Lighter Weight Classes Coming to the UFC “Soon”, WEC Merger Possible
Though UFC President Dana White stopped short of announcing a merger between the UFC and WEC at Thursday’s UFC 102 press conference, lighter weight classes are expected to be added to the UFC “real soon”.
Both owned by Zuffa, World Extreme Cagefighting boasts lighter weight classes from the soon-to-debut 125-pound flyweight division up to the 155-pound lightweight division, while the UFC begins at lightweight and extends to the 265-pound heavyweight class. Since 2008, the WEC’s light heavyweight, middleweight, and welterweight divisions have been slashed, leaving lightweight as the only shared class remaining.
Though it attracts solid viewership on Versus and delivers exciting, quality fights, maintaining separate promotions makes little sense and calls to merge the companies has picked up in recent months, particularly after the recent re-scheduling of WEC 43 from September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio to October 10 at a location to-be-determined.
White said the liklihood of lighter divisions being added to the UFC was “very good” and that they’d likely be added “real soon,” adding that the promotion is planning on three events per month in 2010 and needs the additional fights to fill the cards.
Whether the addition of lighter weight classes is a result of a merger with the WEC remains to be seen, as an extension was recently inked to keep WEC programming on Versus, a deal that could affect when and if the UFC and WEC finally merge.
“I’ve got some shit I gotta figure out,” said White. “We’ve had bigger problems. I will figure this out.”
Tags: Dana White
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Dang ill be broke if they do 3 fights a month.. Hope some are free…
Three events a month is crazy! Maybe one PPV, one on Spike, and one on network TV? That would be great. It will also be good if the WEC merges into the UFC so that Faber, Brown, Torres, Bowles, and some of the others can get paid like they deserve. Versus is a good channel, but they just don’t have the market penetration to merit the big bucks for the guys fighting on there, even if the fighters themselves are big enough draws.
If I recall some of us were discussing this more than a week ago.
It makes sense on a lot of levels, first and foremost is the issue of “splitting the franchise”, as they used to call it in economics classes.
Zuffa currently holds the premium brand for MMA, the UFC, so why should they waste time and resources promoting other brands, like the WEC, or PRIDE?
I can understand maximizing their acquisitions by perhaps utlizing existing video libraries for something like PRIDE, maybe in some sort of old clip show, like that which has been previously mentioned, but promoting fights under the WEC banner, not to mention LW fights, which is not only a division the UFC has but also has the best LW in history in BJ Penn, makes little or no sense.
I like the WEC, I like Frank Mir’s commentary, and I like what Versus has done with the property to date, but in the long run Zuffa is better served absorbing the WEC, and featuring superstars like Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres on the big stage.
I wonder if the problems with Versus and DirectTV somehow provide Zuffa an out in terms of the contract b/w WEC and Versus.
I was trying to find something definitive on that, but so far have come up empty, but it sounds logical.
And by all accounts, Zuffa employs some of the best, or worst, depending on your point of view, contract lawyers in the country…
don’t forget recently Comcast took a huge hit from the good ole NFL… they may throw everything into trying to keep the WEC.
More fights equals less money for all fighters. The amount of people purchasing fights will stay roughly the same even if you make some free which will have to happen to fit most budgets the pool is established for the most part just a lot more swimmers. Over branding is possible as well what once was a monthly event could just become the equivelent of general hospital on a weekday or weekend. It’s simple supply demand basics up the supply and the demand will shrink.
That’s not true. More fights equals more money for fighters. More sponsorships, more exposure, more opportunities, more pay-per-views, more free events (and yes, fighters get paid on Spike, too) and more time. There is not one single way fighters lose on this. Trust Dana.
Like boxing?
