Chesterton native Eddie Wineland, a former bantamweight champion for World Extreme Cagefighting, will make his return to the WEC cage on Sept. 2 at WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson in Youngstown, Ohio.

Wineland told The Times on Tuesday via text message that he was confirmed for the card and that he will be fighting Manny Tapia.

Wineland (14-6-1) last fought at WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on April 5, a card headlined by fellow Northwest Indiana fighter Miguel Torres, the WEC's bantamweight champion. On the preliminary card of that event, Wineland lost to Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Rani Yahya by a rear-naked choke in the first round.

He was scheduled to fight Frank Gomez at WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2 in Sacramento, Calif., last month but had to pull out of that fight with an elbow injury.

In Tapia (10-2-1), Wineland draws a once highly touted bantamweight looking to get back on the winning track.