WEC looks to build off record-setting weekend

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | midnight

Reed Harris, general manager for World Extreme Cagefighting, didn’t loiter after the highest-grossing event in his company’s eight-year history Sunday night. After attending WEC 41 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., Harris congratulated his fighters, said his goodbyes and got himself back to the promotion's Las Vegas-based office.

He knew that come Monday, the phone would be busy.

“I can definitely say this isn’t the first phone call I’ve received today,” Harris said Monday afternoon of the news media trying to get his reaction to Mike Brown’s successful title defense over Urijah Faber. “It’s been a busy day, but I’ve been happy to do it.”

But Brown’s riveting win over the hometown hero in the 145-pound weight class was only half the story, as the unprecedented success of the WEC 41 show overshadowed the fight itself.

Although the organization has been growing in recent years, this past weekend might have marked the WEC's introduction to the mainstream fight world. Sunday’s event set WEC records for attendance and live gate amounts, drawing a crowd of 12,706 and $815,415, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

The previous records were 12,682 in attendance and $738,855 at the gate at WEC 34, which also featured Faber fighting in ARCO Arena, in June of last year.

“The entire event went well, the fans in Sacramento were like the ones we see in Las Vegas, they understand the game and there was a lot of energy,” Harris said. “When the fighters entered, it was so loud it actually hurt my ears.

“The only other fight I remember that happening was when Chuck Liddell fought Rampage (Quinton Jackson) at the MGM Grand (in 2007).”

Even Brown, who was expecting an icy reception from Faber’s hometown, couldn’t believe the crowd he met when he entered the Octagon.

“Man, I was in the lion’s den,” Brown said. “I walked in the lion’s den and pulled the lion’s tail, it felt like. I didn’t expect it. I’ve been booed, but Sacramento was a bucket of water in the face. It was overwhelming.”

It’s a significant accomplishment for an organization that Harris admits few recognized just one year ago. Originally co-founded by Harris and Scott Adams, the WEC was purchased by Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, in 2006.

Then last December, the UFC made the decision to dissolve the WEC’s heavier weight classes and have the organization focus on lighter fighters, between 125 and 145 pounds.

At the time, Harris didn’t understand how his company could survive without the heavier, more popular weight classes.

But with the emergence of star talent in lighter divisions, the WEC is thriving under the new setup.

“I’ll tell you, initially I was really concerned and I didn’t want to drop the weight classes,” Harris said. “But the UFC said they didn’t want us to be a minor leagues to them and it’s worked out really well. It’s established us with our own personality and now we have guys who are considered some of the top in the world.”

Before the agreement, it was typical to see some of the best talents of the WEC vacate their titles to pursue opportunities of more recognition and larger paydays in the UFC.

Brown himself gained 20 pounds in 2004 to make the jump from 135 pounds to 155 to fight in UFC 47, a fight he ended up losing to Genki Sudo by submission in the first round.

“I knew I wasn’t the best in the world at 155, by no means did I think I was,” Brown said. “I did it just to say I fought in the UFC. I’m a huge fight fan and that was my dream. Today I wouldn’t need to do that. I’m a world champion in my own weight class.”

Now that an organization for smaller fighters exists, WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres says the lighter weight classes have gotten noticeably more competitive in recent years.

As it is in the UFC, fighters are not only competing for title fights — they’re fighting for the lives of their individual careers.

“We’re an emerging organization,” Torres said. “It’s getting to the point the UFC is at where there are 50 guys in a division. There are guys applying for a TV show every day so that they can take your spot.

“You can’t lose anymore. It puts you in the bottom of the barrel and if you lose again, they’re going to cut you.”

The WEC will now look to turn the success of WEC 41 into a launching pad for the future. Harris said deals are in place regarding pay-per-view events and an international fight in Mexico, both company firsts, within the year.

“Our future is to promote events in new cities and build our brand,” Harris said. “It wasn’t that long ago that I would say WEC and people would answer, ‘What’s that?’

“It’s not like that anymore.”

If last weekend was any indication, Harris shouldn’t expect a quiet phone any time soon.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com.