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World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American
mixed martial arts (MMA) Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by
Zuffa, LLC Zuffa, LLC () is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the ...
, the parent company of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
, in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: , and . To accommodate the smaller fighters, WEC's cage was in diameter— smaller than the standard UFC cage. The smaller cage is now used by UFC for selected events.


History

Scott Adams and Reed Harris started the organization in 2001. Between 2001 and 2006, most of their events were held at
Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino is an Indian casino and hotel on the Santa Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore, California. History The 1,100-seat Southgate Bingo Palace was built for $1 million by Paland, Inc. of Dallas, and opened on November 4, 1983. Wit ...
in
Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...
, and aired on
HDNet AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...
. In December 2006, Zuffa purchased WEC. With the purchase, WEC continued as a separate promotion with its own roster of fighters. Adams was retained after the purchase as the organization's matchmaker. Harris and Adams were named co-General Managers and were both active in the new WEC. In 2008, Sean Shelby was named the new match-maker for the promotion by Zuffa. Zuffa made several changes to the promotion after the purchase. It discontinued its pentagonal cage for a modified version of the UFC's octagonal cage, with a 25-foot diameter instead of the UFC's 30-foot diameter cage. The championships of fighters who were contracted UFC fighters were vacated. The promotion moved to focus on lighter weight classes, abandoning their
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
and
super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...
divisions and championships, and retaining their
bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
and
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
divisions—two divisions not then present in the UFC. After the purchase, several WEC events were held in Zuffa's hometown of
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, much like the
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
. WEC aired their events live on Versus (formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network and now as the
NBC Sports Network NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
) in the United States and on TSN (and later The Score) in Canada. WEC's first live event was broadcast on June 3, 2007, on Versus from The Joint at the
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...
in Las Vegas.
Todd Harris Todd Harris (born June 4, 1970) is an American sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports and NBCSN, with current duties focused in Olympic and extreme sports. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in communications ...
was the play by play announcer on every televised WEC event on Versus, and was joined by former UFC Heavyweight Champion
Frank Mir Francisco Santos Mir III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years. A f ...
on color commentary until the spring of 2010, when Mir was replaced by UFC light heavyweight
Stephan Bonnar Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter 1, his TUF Ultimate Fi ...
. Fellow Zuffa fighters
Kenny Florian Kenneth Alan Florian (born May 26, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial artist and commentator who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He formerly served as an analyst for UFC on Fox from 2011–2018, and he also ...
and
Jens Pulver Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and undefeated boxer and kickboxer. Pulver was the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion in addition to serving as the head coach on ''The Ultimate ...
have also filled in on color commentary due to Mir or Bonnar's absences. UFC announcers
Mike Goldberg Mike Goldberg (born November 24, 1964) is an American play-by-play commentator, mainly known for his work with the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 1997 until his departure in 2017. He also worked for Bellator MMA from June 2017 until April 2 ...
and
Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...
called WEC's only pay-per-view event,
WEC 48 '' UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber'', also referred to as ''WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. This was WEC's first ...
in April 2010. Postfight interviews on the Versus-televised cards were typically done by either Harris or Versus sportscaster
Craig Hummer Craig B. Hummer (born May 20, 1965) is an American sportscaster. He is best known for his coverage of the Tour de France, Olympic Games, and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) events. Hummer is a former competitive ocean swimmer and lifeguard. Humm ...
. Joe Martinez served as the announcer for Zuffa-promoted WEC events until April 2010, when he left the organization and was replaced by UFC announcer
Bruce Buffer Bruce Anthony Buffer (born May 21, 1957) is an American professional mixed martial arts ring announcer and the official octagon announcer for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, introduced on broadcasts as the "Veteran Voice of the Octag ...
. However, Martinez made a one-off return at
WEC 52 ''WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on November 11, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background Urijah Faber made his bantamweight debut against Japanese striker Takeya Mi ...
that November when Buffer was overseas for a UFC event. WEC announced that it would dissolve their light heavyweight and middleweight divisions after their December 3, 2008 event to further their concentration on lighter classes. Fighters from the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions started fighting in the UFC after the dissolution of their divisions. Also, on February 3, 2009, WEC officially announced the creation of a
flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
division and the dissolution of its welterweight division (flyweight would have been the last division under the " Unified Rules of MMA" to be activated under Zuffa, excluding
Super Heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...
). Fighters from the welterweight division started fighting in the UFC after the dissolution of their division. The only weight class that still crossed over between WEC and the UFC prior to the merger was the lightweight division. On January 8, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting announced that
Amp Energy #REDIRECT Amp {{Redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
would be the official energy drink of WEC. Amp Energy also sponsored three of WEC's top stars -
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...
, featherweight
Chad Mendes Chad Edward Mendes (born May 1, 1985)Archived
from the ...
, and
bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...
. On April 24, 2010, WEC held its only
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
event,
WEC 48 '' UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber'', also referred to as ''WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. This was WEC's first ...
, which featured two championship fights. The main event featured WEC Featherweight Champion
José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fight ...
defending his title against former champion
Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...
. On October 28, 2010, UFC President
Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
announced that WEC would merge with the
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
.


Relationship with the UFC

Due to its shared ownership under Zuffa, fans and commentators had continually speculated about a unification between WEC and the UFC, particularly the lower weight classes. The relationship between the WEC and UFC had also been complicated by their respective primary partnerships with cable television channels, Versus and Spike, ''Fight Magazine'' reported. On October 28, 2010, Dana White announced the merger with the UFC.


Media coverage

On December 11, 2006, UFC parent-company,
Zuffa Zuffa, LLC () is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the ...
, formalized plans to buy World Extreme Cagefighting, to be run as a separate promotion from the UFC. Following the purchase of WEC, Zuffa made several changes to the promotion. One of the most noteworthy changes included added media exposure when WEC signed a deal to air events on Versus beginning with
WEC 28 ''WEC 28: Faber vs. Farrar'' was the fourth mixed martial arts event held by the World Extreme Cagefighting under Zuffa management. The event was held on June 3, 2007. ''WEC 28'' was the first WEC to be aired live on the Versus Network. The main ...
. Prior to this WEC had broadcast most of their events on
HDNet AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...
. While on Versus, most events aired mid-week, or on Sunday nights during the summer months. WEC drew good ratings that averaged around 575,000 average viewers per event. However ratings ranged from 245,000 to 1,500,000. The biggest ratings draw for WEC was
Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...
. When Faber was featured in the main event he drew an average of 840,000 viewers. Faber was also featured in both main events ( 34 and 41) that drew over a million viewers for WEC. The following table shows the international broadcasting of WEC events:


See also

*
List of WEC events This is a list of is of mixed martial arts events held by World Extreme Cagefighting. The first event, WEC 1, took place on June 30, 2001. The first event held under Zuffa management, WEC 25, took place on January 20, 2007. The final event, WEC 53 ...
*
List of WEC champions This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class. In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, to concentrate on the four ...
*
List of WEC bonus award recipients WEC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each WEC event, based on internal decision by WEC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...


References


External links


Official website
{{MMA organizations Mixed martial arts organizations Ultimate Fighting Championship 2001 establishments in the United States Sports organizations established in 2001 2010 disestablishments in the United States Organizations disestablished in 2010 Defunct brands Defunct companies