Sabah Fadai is a 28-year-old B.C. native who hasn’t competed since a first-round triangle-choke victory against Cody Krahn at MFC 35 in October 2012. Fadai’s two fights before that resulted in a no-contest (after Fadai illegally kneed Diego Bautista at MFC 33) and a decision loss to Mukai Maromo at MFC 31. Though all of Fadai’s wins have come by stoppage, he’s only been victorious once in the last three years.
Sabah Fadai is a 28-year-old B.C. native who hasn’t competed since a first-round triangle-choke victory against Cody Krahn at MFC 35 in October 2012. Fadai’s two fights before that resulted in a no-contest (after Fadai illegally kneed Diego Bautista at MFC 33) and a decision loss to Mukai Maromo at MFC 31. Though all of Fadai’s wins have come by stoppage, he’s only been victorious once in the last three years.
Newell left the XFC earlier this year specifically to pursue fights against top free agents and UFC veterans. So far, that hasn’t happened during his stint with the WSOF. Though Newell’s win over Caldwell was supposed to clinch him a spot in a lightweight tournament where he’d potentially face off against higher-profile vets like Gesias Cavalcante and Dan Lauzon, his match against Fadai is a non-tournament bout. We’ve reached out to Newell and WSOF officials about the current status of the lightweight tournament, and we’ll update you as soon as we know more.
WSOF 7 will mark World Series of Fighting’s first card in Canada, and will feature Anthony Johnson vs. Mike Kyle in the main event, as well as the rescheduled middleweight bout between Jesse Taylor and Elvis Mutapcic, which was canceled at WSOF 5 due to a pharmaceutical-related misunderstanding.
It may not have been the barnburner that we hoped it would be, but Tyrone Spong improved his MMA record to 2-0 in the main event of last night’s WSoF 4 by earning a unanimous decision over Angel DeAnda.
Spong fought smart, utilizing leg kicks throughout the fight while avoiding DeAnda’s heavy hands for most of the fight. To DeAnda’s credit, he was never dropped by Spong, but he also never mounted any significant offense. At least I don’t think he did; one of the judges scored this fight 29-28.
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly the most exciting fight in recent memory. Fortunately, the rest of the WSoF 4 main card made up for the disappointment that was the main event. After the jump, there’s also videos of a knockout and submission for your viewing pleasure.
(Tyrone Spong vs Angel DeAnda.)
It may not have been the barnburner that we hoped it would be, but Tyrone Spong improved his MMA record to 2-0 in the main event of last night’s WSoF 4 by earning a unanimous decision over Angel DeAnda.
Spong fought smart, utilizing leg kicks throughout the fight while avoiding DeAnda’s heavy hands for most of the fight. To DeAnda’s credit, he was never dropped by Spong, but he also never mounted any significant offense. At least I don’t think he did; one of the judges scored this fight 29-28.
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly the most exciting fight in recent memory. Fortunately, the rest of the WSoF 4 main card made up for the disappointment that was the main event. After the jump, there’s also videos of a knockout and submission for your viewing pleasure.
(Ray Sefo vs Dave Huckaba)
Though JZ Cavalcante’s (questionable) knockout over Tyson Griffin earned him a spot in the upcoming lightweight tournament, my favorite knockout from last night involved heavyweights Ray Sefo and Dave Huckaba. Yes, you read that correctly.
It’s funny how the fight that many of us were expecting to be one of the ugliest bouts of the year – two old-timers engaged in a conflict of interest will drastically lower your expectations – turned out to arguably be the best fight from last night’s card. Sefo was in control for most of it, but he was caught by a fierce counter left hook that put him out on his feet. A few follow-up punches later, and Huckaba was awarded the standing TKO.
(Nick Newell vs Keon Caldwell)
Also from last night’s card, Nick Newell’s WSoF debut ended predictably. We were given a few takedowns by Newell, a comparison of Newell to Anthony Robles from Todd Harris, and then Newell locked in the fight-ending choke before the end of the first round. Don’t look now, but Newell is now 10-0, with nine of those fights ending in the first round and seven of those fights ending by submission. Expect him to receive a step up in competition for his next bout.
Full Results
Main Card
Tyrone Spong def. Angel DeAnda via unanimous decision
Marlon Moraes def. Brandon Hempleman via unanimous decision
Nick Newell def. Keon Caldwell via submission (guillotine choke), 2:07 of Round One
Dave Huckaba def. Ray Sefo via TKO (punches), 4:32 of Round Two
Gesias Cavalcante def. Tyson Griffin via TKO (punches), 1:37 of Round Three
Preliminary Card
Gerald Harris def. Jorge Santiago via unanimous decision
Lewis Gonzales def. Antonio McKee via unanimous decision
Jared Papazian def. John Robles via unanimous decision
Victor Valenzuela def. Isaac Gutierrez via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:41 of Round Two
Like many kids, young Nick Newell dabbled in a number of sports as a child. First, there was soccer, then karate and baseball.
