WEC
World Extreme Cagefighting · 2001 – 2010
Merged into UFC
- Founded
- 2001
- Founders
- Scott Adams, Reed Harris
- Home base
- Las Vegas, Nevada (originally Lemoore, California), USA
- Fate
- Bought by Zuffa in 2006; merged into the UFC after WEC 53 in December 2010.
Notable Eras
- California era, 2001–2006
- Zuffa era from December 2006: home of the lighter weight classes on Versus
Key Events
- WEC 41: Faber vs. Brown II (2009)
- WEC 48 (2010): first lighter-weight pay-per-view, Aldo vs. Faber
- WEC 53 (Dec 2010): final event
Legendary Champions
- José Aldo
- Urijah Faber
- Dominick Cruz
- Benson Henderson
- Anthony Pettis
The Full History
2001–2006: California Roots
Scott Adams and Reed Harris founded WEC in 2001, running shows at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, California.
2006–2010: Zuffa's Little Brother
Zuffa bought WEC in December 2006. It became the home of the featherweight and bantamweight divisions on Versus.
2010: Folded Into the UFC
In October 2010 Zuffa announced that WEC would merge into the UFC. The last event was WEC 53 in December 2010, and its champions became UFC champions.
Why It Closed
It was a corporate merger. WEC's owner, Zuffa, folded it into the UFC at the end of 2010 so the lighter weight classes could be promoted under the bigger brand.
Legacy
WEC proved that featherweights and bantamweights could sell. Without it the UFC's lighter divisions would have arrived years later.
