WEC’s Ratings Advisory

Lots of talk this week on the continued viability of Zuffa’s World Extreme Cagefighting brand, a squatter promotion of sorts that takes up real estate on the Versus network and prohibits other promotions from gaining ground on cable television. As reported by MMAJunkie.com, last Saturday’s telecast drew 373,000 viewers -- 43,000 fewer than those who tuned in for their first Versus broadcast in June 2007. This is not what you would call growth.

The WEC has had its bright spots, most notably in highly-touted fights featuring Urijah Faber that have exceeded the million-viewer mark. It’s hoped that Faber’s clear drawing power will help their first pay per view event on April 24, when he contests the featherweight title against Jose Aldo. But while some people expect those financial numbers to be a good indication of the WEC’s overall health, a better gauge might be in the UFC’s first broadcast on Versus April 21. If it draws a bigger, better number than a typical WEC event on the same channel, there is every indication that the WEC is not reaching the potential available on the station. At that point, you have to wonder whether Zuffa has simply done too good a job making the UFC synonymous with MMA. Nike, after all, was originally going to go with a label of Blue Ribbon Sports. Logos matter.