Page 1 of 2
Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:47 pm
by Shaazzam
Listed as breaking news on sportsnet.ca.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2010/10/28/ufc_wec/THE CANADIAN PRESS
LAS VEGAS -- The UFC is absorbing its sister World Extreme Cagefighting circuit.
The UFC bought the WEC in late 2006, streamlining it to focus on lighter mixed martial arts weight classes from 155 pounds down.
The WEC 155-pound fighters will become part of the UFC lightweight division. The featherweight (145-pound) and bantamweight (135-pound) divisions will be added to the UFC.
.
.
.
.
UFC president Dana White says the last WEC fight card will be in December.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:56 pm
by Cammo101
Love it.
Aldo and Cruz are now UFC champs. The winner of Bendo/Pettis will fight the winner of Edgar/Maynard for the UFC title.
This should really explode the 145 pound division, as a good chunk of 155 in the UFC could drop down if there is no issue of money. Look for Florian to be first up for Aldo now.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:59 pm
by Kaizen
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 6:56 pm
by SDM
Awesome news. Deep cards. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I remember when WCW crushed WW(F)E when they promoted the hell out of their exciting smaller performers instead of relegating them to the undercard. With the added exposure, this could have a similar affect and shut the doors on SF for good.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:38 pm
by navibharj
Some quick notes after the presser by Yahoo
- The final WEC card is Dec. 16 in Phoenix
- Versus will present four UFC cards in 2011
- The winner of the Ben Henderson-Anthony Pettis fight on Dec. 16 will carry the WEC lightweight belt over to the UFC and get an immediate shot at the winner of UFC champ Frank Edgar versus Gray Maynard. It could be promoted as a unification bout, UFC versus WEC.
- Jose Aldo is now the UFC featherweight champion and will battle a fighter TBA at UFC 125 on Jan. 1. Rumors have swirled that it's Mark Hominick with Josh Grispi as the alternate.
- Dominick Cruz defends his 135-title against Scott Jorgensen on Dec. 16. Whoever wins is the new UFC bantamweight champ.
- It's likely that all UFC featherweight and bantamweight title fights will now be on pay-per-view
- All employees of the WEC, including GM Reed Harris and matchmaker Sean Shelby, are still part of the Zuffa family. WEC ring girl Brittany Palmer's status is unknown.
- This opens the door for "The Ultimate Fighter" to feature fighters from 135 and 145 pound weight classes.
- WEC fighters will have to adjust to a bigger cage. The Octagon is larger than the current WEC cage by five-feet in diameter.
LINK :
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-WEC-merger-press-conference-notes-Aldo-figh?urn=mma-280693
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:44 pm
by navibharj
aldo vs lesnar on 8 months of p90x! whose with me!
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 8:48 pm
by CPT
Huge news.
Ultimately, it's probably a good thing for everyone involved, but selfishly, I think I'll miss being able to tune in to a WEC event and know I'm going to see an event full of awesome fights, guaranteed. At least it will spice up some of the slower UFC cards, I guess.
For the fighters, I think it kind of evens out. The top guys will get a lot more exposure, and the money that comes with it (if not from Zuffa, then certainly from sponsors), but I have to think a lot of guys will be out of a job.
Wonder what happens to the plans for a 125 lb division.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:02 pm
by Nemesis21
Huge news ! This is awesome !
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:42 pm
by Kaizen
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:52 pm
by SDM
Edgar vs. Pettis please.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:12 pm
by CapeCrusader
navibharj wrote:aldo vs lesnar on 8 months of p90x! whose with me!
hahaha
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:13 pm
by CapeCrusader
Glad the merger finally happened.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:33 pm
by CPT
Is it bad that one of the things I find most exciting about this is the prospect of FW and BW seasons of TUF?
I think TUF 13 is already set on WW and MW fighters, but I would not be at all surprised if season 14 featured BWs and/or FWs, with Faber and Torres as coaches. That may be looking too far ahead, but they are about the only 2 guys that could pull off coaching a season of TUF.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:57 pm
by Posey H8er
^ not at all. i'm up for anything that will change TUF a bit. it's on so much that i don't even watch it anymore.
