DFW: UFC/WEC merger coming in 2011
The Ultimate Fighting Championship plans to merge with World Extreme Cagefighting in January 2011.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news earlier today with MMAFighting.com, and a formal announcement is scheduled this afternoon.
The merger's primary intent is to fold the WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight divisions into the UFC.
"The timing was right," White said. "The reality is we purchased the WEC, (and) we started getting these lighter-weight guys exposure on television. ... Now, as the UFC continues to grow globally, and we're doing more and more fights, now we're bringing in those lighter weightclasses."
WEC 52 and WEC 53, scheduled for Nov. 11 and Dec. 16, respectively, will be the final events under the existing promotion. In January, the lighter-weighted promotion will cede its talent to the UFC.
White said the WEC's featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, will become the UFC featherweight champion when he first fights inside the octagon in January. Current WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz defends his title against top contender Scott Jorgensen at WEC 53.
The WEC's lightweight championship will also be on the line at WEC 53 as current champ Ben Henderson takes on Anthony Pettis. It's currently unclear what will become of the WEC's lightweight title, but UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta hinted of a champion vs. champion superfight at the UFC Fan Expo London 2010.
"We'd love to see kind of a 'champion vs. champion' type bout with Ben and Frankie Edgar or something like that," Fertitta said. "Ben Henderson is a great fighter, and I think he could do really, really well against some of the top guys in the UFC at 155 (pounds)."
Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, purchased the WEC in 2006. The lighter-weighted promotion quickly found a new television partner, Versus channel, which aired all but a few of its events. WEC 48 also went to pay-per-view and was considered a rousing success.
According to White, four UFC events in 2011 will air on Versus, the current home of the WEC. Additionally, the UFC's longtime partnership with Spike TV will also remain in place.
UFC 121's headliner between Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar gets some high powered attention from CBS Sports National Columnist Gregg Doyel and he makes an interesting point:UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar lost Saturday night, and this is why mixed martial arts is the greatest combat sport in the world.This is why Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are the big winners in the long run from the outcome of UFC 121. Yeah I commented on the short term money they'll lose because Brock isn't the champ anymore, but in the long run this is a huge win for the UFC and the sport. MMA Payout has more:
See, Lesnar should never lose. He's bigger, stronger, faster, meaner than anyone he will ever fight. Lesnar's a freak of nature, and if this were boxing, his record would be something like 41-2 -- which is the record of WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko.
In boxing, the very best fighters don't lose. Not ever. Floyd Mayweather is 41-0. Klitschko is 41-2. That makes for great legacies but predictable fights, because when Mayweather fights, he wins. Plunk down $45 for that pay-per-view, but only if you like to watch a story whose ending you already know.
Me, I'll stick with MMA, which is beautiful because you just don't know.
The business implications of this fight are several and involve a bit of a trade-off between the short and long term. Lesnar is the sport's top draw and best mainstream enabler, but he's likely to lose a bit of his appeal without the belt. Certainly the 1 million buy guarantee is probably gone unless he fights Mir in a rubber match or lands another title shot. However, it is my belief that we've witnessed the birth of the next big draw in the UFC in the form of Velasquez. He may not be the most stirring interview or imposing physical specimen, but he finishes fights and that is ultimately what the fans care about most.This was actually crucial for the UFC because, as our own Jonathan Snowden pointed out before the fight, had Brock Lesnar kept winning, he threatened to emerge as the first UFC fighter since Royce Gracie to become bigger than the promotion.
Velasquez also happens to bring a new demographic to the table. Say what you want about the UFC's marketing tactics for this fight, but it knew it had to hedge its bets when promoting this fight. Velasquez may not sell 1 million PPV buys every fight, but he will prove to be a solid draw for the company on the merit of his 89% stoppage rate and the fact that he gives them a somewhat credible entry point into the Hispanic market both North and South of the border.
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The Lesnar loss probably isn't optimal from a short term perspective, but the combination of Velasquez as a dominant champion and Lesnar as versatile non-title draw will help the UFC cover the gap and even come out ahead in the long term.
Eventually the UFC will produce a true superstar who transcends the sport and the promotion, but that won't be happening in 2010.
