Tag: Ray Sefo

Exclusive: ‘World Series of Fighting’ President Ray Sefo Prepares for His New Battle Outside of the Ring


(Photo via Sherdog.)

By Andreas Hale

It only made sense for Ray Sefo to start his own MMA promotion. Well, it only made sense once the stars aligned in a unique way that told him he’d better start an MMA promotion or else. You see, back when K-1 was falling apart, Sefo happened to do an interview where he discussed how much money the promotion owed him and the possibility of starting his own company. The thought ran through his mind heavy after the call. After all, he has put on a successful K-1 event in New Zealand, and he had a pretty good idea how to handle the business. So he decided to sleep on it.

The next morning, a wealthy friend of his named Sig Rogich gave him a call out of the blue and invited Sefo to breakfast so they could discuss something. Mind you, Rogich had never heard the interview from the night before.

“(Sig) said ‘What do you think about starting an MMA fighting league?'” Sefo says when reflecting on the origins of World Series of Fighting. “I looked at him and said ‘Are you kidding me? That’s exactly what I was going to talk to you about on Monday!’ It was just meant to be. The stars aligned for us and this was meant to happen.”

Plans were laid out, business was taken care of, and fighters were signed. November 3rd marks the inaugural fight night, which will emanate from the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, and air on NBC Sports (formally Versus). It’s not your average rinky-dink startup operation, as WSoF 1 features a loaded card that includes the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Anthony Johnson, and Miguel Torres on the main card. While newer promotions may struggle to land talent, WSoF has had many of its fighters fall right into their lap. In particular, guys like Johnson and Torres had been cut by the UFC this year for weight issues but are still marquee names in the sport. Inking with WSoF made perfect sense for them, partly because of Sefo’s own background

“Many of them were up for it right away because of my involvement and with the understanding that I am a fighter becoming a promoter,” Sefo explains. “I understand what a fighter goes through to prepare for a fight. That appealed to a lot of the guys.”


(Photo via Sherdog.)

By Andreas Hale

It only made sense for Ray Sefo to start his own MMA promotion. Well, it only made sense once the stars aligned in a unique way that told him he’d better start an MMA promotion or else. You see, back when K-1 was falling apart, Sefo happened to do an interview where he discussed how much money the promotion owed him and the possibility of starting his own company. The thought ran through his mind heavy after the call. After all, he has put on a successful K-1 event in New Zealand, and he had a pretty good idea how to handle the business. So he decided to sleep on it.

The next morning, a wealthy friend of his named Sig Rogich gave him a call out of the blue and invited Sefo to breakfast so they could discuss something. Mind you, Rogich had never heard the interview from the night before.

“(Sig) said ‘What do you think about starting an MMA fighting league?’” Sefo says when reflecting on the origins of World Series of Fighting. “I looked at him and said ‘Are you kidding me? That’s exactly what I was going to talk to you about on Monday!’ It was just meant to be. The stars aligned for us and this was meant to happen.”

Plans were laid out, business was taken care of, and fighters were signed. November 3rd marks the inaugural fight night, which will emanate from the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, and air on NBC Sports (formally Versus). It’s not your average rinky-dink startup operation, as WSoF 1 features a loaded card that includes the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Anthony Johnson, and Miguel Torres on the main card. While newer promotions may struggle to land talent, WSoF has had many of its fighters fall right into their lap. In particular, guys like Johnson and Torres had been cut by the UFC this year for weight issues but are still marquee names in the sport. Inking with WSoF made perfect sense for them, partly because of Sefo’s own background

“Many of them were up for it right away because of my involvement and with the understanding that I am a fighter becoming a promoter,” Sefo explains. “I understand what a fighter goes through to prepare for a fight. That appealed to a lot of the guys.”

Sefo also admits that he’s not done bringing in more high caliber fighters to the promotion. Once the debut is in the bag, he’s already plotting for another card in Las Vegas at the end of January.

