Andrei Arlovski, Miguel Torres, Anthony Johnson, And More UFC Vets Booked for ‘World Series of Fighting 1? on November 3rd


(Now that Anthony Johnson competes at light-heavyweight, we can all stop freaking out about this photo.)

You don’t call yourself the “World Series of Fighting” without lofty aspirations. The upstart MMA promotion launched by former K-1 star Ray Sefo (!) will be hosting its first event on November 3rd at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and has already inked a deal to air its first card live on the NBC Sports Network (?!?).

And to give viewers a reason to tune in, the WSOF has been hard at work snatching up as many big name ex-UFC fighters as possible, and putting them in surprisingly competitive fights. Here’s a little taste of what the matchmakers have planned for World Series of Fighting 1…

– In the night’s main event, Andrei Arlovski will be returning from his no-contest/moral victory against Tim Sylvia to face Strikeforce vet Devin Cole, who won unanimous decisions over Shawn Jordan and Gabriel Salinas-Jones in his last two appearances.

– Anthony Johnson, now 2-0 as a light-heavyweight, will look to make it three in a row against 14-3 moneyweight DJ Linderman, who holds the Cage Warriors heavyweight title and was a semi-finalist in Bellator’s season 4 light-heavyweight tournament last year.


(Now that Anthony Johnson competes at light-heavyweight, we can all stop freaking out about this photo.)

You don’t call yourself the “World Series of Fighting” without lofty aspirations. The upstart MMA promotion launched by former K-1 star Ray Sefo (!) will be hosting its first event on November 3rd at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and has already inked a deal to air its first card live on the NBC Sports Network (?!?).

And to give viewers a reason to tune in, the WSOF has been hard at work snatching up as many big name ex-UFC fighters as possible, and putting them in surprisingly competitive fights. Here’s a little taste of what the matchmakers have planned for World Series of Fighting 1…

– In the night’s main event, Andrei Arlovski will be returning from his no-contest/moral victory against Tim Sylvia to face Strikeforce vet Devin Cole, who won unanimous decisions over Shawn Jordan and Gabriel Salinas-Jones in his last two appearances.

– Anthony Johnson, now 2-0 as a light-heavyweight, will look to make it three in a row against 14-3 moneyweight DJ Linderman, who holds the Cage Warriors heavyweight title and was a semi-finalist in Bellator’s season 4 light-heavyweight tournament last year.

– Miguel Torres will make his first appearance since his recent UFC firing, facing two-time Brazilian national Muay Thai champion and BJJ brown belt Marlon Moraes (8-4-1), a training partner of Edson Barboza.

– Fresh off a successful welterweight debut in May, former middleweight/TUF vet/funnyman Gerald Harris will be facing fellow 170-pounder Josh Burkman, who’s gone 5-1 since being released by the UFC in 2008.

– Riding an 11-fight win streak — including an armbar victory over a dude named, no shit, Wanderson Silva — Ronys Torres will face UFC one-and-doner Brian Cobb, who most recently dropped a decision to Antonio McKee in a classic “you’re both getting fired” match under the MFC banner.

The current lineup is below. Additional undercard bouts will be confirmed shortly.

Main Card
Andrei Arlovski vs. Devin Cole (HW)
Anthony Johnson vs. D.J. Linderman (LHW)
Miguel Torres vs. Marlon Moraes (BW)
Gregor Gracie vs. Tyson Steele (WW)

Preliminary Card
Josh Burkman vs. Gerald Harris (WW)
Ronys Torres vs. Brian Cobb (LW)
Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. TJ O’Brien (LW)
Tyrone Spong vs. Travis Bartlett (LHW)
David Branch vs. Dustin Jacoby (MW)
Steve Carl vs. Ramico Blackmon (WW)
Waylon Lowe vs. Fabio Mello (FW)