Sam Caplan = Right on the money
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10744852
10. They have the best ring announcer in the business, Joe Martinez. Scoff all you want, but the fact that the WEC has great ring announcing shows you that they are even doing the little things right. There are some great ring announcers in MMA, but for my money, Martinez is pound-for-pound the best! He has the unique combination of being silky-smooth yet unpretentious. Simply put, Martinez's performance Wednesday night might have been the best ever by an MMA ring announcer.
9. Strong production. If ESPN or HBO televised MMA, it would probably look like the WEC telecasts on Versus. The WEC and Versus are presenting MMA almost as entirely pure sport, focusing primarily on the fighters with absolutely no contrived drama. Everything not related to the actual fight itself is done in subtle fashion. The music isn't overdone and the announcers do not overshadow the action with their commentary. And from a technical standpoint, the shows are vibrant and well-lit; the sound is crisp and clear; and the transitions from bout to bout are smooth.
I find the WEC telecasts are actually better than the UFC's, and I don't have a logical explanation. Zuffa produces the WEC telecasts for Versus just as they do for the UFC on Spike TV. Maybe my perception is nothing more than a case of when dad made breakfast instead of mom; it just tastes different for no other reason than because "mommy didn't make it." Or maybe it really is a different recipe.
8. You won't be embarrassed. The WEC is a classy production. If you could convince an MMA skeptic to sit down and watch a show with you, it would be the WEC. You won't see novelty matchups, retired strippers masquerading as dancers, nonsensical interviews with Sylvester Stallone or be deluged with commercials or sponsorship placement. MMA has come a long way in recent years but there are still too many cringe-worthy moments, yet the WEC somehow manages to be cringe-free TV.
7. Announcing. When I first heard Todd Harris and Frank Mir do commentary together on a WEC show, I detected about as much chemistry as Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. I'm sure I've used that line before but Christensen and Portman set the standard for roles in which chemistry was essential yet nonexistent. That said, Harris and Mir have not only grown on each other, but they've grown on me. The Harris/Mir duo ranks No. 2 on my personal favorite announce teams, just behind Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros.
Harris' improvement has been remarkable. When he started, he sounded like a mainstream broadcaster forced to cover MMA in order to get out of a gambling debt. Mir dominated the early telecasts, with Harris serving more as a moderator than a play-by-play announcer. But as Harris becomes more comfortable with the sport, the more command he takes during broadcasts.
Simply put, Harris and Mir have a laid-back style that makes it real easy to sit back and enjoy the action.
6. Smaller cage. The WEC uses a smaller cage in comparison to those used by other national promotions. As such, fighters don't have as much room to run in the WEC and fights are much more fluid as a result. With nowhere to run and hide, fighters are forced to engage and advance the fight.
Watching the high-paced action in the WEC compared to the more methodical fights you see in the UFC is the same as the difference between watching an NBA game where the offense likes to run and push the ball up court as opposed to an offense mired in a half-court system.
5. Excellent matchmaking. Scott Adams is the best matchmaker you have never heard of. Each live show the WEC has produced has featured tremendous match quality. While not every fight has been outstanding, I have found that if a fight turns out not to be a mismatch, it's usually because the fighter that lost didn't fight up to his ability and/or made a boneheaded mistake
dams makes MMA matchups with the intent of sport as opposed to spectacle. Rarely do you see fights put together with the hope of a quick knockout. While some promotions want to give you Tyson vs. Spinks, the WEC aspires for Ali-Frazier. The promotion puts together balanced matchups with the idea that each fighter will push the other to the limit.
The WEC's goal is to give you the best matchups available as opposed to worrying about the long-term. Brian Stann is the perfect example. Based on Stann's military background, he's a promoter's dream. However, coming into Wednesday's fight vs. WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall, Stann had just five fights under his belt and a lot of room to grow. But Marshall needed a challenger and instead of protecting Stann, the match was made because it was the best fight the promotion had to offer at 205 pounds.
And wouldn't you know, Stann, a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, managed to pull off the upset win.
4. Focus on the fighting. It seems so obvious; a fight telecast should focus on the fights. While some telecasts try way too hard to give you more than just fights, the WEC seemingly knows its role and is willing to shut its mouth.
Even when fights aren't taking place, the downtime is spent getting you excited for the fights, such as this past Wednesday when a highly anticipated WEC featherweight title match between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver was announced. The Versus crew not only showed Faber and Pulver on camera, but new cage correspondent Craig Hummer interviewed both. Hearing them talk about the fight got me excited, which says a lot because the fight isn't until June 1.
The WEC knows how to make you care about fights. WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho had been scheduled Wednesday to defend his title vs. Chael Sonnen in a highly anticipated rematch. But Filho was forced to bow out several weeks back due to some personal problems. When prospect Bryan Baker stepped up to fight Sonnen, it was kind of a letdown. Yet I still got excited for the match after Mir explained how Sonnen was the No. 1 contender to Filho's title but that Baker could take that status with a win. When broken down on those terms, it felt like a title match was taking place even though there wasn't a belt on the line.
3. Strong depth on its cards. While novice fans can't appreciate it because they are unfamiliar with many of the WEC's fighters, hardcore fans are able to appreciate the tremendous depth on most of the promotion's shows.
The WEC is still building its brand and its roster of fighters, and it is smart enough not to try and grow too quickly. Instead of scheduling monthly shows, the WEC is pacing itself with six to eight cards a year. By not spreading itself too thin, the WEC can put its best foot forward when promoting shows.
This philosophy is brilliant because by seeing the same fighters on each show, it gives the WEC an identity through familiarity and helps its fighters gain name recognition faster.
2. The fighters. Some people have labeled the WEC as nothing more than a minor league to the UFC. That's just "crazytalk" right there. You can't tell me that fighters like Stann, Faber, Pulver, Sonnen, Filho, Miguel Torres, Carlos Condit, "Razor" Rob McCullough and Jamie Varner are minor league.
The WEC is legit and is home to some of the best fighters in the world. Seeing is believing and if you aren't watching the WEC, you don't know what you're missing.
1. It's free. Outside of your basic cable bill and the cost of electricity to power your television, the WEC is FREE! And you can't beat free -- especially in this economy.
