Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - View Single Post

BengalMan · 08-28-2009, 02:55 PM

Dana White: WEC isn't going away, merger with UFC is unlikely
http://mmamania.com/2009/08/28/dana-...ly/#more-14815

Despite recent reports to the contrary, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) isn’t “going away” anytime soon.

UFC President Dana White reiterated the statement yesterday at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 102: “Couture vs. Nogueira,” saying that plans were not in place to merge the Zuffa-owned property and its roster of fighters into the UFC fold. In addition, there are plans afoot to possibly add lighter weight classes to the UFC — an area that is the primary focus of the WEC.

While the idea seems fun in the eyes of most MMA fans, there are many parts of the business side of the sport that would prevent such a thing from happening … mainly the television deals.

UFC currently has an exclusive deal with Spike TV while the WEC is partnered up with the Versus network. It would be very unlikely a deal could be struck involving both networks that wouldn’t leave one or both in a less profitable situation than they’re in now.

For that reason, among others, White says the two promotions are going to remain separate for now, according to a Sherdog.com report.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t changes on the horizon for the WEC.

The organization has long talked about adding a flyweight division (125 pounds) to its roster, and apparently that idea will come to fruition very soon, which is good news for a promotion starving for more marketable talent.

It’s also no secret that the WEC fighters pull in far less money on average than that of a UFC fighter. While that has a lot to do with pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, it also has something to do with the marketability of the organization as a whole.

Put simply, the WEC name just doesn’t carry the same weight as the UFC.

Here’s what White had to say about that:

“Even with all the things that we know how to do and the deal that we have with Versus — which is a great deal — it’s still hard to make money and to pay the guys what they deserve to be paid, or what they think they deserve to be paid, and to run the business and make it a profitable business. There is always going to be huge discrepancy in the pay between WEC and UFC.”

For that reason, regardless of what happens right now, the merger could still continue to remain a future possibility.

If an influx of more talent or adding another division can’t inject some life into the organization, then Zuffa might potentially have to look at it like its not marketing and pulling in money off of stars like Mike Brown, Brian Bowles, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jose Also, Donald Cerrone, and others like they could be doing if those fighters were competing in the Octagon instead.

So the WEC will remain the WEC and the UFC will remain the UFC … for now.

08-28-2009, 02:55 PM	#750
BengalMan Have My Own Room Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Ian Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,280 Trading: (10)	Re: Official MMA Thread Dana White: WEC isn't going away, merger with UFC is unlikely http://mmamania.com/2009/08/28/dana-...ly/#more-14815 Despite recent reports to the contrary, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) isn’t “going away” anytime soon. UFC President Dana White reiterated the statement yesterday at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 102: “Couture vs. Nogueira,” saying that plans were not in place to merge the Zuffa-owned property and its roster of fighters into the UFC fold. In addition, there are plans afoot to possibly add lighter weight classes to the UFC — an area that is the primary focus of the WEC. While the idea seems fun in the eyes of most MMA fans, there are many parts of the business side of the sport that would prevent such a thing from happening … mainly the television deals. UFC currently has an exclusive deal with Spike TV while the WEC is partnered up with the Versus network. It would be very unlikely a deal could be struck involving both networks that wouldn’t leave one or both in a less profitable situation than they’re in now. For that reason, among others, White says the two promotions are going to remain separate for now, according to a Sherdog.com report. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t changes on the horizon for the WEC. The organization has long talked about adding a flyweight division (125 pounds) to its roster, and apparently that idea will come to fruition very soon, which is good news for a promotion starving for more marketable talent. It’s also no secret that the WEC fighters pull in far less money on average than that of a UFC fighter. While that has a lot to do with pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, it also has something to do with the marketability of the organization as a whole. Put simply, the WEC name just doesn’t carry the same weight as the UFC. Here’s what White had to say about that: “Even with all the things that we know how to do and the deal that we have with Versus — which is a great deal — it’s still hard to make money and to pay the guys what they deserve to be paid, or what they think they deserve to be paid, and to run the business and make it a profitable business. There is always going to be huge discrepancy in the pay between WEC and UFC.” For that reason, regardless of what happens right now, the merger could still continue to remain a future possibility. If an influx of more talent or adding another division can’t inject some life into the organization, then Zuffa might potentially have to look at it like its not marketing and pulling in money off of stars like Mike Brown, Brian Bowles, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jose Also, Donald Cerrone, and others like they could be doing if those fighters were competing in the Octagon instead. So the WEC will remain the WEC and the UFC will remain the UFC … for now.