WEC to merge with UFC in January!

Vaughany · 10-28-10, 12:01 PM

Wow big news...WEC has always been the most exciting, hope this doesnt have a negative effect.

syn^ · 10-28-10, 12:44 PM

The only negatives I can possibly see with this is there will be less free cards on Versus since the UFC is only planning on doing 4 in 2011 and the UFC's lightweight division will have TOO much depth and will be harder for fighters to climb up the ladder.

Poppa Catfish · 10-28-10, 01:20 PM

I liked the WEC just the way they were, but now we get to see Ben Henderson and Jose Aldo challenge themselves. I'm just hoping they highlight the WEC fighters, instead of using them as filler for PPV cards. I would love to see a bunch of the lighter weights plus maybe a mid level UFC fight (like Jones vs the Janitor) on a fight night card, or use these WEC fighters to market the free foreign PPVs.

Probably a perfect fit since the WEC current contracts are for peanuts, and they don't pull in quite the revenue for those events.

Conan · 10-28-10, 01:53 PM

ive bean waiting for this for a while.

lasker · 10-28-10, 01:57 PM

glad to hear this

Landscaper · 10-28-10, 02:01 PM

great news for us mma fans

Vaughany · 10-28-10, 02:01 PM

Cant wait to see Pettis vs Edgar WEC/UFC Lightweight Title Unification match!

Lincoln73 · 10-28-10, 02:50 PM

Smart move publicizing lower weight classes if the UFC is to make inroads into other foreign markets.

Shane · 10-28-10, 03:02 PM

Very interesting news. I hope that as a fan the positives will outweigh the negatives. With the money being the same now, maybe we can get some big names at 155 dropping down to challenge Aldo. Grispi is an intriguing prospect, but there was really nobody else to fight this guy.

shady610 · 10-28-10, 03:30 PM

This should be goog. Hopefull we dont view them as wec guys when they are in the ufc

snake11eyes · 10-28-10, 03:50 PM

Originally posted by syn^

The only negatives I can possibly see with this is there will be less free cards on Versus since the UFC is only planning on doing 4 in 2011 and the UFC's lightweight division will have TOO much depth and will be harder for fighters to climb up the ladder.

I think the free cards will be a thing of the past once the merger.

Eccocide · 10-28-10, 04:26 PM

Originally posted by snake11eyes

I think the free cards will be a thing of the past once the merger.

They are still doing 4 free cards on versus, plus fight nights, TUF finales etc. Dana said the max they can do on Versus is 4 because of their contract with Spike, otherwise they would consider doing more.

jin2daj · 10-28-10, 04:35 PM

woooohooo! i havent watched too much wec but im excited to see the action it brings to ufc ppvs

The HOFF · 10-28-10, 05:37 PM

Excited to see Jose Aldo, Ben Henderson, and Donald Cerrone in the UFC. I bet they have Aldo fight in both the 145 and 155 now, and eventually he'll be the first to hold two belts.

rocky mattioli · 10-28-10, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by The HOFF

Excited to see Jose Aldo, Ben Henderson, and Donald Cerrone in the UFC. I bet they have Aldo fight in both the 145 and 155 now, and eventually he'll be the first to hold two belts.

gonna be very interesting seeing aldo face off with ncaa div I wrestlers and/or guys with quickness and more well rounded skillsets that are naturally bigger than him....

THE_LOCKSMITH · 10-28-10, 06:59 PM

With he merger i see Aldo staying at 145 for a while now. Maybe Edgar drops down in the future if he losses the title, he can now drop down and still be in the UFC.

Kaladarus · 10-28-10, 07:14 PM

Originally posted by THE_LOCKSMITH

With he merger i see Aldo staying at 145 for a while now. Maybe Edgar drops down in the future if he losses the title, he can now drop down and still be in the UFC.

Was thinking this also and that would be awesome. It's great that fighters can comfortably move around in the lighter division and still get the same compensation. It's about time those lower weight class guys got their fair share of money and hopefully this will just lead to more stacked PPV's.

brad89 · 10-29-10, 08:52 AM

Looking forward to the next TUF seasons for these weight classes.

Vaughany · 10-29-10, 09:04 AM

Originally posted by brad89

Looking forward to the next TUF seasons for these weight classes.

Cruz vs Faber maybe

playa420 · 10-29-10, 07:21 PM

good move, cards should be alot more stacked now

Vrakas · 10-30-10, 07:30 AM

or maybe aldo fights edgar at a catch weight 150.

snake11eyes · 10-30-10, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by Eccocide

They are still doing 4 free cards on versus, plus fight nights, TUF finales etc. Dana said the max they can do on Versus is 4 because of their contract with Spike, otherwise they would consider doing more.

I wonder if the 4 free cards will be watered down. Probably not going to see Varner, Cerrone, and Aldo for free.

Kaladarus · 10-30-10, 11:12 AM

Originally posted by snake11eyes

I wonder if the 4 free cards will be watered down. Probably not going to see Varner, Cerrone, and Aldo for free.

I think the 4 free cards are just on Versus. They will still have a couple of free cards on spike. Hopefully this just means more free cards though and the same amount of PPV's.

KenardRage · 10-30-10, 12:36 PM

That's good news ... last few ufc fights been kinda dissapointing maybe they get the new talent up in there it would make it a little more exciting for the fans ijs

BobbyXxX · 11-01-10, 01:57 AM

some great matchups coming for sure now..but the idea of less free tv still bothers me

jin2daj · 11-01-10, 04:58 AM

interesting to see. opens up alot more possibilities. fighters changing weight classes, and more title fights.

THE_LOCKSMITH · 11-01-10, 06:07 AM

Its also gonna be great because the WEC fighters put on great fights and now the Fight of the night bonus goes up to th 70K range from 10K in the WEC

cky312 · 11-01-10, 05:51 PM

Good to finally see WEC fighters get paid like UFC fighters, IMO the lighter weight divisions are even more exciting than the heavier ones. Though this was a matter of time since UFC is having trouble putting on good cards with enough title fights to go around. This had to be a part of their plans in order for them to expand. The oft-injured Shogun and Anderson Silva just made the organization move to the merger that much faster since they're both holding the belts.

clarkd32 · 11-01-10, 08:55 PM

good to see wec get compensated the same as ufc... or at least closer. i've always really enjoyed the wec cards on vs.

JuicedUp · 11-01-10, 11:22 PM

No more stephan bonnar commentating!!!

The HOFF · 11-03-10, 01:07 AM

Originally posted by Kaladarus

I think the 4 free cards are just on Versus. They will still have a couple of free cards on spike. Hopefully this just means more free cards though and the same amount of PPV's.

You would think this merger would make it capable to hold a PPV card and one free event every month.

THE_LOCKSMITH · 11-03-10, 08:46 AM

yea, they've had 7-8 WEC events per year the last couple years. I think they gonna have to put on some free monthly cards

Pabinator · 11-03-10, 11:29 AM

Get to see Aldo on the big UFC stage is great

jin2daj · 11-03-10, 07:37 PM

aldo edgar would be sweet