Can WEC parlay interest into PPV success?
– By most measures, World Extreme Cagefighting has distinguished itself as a viable top-flight promotion no longer completely overshadowed by its big brother in the Zuffa family. While the UFC will always be MMA’s equivalent of Coke, WEC has made a number of moves that has positioned it as the sport’s Pepsi. The move paying the most dividends is scrapping its light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight divisions last year. The less-is-more shift has produced a promotion with a singular focus on the lighter weight classes and elevated the level of competition in those divisions. A string of quality fights has followed, with titles in each of the three remaining divisions changing hands in the past six months. In Brian Bowles, Jose Aldo, Miguel Torres, Mike Brown and Urijah Faber, the WEC has five fighters ranked among the world’s top 15 pound-for-pound best in the latest Yahoo! Sports poll. Those marquee names have helped WEC draw decent ratings on Versus, with a typical telecast a
