While Wednesday's WEC card (9 p.m. ET on Versus) lacks marquee name such as Jens Pulver or Urijah Faber, it could be the promotion's best card from top to bottom since Scott Adams and Reed Harris sold the promotion to Zuffa in 2006.

Fans attending the 10-bout show in Albuquerque at the Santa Ana Star Center will want to make sure they arrive early so they can view the card in its entirety. While the WEC's television production is outstanding, those who are unable to attend the show will be missing out on some great undercard bouts.

With three evenly matched title bouts scheduled for the show, it's highly doubtful that the TV audience at home will be presented more than four fights. Thankfully, the cameras will be rolling the entire night with all the matches not shown Wednesday likely to appear on a future episode of WEC WrekCage on Versus.

The card will also mark the first time a WEC show has taken place outside of the friendly confines of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas while under Zuffa ownership. The decision to venture to Albuquerque is a smart one, as it is not only one of Versus' highest rated markets for the WEC but it is also the home town of reigning welterweight champion Carlos Condit. The exposure of the event will also highlight the fact that New Mexico is a hot bed for up and coming MMA prospects, as Condit is not the only fighter on this card with local ties.

In anticipation of the event, ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has a full preview of the show.

Carlos Condit (21-4) vs. Carlo Prater (21-5-1) for the WEC welterweight title - These two fighters have met one time prior during "Fight World 2" in 2004. Prater won that matchup via triangle choke submission at 2:51 of round 1. The past win over Condit no doubt played a large part in Prater being granted an immediate title shot despite having not competed in the WEC previously. Opinions on Prater are mixed, with some feeling he is an underrated welterweight prospect while others perceiving him as an overrated commodity who has failed to show a lot of growth as a fighter.

Those who subscribe to the latter belief must not have seen Prater's most recent fights for the Art of War promotion. During the first Art of War show in March, Prater recorded a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Lapsley, who is also considered a strong welterweight prospect. Then, at Art of War 3 in September, Prater won a split decision victory over Keith Wisniewski, a fighter who he had lost to on two previous occasions.

While Prater is a legit prospect who belongs in the WEC, it still remains to be seen if he's a championship caliber fighter. His fights vs. Lapsley and Wisniewski both went to a decision. And while he has impressive wins over the likes of Spencer Fisher and Melvin Guillard, he also lost in disappointing fashion to Derrick Noble and Drew Fickett. He's proven to be a solid fighter who for whatever reason hasn't been able to put everything together on a consistent basis and go to the next level.

While the WEC is indeed a next level, he's been a fighter worthy of competing in the promotion for quite some time. The question here is, does he have what it takes to defeat Condit? Granted he already holds a career win over him, but Condit has improved expotentially over the past several years. Initially known as more of a submission specialist, Condit's standup is light years better than it was in 2004. The problem is that we haven't really had a chance to see it for an extended period of time. Chances are we are unlikely to do so again even though Prater has said he plans to stand with Condit. During a recent CBSSports.com interview, Condit seemed very skeptical about the possibility of Prater sticking to that game plan.

While Prater might have the advantage on the ground, it's an advantage that is marginal at best. After all, Condit is a fighter who has finished Frank Trigg, John Alessio, and Brock Larson through submission. This bout is matchmaking at its finest and will prove to be much more competitive than Condit's previous title defense against Larson in August. As tight as this fight will be at times, it's still a fight that will belong to Condit when it is all said and done.

Final Prediction: Condit via fourth round TKO.

"Razor" Rob McCullough (15-3) vs. Jamie Varner (13-2) for the WEC lightweight title - McCullough is a worthy champion who is quite possibly the best pure lightweight striker in the world. However, Varner possesses a lot of matchup problems. While McCullough has worked hard to expand his ground game, it is still not his strong suit. He is vulnerable on his back and Varner possesses good wrestling featuring solid takedowns. In fact, Varner is probably the best wrestler McCullough has faced since taking on Josh Thomson at WFA 3 in 2002. It was a fight that McCullough ended up losing via unanimous decision. And in the event Varner can't get the fight on the ground right away, his standup is definitely good enough that he can hang with McCullough until he sees an opening.

Final Prediction: Varner via unanimous decision.

Chase Beebe (11-1) vs. Miguel Torres (32-1) for the WEC bantamweight title - The 22-year old Beebe is non-stop energy who is an absolute pitbull on the ground with nine of his 11 career wins have come via submission. The problem is that he is slated to face an opponent in Torres that has never been submitted in 33 career bouts. A product of the late Carlson Gracie, it's highly unlikely that Torres will be out-grappled.

If the fighters approach this match with the belief that the ground could be a stalemate, they may try to keep the fight standing in order to try and expose a flaw on the feet. The problem in that regard is that Torres is 5'9," which is freakishly tall for a fighter competing at 135 lbs. Torres will prove to be too much in every aspect of the fight.

Final Prediction: Torres via second round submission.

Hiroyuki Takaya (9-4-1) vs. Leonard Garcia (10-3) - Miscast as a lightweight, Takaya suffered notable losses to Gilbert Melendez, Andre "Dida" Amade, Gesias Calvancante, and Genki Sudo while competing at 160 lbs. But as a featherweight, Takaya has gained a lot of traction and is considered a top ten fighter at 145 pounds by most major web sites. Takaya really made waves when he TKO'd Antonio Carvalho, another top ten ranked featherweight, at 1:58 of round 3 during a Shooto show in Tokyo this past November.

