The WEC

[donald]

I was just introduced to this organization last evening through a program called Tap Out on the cable channel VS.. Not being an MMA guy I am sure that I am one of the last guys on the planet to see this. I enjoyed the show for most part. Alot of bleeping out going on which was alright with me. What I really did'nt enjoy was one of the promotional ads for the WEC. I have no idea who the rep was doing the voice over, but the attitude really stunk up the airwaves. It stated in no uncertain terms that you should hate your opponent. I thought this was supposed to be about challenge? In stark contrast to this ad was the fighter Antonio B.. Who was spotlighted on this program, and I thought was for the most part a gentleman in attitude, and action. He did'nt win his bout but he won my respect. I hope there are many more in the MMA arena with a proper attitude than not? How do you MMA guys/ladies rate the different federations,ie;UFC,IFC,WEC? What are the pros, and cons of these big 3? On a side note. What is the deal with the 3 gents from TapOut? Are they in character on tape, or is that them? Thanks for your consideration.
1stJohn1:9

 

[tshadowchaser]

I'll start with the 3 "characters". no that is what they look like and are in real life. Mask is a little more talkative in real life. Yes they look like that when club hopping. They started Tapout (or at least Mask did) and the other 2 are his drinking buddies.
I understand the mind set of "you must hate your opponent" while fighting ( you fight to win) but I think you will find that the majority of the people in MMA respect and are often friends outside of the ring.

The WEC is a subdivision or maybe I should say a starter program for the UFC but I feel it will develop into a competitor if they get enough good top quality people. It seems to focus more on the lighter divisions while the UFC is stronger in the heavy divisions

 

[Joe Divola]

tshadowchaser is correct. The WEC is owned and ran by Zuffa ltd who also own the UFC. The only other competitor that the ufc had was pride and the ufc just bought them out. Almost all of the fighters in MMA events talk a little trash before the fight, but almost all of them are just blowing smoke. It seems that they all respect other guys who are willing to put on 4 oz. gloves and bang away. As a fan I feel the same respect level for any fighter good or bad who will do that....except for Tito lol

 

[Skip Cooper]

I too was recently aquainted with the WEC. I thought that it may be an offshoot of the UFC because they used the same ring officials.

I saw the same promotional ad. Initially, I had the same reaction as you. I am sure they are trying to appeal to the general male public who tune into hockey for the fights only. You know the type who go to soccer games in Europe only to fight. Keep in mind that MMA is a business. They already have the loyalty of martial artists around the world, now they must appeal to the general public.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Tapout crew yet

 

[crushing]

I took it that the WEC was more geared towards the lighter weight classes while the UFC was for the heavier weights. This gives MMA more exposure as it allows two channels to carry their fights with some product differentiation.

I wasn't sure about the WEC Holdings and Zuffa relationship until I found the WEC website TOS.

http://www.wec.tv/index.cfm?fa=misc.terms