UFC President Dana White, along with headliners Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira, fielded questions from the media Thursday in the UFC 102 Pre-fight Press Conference. It was Dana's responses to a number of topics that proved especially interesting. This included: his response to how the UFC sets it ticket pricing; the UFC heading to Vancouver, BC; the possible title implications for the Couture vs Nogueira winner; the announcement that the UFC will be adding lighter weight classes; and the implications for the future of the Zuffa-owned WEC which features these same weight classes.

"I'm not raising ticket prices, I'm not raising paper view prices, and I'm not gonna do what boxing did and price the fans right out of the sport. I'll never do it." said White when asked about disgruntled fans who believe the price has been set to high. White continued, "We have to run our business. Some will sit at home and watch PPV, and some will be able to buy tickets."  He feels the fan response in Portland is a good one, and that while the UFC is aware of the economic hard times it has yet to feel the "crunch".

Dana White confirmed that the UFC's Mark Ratner is finishing the deal to take the UFC to Vancouver B.C. which is excellent news for NW fight fans. The UFC is very open about its business plan of expanding the octagon brand globally, and with huge tickets sales and PPV numbers for recent shows in London, Montreal, and in Germany, the plan seems to be working perfectly. Dana added that the probability of taking the UFC event to Brazil in the near future is very good.

"In the mix," said White about the possibility of a title shot for the winner of Couture and Nogueira against that of the Lesnar-Carwin fight November 21st at UFC 106. He mentioned that both Couture and Nogueira are in great shape and have always been top contenders in the heavyweight division. The winner of the Couture Vs Nogueira bout Saturday night might get that much closer to UFC gold once again... something both veterans have experience holding.

Asked about the possibility of the UFC expanding the weight classes, White answered immediately in the affirmative and indicated that it would be the lighter weight classes. So does that mean the UFC will merge its sister company the WEC into itself when it creates these lighter weight classes? When asked directly, Dana said "it doesn't really mean that", then prompted for the next question.

When will the UFC introduce these changes? "Real soon" were White's words.

What will this mean for the WEC fighters? I guess we will find out soon...

Listen to the full press conference HERE