Is the WEC Ready for Pay-Per-View?

by Luke Thomas on Nov 5, 2008 10:25 PM EST in News Comment 26 comments

To some extent what happened tonight is out of the WEC's hands. Filho looked to be experiencing psychosis and one wonders how he passed an evaluation by the athletic commission, but he was coherent enough and the rematch between he and Sonnen was all but required. Pulver's lost was unexpected, but understandable in the context of Jens' willingness to exchange and the perils that come with such a choice.

But blue chip prospect Jake Rosholt proved that while his ground work is tremendous, he is borderline amateur on the feet. He had extremely poor clinch break work and allowed himself to be continually punched by staying in perfect range for his opposition. With him ostensibly being thrust into the UFC, Zuffa is going to have to be extremely cautious about how they match him up with meaningful competition.

And more importantly, while I would still call Faber to beat Brown in a rematch, his wild, reckless style cost him dearly tonight. It also cost the WEC. The WEC needs a Faber to be champion of their unique weight class more than a Brown. Faber will earn another title shot and his popularity is as high as ever, but it does hurt their efforts not being able to parade him as the champion to garner attention and intrigue. Even then, Faber and all his popularity aren't enough to sell the organization itself. Chuck Liddell was selling the UFC and ultimate fighting. Faber is selling the WEC and ostensibly lighter weight MMA. Once people accept MMA, asking them to accept various versions of it can be a more laborious task than the original task of achieving the sport's acceptance.

The problems that were true yesterday are eve more so true today: Miguel Torres, Jamie Varner and Carlos Condit are worthy champions, but not the sort of talent or name to corral PPV buys. In short, the organization - in a down economy and with far too few stars - is not ready to convince MMA fans to pay for PPV. While the diehards would likely plop down whatever money was being asked, it is hard to conceive of a scenario where they'd meet or exceed 100,000 buys.

Memo to Zuffa: go get Gina Carano. There are women who can build your organization, deepen its talent pool and prepare it for the perilous waters of PPV. As it stands, a strong case can be made that it is far too premature for the WEC to make the leap.

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I wouldn’t buy a WEC PPV. They are perfectly suited to bring what they currently bring to VS.network. They would never do a decent PPV rate at this point. plus, i think they are sort of looked at as the Busch racing circuit to the UFC’s NASCAR series events. it just wouldn’t fly IMO.

by lbk on Nov 5, 2008 10:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I never really thought the WEC would be successful at throwing on a PPV unless the UFC decided not to put on a PPV that month. If the WEC did put on a PPV, I think a reasonable price would be $29.99.

by steveoc24 on Nov 5, 2008 10:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

As popular as Gina Carano may be, I still believe they need Urijah Faber, or a male fighter with his charisma, that’s on some kind of role to jump into PPV. Faber’s loss dealt a definite blow to the WEC. I was really thinking that Garcia/Faber would be the next big fight. Garcia/Brown just doesn’t seem as intriguing. Pulver losing like he did certainly didn’t help matters. Both guys involved in that epic battle months ago looked pretty average tonight.

by Cannon Jacques on Nov 5, 2008 10:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

They aren’t ready for PPV but they are definitely ready to get to a better network. Versus just doesn’t give them the kind of exposure they need to push a PPV.

by who me on Nov 5, 2008 10:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I couldnt agree with you more Luke. As an “old, Pride-days” Filho fan, I was disappointed by weight, and bewildered, for lack of a better term, by performance. Faber should remain on top because he has the charisma and charm (and marketability) that no other champion has, including all of those in the UFC. Brown most def does not.
I think they should Lalso build Miguel Torres’s name up before and after he wins this next fight, and do more prefight shows like they did for Faber v Pulver, where Torres can talk about his underground-fighting start, which will intruige even the most casual mma fan. They could also be more outright in marketing their focus on lighter divisions. Before hitting PPV, they should most definitely invest more in marketing. When I told my casual-mma friends about the fight, because theyve heard of Urijah, they had never even heard of the “Versus” network. Theyve made a hell of a lot of progress, but to even touch the success the UFC has had with payperview, their marketing for fights neeeeeeeds to increase. They should use their success with Faber and Pulver as a blueprint for EVERY fightcard main event since they are so few and far between.

by beersnbroads on Nov 5, 2008 10:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Why do people think that the top dog always winning is better than him losing and then winning?

Are you more or less likely to be excited about Urijahs next fight now that he got beat? If he had just chewed Brown up as expected… that’s not worth getting excited about. It doesn’t really build drama, which is what sports needs to thrive. Frankly I was unexcited about the fight because I assumed it would be a one or two round beatdown on Brown. If a promotion needs an eternal victor to succeed, they need to rethink their strategy. Not everyone is a Yankees fan.

by toxic on Nov 5, 2008 11:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

There’s upside in virtually any scenario, but the far better option would be for a close, contentious fight where Faber emerges the victor. To make the case that losing is the best or even better option is far fetched.

by Luke Thomas on Nov 5, 2008 11:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yesterday…yes.

Today…no.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 5, 2008 11:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Unless they have teh rematch of Faber/Brown for the title, plus torres.

Have Faber/Garcia for the next shot.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 5, 2008 11:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think Garcia/Faber would have been more attractive if Faber would have won instead of Faber/Brown rematch.

by steveoc24 on Nov 5, 2008 11:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It’s not the best scenario for Urijah to lose, but it’s not the end of days. And yeah, losing that quickly in that way is hardly the best way.