Nothing really stuck with him, however, until he joined his high school’s wrestling team as a freshman. The fact that he was missing the lower portion of his left arm didn’t seem to matter to Newell.
His family had always encouraged Nick to take part in whatever interested him, like all the other kids, and now his interest was in combat sports. “I really loved one on one aspect,” he tells CagePotato in the days leading up to his fight against Keon Caldwell on tonight’s World Series of Fighting 4 event in California.
“I don’t like depending on anyone else to get the job done. At the end of the day, you have no excuses no one to blame.”
That Newell lost his first fifteen wrestling matches didn’t put a damper on his enthusiasm for wrestling, and it also didn’t bring scorn of teammates mad that he was losing so much. “I was the team’s only 103 pounder so if I went out there and got a forfeit win it was better than nothing,” he tells with a laugh.
“I got my balls busted because I was a freshman but that was about it. The wrestling team is a family. And the coach had a lot of faith in me expected a lot out of me, even when I sucked. He always believed in me. Everyone saw how hard I worked as well. You’re together six days a week and you develop a bond.”
During college Newell decided that he wanted to fight MMA because, well, he saw MMA fights and knew that he could be good enough to do it. “I knew that I wanted to fight when I went to see fights for the first time,” he says.
“There were some fights around where I was training wrestling in college and some friends asked if I wanted to go see some fights. I said, ‘yeah, I’ll go.’ When we were watching I thought to myself, ‘I could beat these guys.’ So, instead of just talking about it, I went out and started training and did it.”
Indeed he has. The lightweight has put together a perfect 9-0 record as a professional over the past four years and became the XFC champion.
Tonight, he makes the step up to The World Series of Fighting.
Like many kids, young Nick Newell dabbled in a number of sports as a child. First, there was soccer, then karate and baseball.
Nothing really stuck with him, however, until he joined his high school’s wrestling team as a freshman. The fact that he was missing the lower portion of his left arm didn’t seem to matter to Newell.
His family had always encouraged Nick to take part in whatever interested him, like all the other kids, and now his interest was in combat sports. “I really loved one on one aspect,” he tells CagePotato in the days leading up to his fight against Keon Caldwell on tonight’s World Series of Fighting 4 event in California.
“I don’t like depending on anyone else to get the job done. At the end of the day, you have no excuses no one to blame.”
That Newell lost his first fifteen wrestling matches didn’t put a damper on his enthusiasm for wrestling, and it also didn’t bring scorn of teammates mad that he was losing so much. “I was the team’s only 103 pounder so if I went out there and got a forfeit win it was better than nothing,” he tells with a laugh.
“I got my balls busted because I was a freshman but that was about it. The wrestling team is a family. And the coach had a lot of faith in me expected a lot out of me, even when I sucked. He always believed in me. Everyone saw how hard I worked as well. You’re together six days a week and you develop a bond.”
During college Newell decided that he wanted to fight MMA because, well, he saw MMA fights and knew that he could be good enough to do it. “I knew that I wanted to fight when I went to see fights for the first time,” he says.
“There were some fights around where I was training wrestling in college and some friends asked if I wanted to go see some fights. I said, ‘yeah, I’ll go.’ When we were watching I thought to myself, ‘I could beat these guys.’ So, instead of just talking about it, I went out and started training and did it.”
Indeed he has. The lightweight has put together a perfect 9-0 record as a professional over the past four years and became the XFC champion.
Tonight, he makes the step up to The World Series of Fighting. In his opponent Caldwell, Newell will be facing a man previously selected for The Ultimate Fighter. If Newell wins, the plan is for him to take part in the WSOF lightweight tournament to crown a champion.
That tournament could also include Dan Lauzon, JZ Calvacante and Tyson Griffin. Lauzon and Griffin are UFC veterans and Calvacante was a top-ranked international champion for years.
Newell has said he wanted better competition and he’s certainly getting it at WSOF. “I take it one fight at a time,” he says.
“My goal is always to fight better and better competition. If keep winning I’m gonna force people to recognize me. Everyone in the WSOF is a fantastic fighter. I’m happy with any fight I get. I’m ready to raise my stock. If I win this fight and I win the tournament, I’ll definitely be up there.”
Even though Newell hasn’t yet won his WSOF debut, the promotion announced that a win over Caldwell would earn Newell a spot in its upcoming lightweight tournament, which will crown the promotion’s inaugural 155-pound champion. If Newell does indeed enter that tournament, he’ll have a chance to prove once and for all that he’s truly a UFC-caliber fighter.
