WEC going to PPV in 2009

According to MMAJunkie.com the WEC will be headed to PPV sometime during the 2009 calender year. The WEC is the little brother of the UFC after being purchased by Zuffa in 2006. The WEC features lighter weight classes and just purged their light heavyweight and middleweight divisions.

While any attempt at expanding revenue streams is good news it will be interesting to see if a 'lightweight' promotion can build a decent PPV following. The WEC contains a core group of stars featuring Carlos Condit, Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber. However outside of these three their is a serious knowledge gap about the rest of the WEC roster. Also Carlos Condit faces the problem of being a welterweight fighter outsside the UFC. The UFC contains eight of the top ten welterweights. If Condit can't face the top talent within his division he will be an after thought unless he enters the UFC.

Another problem with the lighter weight focus is that it favors Asian and South American fighters. If boxing enthusiasts are right, then a more international roster will not garner the attention of the predominately white U.S. fan base. WKR believes that the popularity of international fighters in the UFC is evidence that the 'I like to watch white people because I am white' argument will be debunked. In the end it will be interesting to see if the WEC can create a long lasting PPV presence.