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For years, the WEC served as an entertaining alternative to the UFC. The promotion was crucial for the smaller weight divisions as they provided a platform to compete at their natural weight.
Many fighters became household names and marketable stars during their tenure. They had a unique product and both the featherweight and bantamweight divisions were a big selling point. The divisions were somewhat different than what the UFC was offering and it became their attraction. Fighters like Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres became pioneers for the smaller weight divisions and one of the reasons their popularity grew. In addition, the promotion offered fighters another opportunity as they were under the Zuffa umbrella.
In 2010, the promotion's smaller weight divisions merged with the UFC. It can be argued that had the smaller divisions not done well, perhaps Zuffa wouldn’t have purchased the promotion. Despite not having the same longevity as the UFC, they still had impressive title reigns. This list will look back at the top 5 WEC championship reigns.
#5. Dominick Cruz – WEC bantamweight champion
Dominick Cruz is one of the most successful fighters to come out of the WEC. After being unsuccessful in his attempt at becoming featherweight champion, he moved down to 135lbs. He has since built an incredible legacy and is regarded as one of the greatest bantamweight fighters of all-time.
Cruz made a permanent move to bantamweight in 2008 and won four-straight bouts. After a unanimous decision win over Joseph Benavidez, he earned a Fight of the Night bonus and title shot.
‘The Dominator’ defeated then bantamweight champion Brian Bowles via TKO after the doctor felt it was unsafe for Bowles to continue. He retained the title twice as he defeated Benavidez by split decision and Scott Jorgensen by unanimous decision.
Having two title defenses and being the promotion’s final bantamweight champion, Cruz was awarded the inaugural UFC bantamweight championship. He defended the title twice more before vacating it due to injuries.
#4. Jose Aldo – WEC featherweight champion
Jose Aldo took full advantage of the WEC’s platform for the smaller weight divisions. At the height of his career, he was in the discussion of being the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His skillset and devastating leg kicks made him one of the most feared fighters in the sport.
‘Junior’ immediately ascended the ranks at 145lbs. He had an 11-1 MMA record when he joined the promotion in 2008 and remained unbeaten throughout his tenure. In 2009, he became the new featherweight champion after finishing Mike Brown with strikes in the second round. He followed that up with two dominant title defenses against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan.
Like Dominick Cruz, Aldo was promoted to UFC featherweight champion once the promotion merged. He continued his dominance in the UFC and retained it 7-times before losing to Conor McGregor in 2015. Even though ‘Junior’ had two title defenses, his UFC success is what set him apart.
#3. Carlos Condit – WEC welterweight champion
Carlos Condit benefited from his WEC tenure. He joined the promotion in 2007, after making a name for himself while competing in Pancrase and other regional promotions.
After an impressive debut that saw him submit Kyle Jensen in the first round, ‘The Natural Born Killer’ earned a title shot. His high-level grappling was the difference maker once again as he submitted John Alessio to become the new welterweight champion. Condit followed that up with back-to-back submission wins over Brock Larson and Carlo Prater. He retained the title once more with a fourth-round TKO over Hiromitsu Miura.
‘The Natural Born Killer’s title reign came to an end in 2009 when Zuffa absorbed the division with the UFC. This was bitter-sweet for Condit. On the plus side, he had an opportunity to earn more money fighting in the UFC. On the other hand, continuing his title reign could’ve allowed him to gain more momentum and become more of a commodity.
#2. Miguel Torres – WEC bantamweight champion
Miguel Torres is perhaps one of the most underrated fighters in terms of his accomplishments in the WEC. He was an established fighter with a 33-1 MMA record when he joined the promotion in 2007. He quickly inserted himself in the title picture after a first-round submission win over Jeff Bedard in his debut.
Torres took advantage of his title opportunity by submitting Chase Beebe with a guillotine choke in the first round. His first defense saw him defeat Yoshiro Maeda via TKO, when the doctor stopped the bout following the third-round. He then followed that up with a second-round TKO over Manny Tapia and a unanimous decision over Takeya Mizugaki.
Torres’ title reign came to an end on August 9th, 2009, when Brian Bowles knocked him out in the first round. He had another set back following the title loss as Joseph Benavidez submitted him. But he won his final bout in the promotion by submitting Charlie Valencia and earned a Submission of the Night bonus.
#1. Urijah Faber – WEC featherweight champion
Urijah Faber is arguably the biggest star to come out of the WEC and among those most synonymous with the promotion. His 5 title defenses were the most in the promotion’s history.
Faber defeated Cole Escovedo to become the new featherweight champion after Escovedo’s corner stopped the fight prior to the third round. Some of his title defenses included wins over Dominick Cruz, Jeff Curran, and former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. What made the title reign even more impressive was that he continued fighting in regional promotions as a bantamweight.
‘The California Kid’s reign ended in 2008, when Mike Brown finished him with strikes to earn the first-round TKO win. Brown ended Faber’s title reign as well as his 13-fight winning streak. Faber was unable to regain the title and returned to bantamweight, where he’d compete during the majority of his UFC tenure.
