Versus Adds New WEC Events
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 9/9/2007 6:00:00 PM MT
Versus has pinned down rights to 15 additional live World Extreme Cagefighting events as part of a new deal between the network and the mixed martial arts organization.
As part of the new pact, Versus will also televise 20 WEC WrekCage episodes — a mix of non-televised WEC events and the best of Versus' live WEC events, according to network senior vice president of programming and production Marc Fein. The initial agreement reached last January called for Versus to air three live fights and six one-hour highlight shows from the Zuffa-owned MMA outfit. Zuffa's Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise airs on Spike TV.
The live WEC events have thus far performed well on Versus: the network's June 3 and Aug. 5 live events averaged a 0.4 household rating and 398,044 total viewers. Its third event took place at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Sept. 5.
The next live fight will air Dec. 12, highlighted by featherweight champion Urijah Faber's title defense against Jeff Curran. Additional fights on the card will be announced as information becomes available.
“We are very excited to announce the extension of our partnership with World Extreme Cagefighting, the premier brand in mixed martial arts,” Fein said in a statement. “WEC has tremendous success in putting on top-quality mixed martial arts events which consistently deliver a solid television viewing audience. The quality of the fights and fighters in the WEC sets them apart from the competition — they're faster, fiercer, they fight in a smaller cage and they're only on Versus.”
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