“We’ve been very fortunate that a lot of guys came to us. After this first event, even more will come to us. I don’t think we have to look far,” Sefo says while noting that the abundance of talent in the UFC has left some great fighters out in the cold — talent that Sefo will gladly scoop up. “Everyone doesn’t have a home and if you’re a fighter that’s to be reckoned with, you will have a home with us.”

While most promotions come in with the goal to eventually topple the UFC, Sefo believes that idea is one that ends up with many of these promotions not living up to their own expectations. For the New Zealander, adding another promotion isn’t competition at all.

“It is good and healthy to have more than one promotion, especially with so much talent out there,” he says. “For those that don’t believe either of those statements, we wouldn’t have the card that we currently have if these fighters weren’t available. That’s the reason we can put on such a great card for our first show.”

It will certainly be an exciting and stressful week for Sefo and the WSoF as they inch towards their first event, though Sefo is quite confident that the 7,000 seat venue will be full on Saturday night. And with all the excitement in the building thanks to the compelling matchups — featuring Andrei Arlovski vs. Devin Cole in the main event, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and D.J. Linderman trying to knock each other’s heads off in the co-main — not to mention the lovably spastic commentary duo of Bas Rutten and Michael Schiavello in the broadcast booth, you’ve got to wonder if Sefo will get the itch to return to fighting.

The short answer is “Yes.”

“Seven more fights,” the 2000 K-1 Grand Prix runner-up says when asked if he’ll continue fighting. “I’ve done 93 professional fights. I want to reach 100 before I retire.”

He admits that it will be quite a challenge to focus on training when he’s the President of the company but he’s certainly up to the challenge. After all, fighting is his first love. Sitting around in a suit making business decisions comes secondary.

“I was looking to fight again soon but I haven’t been able to focus on training like I want to with the company taking up a lot of my time,” Sefo says as he ponders when his next fight will be. Regardless of who or when he fights, Sefo has established that he’s not fighting arbitrarily to reach 100. “I want to go out on top. I’m not there just for a number, I’m there to win.”

[VIDEO] Cro Cop Defeats Ray Sefo in K-1 Bout at Final Fight


Never forget.

It’s not like Cro Cop has never pondered retirement before, but if last night’s K-1 bout against fellow kickboxing legend Ray Sefo truly marked the end of the road for Mirko Filipovic, then Cro Cop is going out on the highest note possible.

Last night at the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, Mirko Filipovic defeated Ray Sefo by unanimous decision in the main event of “Final Fight”. While both men fatigued in the latter rounds, Cro Cop utilized a diverse striking attack and didn’t take too much damage from the heavy handed Sefo on his way to the victory. Was it the most inspiring performance ever? Not quite. Still, it’s nice to see a legend like Cro Cop go out on a victory over a legitimate opponent.

Video after the jump.


Never forget.

It’s not like Cro Cop has never pondered retirement before, but if last night’s K-1 bout against fellow kickboxing legend Ray Sefo truly marked the end of the road for Mirko Filipovic, then Cro Cop is going out on the highest note possible.

Last night at the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, Mirko Filipovic defeated Ray Sefo by unanimous decision in the main event of “Final Fight”. While both men fatigued in the latter rounds, Cro Cop utilized a diverse striking attack and didn’t take too much damage from the heavy handed Sefo on his way to the victory. Was it the most inspiring performance ever? Not quite. Still, it’s nice to see a legend like Cro Cop go out on a victory over a legitimate opponent.

Video after the jump.

Props to IronforgesIron.com for the video.

Video Roundup: Fedor at the Waterpark, The Next Anderson Silva, and More

You read that correctly. Russia…has water parks. Not only do they get to have Sambo, awesome sweaters, and The Dude’s favorite beverage, but now they have waterparks as well. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LAND OF SNOW AND SORROW GOD DAMN IT.