Why, you ask? Well, simply because the tournament is stacked with top international lightweights including a number of UFC veterans. Dan Lauzon will be in the tournament, as will the winner of an excellent WSOF 4 match up between Tyson Griffin and Gesias Calvacante.
Of course, all this doesn’t sit so well with Keon Caldwell’s camp, who tell MMA Junkie that they are worried of unfair treatment from the WSOF. While Newell has been publicly guaranteed a spot in the lightweight tournament if he’s victorious this weekend, Caldwell has been given no such offer. (“I just think they’re on the Nick Newell hype train,” said Caldwell’s trainer Richard Cox.)
Also fighting this Saturday will be kickboxing star Tyrone Spong, who will be headlining WSOF 4 against California-bred knockout artist Angel DeAnda. It will be Spong’s second World Series of Fighting appearance following his beat-down of Travis Bartlett in November. You can check out a lil’ video of Spong hitting people and acting cocky after the jump. Above, you can enjoy a mini documentary show on Newell’s life that takes you inside his camp, family, and home.
(Learn more about lightweight rising star Nick Newell and the challenges he’s overcome | Video via MMA World Series Youtube page)
Even though Newell hasn’t yet won his WSOF debut, the promotion announced that a win over Caldwell would earn Newell a spot in its upcoming lightweight tournament, which will crown the promotion’s inaugural 155-pound champion. If Newell does indeed enter that tournament, he’ll have a chance to prove once and for all that he’s truly a UFC-caliber fighter.
Why, you ask? Well, simply because the tournament is stacked with top international lightweights including a number of UFC veterans. Dan Lauzon will be in the tournament, as will the winner of an excellent WSOF 4 match up between Tyson Griffin and Gesias Calvacante.
Of course, all this doesn’t sit so well with Keon Caldwell’s camp, who tell MMA Junkie that they are worried of unfair treatment from the WSOF. While Newell has been publicly guaranteed a spot in the lightweight tournament if he’s victorious this weekend, Caldwell has been given no such offer. (“I just think they’re on the Nick Newell hype train,” said Caldwell’s trainer Richard Cox.)
Also fighting this Saturday will be kickboxing star Tyrone Spong, who will be headlining WSOF 4 against California-bred knockout artist Angel DeAnda. It will be Spong’s second World Series of Fighting appearance following his beat-down of Travis Bartlett in November. You can check out a lil’ video of Spong hitting people and acting cocky after the jump. Above, you can enjoy a mini documentary show on Newell’s life that takes you inside his camp, family, and home.
Got any burning questions about Nick’s life and career? Please submit them to the comments section below by tomorrow night; we’ll award a CagePotato t-shirt to whoever writes the best question that we decide to use. Thanks so much, and please follow @NotoriousNewell and @MMAWorldSeries on Twitter!
Got any burning questions about Nick’s life and career? Please submit them to the comments section below by tomorrow night; we’ll award a CagePotato t-shirt to whoever writes the best question that we decide to use. Thanks so much, and please follow @NotoriousNewell and @MMAWorldSeries on Twitter!
If you remember Keon Caldwell at all, it’s probably not in a good way. He’s the guy who voluntarily left TUF 13 shortly after arriving, a decision we thought was career suicide at the time. Caldwell has only competed once since then, scoring a TKO win over Jonathan Baldree, in July 2011. Caldwell has a 9-1 record overall, but most of his wins have come over fighters with losing records, and again, he hasn’t fought in nearly two years. Yikes. Our condolences go out to Caldwell’s family.
The undefeated Newell has yet to fight in 2013 but is coming off two straight first round finish wins, which brought his pro record to 9-0. The former XFC lightweight champion signed with the World Series of Fighting in hopes that he would get tougher fights against top lightweight free-agents, and eventually get signed by the UFC. This booking doesn’t exactly accomplish that.
If you remember Keon Caldwell at all, it’s probably not in a good way. He’s the guy who voluntarily left TUF 13 shortly after arriving, a decision we thought was career suicide at the time. Caldwell has only competed once since then, scoring a TKO win over Jonathan Baldree, in July 2011. Caldwell has a 9-1 record overall, but most of his wins have come over fighters with losing records, and again, he hasn’t fought in nearly two years. Yikes. Our condolences go out to Caldwell’s family.
The undefeated Newell has yet to fight in 2013 but is coming off two straight first round finish wins, which brought his pro record to 9-0. The former XFC lightweight champion signed with the World Series of Fighting in hopes that he would get tougher fights against top lightweight free-agents, and eventually get signed by the UFC. This booking doesn’t exactly accomplish that.
WSOF has to be expecting that they’ll be able to showcase Newell kicking somebody’s ass in his debut fight for them, by pairing him against Caldwell. Newell’s overcoming of his disability — he was born with only one fully-developed arm — as well as his dynamic fighting style and penchant for winning violently make him a potential star for the burgeoning organization.
