UFC 132 Fight Card: A Full Breakdown of How WEC Transplants Have Fared vs. UFC
By Bleachersreport 30 June 2011
At UFC 132 this Saturday, Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz will square off for Cruz's newly minted UFC bantamweight title. It will mark the first time that two transplants from the now-defunct WEC will fight in a UFC main event.
The fight card also features two WEC transplants going against UFC veterans. In a matchup that holds fight-of-the-night potential, Shane Roller will take on Melvin Guillard. Muay Thai ace Anthony Njoukani will fight Andre Winner. WEC products Brian Bowles and Takeya Mizugazi also appear on the preliminary card.
By my count, 45 fighters made the leap from the WEC after the promotion officially closed up shop in December. These fighters—hailing from the lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight divisions—now comprise sizable portions of the UFC stables in these lighter classes. As ex-WEC fighters rack up fights and raise their profiles, though, there has been some conflicting speculation about whether this cohort is finding success thus far in the Octagon.
So it got me to thinking. How, really, have these WEC transplants fared so far against UFC veterans and other UFC newcomers from different promotions? What are the records? Who have they beaten?
Here’s a full breakdown of the 25 WEC transports who have faced a non-WEC fighter in the UFC.