The former WEC bantamweight champ will have two fights featured on the WEC’s second DVD and Blu-Ray offering, “Best of WEC.” The title will be released on Sept. 7.

Torres’ bantamweight title fight against Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 and his defense against Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34 will both be featured.

Also on the DVD will be: a lightweight bout between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Rob McCullough from November 2008; a five-round featherweight title fight between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver from June 2008; the 2009 Fight of the Year between Ben Henderson and Cerrone for the interim lightweight championship; and a five-round featherweight title fight between Mike Brown and Faber from June 2009.

The DVD and Blu-Ray will be released by WEC DVD partner Image Entertainment, which also put out the promotion’s first DVD, “Aldo vs. Faber,” earlier this year.

“Our goal is to give our following the opportunity to build a library of some of the greatest fights in WEC history,” WEC Vice President Peter Dropick said. “‘Best of WEC’ continues that trend and is an absolute must-have for any mixed martial arts fan.”

The main event of UFC 118 features a lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and former champ BJ Penn. Edgar took the title from Penn at UFC 112 in April. The co-main event features the MMA debut of former world champion boxer James Toney against UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

Both Penn and Edgar came in at 154 pounds. Toney came in lighter than most expected at 237 pounds. Couture was 220.

The weigh-in results follow:

In what has to be a first for a UFC weigh-in, Gabe Ruediger brought a boxed cake with him onto the state and presented it to his opponent, Boston native Joe Lauzon. The cake said “Sorry for your loss.” Ruediger, a member of the Season 5 cast of “The Ultimate Fighter,” was infamously kicked off the show by UFC president Dana White for his weight-cut habits involving colonics.

Main Card
Lightweight championship: B.J. Penn (154) vs. Frankie Edgar (154)
Heavyweight: James Toney (237) vs. Randy Couture (220)
Lightweight: Gray Maynard (156) vs. Kenny Florian (156)
Welterweight: Marcus Davis (170) vs. Nate Diaz (171)
Middleweight: Mario Miranda (185) vs. Demian Maia (184)
Preliminary Card (Spike TV)
Lightweight: Gabe Ruediger (155) vs. Joe Lauzon (156)
Lightweight: Nik Lentz (155) vs. Andre Winner (154)
Preliminary Card
Middleweight: John Salter (185) vs. Dan Miller (185)
Welterweight: Greg Soto (170) vs. Nick Osipczak (171)
Welterweight: Amilcar Alves (171) vs. Mike Pierce (171)*

* Alves was 172 on his first attempt; he made 171 after removing his fight shorts.

You can watch the weigh-ins live here at Caged In via streaming video player starting at 3 p.m. Central. And for the second time, the weigh-ins will also be broadcast live on Spike TV, the UFC’s television partner.

UFC 118 features a main event lightweight title fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger BJ Penn, considered the most dominant lightweight in the history of the sport. Penn is a more than 3 to 1 favorite in the fight, despite being the challenger. He held the lightweight belt for more than two years and three successful title defenses before Edgar took it from him in a close unanimous decision at UFC 112 in April. The co-main event features UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture against former boxing world champion James Toney in Toney’s MMA debut. Couture is a nearly 6 to 1 favorite in the bout. And in a bout UFC president Dana White says will determine the next No. 1 lightweight contender, Kenny Florian takes on unbeaten Gray Maynard.

The video player follows:

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 features a main event lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and former champ BJ Penn. Edgar became just the second fighter to ever beat Penn at 155 pounds in April at UFC 112 when he won a unanimous – albeit close – decision to take the title. Because of the close nature of the fight – as well as, UFC president Dana White has said, Penn claiming to be sick leading up to the bout – an immediate rematch was scheduled.

Today’s press conference takes place at the historic Faneuil Hall near Boston Harbor and will feature White, Edgar, Penn, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, James Toney, Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard. Couture takes on former boxing world champion Toney in the co-main event, Toney’s MMA debut. And Florian and Maynard battle for what White has said will determine the next challenger for the lightweight title.

The video player follows:

The bout will be the main event at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., Strikeforce’s home base, and will air live on Showtime on Oct. 9. Diaz had been announced as fighting on the card on Friday, but his opponent was not yet named. His opponent was believed to be a choice between Noons and Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

The fight is a rematch from the pair’s first bout, in November 2007, for the now-defunct EliteXC promotion.

