WEC 44 Buzz: Brown and Aldo Flying Below the Radar

WEC 44 comes to us live and free on Versus on Wednesday night, featuring a compelling featherweight title defense from Mike Thomas Brown against up-and-coming Brazilian wrecking machine Jose Aldo. Sadly, a variety of factors will limit the TV drawing potential of the event and result in many fans missing what could be a fight of the year candidate.

Three issues plague the event and contribute to the underwhelming buzz that the main and co-main event participants are currently generating. First is the relative obscurity of the WEC brand name in comparison to its far better known big brother, the UFC. Second is the stoic and subdued demeanor of the current champion, Mike Thomas Brown, who is not generating nearly as much casual fan interest as the man he defeated to take the belt, Urijah Faber. Third is the packed month of November, sandwiching the WEC event among back to back high profile UFC events, not to mention the blockbuster Strikeforce card on CBS.

The net result is limited awareness of the upcoming event, with the champion Mike Brown ranked a disappointing 369th place in the latest MMA fighter buzz rankings. This means that despite being considered one of the best pound for pound athletes in the sport today, 368 other MMA fighters currently receive more fan attention and online activity than Brown. At peak, Brown reached 51st place in June, when he defeated Urijah Faber for a second time in a thrilling five round affair.

While Jose Aldo fares slightly better at 191st in the latest buzz rankings, co-main event participants Manny Gamburyan and Leonard Garcia are unable to add any drawing power to the card. That is too bad given the world class level of competition and action that the WEC never fails to reward its viewers with.