The UFC incorporating the WEC was big news this week. I have mixed feelings. The WEC consistently had the best fight cards, in no small part due to their focus on the lighter weight classes. You don't see 155-pound and smaller guys gas out in the 2nd round. However, the fight cards were solid even before the likes of Brian Stann, Carlos Condit and Steve Cantwell were called-up into the UFC. But I wonder if that will translate into a better UFC?
The fans lose out on this one. WEC fights were FREE on Versus. Now only Bellator remains as a viable free TV alternative for MMA. And Bellator isn't quite what the WEC was. I'm happy for fighters such as Aldo, Henderson, Cerrone, Faber, Brown, getting more recongition and bigger paydays. But it sucks that I'm not going to see them without shelling out for PPV and I doubt if the WEC fighters themselves will be able to fight as often as before. I also wonder if the average UFC fan will be able to keep up with two extra weight classes?
At least there will be an undisputed lightweight champion for the WEC/UFC. I've always wondered where Ben Henderson stacks-up against the UFC's best lightweights, or where Varner and Cerrone stand for that matter. It's just too bad for Urijah Faber that this merger didn't come 3-years earlier. I can't even imagine how huge that guy would be if he was marketed under the UFC banner his entire career!
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