Dana White Announces UFC-WEC Merger

dave1982

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCIWWLnJSN4

Oh_Noes

Fantastic news, can't wait to see Jose Aldo, Uriah Faber, The Korean Zombie, Domonick Cruz, Miguell Torres all finally on the big show. Just when I thought the UFC couldn't put on any more cards than they already do, they go and add another two divisions, and maybe even possibly a third. There will be an event every week at this rate.

dlofnep

Excellent news. About time!!

Utopia Parkway

Should be good for the shows. The little guys usually put on exciting fights.

Professey Chin

HELL FCUKING YES!

The only wonder I have is how will a lot of them go with the larger cage and will some of the bigger names change their styles with bigger purses on the line.

UFC.COM

From UFC.COM
http://www.ufc.com/news/UFC-Adds-Featherweight-and-Bantamweight-Divisions

UFC.COM wrote:

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – In a media conference call today, Ultimate Fighting Championship® President Dana White announced the UFC is adding two new championship divisions at bantamweight (135lbs.) and featherweight (145lbs.), while also announcing a new television deal with the VERSUS Network to air four UFC fights in 2011.

“As the UFC continues to evolve and grow globally, we want to be able to give fans title fights in every weight division,” said White. “This is a big day for the sport and the athletes who will have the opportunity to fight on the biggest stage in the world.”

The two new divisions feature WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo who will now be recognized as the reigning UFC featherweight champion, and WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. White confirmed that the winner of the Dec. 16 lightweight title fight between WEC champion Ben Henderson and top contender Anthony Pettis live on VERSUS will take on the winner of the UFC 125 main event title bout between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. This upcoming fight will serve as a UFC lightweight title unification bout to be held next year.
White also stated the UFC is expanding its presence on the VERSUS Network in 2011, and will increase its number of UFC events from two to four per year. Versus is scheduled to air the two remaining live WEC events in 2010 on Nov. 11 and Dec. 16. The Nov. 11 event in Las Vegas will feature “The California Kid” Urijah Faber’s debut at bantamweight as he takes on Takeya Mizugaki, while the Dec. 16 event in Glendale, Ariz. will feature Henderson-Pettis and a bantamweight title clash between Dominick Cruz and challenger Scott Jorgensen with the winner becoming the new UFC bantamweight champion.

“We have a great relationship with the VERSUS network, and we look forward to working with them to give UFC fans even more free fights in 2011,” said White.

dave1982

Interesting to see how they handle Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar situation?
Will it be an immediate title shot for Henderson

Tones69

dave1982 wrote: »

Interesting to see how they handle Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar situation?
Will it be an immediate title shot for Henderson

I dont think Henderson would be able for Edgar to be honest, doubt very very much he will get a crack at Edgar straight away, Kenny and BJ would have something to say about that

dave1982

Agreed but will they make Henderson title redundant ?BJ has had 2 gos and Florian isn't exactly shining at the moment,plus Florian agreed to Aldo fight but Aldo turned it down.This merger explains that now

Professey Chin

Tones69 wrote: »

I dont think Henderson would be able for Edgar to be honest, doubt very very much he will get a crack at Edgar straight away, Kenny and BJ would have something to say about that

Both coming off losses they cant say much :pac:

Tones69

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Both coming off losses they cant say much :pac:

True, both whoop ben henderson imo though

Tones69

Tones69 wrote: »

True, both whoop ben henderson imo though

Well a lot of people said Kenny would beat Maynard.
And even more people thought Edgar would lose to Penn the first time around, it was called a fluke and the decision was unfairly disputed in my opinion. Henderson could step up. There's no reason to say he can't beat this guy or that guy because this sport is so unpredictable.

weemcd

Dana White reveals winner of Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis will get a shot at the UFC lightweight title

UFC President, Dana White has today revealed that the winner of the WEC 53 showdown between current lightweight champion, Benson Henderson and number one contender, Anthony Pettis will get a shot at the UFC 155 pound crown, meeting the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard clash next year.

Link

dave1982

Surprised Ariel never asked that question.Good to see the UFC respecting the WEC title

weemcd

pity they didnt have this lined up for 122, could have injected a bit of life into the worst looking card in months (this year)

MrStuffins

Wow!!!

For once, Dana says he has something exciting to announce and delivers!

THis is amazing! WEC has for a long time been the best and most consistant promotion in the world.

The further exposure for the lighter weighclasses will be immense for everyone involved!

