In its three-plus years under the umbrella of Zuffa LLC, the WEC aggressively has recruited talent from overseas, particularly among the ranks of Japanese fighters who’ve traditionally dominated the rankings in lighter weight classes.
They’ve been partially successful in doing so, nabbing competitors such as Takeya Mizugaki, Yoshiro Maeda and Akitoshi Tamura, among others.
One of the biggest prizes, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, seemed to elude their grasp. But that soon could change.