Instead of fighters going head to head, the WEC and rising national promotion Strikeforce will be matched up against each other as they each hold events next Saturday at 9 p.m.

Like with Fox and CBS Sunday NFL football games, viewers may be switching back and forth between two good events -- WEC 45 and Strikeforce: Evolution. This week's column will break down the fights on the docket for each event and determine which one's the must-see bout.

Starting off will be the main events:

WEC lightweight bout: Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff. Strikeforce middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith.

Cowboy Cerrone is coming off arguably the most exciting fight of the year, his five-round war with Ben Henderson at WEC 43. Riding the wave of that recent bout, Cerrone is clearly a popular draw for fans.

His opponent on Saturday is a relative unknown, though. Ed Ratcliff has seen WEC action mainly on the

undercard.

Cung Le is so popular he's a movie star, literally. The Vietnamese-American kickboxer skyrocketed to MMA fame when he defeated Frank Shamrock to earn the Strikeforce middleweight title.

Rather than continuing fighting, he took a year and a half off to pursue a movie career. To MMA and film lovers' delights, he'll be making his return to the cage on Saturday. He's set to face Scott Smith, who is well known to fans from the UFC and EliteXC.

Advantage: Strikeforce

WEC lightweight bout: Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki. Strikeforce lightweight championship bout: Josh "The Punk" Thompson vs. Gilbert Melendez

Njokuani is the native Texan who is on a two fight winning streak in the WEC. Horodecki may be remembered for his time in the now defunct IFL promotion. Although each are talented, they're still relatively new to the big show.

The Thompson vs. Melendez bout is actually a rematch that MMA followers have long been waiting for. In June 2008, Thompson upset then Strikeforce champion, Melendez by unanimous decision.

Since then, Thompson was forced to step down from two scheduled rematch fights with Melendez due to injury. The putting off of the rematch as well as the perception that Thompson's victory was a fluke has enticed fans even more to watch this bout.

Advantage: Strikeforce

WEC bantamweight bout: Joseph Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya Strikeforce middleweight bout: Matt "The Law" Lindland vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

This is the closest one of the bunch. The Urijah Faber-trained Benavidez has the same dynamic and explosive fighting style as Faber himself. Rani Yahya reminds one of a mini version of UFC middleweight, Damien Maia. He's one

dimensional because he solely relies on his Jiu-Jitsu. However since that dimension is so good, he can stick with it.

Lindland is a no-frills mixed martial artist with a Greco-Roman wrestling background. He's prone to a lay and pray style that's not exciting but works. Souza is best known by fans for his success in the Japanese DREAM promotion.

Advantage: WEC

WEC bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott Jorgensen Strikeforce middleweight bout: Robbie Lawler vs. Trevor Prangley

Mizugaki vs. Jorgensen has the potential to be the fight of the night amongst both promotions. They each have a limitless supply of energy and are potential title contenders. There are few heavy-hitters like Lawler. He's a major piece in Strikeforce's deep division of middleweight. Prangley though can be considered a warmup fight for Lawler.

Advantage: WEC

WEC 45 will be airing on the Versus network and Strikeforce: Evolution will be airing on Showtime, both starting at 9 p.m. CST. The fight pairings above are listed from the final main event to the preceding fights.

Fight times vary and Strikeforce is actually including a fifth bout on their main card. That said, this fight by fight breakdown can serve as a general guide on which fight to tune in on if they're occurring at the same time.

MMA fans who have these channels can DVR the events and watch the two simultaneously. For MMA devotees, getting Versus, Showtime, and a recording device is key as these promotions continue to grow and go head to head.

David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at DavidEstrada@DavidEstrada.com