MrStuffins

Was i the only one who got a little twinge of excitement when he said "UFC Featherweight Champion"?

weemcd

weemcd wrote: »

pity they didnt have this lined up for 122, could have injected a bit of life into the worst looking card in months (this year)

I don't know I'm looking forward to Sakara V Rivera and Dennis Siver is just improving all the time. Okami was very sharp against Munoz 122 has the potential to be a good event. Jose Aldo is fighting at UFC 125 which I was already looking forward to for the Gomi-Guida fight :D

MrStuffins

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't know I'm looking forward to Sakara V Rivera and Dennis Siver is just improving all the time. Okami was very sharp against Munoz 122 has the potential to be a good event. Jose Aldo is fighting at UFC 125 which I was already looking forward to for the Gomi-Guida fight :D

It always ends up that the cards that look the worst are always the best ones.

But seriously, selling Sakara v Rivera as a Co-Main Event? That's a pretty big joke!

MrStuffins

MrStuffins wrote: »

But seriously, selling Sakara v Rivera as a Co-Main Event? That's a pretty big joke!

I agree but I'm not going to put the fight down at this early stage tbh. It could turn into a great fight but it'd be on the undercard or main card opener on an event like Rampage V Machida.

seadnamac

Am I the only one unhappy with this news?? We've just lost the most exciting and consistent MMA promotion in the world. Realistically, the only fights that we're now going to see on the UFC PPVs from the feather and bantam divisions are the title fights, whereas before, on an all WEC event we had four-six fights showcasing talent we wouldn't otherwise get to see putting on awesome fights.

I was hoping they were going to expand the WEC and add a flyweight division. I'm actually very disappointed with this news.

Savage Tyrant

weemcd wrote: »

pity they didnt have this lined up for 122, could have injected a bit of life into the worst looking card in months (this year)

122 Does look like a pretty lacklustre card alright!

dunkamania

Mixed feelings, overall more good than bad.

It solves alot of the ufc's problems in one move.

I am going to miss the WEC shows, hard enough to find, but always worth the effort.

The main beneficiaries are the fighters, the WEC fighters are underpaid, relative to their UFC peers, and suffer on a similar basis from lack of sponsorships.

It should mean better and more quality cards going forward.

I think the WEC fighters are going to get a lot more marketing behind them going forward, and i am fairly sure that we will see more than just the title fights as well. The ufc need to build up the new fighters so they cant have them languishing on the undercard.

The UFC LW division will get an influx of new talent.

The new FW division willl similarly get a host of new fighters. LW UFC fighters that have been avoiding dropping to FW for obvious reasons.

Kieran81

wonder who is the favourite now in the race to be the next irishman to hit the ufc... owen roddy perhaps...

Martin Walker

Kieran81 wrote: »

wonder who is the favourite now in the race to be the next irishman to hit the ufc... owen roddy perhaps...

Norman Parke or Paul McVeigh.

Tim_Murphy

Kieran81 wrote: »

wonder who is the favourite now in the race to be the next irishman to hit the ufc... owen roddy perhaps...

Paul McVeigh would be the frontrunner I'd imagine.

DrPhilG

Brilliant news.

IMO the only ones who will lose out are the lower level UFC fighters who tend to get on main cards to fill them up. Now there's a lot more exciting and high level fights to fill cards up. There really should be no excuse for cards as weak as 120 or 122 now with 2 more titles and 2 more groups of top contenders etc.

However the UFC are sure to increase the number of cards they put on and eventually that could water them down again. I'd hope that they put on more Fight Nights. That would give an outlet for the mid level guys who would miss out on main event status while not watering down the PPV/numbered events.

kiad

It should also be pointed out that there are a few UFC 55ers that can and might drop in weight now. Joe Lauzon could make 45, Ross Pearson and when Edgar loses the belt he'll probably drop too

MrStuffins

kiad wrote: »

It should also be pointed out that there are a few UFC 55ers that can and might drop in weight now. Joe Lauzon could make 45, Ross Pearson and when Edgar loses the belt he'll probably drop too

Also i think Tyson Griffin might drop down. He'd be an absolute killer at 145!

kiad

MrStuffins wrote: »

Also i think Tyson Griffin might drop down. He'd be an absolute killer at 145!

Don't think he'd make 145 any more. He's said himself that he doesn't want to make the weight and he's fine at 55 but I guess if the money was there I'm sure he'd give it a shot. I'd love to see Guida at 45

Oh_Noes

Don't count out Clay Guida either. He has publicly stated that he would fight at 145 if it didn't mean taking a pay cut which it won't now. He would provide some seriously exciting fights.

So many are going to drop down I'd imagine. Since the two Penn fights I am still not convinced by Edgar. I think he will most likely be beaten again by Maynard, and by the time Penn fights his way up to the title, Penn will be dominant again. Edgar will never be dominant at 155 but I imagine he could be a serious contender for Aldo, but I do think Aldo would make light work of him..

