I agree with you that a merger in stages would have been better for the UFC and that in the long term the UFC would have made more money doing this, as they would have been able to focus more on the new guys coming in at each stage. However this would not be beneficial for Zuffa or the WEC. A gradual merger would mean the WEC first losing its lightweight division. That would leave the WEC with only 2 division to put on fight cards. This simply wouldnt work, let alone when they merge 145 and then they would only have 1 division and 1 title holder to put on cards with.There are some good points to this merge, but I don't think they out weight the bad, for one I like the merger of the LW divisions, the LW division at WEC seems so pointless somehow anyway so I dont feel like we are loosing much when loosing this division and there is the chance that we could gain a huge amount of depth in the UFC LW division and somehow raise the bar of quality in that division which is a good thing, when you look for example at the WEC LW raster, there are some interesting prospects in there, much more so than in this seasons TUF imo, for example in Tiequan Zhang they have a undefeated 25 year old with 17 wins under his belt, amongst others.
As for the introduction of the 2 extra weight divisions, I dont like this at all, I would much sooner they phase this merge in stages, starting with the merge of the LW division before bringing in the BW and FW.
Only reason I dont like the idea of the UFC hosting 2 extra divisions right now is lack of shows to display the other extra fights, I know they are planning on increasing the number of shows per year but still I would sooner then use these extra fights to add depth to the weight classes they already host instead of taking away from the rest of the divisions which is what this merger will do as focus is spread out more.
I think the UFC should aim to bring these weight classes in at some point, but right now I think its too soon, and doing so will cause a knock on effect that will have a negative impact every other division except LW, I would sooner they hold out until they can run 52 shows per year, 1 every week without fail before they bring in the extra weight classes, during this time they should use the extra shows they are hosting anyway to add depth to the other divisions in the UFC especially LHW and HW even MW where the depth is really needed the most.
Also this would give time for the WEC to to increase depth in the FW and BW divisions before the merge, they could use fighters at risk of been cut from the added depth of the LW division coming out of the merge of the LW divisions who can cut the weight to do this once the WEC looses its own LW division it will also be able to give more air time to just the FW and BW division as raise some new stars with it before it becomes part of the UFC.
when you look at the facts I believe that a lot of the focus will now turn to the LW division over the next year due to the added depth and to weave out the lesser fights in that division to create a higher array of talented fights there, also I believe the FW and BM divisions will grow with fighters cutting weight from LW as the level raises in the LW division, but this extra focus will turn focus away from the other divisions, maybe WW will not suffer because those who cant cut may well move up, but MW LHW and HW will suffer as the focus swings, and if you ask me its the heaver weights that have taken the biggest hits recently specially LHW and a re more in need of extra depth right now than the LW division.
This just seems like an easy way out of having to sign and scout for heavier fights when they can just fill there cards with new divisions we can watch anyway at WEC, just look at this season TUF for example, why they are again in the LW division is beyond me even without knowing that WEC was merging in, and now my disbelieve is double since they are going to have a wealth of new fighters in that division to choose from, but it does show how focus is more been turned to the LW division while the other divisions are been ignored and even cut down in size to accommodate.
But at least during this process you raise the bar of quality in the division and are left with a more elite division after the cuts are made.The only division I think that gets screwed is the guys at LW. If your a LW in the UFC come January every fight your fighting for your job. Eventually they will have to cut down that huge LW roster they will have which is disappointing but obvious.
For me, the fights are always more exciting when a title is on the line, it just is.
And this year seems to have the most non-title fight headliners I've ever seen.
Dana always says the fighters should fight 3 times a year. With the 5 existing champions, that should be 15 cards a year with title fights. But that's never the case is it?
2 more champs at different divisions SHOULD make each card finally have a belt on the line...
That's good news, right? Or will it be more of the same...
- Dana White“She goes to the UFC too.”