For anyone who was had the pleasure of watching Featherweight (145lbs) and Bantamweight (135lbs) fighters such as Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jose Aldo, Mike Brown, Wagnney Fabiano, or Brian Bowles compete, you know how action packed and relentless these fighters and divisions can be. The WEC, which houses the majority of the top ten fighters in each of those weight classes, has been putting out stellar shows for some time now and has quietly built up extremely impressive rosters.

These lighter weight-classes deserve at least equal, if not more, attention than divisions such as Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight currently enjoy. However the WEC is not without it's own problems, and this is what I think should be done about it.

Over the past six months the UFC has absorbed the Light-Heavyweight, Middleweight, and Welterweight divisions from the WEC. While there are certainly enough great fighters left in the WEC’s Lightweight, Featherweight, and Bantamweight divisions to keep the organization alive and thriving I believe they should collapse all divisions and fighters into the UFC. Now this too could create issues but I believe the good far outweighs the bad and here is why.

Currently the only way to view WEC matches is on the Versus network which is not readily available to many MMA fans. I believe it is a crime that such amazing fighters are not getting the exposure they deserve because their fights are only available through said channel. By collapsing these divisions into the UFC we would have the opportunity to see many of these great fighters on Spike TV and UFC PPV’s, both of which are much more available to the average fan.

With more exposure comes better pay for these fighters and this is the main reason I think this move needs to be made. Currently there are many FW and BW match-ups that can be considered “dream match-ups” which are in jeopardy of not taking place due to pay. The elite fighters in both divisions are constantly tempted to make a move to higher weight-classes, which they are not well-suited for, simply to get into the UFC which provides more exposure and better pay. By moving these weight classes into the UFC it allows these world-class fighters to stay at their natural weight so we do not miss out on what could be many an epic matches.

Now you may be thinking that you would really enjoy seeing Faber or Torres move up a weight-class to really test them if they are able to clear out their own divisions, and I agree. Super-fights like we saw with GSP/Penn can be huge money-makers and fan pleasers but even this option would be better with the WEC absorbed by the UFC. Currently the WEC and UFC are run as separate companies and fighters sign exclusive contracts to whichever organization they fight for. Therefore a WEC fighter such as Urijah Faber cannot move up to Lightweight and try to avenge his loss to Tyson Griffin because Tyson currently fights for the UFC. By having all the fighters and divisions under the UFC banner this would not be an issue.

Exclusive contracts are also an issue with the one remaining weight class which is housed in both the WEC and the UFC, the Lightweight division. Currently there is a UFC LW champion in BJ Penn and a WEC LW champion in Jamie Varner and these two cannot fight each other under the current structure.

The one argument I always seem to hear when I mention this solution is, “I have the Versus channel and I love watching all these great fighters for free. I really don’t want to have to pay to watch them on UFC PPV’s if they merge.” That is a valid argument, but I am not saying the UFC should stop broadcasting on Versus if they merge the companies. I think the Versus shows could become a building ground for up-and-coming fighters much like the Ultimate Fight Nights are on Spike TV.

If this were to happen I think the UFC should produce two shows a month with one being a PPV and the other being an UFN. The UFN shows could alternate with one month being on Spike TV and the next being on Versus. We would still get the same dosage of MMA action that we currently do but with many more possibilities and perks for us as fans and for fighters.

Overall there is a wealth of talent in these lighter weight-classes which I hate to see go unappreciated and I believe that by merging companies we could see these fighters get the recognition and reward that they deserve and we fans would be treated with amazing fights that would be easily available.

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