There is one factor that could lead to a problem with that line of thought:
We have seen it here in the discussions on where the third set of fights will occur. if it occurs on network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), then money will come in because everyone can receive those channels, so everyone will tune in/DVR it and the ad money will be there. If these end up on something like ESPN that just about everyone who has cable gets, then same deal. I don’t know too many people who don’t have basic cable and unless I’m horribly mistaken, ESPN and 2 are more or less standard on basic cable. The problem would occur if there is a deal with HBO or Versus. Those are not standard channels on cable (I’m leaving out Showtime because they show Strikeforce) and people would have to spend I don’t know how much a month to either subscribe to HBO or get the tier that Versus comes on. Some of the fellow Frenzied have expressed opinions (Justin and jcohl are the first ones I remember) that they can’t really afford to get HBO solely for MMA and one said that they wouldn’t because there’s nothing else of interest. While Versus does a great job with WEC broadcasts (and their production is top-notch), the only other things on there that I have any interest in is the Tour de France (two weeks out of the year) and the NHL (really only playoff time). If I didn’t already have it, I would be hard pressed to sign up just for one fight card a month and like whoever it was, I wouldn’t sign up for HBO solely for one fight card a month. If the UFC ends up having a deal with HBO, they’re screwed because I don’t know how many people would actually get it if they don’t have it. I personally believe that the unnamed network that the UFC has a deal with is the ABC/ESPN group (both under the Disney blanket). Those are the two that make the most sense as far as total visibility go, and unlike Spike, that family has the money that would be required to keep the company going. The UFC can’t just throw an event and make enough money to keep things going off gate receipts (take on those is only a couple million) and I think the PPV market at this point in time is pretty saturated (and it is off this that they make their money to keep the business going the other 29 days of the month). Network or ESPN offers a relatively cheap way to get their product out there with the combination of maximum exposure and maximum revenue.
Three events per month? One on pay-per-view, Spike TV, and network TV (FOX?)? If there are two pay-per-views per month, I think the UFC would alienate some of their fans who would be broke after doling out the dough to watch. This does mean more money, and big names heading UFC cards like Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Brian Bowles, and Jens Pulver (isn’t he still fighting?).
Ether you know those moments I said that would make me need a moment… this would be one of them…
I know what ya mean. I think the mix of a large dark roast with an expresso shot from Caribou and this news might send me into cardiac-arrest.
funny…I too am drinking dark roast from Caribou(no espresso shot for me though)… hear comes the big one…
Caribou > Starbucks
Sorry, just had to put it out there since we were on the topic of coffee
Agreed on Caribou. I don’t really go out for coffee though, I brew Larry’s Beans (Organic, “FairTrade”, and based in Raleigh) at home, though.
I think if they start doing 3 fights a month plus the Ultimate Fighter,then the PPV will no longer feel like a must see event.I think they should continue doing what there doing 1 ppv a month every so often a UFC fight night,Keep WEC on Vs,and disband the WEC’s Lightweight division into the UFC,and so WEC fighters get more of a fare share of money put there FW & BW Title fights on a UFC PPV,and leave the newly created weight class title to be defended on VS.
Since it would consist of fighters that no one knows yet.
Stop mentioning coffee Goddamn it, unless we’re at a Tim Horton’s or Timothys…
Shouldn’t you be on a flight to Portland?
BJ is going to want a shot at MTB if this happens.. im going to go ahead and call it right now.
Sorry if my brains just not firing on all cylinders… MTB?
I don’t see any of the major networks picking up mma any time soon. Just a few reasons I can think of have to be the fact that it is not a “family sport” and the market is very small compared to sports like football or the bread and butter daily programming. I personally love to see someones ear explode but I don’t think it’s great for a five year old too see every night at 7. Also mma has no seasons so They would have to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in sports, 12 month programming which is a huge annual commitment. Don’t forget the standard problems like athletic commisions ,venues,injuries you know the stuff that stops fights. And more than one ppv a month will be like supporting a bad drug habit for most wallets. Remember when we all used to pay big ppv bucks to watch Boxing in the Tyson, Holyfield days. Until Hbo and showtime got in on the action it was the place to be. Flood the market with mma and we may very well see the demand decline. Bussiness is all the same weather your making tortillas or promoting fights. The sport has already become a little wwe with Lesnar laying on guys like 2 turtles and then acting like he made the earth.
Who’s going to pay 30-70 k to advertise with that kind of theatrics? Pay per viewers that’s who not mainstream.
Umm… CBS had a contract with EliteXC, and now has a contract with Strikeforce… so what’s that about a major network not picking up MMA?
And “Lesnar laying on guys like 2 turtles”… yeah, that’s how he has two consecutive TKO victories…
Wow.
UFC lightwieght division would own the WEC LW division. great lower classes!