WEC and Versus could be nearing new contract, though deal not official
A contract extension between World Extreme Cagefighting and its longtime broadcast partner, Versus, is apparently close to finalized.
UFC president Dana White suggested it was a done deal during today's UFC Fight Club Q&A session at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
However, when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), WEC officials could not comment on the matter, which suggests a deal is not official but likely closely to finalized.
Terms of the potential deal were not disclosed.
Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, first signed a deal with the WEC in early 2007, though an extension came just months later. Zuffa LLC, the UFC's parent company, purchased the organization in December 2006.
Since the purchase, Zuffa has transformed the previously California-based organization into a Las Vegas-based sister property of the WEC. Zuffa ultimately stripped the WEC of its heavier weight classes and transferred the top talent from those divisions to the UFC's ranks.
With a lineup of increasingly prominent talent, the WEC has drawn solid ratings for Versus, which also airs NHL games, PBA events, cycling competitions and general hunting/fishing shows and even WEC highlights packages. A June 2008 "WEC: Faber vs. Pulver" broadcast set an MMA ratings record for Versus, scoring a 1.4 rating and averaging 1.54 million viewers, which tripled the size of its previous TV audiences.
Back in March, the Sports Business Journal reported that the WEC and Versus were on the verge of announcing a multi-year deal. WEC officials, though, never confirmed the report, and no deal ever materialized.
In addition to Versus, the WEC has extended its deal with a handful of international deal. The WEC, for example, announced a multi-year deal with Brazilian channel Combate Brasil earlier this week.
(Pictured: Urijah Faber)
Check out more UFC News at MMAjunkie.com. This story originally appeared on MMAjunkie.com and is syndicated on Yahoo! Sports as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.
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