Noons (9-1) dominated Diaz (22-7, 1 NC) in the 160-pound title fight, opening up a big cut over his eye with a knee. The cageside doctor stopped the fight after the first round. The loss was Diaz’s last; he has won seven straight since then. Noons is coming off a knockout win Saturday against Jorge Gurgel at Strikeforce: Houston.

In the co-main event, unbeaten women’s welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman (12-0) defends her 135-pound title against No. 1 contender Marloes Coenen (17-4). And Luke Rockhold (7-1) takes on 2000 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland (22-7) in a middleweight bout.

Diaz and Noons have talked plenty since their first fight, including a near-brawl between their two camps in 2008 when they fought on the same EliteXC card in Hawaii.

“Nick has no class,” Noons said after that event. “He’s a bum, a piece of (crap) and he and his team disrespected my family and I with their gestures and trash talk and tried to upstage my fight.”

Diaz, no stranger to controversy – including a suspension for marijuana use and another in Strikeforce’s Nashville in-cage brawl following Jake Shields’ win over Dan Henderson in April – said: “I’m sorry about what happened in the cage afterward, but I didn’t start it. His guys were talking (crap) to us.”

Speaking to 98 Rock in Baltimore promoting Saturday’s UFC 118 card in Boston, White said that fight is essentially a contender’s fight preceding the lightweight title main-even rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and former champ BJ Penn.

“The winner of this fight should definitely get the next title shot,” White said. “I’ve got to go on a fight-by-fight basis. For instance, Gray Maynard looked like he was in line for the title – I gave the title shot to Frankie Edgar, who won the title. So you never know.”

Florian fought Penn for the lightweight belt at UFC 101 in August 2009, losing by rear naked choke. Since then, he has put together consecutive wins over Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi. Maynard is 9-0 in his career and 7-0 in the UFC. He is coming off consecutive split decision wins over Roger Huerta and Nate Diaz.

The full interview with White on 98 Rock follows:

Stinson will take on Iraq war veteran Steve Carl on the televised main card (Fox Sports Net, 7 p.m. Central). The winner gets a spot in Bellator’s Season 4 welterweight tournament.

Though Bellator did not announce the reason Markham was not cleared, MMA Junkie reported it was due to a lung issue.

Because of the late notice for Stinson, the bout will take place at a 175-pound catch weight.

Stinson, a Kansas City native, won a Season 2 Bellator open tryout earlier this year. He then was a late replacement for Sean Pierson in the Season 2 welterweight tournament against Dan Hornbuckle, who beat Stinson and went on to reach the tourney’s finals.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said he expects a good fight between Stinson and Carl, despite the last-minute nature of the booking.

“Tyler’s skills and development as a fighter have consistently impressed me,” Rebney said. “He was preparing for a qualifier scheduled a month from now, but Tyler is always in fighting shape and was totally prepared to take this fight. Both of these guys have put on great fights for us and I expect nothing different on Thursday night.”

Since losing to Hornbuckle, Stinson (18-6) has gone 2-0. He submitted Leonardo Pecanha with a rear-naked choke at Bellator 22 in Kansas City in June – and also broke the Brazilian’s jaw in that fight. Twelve of Stinson’s 18 wins are by knockout; five are by submission.

Stinson said the short notice doesn’t bother him.

“When I got the call, I was more than ready to jump on the opportunity,” Stinson said. “I’ve been having to do short notice my whole career. It’s a good matchup for me. My striking is going to come into play and he is going to have a tough time dealing with that.”

Carl shares a loss to Hornbuckle in common with Stinson. Carl had a seven-fight winning streak snapped by the Mahomet, Ill., native in the semifinals of Bellator’s welterweight tourney last year.

Bellator 26 takes place Thursday at the Kansas City Power & Light District. The main card airs live on Fox Sports Net starting at 7 p.m. Central.

The main card features three tournament bouts as well as a welterweight feature fight between Tyler Stinson and Season 2 welterweight semifinalist Steve Carl. The four-fight main card will air on Fox Sports Net starting at 7 p.m. Central on Thursday. Stinson replaces UFC veteran Rory Markham, who didn’t pass medical clearance for the fight.

