My WEC/TUF Plan

[Cammo101]

So, the idea of the UFC absorbing the WEC has been floating around lately. I think this is a very good idea. The UFC should absorb the WEC and have TUF 12 be a Bantamweight and Featherweight season. Obviously the elite guys would not be on the show, as guys like Brown, Aldo, Faber, Bowles, Varner, and Torres would not need to be built up. But, this allows a much better caliber of fighter to be involved and it would really set the groundwork nicely for the divisions. Here is what I think the show could be.


Coaches

Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn (No, they do not fight at the end)


145 (FW)

1. LC Davis
2. Josh Grispi
3. Rafael Assuncao
4. Joe Warren
5. Cub Swanson
6. John Eric Marriott
7. Damacio Page
8. Jameel Massouh


135 (BW)

1. Rani Yahya
2. Dominick Cruz
3. Antonio Banuelos
4. Abel Cullum
5. Joseph Benavidez
6. Mike Easton
7. Frank Gomez
8. Scott Jorgensen

[4ho5ive]

I think if you had Penn/GSP as the coaches, everyone would expect and probably be a little disappointed if they didnt fight at the end, even though GSP would probably win a 3rd time. If they were to absorb the WEC this would be a good idea though to try and market the smaller fighters to the casual fan, who seem to really prefer the bigger fighters go at it. Good idea though

[High 5]

135/145 would be a welcomed change from these zero cardio heavyweights. Good idea even though I don't see it happening.

[Deelow_23]

Good idea but don't like the choices for coaches.

[Cammo101]

Good idea but don't like the choices for coaches.

I had a tough time for that. You could not really have Faber, Brown, or Torres do it because these guys are top tier guys they could easily fight soon. Plus, you would want the UFC guys doing it for name value. I think GSP and Penn, even if they did not fight again, would interest a lot of people.

Season 2 the coaches did not fight after and that was still a very good season. They could both have fights coming up that it would promote still.

[Ed Wood]

The idea of folding the WEC and the feather/bantamweight divisions into the UFC inspires a lot of positive and negative emotions in me. On the one hand the talent in those divisions absolutely deserves the attention and the financial windfall that increased exposure in the UFC would bring. On the other hand I'm already a little dissatisfied with the heavyweight-centric promotional model of the UFC (granted they're just responding to the general assumption that fights are better when the guys fighting weigh 250 lbs) whereas guys like Brown, Faber, Bowles and Torres are all the WEC has. Plus that'd probably be the end of free WEC cards that are much better than the average PPV UFC card.

I'd certainly enjoy watching a season of the Ultimate Fighter with a lot of the guys you listed in it but I think the fighters themselves would have to have the attitude that TUF was an opportunity for them to establish themselves and market themselves rather than as a competition to get into the UFC. There are definitely more than one or two guys in each of those groups whom the UFC would end up signing were they to establish feather and bantamweight divisions and I think you'd have a lot of guys with the Roy Nelson mentality that they shouldn't have to jump through hoops to earn a UFC contract.

I also agree about the coach pair. Part of the TUF model is to find coaches viewers can watch feud with the expectation that there will be the eventual payoff of a match. Why not just use Faber and Brown or Faber/Aldo or whatever featherweight title matchup you have coming up and have those guys act as coaches? Faber is already pretty well known and is enough of a personality that I'd be happy to watch him. I'd love to see somebody bring in a grappling instructor to coach up Rani Yahya though, I mean if Roy Nelson thinks his jiu jitsu credentials make him exempt from instruction...

Edit: So just wait for Faber/Brown to fight and then (assuming that's the next title fight you're setting up) film TUF in anticipation of that matchup.

[Cammo101]

It would be less of people fighting for a spot and more fighting for pecking order and to establish the division to the random fan. Most of the guys would be kept in the UFC after. I pretty much chose 16 UFC ready guys in the weightclass that have little to no name recognition. All those guys stand to gain a lot by being on TUF. Whereas a guy like Aldo or Leonard Garcia have enough name recognition to just jump right into the UFC.

Basically you bring in Aldo, Faber, Brown, Bowles, Mizugaki, Torres, Pulver, Garcia, Fabiano, Gamburyan and a few other right into the UFC and the rest of the guys I have on TUF come in as well while using the show more as a springboard. Possibly the winners could get put right into #1 contender fights.

I think instead of the coaches fighting, it could hype up the coaches fighting other people.

[rpa]

Why not let it be like TUF 4 where you bring in established guys and let them duke it out for a future title shot?

Also, I personally think for the show to be a success commercially you'd need to add some well known fighters to be the coaches. That way you lure people in with the intent of watching a name fighter coach and they stay because of the good fighting. Not sure who you'd go for in that case though. Penn/GSP would be great to watch but I think people would get turned off if they wouldn't see a fight when the show ends. I'd love to see them try to bring Hendo back in (weight difference between he and the FW/BW be damned) and have him face off against Marquart when the show ends.

[Deelow_23]

I think it makes TUF much more interesting when the two coaches fight each other at the end. I really do not care to see St. Pierre and BJ Penn go at it again. We already know what the outcome would be.

I would rather see BJ Penn and whoever would be next in line for the title shot do it.

[Cammo101]

Actually, I think the Hendo and Marquart idea was a good one. Or maybe Chuck and Tito would be a fun one if we can set that fight up.

[Deelow_23]

Actually, I think the Hendo and Marquart idea was a good one. Or maybe Chuck and Tito would be a fun one if we can set that fight up.

Chuck and Tito?? God, I hope not...

[CPT]

I'd love to see a FW/BW season of TUF. However, it clearly won't be for a while, as I think they already have plans for TUF 11 (I forget what weight class it is though). That probably puts it a year or so away, so it's hard to pick a coaching matchup that makes sense. Hendo/Marquardt would be pretty good. I think any 2 of Tito, Forrest, and/or Franklin would make a pretty interesting season, and each guy would hopefully get a win or two between now and then.

As for the contestants, it's a tough call. The top 4-5 guys in each division should be exempt, but then I really think the winner would have more name recognition to the average fan. It depends how they handle the merger.

I think I have a pretty good idea to introduce them to the fans though. They would have to have title fights and contender fights on or around the same time the show debuts. So, let's say, they hold Brown, Faber, Aldo, and Fabiano out of the FW tournament, and Bowles, Torres, Mizugaki, and Cruz out of the BW tournament. These names could (and probably will) change in the time between now and the show. For the sake of argument, let's go with the fights we have lined up right now, just to illustrate how it would work.

On or around the debut of the show, have the title fights (Brown vs. Aldo and Bowles vs. Cruz), most likely on PPV. On the Fight Night leading into the premiere, have the other guys fight in #1 contender fights (Faber vs. Fabiano and Mizugaki vs. Torres).

Then, on the season finale, or possibly the PPV immediately following the finale, have the winners face off in a new title fight. Then, the winners of each weight class on the show can get a title shot, without it seeming like they jumped over a bunch of guys, and against a champ that fans have now seen at least twice.

It would be tough to say who the contestants might be, but I think Cammo did a pretty good job of putting the lists together. There might be guys willing to come in from other promotions to fight for a spot in the UFC. Conversely, there might be some guys who are already established and don't want to have to go through the TUF experience to get in.

I still have my reservations about a merger anyway. I like the idea of the smaller guys getting more exposure and more money, but I'm not sure if I want it to come at the expense of the awesome (free!) cards that the WEC puts on every month or so.