About that WEC pay-per view...

The card will be called "UFC Presents WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber." A sign of the UFC rolling out some serious cross promotion at their April and March events?

Luke Thomas spoke to Reed Harris about the upcoming move (I strongly suggest reading the whole thing) and elaborated on several points made by the WEC GM.

As for the price point, the decision to place the cost at $44.95 "was made corporately". Harris insists extensive research was done into PPV watching and purchasing habits. He argues the internal data they received gives them the confidence to move forward with the PPV effort, but did not elaborate beyond that. He also insisted given what the event offered, it was worth the cost of a UFC PPV.

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As for initial goals about what kind of buyrate they're expecting, Harris acknowledged the WEC internally has benchmarks in mind, but would not disclose those figures.

Holding the event in Sacramento with Urijah Faber on the card ensures a strong gate showing for the promotion too.

Plus, Harris issued a challenge to MMA fans:

Harris also made a point to put the ball in the court of MMA fans. "We hear a lot of people talk about how they want the sport to grow," said Harris. "If the fans support this, there could be a second company producing events as we are. It could really allow the sport to grow."

Good for the WEC asking MMA fans to step up to the plate. Now if they will step up to the plate and credential sites within the community. Not naming names...

Finally, the WEC didn't take into account the possibility of going head-to-head with Strikeforce's second CBS offering, which is tentatively scheduled for April 17th. Scott Coker recently told Josh Gross that Strikeforce is considering that date for their show.

Don't forget to vote in our poll about the possibility of Strikeforce counter programming the event with their April CBS card.

Stay tuned next week for a Podcast on this topic.