World Series of Fighting (WSOF) may be on the verge of losing their longest reigning and most successful champion in Justin Gaethje, but Ray Sefo says not everything is what it seems.
The World Series of Fighting (WSOF) has been steadily losing champions throughout 2017. Marlon Moraes entered free agency and vacated his Bantamweight title. Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion David Branch vacated BOTH titles to make his return to UFC. Now it appears the potential exists to lose their longest reigning and most successful champion.
FOX Sports is reporting that undefeated Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (17-0) is no longer contractually restricted from testing the waters of free agency and has decided to dip his foot in the pool. WSOF President Ray Sefo didn’t seem thrilled with some of the reporting of this news and decided to pump the brakes.
Ariel you should check with your sources before tweeting because Justin isn’t a free agent… https://t.co/aAGZcPPODN
— Ray Sefo (@SugarRaySefo) March 29, 2017
That terse reply aside, MMA Fighting did note that WSOF has a matching rights clause in Gaethje’s contract, which means Gaethje has not officially left the promotion unless World Series of Fighting refuses to match (or beat) any offer Gaethje receives from UFC, Bellator MMA, or any other interested party.
It’s hard to imagine Gaethje won’t get a good offer on the marketplace though. His reign as WSOF’s Lightweight king started at WSOF 8 in 2014, he’s had five successful title defenses since then, and an astonishing 82% of his wins (14 of 17) have come by knockout.
Whatever is going down, Justin doesn’t seem too concerned about it right now.
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