Also I think people are counting out Henderson a bit. I would have given him no chance if Penn was still champ, but against Edgar and Maynard he will have a good go. Really can't wait for this event that crowns the Unified UFC lightweight champ, The UFC bantamweight champ and the UFC featherweight champ.

Good point about Paul McVeigh too. All that needs to happen is for UFC to hold an another event here (most likely March 2012) and if they gave Tom Egan a chance then they would have to give McVeigh a chance.

Ian Whelan

seadnamac wrote: »

Am I the only one unhappy with this news?? We've just lost the most exciting and consistent MMA promotion in the world. Realistically, the only fights that we're now going to see on the UFC PPVs from the feather and bantam divisions are the title fights, whereas before, on an all WEC event we had four-six fights showcasing talent we wouldn't otherwise get to see putting on awesome fights.

I was hoping they were going to expand the WEC and add a flyweight division. I'm actually very disappointed with this news.

I agree. I will miss the WEC as I missed Pride when it was swallowed up by the UFC monster. There simply will not be room at the UFC table for a lot of the WEC fighters who will just be cut. It's good news for Faber and Co but it seems to me that a lot of guys will be surplus to UFC requirements.

Oh_Noes

Ian Whelan wrote: »

I agree. I will miss the WEC as I missed Pride when it was swallowed up by the UFC monster. There simply will not be room at the UFC table for a lot of the WEC fighters who will just be cut. It's good news for Faber and Co but it seems to me that a lot of guys will be surplus to UFC requirements.

Why would they be surplus to requirements? I imagine that one of the main reasons UFC has merged the WEC is that they feel they have a deep enough talent pool now in the two new divisions compared to the rest of the UFC divisions. It's unlikely anyone in the UFC currently will be dropping to 135 or even 125 if they get around to bringing that division in. If anything I would have thought they'd be wanting to add to their roster of fighters at the lower weights. I think the only fighters that will be cut will be the lower end of the WEC lightweight division, and that's because they simply aren't up to par.

hisholinessnb

For anyone who is a fan of MMA and aren't high tech enough to watch events online, or just prefer it on their big telly, this is fabulous news!

I'd imagine it will also see the number of events increasing over the next year or so, by more that the extra few shows on versus.

dunkamania

I believe DW has said that all fighters are going to the UFC, so no cuts yet, although it could be a case of getting cut following your next loss, but then that's always the case with Zuffa.

GSPfan

Em???? Dana said none of the production staff or boardroom staff are getting cut. He wasn't talking about fighters. And none of the WEC fighters will be getting cut because why would they????

They are moving all the WEC Bantamweights and Featherweights from WEC to UFC. UFC have no BW or FW so why would they be cutting anyone?????
The Lightweight division will be over crowded now but with a few guys from UFC LW dropping down it will spread the load.

You think you are losing out on not seeing 8 WEC cards with 6 fights but with all the UFC shows you will see just as much throughout the year and you'll see less average/bad UFC matches.

This is a good thing all round. Any fighters cut will not be as a result of the merge it will be because they should be cut. UFC don't let talent go easily.

Tones69

GSPfan wrote: »

Em???? Dana said none of the production staff or boardroom staff are getting cut. He wasn't talking about fighters. And none of the WEC fighters will be getting cut because why would they????

They are moving all the WEC Bantamweights and Featherweights from WEC to UFC. UFC have no BW or FW so why would they be cutting anyone?????
The Lightweight division will be over crowded now but with a few guys from UFC LW dropping down it will spread the load.

You think you are losing out on not seeing 8 WEC cards with 6 fights but with all the UFC shows you will see just as much throughout the year and you'll see less average/bad UFC matches.

This is a good thing all round. Any fighters cut will not be as a result of the merge it will be because they should be cut. UFC don't let talent go easily.

Hmm i smell frankie edgar having a crack at 145, seeing as his walk around weight isnt much more than 155 anyway

GSPfan

The Frankie Edgar scenario of dropping to 145 would be great. If Maynard beats him he may just do that. But would you really want to drop down to Jose Aldo's world?! I wouldn't.

DrPhilG

dunkamania wrote: »

I believe DW has said that all fighters are going to the UFC, so no cuts yet, although it could be a case of getting cut following your next loss, but then that's always the case with Zuffa.

Yes that was the big fear, but it's OK. Brittany Palmer will be moving to the UFC... (DW confirmed it)

Zero-Cool

Jose Aldo title fight now on UFC 125, new years fight.

Now, I hope they get Mir or Nog to replace Carwin and will be a fantastic card!

• UFC Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Gray Maynard[1]
• UFC Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo (c) vs. Josh Grispi[1]
• Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann[1]
• Lightweight bout: Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi[1]
• Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva[1]

Professey Chin

Confirmed the Aldo fight is replacing Nelsons.Nelsons out of training and off the card

Zero-Cool

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Nelsons out of training...

