It's official: Aldo to challenge Brown for title at WEC 45

The news broke on Tuesday that WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, ranked No. 1 in the world, would fight top contender Jose Aldo at WEC 45 in November.

Though the bout had been backed through independent sources, MMAWeekly.com spoke with World Extreme Cagefighting General Manager Reed Harris on Wednesday morning, who made the fight official.

"The fight is on," he said emphatically.

Mid-November is the target, but neither a hard date nor a location has been set. "Not yet," responded Harris. "We are looking at three or four different venues. That will of course determine the date, depending on the venue we decide to go with and its availability."

The championship fight is the latest in a series of WEC bouts pitting the top fighters in their respective weight classes against each other. Brown recently defended his title against No. 2 ranked Urijah Faber in Sacramento, Calif., and bantamweight champ and No. 1 ranked Miguel Torres will defend against No. 2 ranked Brian Bowles on Aug. 9 in Las Vegas.

Aldo is currently ranked No. 5 in the featherweight class.

"This will not only be a test for Jose Aldo," said Harris, "but also for Mike Brown. Aldo's fighting style is really dynamic, posing some interesting challenges to Brown.

"But on the other hand, I don't know if Aldo has faced anyone on the level of a Mike Brown, either."