And Aldo is going to be fighting at UFC 125 NYE Card, not sure if that was mentioned. That makes two title fights on that card.
Overall GREAT news!
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:59 pm
by SDM
I'm excited for TUF too. I think they've purged 155-265, but 145 and under is blossoming.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 11:18 pm
by High 5
I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm going to miss the exciting WEC events, but it was only a matter of time.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:03 am
by cowboyronnie
Immediate reaction is not happy. Those WEC events were post-to-post action. There was a cache to it. The WEC events at times seemed a different sport - all speed + reflexes. There were no bumbling 250ers throwing haymakers trying to out-power one another. Well, I guess the two Mannys might have had a little of that.
The WEC put on 5 or so a year, does the UFC bolster the events they already have or make room for more events total? They have a lot more to manage publically - a lot more names to keep in the public eye.
As mentioned, the fact that undersized 155ers can now drop to 145 is unquestonably positive. Kenny, Frankie (!), Franca (?), etc.
This pushes Hominick to the front of the line for the title shot on Jan 1, given that he's already fought 4 or so times in the UFC. It's great for him, in fact, given that he has just fallen into an unbelievably big fight. A title fight on the year-end UFC card with all the hype behind both the merger and Aldo. It's the coming-out party for the WEC and Aldo. It might even be the co-main event. Yeesh. What fortune!
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:30 am
by Posey H8er
I'm going to miss the commentating. Not that I don't like Rogan/Goldberg but I like some variety. And I'll miss the Boise State like canvas.
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:52 pm
by Posey H8er
Good post from bloodyelbow about the new faces of the ufc:
The Lightweights:Ben Henderson (12-1), Anthony Pettis (13-1), Ricardo Lamas (9-1), Donald Cerrone (12-3), Bart Palaszewski (35-13), Shane Roller (8-3), Kamal Shalorus (6-0-2), Maciej Jewtuszko (8-0), Jamie Varner (16-4-1), Danny Castillo (9-3), Dave Jansen (14-2), Tie Quan Zhang (12-0), Anthony Njokuani (13-4), Chris Horodecki (15-2), Will Kerr (9-2), Ed Ratcliff (7-3)
The Featherweights:Jose Aldo (18-1), Manny Gamburyan (11-5), Urijah Faber (23-4), Mike Thomas Brown (24-6), Chad Mendes (8-0), Josh Grispi (14-1), Mark Hominick (19-8), Erik Koch (10-1), Leonard Garcia (13-6-1), Diego Nunes (15-1), Javier Vazquez (15-4) L.C. Davis (16-3), Renan Barao (23-1), George Roop (11-6-1), Cub Swanson (14-4), Raphael Assuncao (15-3), Mackens Semerzier (5-2), Fredson Paixao (10-3), Tyler Toner (6-2), Bryan Caraway (12-5), Chan Sung Jung (10-3), Brandon Visher (13-1), Yves Jabouin (14-6), Cole Province (6-2), John Franchi (5-2)
The Bantamweights:Dominick Cruz (16-1), Joseph Benavidez (12-2), Brian Bowles (8-1), Miguel Torres (38-3), Wagnney Fabiano (14-2), Scott Jorgensen (11-3), Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2), Eddie Wineland (17-6-1), Rani Yahya (15-6), Antonio Banuelos (18-6), Charlie Valencia (12-6), Clint Godfrey (11-2), Damacio Page (15-4), Brad Pickett (19-5), Frank Gomez (8-2), Chris Cariaso (10-2), Demetrious Johnson (6-1), Chad George (11-6), Seth Dikun (7-4), Noah Thomas (13-7), Rafael Rebello (6-4)
Re: Dana White announces UFC absorbing WEC
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:19 pm
by kdawg32086
This merger is good for everyone at 145 and 135 but it sucks for the 155ers. The top guys are now mid tier in the UFC and all the non-elite guys will soon be unemployed.