot of intriguing bouts that will impact the future booking of the company’s next shows. The most notable undercard match features Brock Larson against Carlo Prater at 170 pounds (Welterweight). Prater is coming off of a loss to Carlos Condit, while Larson is coming off of a DQ win against John Alessio and a loss to Carlos Condit. Both men have a lot of fights under their belt, but Larson comes into this fight as the favorite. He should win. If Larson cannot beat Prater, then you have to question whether or not the stand-out from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy will remain with WEC. Prater has fought twice outside of WEC since his loss to Condit last February.

The most exciting prospect to watch on the WEC undercard is Josh Grispi, who is set to face Micah Miller at 145 pounds in an excellent bout (on paper). Grispi is coming off of a win against the always-tough Mark Hominick (who fought recently on the Affliction show), while Miller is coming off of a win against Chance Farrar. Grispi is 11-1 and will be the favorite to win this fight. He’s gritty, tough, and has an iron will. Grispi is also 19 years old. Veteran MMA fighter Alex Karalexis has labeled Grispi “a child prodigy.” It’s a little bit early to suggest that Grispi could end up facing Urijah Faber for the WEC Featherweight title (145 pounds), but the 19-year old fighter has that much talent. He’s the real deal.

Other undercard bouts include: Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page, Bias Avena vs. Dave Terrel, Shane Roller vs. Todd Moore, Scott Jorgensen vs. Kenji Osawa, and Mike Budnik vs. Greg McIntyre.