We have no clue where this video came from, or what the true purpose of it is, but we’d be lying if we said that Piterland doesn’t look like the bees knees, and apparently former PRIDE Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and his daughter Masha agree. We are still waiting to hear who “The Last Emperor’s” next opponent will be, but rumors have ranged everywhere from Bobby Lashley in a MMA match to Brock Lesnar in a pro wrestling bout, so who the hell knows? What we do know is that the next man to fight Fedor might want to reconsider if he values his health whatsoever. Poor Ishii.

What’s that you say? You want to see a MMA fighter humiliate and dance around his opponent ala Silva/Leites/Maia/anyone before brutally kicking them in the face? Well we’ve got just the video awaiting your viewership after the jump.

You read that correctly. Russia…has water parks. Not only do they get to have Sambo, awesome sweaters, and The Dude’s favorite beverage, but now they have waterparks as well. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LAND OF SNOW AND SORROW GOD DAMN IT.

We have no clue where this video came from, or what the true purpose of it is, but we’d be lying if we said that Piterland doesn’t look like the bees knees, and apparently former PRIDE Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and his daughter Masha agree. We are still waiting to hear who “The Last Emperor’s” next opponent will be, but rumors have ranged everywhere from Bobby Lashley in a MMA match to Brock Lesnar in a pro wrestling bout, so who the hell knows? What we do know is that the next man to fight Fedor might want to reconsider if he values his health whatsoever. Poor Ishii.

What’s that you say? You want to see a MMA fighter humiliate and dance around his opponent ala Silva/Leites/Maia/anyone before brutally kicking them in the face? Well scroll down then, playa.

Michael Page and Ben Dishman both made their MMA debuts last weekend in England at Ultimate Challenge MMA 26. As you can see, it did not go well for Dishman, who was tormented like a redheaded stepchild until being put out of his misery via a tornado kick. Yep, a fucking tornado kick. Though it didn’t KO Dishman completely, the kick also seemed to have an effect on Page, who was so impressed with himself that he literally froze in his place to pose for photos. That is what we call bravado, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, it’s up to you to start coming up with awesome nicknames for a fighter who posses the last name “Dish Man.” Check out a few more videos from around the MMA Blogosphere whilst you do so.

Nate Diaz Goes to the Firing Range – (MiddleEasy)

Alistair Overeem Drinks Beers, Undresses Women – (MMAMania)

Chuck Foss Interviews Ray Sefo – (IronForgesIron)

-J. Jones

Mirko Cro Cop Resumes Combat Sports Career With Kickboxing Match vs. Ray Sefo

Filed under: Fighting, NewsThree months after calling it quits in the MMA arena, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has chosen to continue his combat sports career, going back to his roots in accepting a kickboxing match with Ray Sefo.

The bout will take place…

Filed under: ,

Mirko Cro CopThree months after calling it quits in the MMA arena, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has chosen to continue his combat sports career, going back to his roots in accepting a kickboxing match with Ray Sefo.

The bout will take place on March 10 in Zagreb, Croatia. Cro Cop confirmed the fight to several Croatian news outlets.

Cro Cop recently had a cast removed from his injured right arm and even before that, was preparing for the possibility of another fight.

The 37-year-old fought MMA for the last time in October losing by third-round TKO to Roy Nelson. The defeat was his third straight overall, all coming by way of knockout. He finished his MMA career with a record of 27-10-2, 1 no contest.

In December, Cro Cop posted a video with his thoughts on his MMA career, apologizing for his 4-6 record in the octagon, but said that he planned to train hard for his kickboxing return, calling the sport “his first love.”

“This fire in me will last forever,” he said then. “This is not just some fight to me. Like every time, I will prepare like it’s the most important fight in my life.”

Sefo is a decorated 40-year-old kickboxer with a 56-21-1 lifetime record. Sefo also fought three times in MMA, going 2-1 with his only loss coming to Valentijn Overeem at last February’s Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva event.

 

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Kickboxing Legend Peter Aerts to Retire After June 30th Fight With Tyrone Spong


(Stay classy.) 

Today, CagePotato is brought to you by the letter R. Specifically, R for retirement.

