After Sunday night’s fights, WEC general manager Reed Harris (pictured with Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres) said that the Zuffa-backed promotion will have a pay-per-view show in the first half of 2010. Though the WEC puts together reliably exciting shows, they aren’t as well known as the UFC. Pay-per-view success isn’t automatic for the WEC as it has been for the UFC.
That doesn’t mean that the WEC couldn’t make pay-per-views work, but to do that, they’ll need to put together one amazing event. It would need some of these elements:
Faber vs. Aldo: This is non-negotiable. A title bout between the WEC’s most bankable star in Faber and their most exciting champion in Aldo must happen for this card to work.
Miguel Torres: Behind Faber, Torres is the WEC’s most well-known star. His journey back to a title shot after losing his belt to Brian Bowles is one of the most interesting stories currently in MMA. He’s fighting Joseph Benavidez on March 6, but that would hopefully give him enough time to recover for a PPV in the first half of the year.
Scott Jorgensen, Antonio Banuelos, Damacio Page and/or Anthony Njokuani: These fighters bring it every single time they walk in the cage. Their fights are exciting and often feature highlight reel knockouts or fight-of-the-night caliber performances. If one of them are fighting, I’m tuning in even if it costs me some cash.
The introduction of flyweights: The WEC has been teasing us for a while about adding 125-lbers to their mix. Their first PPV will bring about tons of publicity, which would be the right time to bring out their newest batch of fighters.
A reasonable price: $44.99 — the cost of a non-HD UFC PPV — is a little steep for the WEC to start out with. Somewhere closer to $30 would be better and would be less likely to scare away viewers who aren’t used to paying for their WEC fix.
What would you need to spend money to watch the WEC?
First place: Hey Rashad. Loan me five dollars.