Maybe I don’t understand most fans, but I’m not fans of fighters because I think they are invincible, and I don’t think many fight fans are that way. I’m a fan because I like to watch them fight, win or lose. If you’re just watching because you think they’ll never lose, you should be watching Superman movies.

by toxic on Nov 5, 2008 11:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The way fighters decide who is best is by winning in the cage, if you win you go up if you lose you go down, that’s the sport part of this. This has nothing to do with thinking one guy is invincible it has to do with the fact that fighters are judged by their win/lose records. Winning isn’t everything it’s the only thing.

by who me on Nov 6, 2008 12:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WEC is more than ready for a ppv. Ive honestly been more impressed with wec’s shows than most of ufcs ppvs. Everyfight is usually exciting except for tonight. Im not really shocked Garcia beat Pulver I thought Garcia would dethrone faber and I never expected mike I got my ass beat by joe lauzon back in the day brown to do it. I think they should do jens faber rematch on ppv. Garcia vs Brown. Cerrone Vs Varner. Tapia or Torres vs Curan. Condit vs ??? Josh burkman? Your telling me you wouldnt pay to see that? compared to ufc 90?

by mlzybaby on Nov 5, 2008 11:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Me? Yes. More than 100,000 buys? No.

by Luke Thomas on Nov 5, 2008 11:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WEC definitely has some exciting events no doubt about that. That’s because they don’t put as many events on a year as the UFC and has the talent available to stack each card. Imagine how stacked the UFC cards would be if they threw on six shows a year.

I’m just not sure the brand WEC can sell. Sure, a lot of hardcore’s will purchase it. But not so much the casual fan. Like Luke said, I give 100k tops.

by steveoc24 on Nov 5, 2008 11:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If they are having difficulty with ratings on cable, it’ll be tough getting people to part with $30. Why would you pay $30 for something you were already getting for free? And they’ll be competing in the PPV space with UFC (~ 1 PPV monthly) plus free UFNs and TUF finales.

Personally, I’d probably only pay for a show with Torres on it.

by bigweeze on Nov 6, 2008 12:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If they started really pushing the WEC then they could eventualy. I agree now your probably right. Not more than 100,000 buys. Alot of people in my area dont even get Versus. I guess the point Im trying to make is WEC has so much potential its sick. For the hardcore MMA fans I know they all agree WEC usualy puts on a better show than UFC. Im just saying I dont really get why wec is dropping the middleweight division and lightheavyweight division if they want to run PPVS. Especially since promotions are folding why not run two strong promotions. Include the womens division in WEC and there you go. I dont get why they dont take advantage of a weak situation.

by mlzybaby on Nov 6, 2008 12:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

First off what is the deal with Bloody Elbow and Gina Carano?, no one cares about Women’s MMA the fact that people on here keep making the claim that it’s otherwise is silly and needs to stop. Secondly, why are you talking about Filho and Rosholt?, neither of these guys will be in the UFC after tonight so it really doesn’t matter how they performed since the WEC has disbanded their division. Also Faber/Brown rematch has now become a big fight which can main event a stacke PPV event card if the WEC chooses to make it. Finally it’s not like the WEC will stop having free cards they still have their deal with Versus but if they want to expand to PPV for a try out let them they have plenty of talent and match-ups that i’d pay money for anyday over any other org not named the UFC.

by Raker on Nov 6, 2008 1:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rosholt...

will ABSOLUTELY be in the UFC. Despite his awful stand-up he is a major prospect that Zuffa isn’t going to allow to land some where else.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 6, 2008 1:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Zuffa is going to have to really coddle Rosholt and avoid stunting a potentially amazing talent too early. Rosholt has obvious got a chin, but he’s lucky Osterneck gassed cause his stand up was atrocious. I was both simultaneously appalled and amazed watching that fight.

by pud333 on Nov 6, 2008 2:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Is WEC ready for PPV?...No

I wouldn’t pay for it. Only the most hardcore is going to drop money. WEC should stay on Versus. I’m surprised that UFC doesn’t put some WEC fights on their PPV. I just don’t believe WEC is strong enough at the moment to support a PPV show.

by Akorn on Nov 6, 2008 4:09 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

100000 buys x $50= 5 million in revenue. How much does Versus pay WEC per show? Based on the purse Urijah gets, not that much.

Personally, and I’m talking out of my butt here, I think WEC would be a great organization to have doing smaller tours around the country to drum up fan support. Set up two solid WEC fights, recruit some local amateurs and semi-pro dudes to fill out the card, get some hot chicks in skimpy outfits and hit up all those cities where the big promotions never go. Use that to promote the PPV and getting people to get the cable package with Versus.

by toxic on Nov 6, 2008 10:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think the WEC has done a good job promoting Miguel Torres the past 6 months or so. I think he could be even bigger than Faber. Good looks, intelligent, latino heritage, fights like a banchee, super skilled, good talker, etc.

by Mike Fagan on Nov 6, 2008 10:35 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

… unless he loses to Tapia. :-)

by Kierkegaard on Nov 6, 2008 10:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

After last night’s show, with Faber, Filho & Pulver all getting crushed, and the lack of other “stars”, there’s NO WAY that the WEC will be successful on PPV, UNLESS they do something drastic (create a women’s division & feature Gina vs Cyborg on the 1st PPV).

Personally, after what I saw last night, I think Zuffa should just shut the WEC down, bring the 135 & 145 lb weight classes over to the UFC, as well as all the decent fighters.

Keep Swillin',
Bruz

by Bruz on Nov 6, 2008 1:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs