Remember last week when it was reported that there have been talks about merging the WEC into the UFC? Well WEC big dog Reed Harris says it ain't happening according to the Las Vegas Sun:
It was the press that created that rumor," Harris said with a half laugh after Sunday’s WEC event at the Hard Rock. "Me and Dana talk about everything."How to present the WEC, whether to tie it closer to the UFC, make it a stand-alone organization. We’ve discussed all that stuff. But the truth is the WEC is doing very good. We’re growing exponentially every show."
So it's a rumor, but folk actually heard the words come out of Dana White's mouth according to the reports? This very same thing happened with the reports about Anderson Silva potentially moving up to the light heavyweight division while relinquishing his middleweight title.
Harris goes on about possibly expanding into Mexico which is something we covered last week, and WEC VP Peter Dropkick echoed those thoughts, a show similar to TUF, as well as the addition of the 125lb weight class:
The television ratings for the UFC have been huge down there, and we actually started the talks with Mexican officials before the UFC did. So there’s a real opportunity for something special to happen in Mexico.”The addition of a 125-pound flyweight division would also help the WEC’s commitment to smaller-framed fighters, Dropick said.
“It’s in the works, hopefully by the end of the year,” he said. “At first we weren’t so sure (there was enough interest), but we got a lot of fighters that want to sign.
Then final thoughts on a possible WEC/UFC merger:
“We had that opportunity to merge a long time ago,” Dropick said. “We have sponsors that are committed to this organization and a strong fan base that’s interested in the fights we put on.
“The day it doesn’t make sense, we’ll make a change. But currently, the WEC does make sense.”
I think a merger with the UFC has more positives than negatives, but I'll take WEC for FREE on Versus all day long as well.
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