I don't remember ever seeing such an exciting MMA event on TV as I did when I was watching WEC 35.
All the fights shown were action-packed and exciting. None of the fights ended in a decision.
The problem with the event was that not too many people knew about the show or were interested in the fights.
Brian Stann, Brock Larson, and Brian Bowles may all be very talented fighters, but none of them are household names. Even the casual MMA fan will have a hard time recognizing WEC champions such as Carlos Condit and Jamie Varner.
It is a shame that the WEC show did not have any hype at all. The UFC, which owns the WEC, does a great job of promoting their own shows, but not the WEC shows.
The main event between Carlos Condit and challenger Hiromitsu Miura was a back-and-forth battle and a candidate for Fight of the Year. Although Miura lost, he gained many fans with his fighting spirit and judo throws.
Unfortunately, not too many fans saw this fight or the other exciting fights on the show.
When I asked MMA fans about the WEC, almost all of them told me they are not interested at all in the WEC because they don't know the fighters.
They feel that the WEC is the minor leagues of MMA and other organizations like the UFC and EliteXC are the major leagues.
In other fights that night, Jamie Varner defended his lightweight title by defeating Marcus Hicks by TKO. Also winning by TKO was Steve Cantwell.
Cantwell defeated Brian Stann to win the light heavyweight title. Stann was the favorite in the fight, but Cantwell displayed good stand-up skills and technique to offset Stann's brawling style.
Other impressive fighters that night were Bowles, Larson, and Jon Grispi.
The next WEC show on VERSUS will be on September 10 in Florida. I have never seen a bad WEC show and I expect more great fights that night.
I also will expect no one to know about the fights or care about them. Only the hardcore MMA fans will be watching that night once again.
What a shame.
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