One of the issues that was brought up during last week’s Inside MMA show on HDNet, a show that featured current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and his manager Ed Soares, was the possibility of a WEC pay-per-view event this year. Soares was asked about the prospects of a successful event, and names such as Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo were brought up in the discussion. This leads me to the discussion as to what names could produce a successful pay-per-view pull for the WEC, and does the WEC actually have the star power and marketability to produce some solid numbers.
The WEC’s general manager, Reed Harris, has already hinted that a showdown between Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo will likely take place in a future WEC event as the headliner, and that event could be the first WEC card to be offered via pay-per-view. Soares mentioned that Sacramento is a great town for the fight to potentially take place due to Faber’s following, and it would surely produce increased buys for the event.
The discussion now becomes a question of what other fights are possible in producing a star-studded event powerful enough to draw in a large number of fans. Harris mentioned that a rematch between Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson for the lightweight title could also take place on the card, adding another title showdown to the event.
ARCO Arena seems like the best venue in terms of making money on the live gate and having an atmosphere that’s crazy for the WEC’s poster boy, Urijah Faber. But the other match-ups on the card will be instrumental to the success of this card. If we take a look at some of the ratings, it’s pretty obvious as to who will need to be featured.
Miguel Torres is easily one of the higher drawing fighters in the WEC as he produced 650,000+ ratings for both WEC 37 and WEC 42. Surprisingly, Jamie Varner has been involved in two successful events in WEC 46 and WEC 38 in which he pulled 640,000 and 700,000 respectively. Brown managed to pull roughly 500,000 viewers in his WEC 36 and WEC 39 performances, although Faber’s involvement in WEC 36 can probably account for much of that.
The debate comes down to how the WEC wants to structure the card. Will championship bouts be the huge sell for the WEC? If so, we can count on Henderson vs. Cerrone complimenting Aldo vs. Faber, but WEC 47 has some match-ups that have title implications that could easily translate to some solid match-ups on a pay-per-view card.
Most notably, the bantamweight bouts featuring Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez and the championship bout between Brian Bowles and Dominick Cruz. If Bowles and Torres both win, we may see a rematch between the two for the bantamweight crown.
If that actually happens, a WEC pay-per-view could feature three title bouts across all divisions. While that sounds like a great plan, ratings do add a little debate to the discussion. A rematch between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone might be in the cards considering their first bout produced 700,000 viewers, and bad blood still remains between the two competitors.
What about Mike Brown? I’ve contemplated a potential bout with Raphael Assuncao as a nice match-up to complement the title fights. How about a bout between Scott Jorgensen and Joseph Benavidez if Torres takes on Benavidez at WEC 47? Anthony Njokuani might be a solid first fight on a pay-per-view with his explosive power.
For the hardcore fanbase, this seems like a pretty good roster of fights for a pay-per-view event, but will casual fans identify with the match-ups and bring their buying power to that type of card? It’s tough to say, but the WEC may try to bring some UFC vets into the mix to bolster buys. Jens Pulver is set to return, so that may be an option if he can win. I’d mention Frankie Edgar at featherweight, but that’s on the shelf now with his recent ascension to contention status. What should the WEC PPV card look like?