World Extreme Cagefighting 31 taught us many things about the WEC, the fighters themselves, and the Versus-WEC production. But most of all, the event proved the WEC is now a major player with a Zuffa-fueled hype machine rivaling all other promotions except the UFC. The production quality is top notch and the fights themselves are worthy of its growing television audience.
Here's what we learned:
No. 1: Urijah Faber rocks!
Face it. There were a ton of questions surrounding Faber before this fight. He had won his fights easily, but sometimes against mediocre competition. Plus, Faber's wild style tends to put him in trouble and a technician like Jeff Curran was exactly the type of fighter to take advantage of that shortcoming. Curran did take advantage, but Faber proved to be more than a blonde Tasmanian devil. He successfully defended chokes from one of the best in the business and then submitted the submitter. His no-feet-on-the-floor knee was something most people can't do standing against a wall, let alone with a fighter hanging on them. Some questioned whether he deserved to the poster boy for the WEC. No one questions that now.