You mean he's not in his sitting room/gym playing PS3 eating a giant bag o' taytos???????

Ah was looking forward to seeing big country again.

flahavaj

Ian Whelan wrote: »

I agree. I will miss the WEC as I missed Pride when it was swallowed up by the UFC monster. There simply will not be room at the UFC table for a lot of the WEC fighters who will just be cut. It's good news for Faber and Co but it seems to me that a lot of guys will be surplus to UFC requirements.

I agree, not sure why people are so happy about this. Less shows in general and less competetion (however small) for UFC isn't a good thing for MMA.

cowzerp

For the television watching MMA fans i would say this is a good thing, but over all it probably is bad for the sport-i would prefer if they merged the 2 but kept them going as 2 divisions, so when UFC fighters get the chop they fight on WEC and promotions from WEC to the worthy also..

Pride been gone sucks and this is basically whats going to happen here, plus lots of talented fighters will be cut and end up unseen now in reality.

gary s

hopefully now the ufc might do a feather weight ultimate fighter and give an irish fighter a chance seen as we have some good feather weights such as tim murphy owen roddy ben davies paul cowzer and kevin carney

MrStuffins

gary s wrote: »

hopefully now the ufc might do a feather weight ultimate fighter and give an irish fighter a chance seen as we have some good feather weights such as tim murphy owen roddy ben davies paul cowzer and kevin carney

THis place would go into meltdown :pac:

Gerard.C

We will now see who cuts the mustard in the ufc

Fromvert

Gerard.C wrote: »

We will now see who cuts the mustard in the ufc

Well the 135s and the 145s will go straight into the UFC, no needing to cut the mustard as they are already some of the best in the world at that weight. They have proved that already.

Some 155s might be cut but alot of the LWs coming form the WEC will give most of the UFC 155s very good fights.

And has been talked about already a few of the UFC LWs will now look at dropping to FW, as now they don't have to take a pay cut/lose sponsors and have a good shot at pushing for a title shot as they are already known and are easily sellable.

I don't think any of the 155ers that could drop to 145 have a hope against Aldo though.

Diego Smartly

Ahhh... not really too happy about this at all. I hate the idea of the UFC just swallowing everything up and becoming the monopoly of MMA. I think its better for the fans and the sport alike to have some variety in whats out there; but thats for another thread altogether.

What I would have liken to see would be if the LW divisions merged and then added the flyweight division to WEC. Theres a very strong possibility that the UFC will now be come very convoluted in terms of whos what and wheres he goin and which belt is this typea thing. If they want to keep it organised I think some people are right in that we're not gonna see as great a selection in each division; instead a balance will have to be found and it'll be more divisions with less fighters.

Two separate stages at the same level is whats needed for a proper showcase and focus of the talant thats out there. But Zuffa mustn't think that the lighter lads aren't strong enough to hold there own at PPV level; but I don't know I was much more excited to see Aldo fight than Lesnar.... and eh while i'm at it probably Melendez more than Edgar aswell. But thats just me :pac:

GSPfan

I'm confused as to what some of you people think is happening here?? It's not like they bought Strikeforce. They aren't trying to destroy WEC. They are trying to promote these guys. And just so you know, WEC was not getting huge viewer numbers and it looked like it was losing some popularity. As great as it was to watch for us who know about MMA, it wasn't performing at its best in the ratings department and ratings in America are EVERYTHING.

Another thing is that WEC has been made into the product it is by ZUFFA. They are the ones who scrapped the Super HW and HW divisions. They are the ones who already successfully merged the WW, MW, LHW divisions into the UFC. Fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Carlos Condit are two of the success stories.

There will be no confusion of titles. There used to be 5, now ther's 7. Simples. That means more title fights. And more exposure for Faber, Aldo, Cruz, etc. The paranoia surrounding all things UFC is baffling to me. They are constantly improving. Just be glad you don't have a governing body like FIFA or UEFA controlling the progress of MMA, then we'd all be fooked.

Mellor

well said GSP fan, I got that impression too. People didn't really seam to know what was happening.
Zuffa made WEC into was it has been for the last few years, a focus on lighter divisions. Other divisions were already merged into UFC.
The remaining LW division had been a training ground for a move to UFC LW, but with the strength of FW and BW growing, as well as the possibility of a truely class guy like Aldo stepping up to WEC LW meant that it was now time for a 7 division UFC.

More divisions, mean more title shots and #1 shots.
Bigger roster, means more competition.
and, I disagree that there will be less shows, there will likely be more UFC cards a year now. or, the same nuber of cards, with a higher quality of fight. Both of which I'm happy with.