Bellator also continues its tradition of featuring local fighters in its undercard bouts with four fights with Missouri-area fighters.

The main card opens with a Season 3 heavyweight tournament fight between Mike Hayes (12-3-1) and Ukranian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik (27-5-1), an M-1 Challenge veteran.

Then Jose Vega (8-3) and Danny Tims (9-2) renew their rivalry, fighting for the second time, in a Season 3 bantamweight tournament opening-round bout. Vega won the first meeting between the two 135-pounders.

In the Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament, Lisa Ward (12-5) takes on Ireland’s Aisling Daly (9-0). The winner will advance to meet Megumi Fujii, who advanced to the semifinals with a win over Carla Esparza at Bellator 24.

And in the main event on the televised card, Carl (12-2) takes on Stinson (18-6), who replaces Markham, who was not medically cleared for the fight. Markham was cut from the UFC this spring after going 1-2 in the organization. He suffered first-round knockout losses to Dan Hardy and Nate Diaz in the UFC, but holds wins over Valparaiso’s Keith Wisniewski as well as UFC and Bellator veteran Brad Blackburn in his career. He is a product of the famed Pat Miletich camp in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Headlining the local card are Kansas City native and Bellator vet Rudy Bears (11-5), who looks for payback for a 2008 submission loss to Zak Cummings (10-2), of Springfield, Mo. Kansas City-based Brian Davidson (5-2) meets Kevin Croom (1-1), of Columbia, Mo., in the local co-main event. Springfield native John Ott meets Brian Imes, with both fighters making their Bellator debuts. It’s a rematch from 2009, which Imes won with a first-round knockout. And Clinton, Mo., native Jeb Chiles (5-1) meets Demetrius Richards (5-4).

White, a Connecticut native who attended the University of Massachusetts at Boston, has long hoped to bring a UFC card to the state. It wasn’t possible until Massachusetts passed MMA regulation last year.

The Boston UFC Fan Expo takes place Friday and Saturday, leading into UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 on Saturday night at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

“It has always been my dream to bring an event to Boston,” White said. “With UFC 118 and the Fan Expo, we’re delivering a weekend fans in the Northeast won’t want to miss.”

White’s keynote address takes place Saturday at the Fan Expo at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston. After the speech, White will take part in a Q&A session with the fans, much like his keynote speeches at the UFC’s first two Fan Expo events at UFC 100 in July 2009 and UFC 114 in May.

The UFC has already announced its first European Fan Expo, which will take place prior to UFC 120 in London in October.

The card will feature welterweight champion Nick Diaz as well as women’s 135-pound champ Sarah Kaufman – though Diaz’s opponent has yet to be announced.

The main card will air live on Showtime at 9 p.m. Central on Oct. 9.

The most talked-about potential opponent for Diaz (22-7) is Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Miller touched off a feud with Diaz, his UFC brother Nate and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields when he entered the ring in Nashville in April following Shields’ win over Dan Henderson. Miller asked Shields on the microphone when he would get his rematch – Shields beat him in Chicago last November – and the incident set off an in-cage brawl, aired live on CBS. Though Strikeforce has been mum on an opponent thus far, the promotion expects to name Diaz’s opponent this week. Diaz has won seven straight fights, including a Strikeforce welterweight title win over Marius Zaromskis in January and a submission win over Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at DREAM 14 in May.

Kaufman, meanwhile, puts her title on the line against Dutch star Marloes Coenen. Kaufman (12-0) won her first defense of her title with a body slam knockout of Roxanne Modafferi at Strikeforce Challengers 9 last month. Nine of her 12 wins have come by knockout. Coenen gets in the cage for the first time since losing to Cris Cyborg in a Strikeforce 145-pound women’s title fight. She moves down in weight to 135 to take on Kaufman.

Also announced for the card, Luke Rockhold puts a six-fight winning streak on the line against Olympic silver medalist wrestler Matt Lindland in a middleweight bout. Rockhold (7-1) has won six of his seven fights by submission. He trains at the elite American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. Lindland (22-7) is coming off a TKO win over Kevin Casey at Strikeforce Challengers 8 in his hometown of Portland.