WEC-Versus renewal calls for two 2010 UFC events to air live on Versus
by Dann Stupp on Dec 14, 2009 at 11:15 am ET
World Extreme Cagefighting and Versus today officially announced a contract renewal, and as part of the deal, two Ultimate Fighting Championship events will air live on the cable station in 2010.
The deal was announced today on Versus.com.
As part of the new deal with Zuffa LLC, the UFC and WEC's parent company, seven WEC events will also air live on Versus, and Versus.com was granted permission to stream one non-televised fight from each card on its Web site.
The UFC never has previously aired on Versus. The cable station did not announce which UFC events will air on Versus.
News of a potential WEC-Versus contract extension first popped up earlier this year, though nothing came of the speculation. Last month at UFC 106, UFC president Dana White said a deal had finally been reached, as MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) reported, but WEC officials couldn't comment on the matter, which meant the deal likely was still in the process of being finalized.
As part of the renewal, Versus will also air new episodes of "WEC WrekCAGE," a WEC highlights show, as well as additional WEC-themed specialty programming.
Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, first signed a deal with the WEC in early 2007, though an extension came just months later. Zuffa LLC, the UFC's parent company, purchased the organization in December 2006.
Since the purchase, Zuffa has transformed the previously California-based organization into a Las Vegas-based sister property of the WEC. Zuffa ultimately stripped the WEC of its heavier weight classes and transferred the top talent from those divisions to the UFC's ranks.
With a lineup of increasingly prominent talent, the WEC has drawn solid ratings for Versus, which also airs NHL games, PBA events, cycling competitions and general hunting/fishing shows and even WEC highlights packages. A June 2008 "WEC: Faber vs. Pulver" broadcast set an MMA ratings record for Versus, scoring a 1.4 rating and averaging 1.54 million viewers, which tripled the size of its previous TV audiences
