At the UFC Fan Expo two weeks ago, one name kept popping up; Jose Also. The WEC Featherweight Champ, #1 Featherweight in the world and consensus top 3 pound-for-pound. Despite none of Aldo’s fight being broadcast in the UK, Aldo has generated a buzz around the hardcore community which has resulted in his cult-like status worldwide. Very soon, the elusive Jose Aldo will be showcasing his talents on the big show.
Aldo has run through the WEC’s 145 pounders, with all of but one of his eight wins via decision. His decisive victories and highly ranked status has got people asking why is Aldo not in the UFC? WEC is Zuffa’s property much like the UFC is. The only difference is that the UFC is the name EVERYONE knows. It’s on PPV, worldwide, it’s what the NBA is for Basketball, WWE is for Pro-Wrestling. It is the sport.
WEC on the other hand is on a small cable channel on the States (Versus) and WEC shows are seen by less than a million people. Good news is that the days of badgering UFC brass on Aldo, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres and other talented WEC fighters are over. Last week Dana White announced that the WEC was merging with the UFC.
UFC will add the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions to its roster, increasing UFC’s weight classes from five to seven. WEC also ran a Lightweight division. Those fighters will now migrate to the UFC. The WEC Lightweight belt will be unified with the UFCs equivalent title down the road. The tentative plan is for the winner of Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis to face the winner of the UFC 155-pound title fight between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar.
Jose Aldo: Set to face Josh Grispi in the co-main event of UFC 125.
The former WEC fighters are certainly happy with the news and it’s hard not to see why. Finally the lighter-weight fighters will get the recognition they deserve as UFC fighters. The two added weight classes give the UFC roster more depth which the UFC certainly needs after lacklustre line ups such as UFC 119 and the upcoming UFC 122. The 135 and 145-pounders have a well deserved rep of producing exciting fights and the former WEC fighters will now be in line for bigger paydays and bonuses ($70,000 opposed to $10,000). Promptly with the exciting 135 & 145ers contesting for the highly sought after bonuses, this will encourage other fighters on the card to step-up their collective games. Great news right? Despite the positives, there are one or two niggles.
The UFC has a roster of about 200. If they add the WEC guys it’ll go up to 270. Despite the two extra shows via the new deal with Versus, UFC will still need to trim that down to about 240. So that’s 30 guys the UFC have to release.
Lightweights are officially on notice. With the added WEC 155 fighters, the division will have surplus fighters. Many people have noted that some 155 fighters will look into to moving down to 145 to avoid the cut.
One division that will certainly be hit with cuts is Welterweight. UFC has an astonishing 55 Welterweights on the payroll. A shockingly high figure considering that most fans will be hard pressed to name 15 WW’s. The UFC is the undisputed home of 170’s. There’s only one notable Welterweight fighter fighting outside the UFC: Nick Diaz and he is struggling to find competition. Forced to move up and down weight classes for competitive fights, Diaz could soon find himself some worthy competitors through the UFC’s inevitable cull.
Despite the growing pains that will occur, the UFC/WEC merger will prove prosperous in the long run. The promise of added depth, more championship fights and exciting bouts promises that 2011 to be a landmark year in MMA.
