Tag: World Series of Fighting 4

FYI, That Guy Who Came in 32 Pounds Heavy at WSOF 4 is Fighting an Olympian Wrestler This Weekend


(You can’t place all the blame on Polley. He learned Beer Gut MMA from the master. Photo via MMAInterviews.)

Over the weekend, Bellator veteran Lew “The Titan” Polley showed up to the World Series of Fighting 4 weigh-ins some 32 pounds over the light heavyweight limit (insert scathing Anthony Johnson fat joke). His fight with Hans Stringer was cancelled almost immediately thereafter and Polley was quick to offer a heartfelt if not incredibly vague apology on his Twitter account, the background photo of which ironically depicts Polley weighing in.

Although no specific reasons for Polley’s Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard-topping effort have yet to be given, WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz assured MMAFighting and therefore the world yesterday that yes, Polley had been fired. The details he did reveal about Polley’s weight cut, however, were bewildering to say the least:

He told me he was cutting from 289 [at the beginning of camp]. I don’t know what his motive was to be 289 six weeks out. But he cost us a lot of money and his opponent was coming in from Holland and I think it’s disrespectful to his opponent to go into it like that. 

289 pounds?!! You see this, Jon Jones? THIS IS WHERE YOU’RE HEADED, YOU FAT FUCK.


(You can’t place all the blame on Polley. He learned Beer Gut MMA from the master. Photo via MMAInterviews.)

Over the weekend, Bellator veteran Lew “The Titan” Polley showed up to the World Series of Fighting 4 weigh-ins some 32 pounds over the light heavyweight limit (insert scathing Anthony Johnson fat joke). His fight with Hans Stringer was cancelled almost immediately thereafter and Polley was quick to offer a heartfelt if not incredibly vague apology on his Twitter account, the background photo of which ironically depicts Polley weighing in.

Although no specific reasons for Polley’s Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard-topping effort have yet to be given, WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz assured MMAFighting and therefore the world yesterday that yes, Polley had been fired. The details he did reveal about Polley’s weight cut, however, were bewildering to say the least:

He told me he was cutting from 289 [at the beginning of camp]. I don’t know what his motive was to be 289 six weeks out. But he cost us a lot of money and his opponent was coming in from Holland and I think it’s disrespectful to his opponent to go into it like that. 

289 pounds?!! You see this, Jon Jones? THIS IS WHERE YOU’RE HEADED, YOU FAT FUCK.

But fret not, Potato Nation, for this story has only begun to dip its toes into the waters of Pitiful Pond. It turns out that Polley, realizing he wouldn’t be able to negotiate his way into a catchweight bout with Stringer, basically threw his hands in the air and said “fuck it.” And by “threw his hands in the air,” we mean “threw his hands into the nearest bag of Corn Nuts, the official snack of UFC cornermen.”

His manager said let’s do a catchweight 220. The other camp was willing to go to 215. But he weighed [Thursday] at 225. The weigh-in day he comes in at 234. He gained weight. I’m going to cut him. I’m the last guy who should cut somebody, but if you’re going to be that disrespectful to your opponent, yeah, I’m going to cut you. 

And the price Polley must now pay for his disrespectful, embarrassing weigh-in disaster? How about a fight booked at heavyweight this Friday?! Against an undefeated Olympian with a much bigger name no less! (Via MMAJunkie):

Polley (12-4) didn’t officially weigh in for his WSOF 4 bout with Hans Stringer, but he tipped the scale at 237 pounds. He’s now replaced James Wilson (2-0), whom RFA officials said broke his hand, and meets NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and Olympian Steve Mocco (2-0) at Friday’s RFA 9 event.

RFA 9 takes place at StubHub Center in Los Angeles, and the main card, including Mocco vs. Polley, airs on AXS TV. 

The moral of this story: If you show up to a contracted fight hideously overweight, you can use your lack of discipline as the launching point for your new career at a higher weight class. Gluttony is truly the path of the righteous. Case in point:

–J. Jones

[VIDEO] Spong, Newell Victorious at World Series of Fighting 4

(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.


