he didn't exactly come right out and say it...but we all know which fight he was talking about.
and says he's talking to Dana about a possible Women's Division in the WEC. maybe this is the reason why Gina hasn't officially signed with strikeforce yet?
WEC still eyeing pay-per-view model, female bouts also a possibility
As the WEC prepares for a possible organizational record-setting crowd at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., for "WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II," company executives are still looking to grow the brand. While it was initially believed WEC 41 would air on pay-per-view, the decision was ultimately made to air the card on VERSUS.
But WEC co-founder and current executive Reed Harris recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio host "Gorgeous" George Garcia the move to pay-per-view events is still coming.
Harris appeared on the radio show "Good Sports" (co-hosted by Garcia).
"Eventually, we would like to do a pay-per-view," Harris said. "And part of doing a pay-per-view is providing the fans with fights that they'll pay for, and that's what we're working toward.
"You can see we're building up these divisions. I mean if you look at the rankings in the 135-pound and 145-pound division, I think in the 135-pound division we have nine of the top 10 fighters in the world."
In March, WEC vice-president Peter Dropick told VERSUS.com that the June event might wind up on pay per view. Harris said it was only at the insisting of the network that the event ended up on VERSUS.
"One of the things that happened was [VERSUS] said, 'We want this fight. We want the Brown-Faber II fight,'" Harris said.
In addition to pay-per-view events, Harris said the organization is still considering adding female bouts to its schedule. While UFC President Dana White has been outspoken in his opposition to the female side of the sport, it appears WEC executives may have a different point of view.
"I think we're definitely interested (in female fights)," Harris said. "We've looked at that, and I've talked to Dana about that."
Harris also suggested that if he were able to bring women into the WEC mix, he would be far stricter on weight classes than other organizations have been up to this point.
"The thing I think I would want to do is really be strict about the weights," Harris said. "We've seen a lot of these fights – there was a fight a couple of weeks ago where one girl probably weighed 25 pounds more than the other girl. I don't want to watch that. I want to watch people compete at the same level.
"I mean, I wouldn't have my guy fight another guy if he's 25 pounds different in weight. I think they deserve that. I think that they deserve to go into an organization where the rules are the rules, the fights are fair – and not that that wasn't the case in this last fight, but we've just seen a lot of that."
Harris believes he simply wouldn't arrange fights at weight that were unreasonable to believe his athletes could reach.
"We've seen a lot of weights being moved up or down in order to compensate for someone's (weight)," Harris said. "And what I say is, 'Don't make the fight.'
"If that person can't make the weight, put it at a different weight, and let another competitor come in that fights at that weight and compete."
While the WEC has grown tremendously since it was purchased by ZUFFA in December 2006, company executives have vision for even further growth. And while recent changes have seen the subtraction of division, the company's next move will be the addition of flyweights.
"[Lightweights] are staying," Harris said. "We're adding [125-pounders], and I think at that point we'll be done."
