The WEC announced Wednesday that highly regarded submission expert Wagnney Fabiano will make his bantamweight debut against WEC newcomer Clint Godfrey at its WEC 46 event on Jan. 10 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

Fabiano was originally set to face Frank Gomez at WEC 46, however, Gomez was forced off the event with an undisclosed injury. The nature of Gomez's injury is not yet known, however, the up-and-comer is expected to be ready for action in spring 2010.

Fabiano, who was a high ranked featherweight, made the decision to drop down to the bantamweight division out of the desire to avoid possibly facing Nova Uniao teammate, Jose Aldo, who won the WEC featherweight title by defeating former champ Mike Brown at WEC 44 in November.

Fabiano (12-2) suffered a shocking upset loss against WEC newcomer Mackens Semerzier at WEC 43 in October. Prior to the loss, he was on an eight-fight winning streak, which included wins in his first two bouts in the WEC as well as a successful 6-0 stint in the now-defunct IFL promotion.

The nine-year veteran of the sport has finished nine of his 12 career wins and holds notable wins over the likes of Bao Quach, L.C. Davis, Akitoshi Tamura, John Gunderson and Fredson Paixao.

Godfrey enters the WEC on a eight-fight winning streak, most recently scoring a third round submission (punches) win over Josh Rave on Dec. 19. He has fought for a variety of smaller, regional promotions throughout his three-year career including Ring of Fire, Extreme Beatdown and Cage Fury Fighting Championships. The 27-year-old sports a near perfect 11-1 MMA record, with stoppages in eight of his 11 career victories.

The Versus-televised WEC 46 event is headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner and interim title holder Ben Henderson. Also, former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber will take on rising contender Raphael Assuncao in the co-main event.