World Series of Fighting 5 to host opening round of middleweight tournament

The Sept. 14 World Series of Fighting 5 show will host the opening round of a four-man middleweight tournament, a format that will eventually produce a No. 1 contender for the soon-to-be-established divisional championship.
The two …

5h6a4058

The Sept. 14 World Series of Fighting 5 show will host the opening round of a four-man middleweight tournament, a format that will eventually produce a No. 1 contender for the soon-to-be-established divisional championship.

The two semifinal bouts, which will air on the NBC Sports Network-televised main card, include David Branch vs. Danillo Villefort and Elvis Mutapcic vs. Jesse Taylor.

Though the promotion made those plans official on Thursday, they didn’t announce how the other participant in a middleweight title match would be established.

The 31-year-old Branch has a 12-3 career record, and has won both of his WSOF starts, defeating both Dustin Jacoby and Paulo Filho by decision, while Villefort (14-4) captured a split-decision over Kris McCray in his promotional debut.

Mutapcic and Taylor both come into the fight riding respectable win streaks. Mutapcic, who will be making his WSOF debut, has won five straight to raise his record to 13-2, while Taylor (26-9) has captured six in a row.

The card will emanate from Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The show will be headlined by a light-heavyweight match between sluggers Anthony Johnson and Mike Kyle.