WEC 43v Poster - Image: WEC

A legitimate question to ask would be why the WEC would cancel an entire event over one fighter who isn’t even a star attraction in any sense of the word. I’m wondering that right along with you, but if I was a betting man I’d say the reason is because of a stupid tiff between DirectTV and the Versus channel.

Basically, Versus wants more money to be on DirectTV because they’re no longer as crappy as they were when they were the Outdoor Life Network. That’s not hard, but Versus is right: they do suck way less now and have two pretty damn popular sports in MMA and the NHL. And who am I to say that bull riding won’t explode? Nobody but a no good know nothin’ city slicker, that’s who.

Anyways, long story short is that unless the two of them stop this game of chicken there’s a good chance DirectTV viewers won’t have a Versus channel to tune into next Wednesday when the WEC was supposed to be on. Tack on the hot word that ticket sales in Ohio may have been somewhat poop and it looks just a little like the WEC hopped at the chance to pull the plug on this event when Bensen Henderson was injured. Which sucks for us fans.

Post from: EveryJoe

Next week’s WEC delayed till October

WEC 42 Poster - Image: WEC

What the hell is the WEC? It’s the UFC’s sister promotion, owned and operated by the same group of people. As for why Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC and WEC) owns two separate MMA promotions, the story is kinda amusing. Since SpikeTV has exclusive cable rights to live UFC events, so there was no way for the UFC to make a deal with the Versus channel. So Zuffa picked up World Extreme Cagefighting, a popular and well run California promotion, and put them on Versus instead. Yep, the UFC is sneaky like that.

But the key difference between the UFC and WEC are the weight classes. The WEC is focused around it’s bantamweight (135 pound) and featherweight (145 pound) divisions, which keep providing a large number of Fight of the Year candidates. The standard negative opinion on lower weightclass fights doesn’t apply here: there are finishes aplenty and the lighter guys never gas out, guaranteeing action from start to finish.

This Sunday features arguably the best fighter in the WEC, bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, defending his belt against the undefeated Brian Bowles. I’m firmly expecting Torres to win this fight not because he’s facing an easy opponent but because Torres is freaking awesome and I love him. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a scrappier champ … this guy loves a brawl and also has sick ground skills. Wherever the fight goes, my bet is that Bowles is in for a beating.

If you don’t feel like spending money on the UFC pay per view this weekend but are still jonesing for a mixed martial arts fix, you really can’t go wrong with checking out the WEC event this Sunday on Versus at 9PM. You might not know who all the fighters are (yet), but they haven’t put on a dud card in a very long time and regularly have some of the best events of the year. I highly recommend taking a look. And just to get you off the fence, here’s a highlight of Miguel Torres:

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Don’t Forget! WEC 42 on Versus this Sunday

(Image: WEC Extranet)

Brown’s second title defense happens on June 7th from Arco Arena in Sacramento California.Here is just a snippet of his blog entry. To read the entire entry go to WEC.Tv .

As much as I love to eat, I’m making sure to get the right supplements into my body and stay healthy. I went over to the Champion Nutrition warehouse and loaded up on some essentials. I got multivitamins, whey protein, and a few other things that keep my body recovered and prepared. The other key is rest. I usually take a nap every day around three o’clock. We go so hard at the gym, I really don’t have a choice. After our workouts, I just crash. Right now, my body seems to be responding well. I’m feeling really good. I spar hard at the gym and am getting ample rest. I feel like I could fight this weekend if I had to.

Post from: EveryJoe

Mike Brown’s WEC Blog #2

Under the new contract, it is rumored that it will last for more than two years. It’s even rumored that Versus will have some rights to air preliminary fights, but not live. I would rather watch the preliminary fights live, but I’ll watch them on a re-aired show later on. It’s always cool to see some of the up and coming fighters in the pre-lim fights.

Image: WEC Logo

Post from: EveryJoe

Versus And WEC To Sign Multi-Year Deal

Versus.com’s Ariel Helwani recently had a one-on-one with WEC Vice President Peter Dropick on the MMA Beat where it was mentioned that WEC may be looking in to having a PPV event. Here is just a short portion of that interview where he talks about PPV possibilities.

Any truth to the rumors that WEC will be making its pay-per-view debut later this year?
Well, it could be as soon as June.

Really?
Yup, we are looking at doing a June one now. It could be as soon as then, if not, my guess is that it would probably be early in the fall. And that would be the (Urijah) Faber – (Mike) Brown rematch.

Since you have no upcoming shows announced would a potential June pay-per-view headlined by Faber vs. Brown II be your next event?
Yes, we would still do a Versus fight earlier in June, and then sometime later on, we would do the pay-per-view.

Would you ever consider putting the undercard on Versus and the main fights on pay-per-view?
No, I think we would deliver another full card to Versus. There would still be main card fights and then have a pay-per-view stand-alone.

Would a WEC pay-per-view cost the same as a UFC pay-per-view?
No, it would be less.

Any price range in mind?
I don’t have an exact one, but it would certainly be less.

Would I order a WEC even on PPV? Depends who is fighting and at what price, I suppose. I understand that a PPV event would allow fighters to get paid better and I’m all for that, but I don’t really want to shell out more money every month for two PPV’s from Zuffa if I want to see both events. It’s bound to happen sooner or later though. At least Zuffa has the deal with Versus whereas other less desireable promotions try to hold a PPV and then pay their fighters more money than they make.

Image: WEC’s logo

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WEC Looking At Pay Per View Options

Image details: The Contender Challenge – UK v USA served by picapp.com

The boxing reality show The Contender has found a new home, a new weight class, and its most impressive roster of fighters yet. After one season on NBC, and two on ESPN, the showcase for up-and-coming fighters will now be shown on the Versus Network. Let’s hope it does better than their famously low-rated NHL coverage. The new season will begin in December.

In the past few months Versus has intermittently put its toes in the boxing waters; its most notable event being May’s Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano bout. The Contender solidifies the fledgling network’s dedication to the sweet science.

This year’s Contender crop will feature cruiserweights (200 lb.) rather than previous years’ middleweight contestants.

The result of frequent Contender title shots (Sergio Mora, Peter Manfredo Jr., Steve Forbes) means an even better set of fighters this time around. Among them are boxrec.com’s #8, #9 and #10 ranked cruisers (!) Vadim Tokarev, B.J. Flores, and (!) O’Neill Bell (last seen sleepwalking in Katowice against Tomasz Adamek) respectively.

We will be profiling all 12 Season Four Contenders in the near future. Until then, we here at www.jabandgrapple.com are very excited that The Contender has returned and even more excited at the terrific lineup of fighters.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Contender Now on the Versus Network, Will Debut in December