Three Reasons WEC Is An MMA Success

At the rate of nearly an event every weekend, it's becoming more and more difficult for an MMA card to actually stand out for a complete night of action, not just one or two good-to-great fights.

Yet, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) keeps managing to avoid this situation. This past Sunday was no exception as the group went to Canada for the first time with WEC 49 and left MMA fans around the world talking despite not having a lot of brand-name talent competing.

So how do they keep doing it? It can't be that simple, can it? Actually, it is. 

They run once every few months

For someone who loves quality fights, this is a dream come true. Through the first six months of the year, WEC has run exactly six shows. That's it. By comparison, the UFC's sixth show of 2010 was on March 27th and they're currently up to 12 and counting. 

I realize there's a large group of people convinced there is no such thing as too much MMA. However, the more events there are put on by a single promotion, the more those events are going to eventually get diluted by injuries, roster depth and simple burnout.

Despite being owned by Zuffa, they haven't burnt out the WEC candle yet, which makes this even more impressive considering UFC president Dana White has mentioned his group wants to run up to 100 shows per year. Those fights have to come from somewhere, but hopefully the WEC can avoid that mix.

Also, running on Sunday nights is brilliant. People are home and are just chilling out before the work week starts. It's worked for decades for pro wrestling pay-per-views and MMA is no different. In short, get 'em when they're sitting down.

They have unique weight classes

Zuffa absorbing the 170-pound, 185-pound and 205-pound weight classes into the UFC was one of the smartest business moves the WEC could have ever experienced. It allowed the group to be unique and focus on smaller fighters which usually translates into quicker and more exciting fights.

After deciding to exclusively focus on talent between 135 and 155 pounds, the WEC simply held on to and acquired the best talent available in those weight classes. Being backed by Zuffa certainly didn't hurt and the national TV exposure on Versus meant they were going to be taken seriously.

The only remaining item of business is the eventual absorbing of the 155-pound class into the UFC and a concerted effort toward creating and promoting a 125-pound Flyweight division. It makes sense to truly separate the two companies and would help bolster the UFC's 155-pound ranks, ending the 'When is Fighter X going to get called up?' discussion.

They have fantastic matchmaking

For all of the praise UFC matchmaker Joe Silva gets, WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby gets overlooked at times for putting together stocked rosters and competitive fights that truly mean something for a guy when they win or lose.

He learned from one of the best, as Shelby used to assist Silva. He's certainly carried that over in this role as you rarely see a bad match in the WEC. More often than not, the fights are competitive and exciting as any other matchups even if the name value isn't what you'd call household. 

Take Sunday night. You had a main event featuring a former champ in Jamie Varner against a rising prospect in Kamal Shalorus. Despite the low blows, it was a hard-hitting and fun fight which had title implications for the winner.

Then there was Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin, two guys who most fans would have a hard time recognizing, but after Sunday, they won't forget the names. Add in Josh Grispi's eye-rolling finish of L.C. Davis, Chris Horodecki's TKO win over a late addition in Danny Downes, and Eddie Wineland's spirited win over Will Campuzano and that was a great night.

I didn't even mention Will Kerr's upset win or Erik Koch's quick first-round submission win.

And do I need to reference likely 2010 Match Of Year combatants Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung? No matter who it is on the roster, you can count on quality which is a great thing if you're a WEC fan.

What could they do better?

I think WEC Wreckage is still on the air, but if so, they don't advertise it very well or they have no real purpose for it.

Both WEC and Versus could be more effective in making Wreckage must-watch viewing for those fans still learning about WEC, similar to how UFC has revived PRIDE footage for the hour-long Best Of PRIDE shows on Spike.

I also feel like there a lot of contenders for the various titles, especially with the 135 pounders. Understanding a bit more where guys rank and what certain fights could mean to the immediate title pictures would help anticipation for the next event even more.

The absence of money draws other than Urijah Faber definitely hurts when it comes to running in certain markets or attempting to return to PPV. But that's something that will evolve with time and in all honesty, I'm glad the group isn't making PPV a big part of their business model. The more eyes that see the project at this stage, the better.

So to recap: great fighters, lighter weight classes, and an actual feeling of anticipation between events because you don't see WEC cards every other weekend. Sounds like a winning combination to me.

I'll be happy to wait the near two-months until WEC 50 on August 18th. You should be too.

Josh Nason is a freelance MMA journalist that has published Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to FIGHT! Magazine, Apollo Magazine and Bleacher Report, appearing regularly on The Fight Show and Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.