The WEC right now is the #2 MMA fed in my eyes, above DREAM, EliteXC, etc.. They just put on great shows, and their fighters are full of heart. WEC 35 August 3 MAIN CARD 170 Lbs: Carlos Condit (22-4) vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4) for welterweight title 205 Lbs: Brian 'All American' Stann (6-0) vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1) for light heavyweight title 155 Lbs: Jamie 'The Worm' Varner (14-2) vs. Marcus 'The Wrecking Ball' Hicks (8-0) for lightweight title 135 Lbs: Brian Bowles (4-0) vs. Damacio 'The Angel of Death' Page (10-3) 145 Lbs: Josh 'The Fluke' Grispi (8-1) vs. Micah Miller (9-1) PRELIMINARY CARD 170 Lbs: Brock Larson (23-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6) 170 Lbs: Blas Avena (2-2) vs. Dave Terrel (5-1) 145 Lbs: Cub Swanson (12-2) vs. Hiroyuki 'Streetfight Bancho' Takaya (9-5) 155 Lbs: Alex Karalexis (9-3) vs. Todd Moore (9-1) 155 Lbs: Mike Budnik (6-0) vs. Greg McIntyre (5-2) 135 Lbs: Scott Jorgensen (4-2) vs. Kenji Osawa (13-7)
Also, these two fights: 170 Lbs: Brock Larson (23-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6) 145 Lbs: Cub Swanson (12-2) vs. Hiroyuki 'Streetfight Bancho' Takaya (9-5) Should both be televised over these two: 135 Lbs: Brian Bowles (4-0) vs. Damacio 'The Angel of Death' Page (10-3) 145 Lbs: Josh 'The Fluke' Grispi (8-1) vs. Micah Miller (9-1)
Results: -Carlos Condit def. Hiromitsu Miura by TKO at 4:43, R4 -Steve Cantwell def. Brian Stann by TKO at 4:01, R2 -Jamie Varner def. Marcus Hicks by TKO at 2:08, R1 -Brian Bowles def. Damacio Page by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30, R1 -Josh Grispi def. Micah Miller by TKO at 0:50, R1 -Brock Larson def. Carlo Prater by KO at 0:37, R1 -Blas Avena def. Dave Terrel by TKO at 1:07, R1 -Shane Roller def. Todd Moore by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:00, R1 -Mike Budnik def. Greg McIntyre by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:21, R3 -Scott Jorgensen def. Kenji Osawa by Unanimous Decision (30-27 on all three cards)
I gotta say WEC is the 2nd best promotion out there after the UFC. They may not have the big names like Affliction or Dream save for Faber, Lil'Evil and Torres, but damn they know how to put on a great card and have great pacing for their events. Their production and pacing is even better than the UFC IMO. Frank Mir is a very good commentator and the other dude is solid as well. I have yet to be disappointed in one of their cards. I have also never seen more than 1 bad fighter per/card either. Zuffa should have their fighter organizer working with Joe Silva on the UFC as well and their production crew working the Spike TV live events.
Predictably it was a great night of fights from the WEC. All of these guys want to be in the UFC so they fight with all their heart.
Payouts: Carlos Condit: $44,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus) def. Hiromitsu Miura: $5,000 Steve Cantwell: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus) def. Brian Stann: $11,000 Jamie Varner: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Marcus Hicks: $16,000 Brian Bowles: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus) def. Damacio Page: $6,000 Josh Grispi: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus) def. Micah Miller: $5,000 Brock Larson: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Carlo Prater: $7,000 Blas Avena: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. Dave Terrel: $3,000 Shane Roller: $12,00O ($6,000 win bonus) def. Todd Moore: $4000 Mike Budnik: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus) def. Greg McIntyre: $2,000 Scott Jorgensen: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus) def. Kenji Osawa: $5,000 A lot of these $-amounts are pretty poor. $5000 for a main event is bullshit.
It's hard for WEC because they don't have PPV and are on a very small cable channel. they don't get huge gate attendance and well Zuffa is being very frugal in both orgs when you compare their income vs what they pay fighters. I think they're making sure MMA isn't just the new flavor like the X-Games were when it first arrived then cools out and the casual fans move on to something else.
Here are the WEC's bonuses that were handed out <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Following another action-packed show by World Extreme Cagefighting in Las Vegas, capped off by welterweight champion Carlos Condit pulling through his toughest fight to date against Hiromitsu Miura, the promotion handed down bonuses as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com Each fighter earning a bonus received $7,500 in addition to the fight purse in the individual bout agreements. For the first time, the WEC also handed out two “Fight of the Night” bonuses. Carlos Condit and Hiromitsu Miura earned a no-brainer for Fight of the Night after their almost four-round war that saw the incumbent champion pushed further in the fight than any previous match-up during his title reign. Both Condit and Miura earned the respect of all the fans watching the match-up and now a bonus check on top. WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner and Marcus Hicks also earned a Fight of the Night bonus for their respective performances in an amazing fight between the two 155-pound stars. Knockout of the Night went to Minnesota Martial Arts Academy member Brock Larson, who dispatched of Carlo Prater in just 37 seconds in their welterweight showdown. Brian Bowles, who moved his professional record to 6-0, earned a Submission of the Night for his guillotine choke victory over Damacio Page. WEC 35 Fights of the Night: Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks WEC 35 Knockout of the Night: Brock Larson WEC 35 Submission of the Night: Brian Bowles</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Aug 4 2008, 05:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It's hard for WEC because they don't have PPV and are on a very small cable channel. they don't get huge gate attendance and well Zuffa is being very frugal in both orgs when you compare their income vs what they pay fighters. I think they're making sure MMA isn't just the new flavor like the X-Games were when it first arrived then cools out and the casual fans move on to something else.</div> I dunno, dude. They are owned by the UFC so money isn't an issue. Plus I think the paid attendance for Pulver/Faber was over 11,000. The way I look at it, if you are on the TV broadcast, you should make 1/3 of a yearly salary. In the WEC the yearly salary should be at least $50k, and in the UFC at least $100k. These guys should be making $17k to fight and maybe a small win bonus, and in the UFC $33k under the same conditions.
I don't disagree that fighters should be paid more, but for the WEC, they are on a very small network and don't have PPV numbers. Zuffa has $$ but not because of what the WEC brings in. IMO they should get the WEC 2-4 PPV's a year at say $30 for the PPV to generate more income.
