World Extreme Cagefighting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The organization was started in 2001 by Scott Adams and Reed Harris. Between 2001 and 2006, most of their events were held in Lemoore, California and aired on HDNet.
In December, 2006, Zuffa, parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, purchased the WEC. With the purchase, the WEC continues as a separate promotion with its own roster of fighters. Adams has been retained after the purchase as the organization's matchmaker. Harris and Adams were named co-General Managers and are both active in the new WEC.
Zuffa however has made several changes to the promotion since its purchase. It discontinued its pentagonal cage for a modified version of the UFC's octagonal arena. The championships of fighters who were contracted UFC fighters were vacated. The promotion moved to focus on lighter weight classes, abandoning their Heavyweight (265 lb) and Super Heavyweight (over 265 lb) divisions and championships, and retaining their Bantamweight (135 lb) and Featherweight (145 lb) divisions, two divisions not currently present in the UFC.
The WEC airs their events on Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network. WEC's first live event was broadcast on June 3, 2007 on Versus from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
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Here is a list of all the current champions in each existing WEC Division
Light-Heavyweight: Doug "The Rhino" Marshall
Middleweight: Paulo Filho
Welterweight: Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit
Lightweight: "Razor" Rob McCullough
Featherweight: "The California Kid" Urijah Faber
Bantamweight: Chase Beebe