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Please, Mr. Dana! A four-division WEC makes no sense.

Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 5:23 pm by Neal Taflinger

It’s old news that Zuffa is folding the WEC’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions into the UFC. Dana White has also made it clear that Zuffa has no intention of using the WEC as a feeder organization for the UFC or expanding the UFC’s weight classes to include featherweights (145#) and bantamweights (135#). What he hasn’t made clear is WHY Zuffa is using the WEC the way it is.

I’m sure there is a reason, I just can’t make sense of it from the outside looking in. The WEC seems to do well in smaller rooms, the organization produces exciting cards on basic cable, it is based in Vegas now along with the rest of Zuffa, and the show is traveling to secondary media markets that may not be big enough to support a UFC event. All signs point to the WEC being a perfect incubator for new talent, the guys who with a couple fights under their belts, a lot of potential, and zero name recognition. They run the table or simply do well and sell tickets, move them up to the big show. Conversely, if a UFC fighter is struggling, you can do what premier soccer leagues do to underachieving teams – move them down. Kick a fighter down to the WEC and let him sink or swim before cutting him.

The next issue is even more baffling – two of the best and most exciting fighters in the world fight in the WEC. Bantamweight champ Miguel Torres and featherweight title-holder Urijah Faber are the poster boys for the organization, driving solid ratings on a cable channel a lot of sports fans can’t even find. These guys would be huge stars if the UFC made room for their division. I’m not an MMA executive, I just play one online, but could it be that much of an administrative headache to expand the UFC’s divisional picture to include smaller guys? If Zuffa wants to draw in Latino viewers, it’s going to have sign Latino fighters and let me tell you, not many of them are built like Cain Velasquez.

So please, Mr. Dana, add two divisions to the UFC, restore a full range of divisions to the WEC, and watch both organizations flourish.

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Please, Mr. Dana! A four-division WEC makes no sense.

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