Tonight’s World Extreme Cagefighting event has one thing conspicuously missing: fighters in weight classes above 155 pounds. Yes, the card is fairly stacked, featuring a lightweight unification title fight, as well as two former featherweight champions in separate fights. But it just doesn’t feel right to have a major mixed martial arts event with no larger fighters.

Don’t get me wrong: I love watching the smaller guys fight. Smaller fighters tend to go and go and go, keeping the action moving at a frantic pace all the way through three rounds and beyond. Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jose Aldo, Mike Thomas Brown and Brian Bowles are all always a lot of fun to watch.

Having fighters from multiple weight classes, however, really makes fight cards seem more balanced. There’s a huge difference between a heavyweight fight and a featherweight fight, and there are gradations and differences at all the weight classes in between. Being able to watch the differences in pace and power across that spectrum is part of what makes a full-fledged MMA event fun to watch.

A fight card that is balanced with multiple weight classes provides an added dimension of enjoyment for the fans. Being able to watch a giant like Brock Lesnar fight on the same night as a hyperactive little guy like Clay Guida is a real treat, and one which is available to fans who watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but not to those who watch WEC.

In some ways, watching a fight card with only small guys is kind of like only listening to fast songs, one after the other. Likewise, if you had to only watch heavyweight fights, it would be like listening to one slow song after another. Eventually, you get bored either way. That’s why the best music mixes are made up of songs with different tempos, and the best fight cards have fighters from different weight classes.

Since taking over ownership of the WEC in 2006, the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, has transformed the WEC into a showcase for smaller fighters. The UFC took the best of the bigger boys, and dissolved the WEC’s heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight divisions.

Currently, both the WEC and the UFC have a lightweight division, but only the WEC has a featherweight division for fighters below 145 pounds, a bantamweight division for fighters under 135 pounds and a fairly new flyweight division for fighters under 125 pounds.

So Zuffa’s strategy is clearly to have the UFC monopolize the heavier weight classes while allowing the WEC to provide a market for the lighter classes. In a way, this would allow both brands to exist as national-level fight leagues without being in direct conflict with each other.

WEC has historically been broadcast free on cable’s Versus channel, while UFC events have generally been broadcast on pay per view, and later rebroadcast on cable’s Spike channel. WEC executives have publicly mentioned several times in 2009 that they were eventually interested in making WEC available on pay per view.

Personally, I think this strategy will not benefit either the companies or the growth of mixed martial arts. Having the WEC offer free fights on cable is a great way to attract fans. Events that only feature the lightest weight classes, however, are not nearly as interesting, and they will fail to capture as many viewers, or create as many new fans, as will events that feature a full complement of weight classes.

I believe Zuffa should reinstate the heavier weight classes to the WEC and keep the promotion free on cable. They should look upon the organization as a sort of minor-league farm system. It could provide experience to talented up-and-coming fighters, and the best fighters could be offered an entry into the UFC.

Keeping the WEC free on Versus would help continue to grow fans of mixed martial arts, and it would go on exposing more people to the sport. Furthermore, as fans would develop their own favorite fighters, many of them would continue to follow the fighters if they made it into the UFC, which would translate into additional pay-per-view revenue.

This is a good opportunity for Zuffa to continue their dominance of the mixed martial arts, if they play their cards right. As it is now, even though the WEC is still a lot of fun, it feels incomplete. Something is definitely missing. Bring back the big guys!

What do you think? Let me know below.

Read More of John George’s MMA Posts Here

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