(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

Conflict of Interest Alert: Ray Sefo to Fight, Yes, Fight at WSOF 4 in August

By all accounts, former K1 star and current World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo is an incredibly likable, humble, and charismatic guy — a guy who understands and tends to the needs of fighters competing in his promotion because he once was (and still is to some degree) a fighter himself. His nuanced attitude towards fighters and the sport in general has undoubtedly been one of the driving forces behind WSOF’s success, however, when he announced that he would be competing on his own promotion’s fourth card in August, it made anything but good business sense.

Yes, Sefo told The MMA Hour just moments ago that he would be setting aside his presidential duties for fifteen minutes on August 10th. If Luke Thomas’ theory holds any water, Sefo will likely compete against either Dave Huckaba or Rolles Gracie, who were scheduled to meet at the upcoming WSOF 3 before Gracie went down with an injury.

From almost every conceivable angle, this seems like a terrible idea. Setting aside the obvious conflict of interest that comes into play here, it’s just a plain bad idea from the standpoint of Ray Sefo, the fighter, who was tapped out in just over a minute by Valentijn “You hit, I fall” Overeem in his last MMA contest at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva. As any magic 8-ball will tell you, challenging a Gracie after being submitted by an Overeem results in an “outlook not so good.”

Sure, Affliction VP Tom Attencio pulled a similar switcheroo back in 2009, but his fight took place under an entirely different promotion. Can you imagine what either Huckaba or Gracie (if they are in fact deemed Sefo’s next opponent) will be thinking heading into a fight with the man who signs their paychecks? If they straight up embarrass the guy, it could possibly be reflected in their future with the promotion, whether transparently or not. And if they treat the fight like Pat Barry treated his fight with Mirko Cro Cop, the results will be skewed and pretty much render the whole fight pointless to begin with.

Sure, everyone probably wants to take a swing at their boss from time to time, but turning that fantasy into a reality is…shit, I just gave Mayhem Miller his next reality show hosting gig. I’ll see myself out…

–J. Jones

By all accounts, former K1 star and current World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo is an incredibly likable, humble, and charismatic guy — a guy who understands and tends to the needs of fighters competing in his promotion because he once was (and still is to some degree) a fighter himself. His nuanced attitude towards fighters and the sport in general has undoubtedly been one of the driving forces behind WSOF’s success, however, when he announced that he would be competing on his own promotion’s fourth card in August, it made anything but good business sense.

Yes, Sefo told The MMA Hour just moments ago that he would be setting aside his presidential duties for fifteen minutes on August 10th. If Luke Thomas’ theory holds any water, Sefo will likely compete against either Dave Huckaba or Rolles Gracie, who were scheduled to meet at the upcoming WSOF 3 before Gracie went down with an injury.

From almost every conceivable angle, this seems like a terrible idea. Setting aside the obvious conflict of interest that comes into play here, it’s just a plain bad idea from the standpoint of Ray Sefo, the fighter, who was tapped out in just over a minute by Valentijn “You hit, I fall” Overeem in his last MMA contest at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva. As any magic 8-ball will tell you, challenging a Gracie after being submitted by an Overeem results in an “outlook not so good.”

Sure, Affliction VP Tom Attencio pulled a similar switcheroo back in 2009, but his fight took place under an entirely different promotion. Can you imagine what either Huckaba or Gracie (if they are in fact deemed Sefo’s next opponent) will be thinking heading into a fight with the man who signs their paychecks? If they straight up embarrass the guy, it could possibly be reflected in their future with the promotion, whether transparently or not. And if they treat the fight like Pat Barry treated his fight with Mirko Cro Cop, the results will be skewed and pretty much render the whole fight pointless to begin with.

Sure, everyone probably wants to take a swing at their boss from time to time, but turning that fantasy into a reality is…shit, I just gave Mayhem Miller his next reality show hosting gig. I’ll see myself out…

–J. Jones