Also, thinking out of the box: if I was Zuffa, I wouldn’t be pitching the UFC to the networks. The UFC is already making hundreds of millions of dollars and is doing quite fine without network television. Why not try and go to the networks and show them the VERSUS telecasts and sell the networks on the WEC as the anti-EliteXC. EliteXC is clearly going the entertainment route while Zuffa could sit down with a network and try to sell them on the pure-sport approach of the WEC.
This would be a tremendous idea for the UFC to follow through on and one that I believe they would/should be doing already. The WEC is known for putting on high caliber fights and whole shows that deliver some of the best fights of the year.
The only drawback to the WEC is that they are lacking quality fighters in the heavier weight classes. While most hardcore fans of the sport dont see this as a problem, most mainstreem fans want to see the big guys go at it. The heavy weight and light heavyweight divisions of any organization are usually the ones that garner the most mainstreem media attention and the most pay-per-view buys.
However, if you opened up people to seeing the kind of high paced, technical action that Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres and company bring I definitely think it would help the sport grow in acceptance and solidify the Zuffa brand as #1 in the industry.
