World Series of Fighting’s middleweight contender picture will be much clearer by next month.
Krasimir Mladenov will meet Clifford Starks in a title eliminator at WSOF 19 on March 28 in Phoenix, MMAFighting.com has learned. The victor will take on 185-pound champion David Branch at a later date.
Mladenov (12-0) is a perfect 3-0 in WSOF and coming off a unanimous decision win over Brendan Kornberger last month. The Bulgarian prospect is a wrestling specialist — so much so that his nickname is “The Wrestler.” Starks (10-2), a UFC veteran, has won two straight, most recently a second-round submission against Jacob Ortiz for Bellator last September.
Branch (15-3) won the WSOF middleweight belt by beating former UFC title contender Yushin Okami by TKO in the fourth round at WSOF 15 in November.
WSOF 19 is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Luis Palomino. In the co-main event, Thiago Silva meets Ronny Markes in the semifinals of the promotion’s light heavyweight title tournament.