Analyzing Zuffa's Plans for the WEC & UFC
Oct 13, 2008
Zuffa’s plan to fold World Extreme Cagefighting’s middleweight and
light heavyweight divisions into the UFC in 2009 leaves the sport
with more questions than answers.
Parallel champions in the WEC suggested co-promotion would happen between the two organizations at some point. But talent-thin divisions in the WEC at 185 and 205 pounds were viewed as impediments and instead will be worked into the UFC fray.
Two titleholders -- light heavyweight Steve
Cantwell and middleweight Paulo Filho
-- have divergent fates entering the new organization. Cantwell and
Brian
Stann -- a rival against whom Cantwell may complete a trilogy
in the UFC -- are going from big fish in a small cage to swimming
in predator-infested waters. With or without a title, they are
years away from being contenders in the UFC’s money weight
class.
Filho should fare better, but he poses more headaches for the UFC. His grappling and MMA pedigree should land him an immediate shot for his division’s belt, but he’s close friends with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and they have said they won’t fight each other. Filho could jump to 205, where he has looked to move since he arrived in North America in 2007. There, however, he would have to jump into the UFC’s deepest division, where an immediate title shot seems unlikely.
There’s an upside for both WEC champions, however. The move answers a frequently asked question: Can they compete in the UFC?
Condit loses in the merger.
That’s why WEC welterweight champion Carlos
Condit and lightweight titleholder Jamie Varner
-- who won’t be going to the UFC -- lose in the merger. Despite
facing stellar competition, questions still linger about where
they’d fit in the UFC pecking order. In the WEC, they’ll continue
to confront tough opposition in all-risk, no-reward battles.
In addition to Condit and Varner, the “little guys” will again become the biggest losers because they’re locked out of the UFC. While some -- like bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber -- may be widely recognized as best in the world at their respective weights, they’ll still lack the prestige that should accompany such recognition.
Having long struggled with attaining the financial success larger fighters enjoy, the bantamweights and featherweights will remain outside the walls of the world’s biggest MMA promotion until further notice.
“The Ultimate Fighter” reality series might be a way for the WEC to cash in by giving the 135- and 145-pound fighters a fast track to fame. Torres and Faber definitively proved their worth this year, and it’s unfair that they haven’t reaped greater financial rewards.
The reality series could showcase non-UFC weight classes and popularize the WEC brand. Torres and Faber could coach against each other, leading to a mega-fight between them. In addition, it could serve as a natural transition for instituting two new weight classes in the UFC.
Giving TUF lighter weights and a WEC logo solves the show’s stagnation problem, too. By the end of season eight, there will have been three 155-pound winners in the past four seasons, while a hoard of quality fighters under the lightweight threshold have no major television vehicle. Booking them on TUF can re-establish a higher quality of contestants -- like those that came from season one -- on upcoming seasons.
The drawback to instituting new divisions in the UFC isn’t the “too many champions” argument; it’s the volume of fights. Building two new weight classes becomes daunting because there aren’t enough cards to feature everyone.
That’s why Zuffa should revisit the WEC’s transformation and include all the weight classes. Let fighters grow inside two promotions under the Zuffa banner. It would increase the quality of UFC and WEC shows and give more consistent exposure to mixed martial artists of varied experience levels.
Just because the WEC was once a feeder organization doesn’t mean it has to be perceived that way still. The International Fight League functioned as an upper mid-level show, and the WEC can do the same.
Patrick Cote, who challenges Silva for the middleweight crown at UFC 90 later this month, was sent back to TKO in Canada while still under contract with Zuffa. His fights there went largely unnoticed. That would change if fighters in similar positions were sent to the WEC instead. It gives the organization more quality competitors and keeps them fresh in the public eye.
In the end, there would be no shame in the WEC playing good to the UFC’s great.
Of course, Torres and Faber still have title defenses before the year’s out, and many stars would have to align for another change in direction with the WEC. It is certain, though, that how Zuffa handles the UFC’s sister promotion in 2009 will impact the peaking careers of fighters at all weights and the overall landscape of MMA.
Parallel champions in the WEC suggested co-promotion would happen between the two organizations at some point. But talent-thin divisions in the WEC at 185 and 205 pounds were viewed as impediments and instead will be worked into the UFC fray.
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Filho should fare better, but he poses more headaches for the UFC. His grappling and MMA pedigree should land him an immediate shot for his division’s belt, but he’s close friends with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and they have said they won’t fight each other. Filho could jump to 205, where he has looked to move since he arrived in North America in 2007. There, however, he would have to jump into the UFC’s deepest division, where an immediate title shot seems unlikely.
Zuffa probably won’t allow Filho to play spoiler at 185 pounds if
he refuses to face Silva. If Chael Sonnen
defeats Filho at WEC 36 in November, though, the situation resolves
itself. Sonnen’s personality, on the heels of a win over a fighter
of Filho’s caliber, would make him a perceived threat to Silva and
inspire Filho to enter a new weight class.
There’s an upside for both WEC champions, however. The move answers a frequently asked question: Can they compete in the UFC?
Jeff
Sherwood/Sherdog.com
Condit loses in the merger.
In addition to Condit and Varner, the “little guys” will again become the biggest losers because they’re locked out of the UFC. While some -- like bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber -- may be widely recognized as best in the world at their respective weights, they’ll still lack the prestige that should accompany such recognition.
Having long struggled with attaining the financial success larger fighters enjoy, the bantamweights and featherweights will remain outside the walls of the world’s biggest MMA promotion until further notice.
“The Ultimate Fighter” reality series might be a way for the WEC to cash in by giving the 135- and 145-pound fighters a fast track to fame. Torres and Faber definitively proved their worth this year, and it’s unfair that they haven’t reaped greater financial rewards.
The reality series could showcase non-UFC weight classes and popularize the WEC brand. Torres and Faber could coach against each other, leading to a mega-fight between them. In addition, it could serve as a natural transition for instituting two new weight classes in the UFC.
Giving TUF lighter weights and a WEC logo solves the show’s stagnation problem, too. By the end of season eight, there will have been three 155-pound winners in the past four seasons, while a hoard of quality fighters under the lightweight threshold have no major television vehicle. Booking them on TUF can re-establish a higher quality of contestants -- like those that came from season one -- on upcoming seasons.
The drawback to instituting new divisions in the UFC isn’t the “too many champions” argument; it’s the volume of fights. Building two new weight classes becomes daunting because there aren’t enough cards to feature everyone.
That’s why Zuffa should revisit the WEC’s transformation and include all the weight classes. Let fighters grow inside two promotions under the Zuffa banner. It would increase the quality of UFC and WEC shows and give more consistent exposure to mixed martial artists of varied experience levels.
Just because the WEC was once a feeder organization doesn’t mean it has to be perceived that way still. The International Fight League functioned as an upper mid-level show, and the WEC can do the same.
Patrick Cote, who challenges Silva for the middleweight crown at UFC 90 later this month, was sent back to TKO in Canada while still under contract with Zuffa. His fights there went largely unnoticed. That would change if fighters in similar positions were sent to the WEC instead. It gives the organization more quality competitors and keeps them fresh in the public eye.
In the end, there would be no shame in the WEC playing good to the UFC’s great.
Of course, Torres and Faber still have title defenses before the year’s out, and many stars would have to align for another change in direction with the WEC. It is certain, though, that how Zuffa handles the UFC’s sister promotion in 2009 will impact the peaking careers of fighters at all weights and the overall landscape of MMA.
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