Despite Takaya's greatly anticipated WEC debut, this is not a match that was designed to be a layup for him. Garcia is making the move from the UFC's lightweight division to the WEC's featherweight division after some tough losses at 155 lbs. But Garcia is a fighter who gave Roger Huerta everything he could handle in a losing effort during his UFC debut at UFC 69 last April. He also comes from a good camp, training out of Greg Jackson's in Albuquerque. This will be a stern test for Takaya, and one that he might not be able to pass.

Final Prediction: Garcia via unanimous decision.

Yoshiro Maeda (22-4-2) vs. Charlie Valencia (9-3) - A long-time veteran of DEEP and Pancrase, Maeda is an extremely well-rounded and technical fighter. He also has fought twice for PRIDE in the past, losing to Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett at Bushido 7 and one-time WEC fighter Joe Pearson at Bushido 13. Maeda has a history of finishing his opponents, but Valencia is as tough as nails. Valencia is a King of the Cage Veteran who sports a lifetime 2-1 record in the WEC. His most recent fight for the promotion came in December, in which he submitted Ian McCall with a guillotine at just 3:19 into round 1. He'll prove to be a game opponent for Maeda but I don't see him pulling out the win.

Final Prediction: Maeda via third round TKO.

Damacio Page (9-3) vs. Scott Jorgenson (4-1) - Jorgenson was a standout college wrestler that has made the transition to MMA with relative ease. The self-professed sneaker addict looked dominant against Chris David during July's ShoXC event and is an excellent athlete that is without question a blue chip bantamweight prospect. Page, who was featured on the Versus MMA reality TV show "TapouT," also has a college wrestling background but isn't anywhere near Jorgenson's caliber in that department. However, he should have an advantage on the feet.

I have high expectations for Jorgenson but this is a bad matchup for him. Page is a late replacement that is in shape because he was already in training for a fight in Canada on February 28. He also presents a much different style than Jesse Moreng, who was originally slated to face Jorgenson. Not having ample time to prepare for Page is going to make the difference.

Final Prediction: Page via second round TKO.

Manny Tapia (9-0-1) vs. Antonio Banuelos (14-4) - Tapia is a big-time prospect who had a lot of steam behind him at one point. However, he has not fought since last May due to injury and has lost some momentum by being out of the public eye. With a win in this fight, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Tapia fight the winner of the Beebe vs. Torrest bantamweight title match.

Before Tapia can even think about that shot he must get past Banuelos, who not only trains with Chuck Liddell at "The Pit" but is also Liddell's personal assistant. And while very accomplished and capable as a fighter, it might be a stretch to place Banuelos in the same prospect category that Tapia currently belongs in.

A win by Banuelos would probably be an upset on par with Saturday's upset of up and coming welterweight Paul Williams by journeyman Carlos Quintana on HBO's "Boxing After Dark."

Final Prediction: Tapia via first round TKO.

Cody "Ox" Wheeler (6-1) vs. Del Hawkins (22-12) - Wheeler has a reputation on the New Mexico MMA scene for being a strong prospect. He will try and bounce back from a loss to Ian McCall during his WEC debut back in September. Standing in his way is Del Hawkins, a journeyman fighter who is coming off an impressive submission victory (strikes) over Brandon Foxworth during the IFO's final show that took place in Vegas on the eve of UFC 79.

Hawkins has bounced around between the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight weight classes but is a real threat at 135 lbs. While this will be his WEC debut, he's taken on top fighters such as Urijah Faber, Bao Quach, Jason Rheinhardt, and Charlie Valencia so nerves won't be an issue. On paper, this should be a good fight but it's a fight that Hawkins should walk away the winner of.

Final Prediction: Hawkins via unanimous decision.

Micah Miller (8-1) vs. Chance Farrar (3-1) - Miller is the brother of UFC fighter Cole Miller. Both Millers train on a regular basis and have spent time at various different camps including American Top Team (where he's based out of) and Cesar Gracie's Jiu Jitsu Academy. Micah will have the advantage over Farrar when it comes to submissions, but Farrar is clearly the better wrestler.

If Farrar can put Miller on his back and try to utilize ground and pound tactics, he should perform fine if he can avoid getting caught in a submission. If the fight stays on the feet, I'd have to give Miller the slight advantage, although neither fighter is likely to be known for their striking prowess anytime soon. This is a tough fight to call because there are multiple scenarios in which the fight could end.

Final Prediction: Farrar by unanimous decision.

Mark Hominick (15-7) vs. Josh Grispi (10-1) - The WEC was looking for a Boston-area fighter and came to know Grispi following a referral from Alex Karalexis. When WEC officials went to take a look at him, they were blown away and almost immediately after evaluating Grispi decided to sign him.

December was initially plotted for Grispi's debut but it was pushed back to February for whatever reasons. Training out of Southshore Sportfighting, where Frederic Belleton and Bobby McMaster also train, Grispi has a strong buzz behind him. However, Hominick is going to be a major step up in competition. While the former UFC lightweight is certainly beatable, Grispi is still a 19-year old kid who is making his WEC debut on national television. I don't care how tough a fighter is, he still has to be experiencing some nerves under these circumstances. If Grispi gets over the nerves, Hominick will be in trouble. However, one mistake and Hominick could capitalize in a hurry.

Final Prediction: Hominick by second round submission.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com