If the name Peter Aerts doesn’t immediately bring to mind a cavalcade of classic kickboxing matches against a list of opponents that reads like a who’s who of the sport, then might we recommend you do a little research on one of the greatest combatants to ever don the heavy gloves. After collecting over 100 victories in a career that spanned nearly 25 years, kickboxing legend Peter Aerts has announced that his June 30th match against #7 ranked heavyweight kickboxer Tyrone Sprong will be his last.

In a true testament of his character, Aerts will be going out in the same fashion in which he came, by taking on the best; his first professional fight saw him square off against fellow legend Ernesto Hoost, and now he will be going out, win or lose, against a top prospect in Sprong. Known for his trademark head kick finishes that earned him the nickname, “The Dutch Lumberjack,” Aerts built his reputation through vintage battles with the likes of Hoost (five times), Jerome Le Banner (four times), Semmy Schilt (five times), and Ray Sefo (three times). Having competed in every K1 tournament except for 2009, Aerts also earned the moniker “Mr. K1,” taking home tournament gold in 1994, 1995, and 1998, and placing second in 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2010.

Aerts’ crowning achievement by far was his devastating run through the 1998 K1 World Grand Prix, in which he dispatched all three of his opponents in 6 minutes and 43 seconds, a record that held until 2009, when it was broken by Semmy Schilt. As a HUGE fan and close follower of his career, I would personally like to wish Mr. Aerts all the best in his future endeavors on behalf of everyone here at CagePotato, and have compiled a brief look back at some of his greatest hits below, starting with his first rematch against Hoost that took place at the 1993 K1 Quarterfinals.


(Stay classy.) 

Today, CagePotato is brought to you by the letter R. Specifically, R for retirement.

If the name Peter Aerts doesn’t immediately bring to mind a cavalcade of classic kickboxing matches against a list of opponents that reads like a who’s who of the sport, then might we recommend you do a little research on one of the greatest combatants to ever don the heavy gloves. After collecting over 100 victories in a career that spanned nearly 25 years, kickboxing legend Peter Aerts has announced that his June 30th match against #7 ranked heavyweight kickboxer Tyrone Sprong will be his last.

In a true testament of his character, Aerts will be going out in the same fashion in which he came, by taking on the best; his first professional fight saw him square off against fellow legend Ernesto Hoost, and now he will be going out, win or lose, against a top prospect in Sprong. Known for his trademark head kick finishes that earned him the nickname, “The Dutch Lumberjack,” Aerts built his reputation through vintage battles with the likes of Hoost (five times), Jerome Le Banner (four times), Semmy Schilt (five times), and Ray Sefo (three times). Having competed in every K1 tournament except for 2009, Aerts also earned the moniker “Mr. K1,” taking home tournament gold in 1994, 1995, and 1998, and placing second in 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2010.

Aerts’ crowning achievement by far was his devastating run through the 1998 K1 World Grand Prix, in which he dispatched all three of his opponents in 6 minutes and 43 seconds, a record that held until 2009, when it was broken by Semmy Schilt. As a HUGE fan and close follower of his career, I would personally like to wish Mr. Aerts all the best in his future endeavors on behalf of everyone here at CagePotato, and have compiled a brief look back at some of his greatest hits below, starting with his first rematch against Hoost that took place at the 1993 K1 Quarterfinals.

Aerts vs. Hoost 2 – K1 Grand Prix Quarterfinals ’93

Aerts vs. Le Banner – K1 Dream ’97

Aerts vs. Hug 4 – K1 World Grand Prix Final ’98

Aerts vs. Schilt – K1 WGP ’06

And just because I had to…

Aerts vs. Bob Sapp – K1 WGP ’07

-Danga 

After 5 Hours at the Dentist, Randy Couture is A-OK Following Career-Ending KO

(YouTube/MMA30tv)

Any time you watch a 47-year-old man get kicked in the face by a levitating karate master – man, if we only had a nickel for every time that happens, right? – you have to wonder how the elder statesman is going to bounce back from it. In the case of Randy Couture, he appears to be recovering nicely. Aside from a small bruise under his eye, the newly retired “Natural” seems in great spirits when he meets up with MMA30’s Dave Fara at a gala event for the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, which seeks to raise money for wounded vets. Couture also looks fully in control of his faculties, as evidenced when he correctly uses the word “assimilate” in casual conversation.

The teeth however, were more of a problem. In the above vid, listen to Couture discuss the five-plus hours he spent at the dentist getting his pearly-white Hollywood-level choppers realigned. All that, and he even has to go back for more. Nonetheless, The Old Man is taking it in stride, relating to Fara that Lyoto Machdia put in a personal phone call to him a couple of days after the fight to make sure he was OK. Couture laughs off the Steven Seagal angle, keeps right on using the word “cat” as much as possible (which is only slightly less annoying than when guys in MMA insist on calling everyone “kid”) and even comments on rumors he personally took out Osama bin Laden. “It was a long plane ride,” says Couture. So you know, (if you’ll excuse the phrase) business as usual. Now if we could just do something about the epaulets on his dress blazer …

The rest of Couture’s quotes are after the jump, followed by a bevy of other Las Vegas-based fighters making appearances to pay homage to the 14-year vet. And damn, check out the jacket on Ray Sefo at 4:15. Looking good.

(YouTube/MMA30tv)

Any time you watch a 47-year-old man get kicked in the face by a levitating karate master – man, if we only had a nickel for every time that happens, right? – you have to wonder how the elder statesman is going to bounce back from it. In the case of Randy Couture, he appears to be recovering nicely. Aside from a small bruise under his eye, the newly retired “Natural” seems in great spirits when he meets up with MMA30’s Dave Fara at a gala event for the Xtreme Couture  GI Foundation, which seeks to raise money for wounded vets. Couture also looks fully in control of his faculties, as evidenced when he correctly uses the word “assimilate” in casual conversation.

The teeth however, were more of a problem. In the above vid, listen to Couture discuss the five-plus hours he spent at the dentist getting his pearly-white Hollywood-level choppers realigned. All that, and he even has to go back for more. Nonetheless, The Old Man is taking it in stride, relating to Fara that  Lyoto Machdia put in a personal phone call to him a couple of days after the fight to make sure he was OK. Couture laughs off the Steven Seagal angle, keeps right on using the word “cat” as much as possible (which is only slightly less annoying than when guys in MMA insist on calling everyone “kid”) and  even comments on rumors he personally took out Osama bin Laden. “It was a long plane ride,” says Couture. So you know, (if you’ll excuse the phrase) business as usual. Now if we could just do something about the epaulets on his dress blazer …

The rest of Couture’s quotes are after the jump, followed by a bevy of other Las Vegas-based fighters making appearances to pay homage to the 14-year vet. And damn, check out the jacket on Ray Sefo at 4:15. Looking good.

“I had a rough day yesterday,” Couture says. “Got the teeth fixed yesterday. Five and a half hours in the dental chair. My lip is still a little swollen (and) I still feel like I’m talking a little funny, but (it’s) temporarily fixed now. The real bridge comes in a week and we’ll be back up and running.”

When asked by Fara what it was like to be feted by 55,000 strong at Rogers Centre during his final fight, Couture admits it was hard to wrap his mind around the whole thing. Especially that last part. The part with the flying crane kick.

“It was a little surreal,” he says. “It almost doesn’t sink in when it’s happening, you have to kind of sit back and reflect on it later. It was an amazing experience. Lyoto was a terrific competitor, obviously he’s a tremendous athlete. He’s everything he was billed to be, he’s elusive (and) he’s hard to get a handle on. That kick, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone set up that kick in competition. It’s been kind of the year for those strange kicks.”

Stick around for the full nine minutes and you’ll also get to hear from Ryan Couture, Sefo, Tyson Griffin, Frank Mir, Jay Glazer and some dude who looks like he just wandered off the set of “21 Jump Street” who claims to be Mike Pyle.