The biggest World Series of Fighting (WSOF) card to date will take place tomorrow (Dec. 31) inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Four titles will be on the line in WSOF’s first New York City card. …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYS5jHyjioo
The biggest World Series of Fighting (WSOF) card to date will take place tomorrow (Dec. 31) inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Four titles will be on the line in WSOF’s first New York City card. Today, the fighters on the historic card tipped the scales and only one competitor failed to make weight.
Here are the weigh-in results:
Justin Gaethje (154.8) vs. Luiz Firmino (154.4)
Jon Fitch (169.8) vs. Jake Shields (169.2)
Yushin Okami (170) vs. Paul Bradley (170.6)
Marlon Moraes (134.8) vs. Josenaldo Silva (134.2)
David Branch (184.8) vs. Louis Taylor (185)
Jared Rosholt (256.8) vs. Caio Alencar (252.8)
Shane Kruchten (149.6) vs. Jeremy Mahon (148.8)
Smealinho Rama (204.4) vs. Jake Heun (205)
Vagab Vagabov (185.8) vs. Bruno Santos (183)
Andre Harrison (145.2) vs. Bruce Boyington (147.0)*
Tom Marcellino (166.4) vs. Matt Denning (170.4)
* – Boyington failed to make the 146-pound limit and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse.
Serving as the headliner of the NYC card will be Justin Gaethje defending his lightweight title against Luiz Firmino. Gaethje will be looking for his fifth successful title defense. If you’re wondering why it’s not his sixth, it’s because his Nov. 2014 bout against Melvin Guillard wasn’t for the belt due to “The Young Assassin’s” failure to make weight.
The co-main event will see Jon Fitch defend his welterweight gold against Jake Shields. It’ll be the first time in Fitch’s professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career where he has defended a title. Many expect this bout to be a grappling battle, but anything can happen in MMA.
Surging bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes will look to make yet another successful title defense when he goes toe-to-toe with Josenaldo Silva. Moraes is on a 12-fight winning streak and has not lost since Nov. 2011.
With a card as stacked as WSOF NYC, the middleweight title bout couldn’t grab a spot on the main card. David Branch will defend his 185-pound championship against Louis Taylor. The bout will be featured on the NBC Sports Network prelims.
The prelims will air on the NBC Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. ET. The main card will begin at 4 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC.
For the first time in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, Jon Fitch will be defending a championship. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight has made World Series of Fighting (WSOF) his home since June 2013.
Despite two rough submission losses to Josh Burkman and Rousimar Palhares, Fitch never gave up on his title aspirations. After defeating Yushin Okami in a title eliminator, Fitch was granted another championship bout. On April 2, 2016 Fitch captured his first major MMA title, when he defeated Joao Zeferino.
Fitch’s first title defense will be no easy task. The champion will meet grappling ace Jake Shields this Saturday night (Dec. 31) for WSOF’s New Year’s Eve event in New York City.
Fitch will compete inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden. He told Sherdog.com that he never imagined this would come to fruition.
“It’s pretty exciting to be fighting in New York. I didn’t think I’d expect to ever be in this position over the years, but to now be able to fight in Madison Square Garden is an excellent thing to put on my list of accomplishments. Defending my title there is going to be awesome.”
Shields is no stranger to championship gold. The Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter has held titles in Strikeforce, Elite XC, and Shooto. Fitch is well aware of the challenger’s strengths, but he’s confident in his own abilities. He said he welcomes the match-up.
“Jake is very systematic, but he’s very good within that system,” Fitch added. “He’s like a crocodile, where you know exactly what a crocodile will do; he’s going to snap at you and then death roll you, but it’s very hard to stop that from happening. I’m prepared for him, and I think I match up well against him style-wise. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNnP03xxzSU
For the first time in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, Jon Fitch will be defending a championship. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight has made World Series of Fighting (WSOF) his home since June 2013.
Despite two rough submission losses to Josh Burkman and Rousimar Palhares, Fitch never gave up on his title aspirations. After defeating Yushin Okami in a title eliminator, Fitch was granted another championship bout. On April 2, 2016 Fitch captured his first major MMA title, when he defeated Joao Zeferino.
Fitch’s first title defense will be no easy task. The champion will meet grappling ace Jake Shields this Saturday night (Dec. 31) for WSOF’s New Year’s Eve event in New York City.
Fitch will compete inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden. He told Sherdog.com that he never imagined this would come to fruition.
“It’s pretty exciting to be fighting in New York. I didn’t think I’d expect to ever be in this position over the years, but to now be able to fight in Madison Square Garden is an excellent thing to put on my list of accomplishments. Defending my title there is going to be awesome.”
Shields is no stranger to championship gold. The Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter has held titles in Strikeforce, Elite XC, and Shooto. Fitch is well aware of the challenger’s strengths, but he’s confident in his own abilities. He said he welcomes the match-up.
“Jake is very systematic, but he’s very good within that system,” Fitch added. “He’s like a crocodile, where you know exactly what a crocodile will do; he’s going to snap at you and then death roll you, but it’s very hard to stop that from happening. I’m prepared for him, and I think I match up well against him style-wise. I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) will make its New York City debut on Dec. 31. The event will take place inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden (MSG). Four championships will be on the line for WSOF’s biggest card to date.
WSOF President Ray Sefo joined Sherdog’s Beatdown show to promote “WSOFNYC.” When WSOF announced they would hold an event inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” many were surprised. Even more eye opening is the fact that WSOF booked the event for New Year’s Eve.
Sefo admitted the event was tough to pull off, but is happy to have sealed the deal.
“It was [difficult]. It’s who you know, not what you know. That’s how it came about. We were able to finalize it and move forward with it. We’re fortunate and blessed we get to be in New York City and Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve. There’s so many legendary names and fighters that have fought in this arena, so I can’t think of a better place for New Year’s Eve.”
In “The City That Never Sleeps,” people are always looking for things to do. Especially the day before the ball drops. Sefo said he’s confident that his team is getting the message across of WSOF’s event this Saturday.
“We have a great team down there, a PR team….we’ve got some of the best people in the business in New York City, making sure the whole city of New York knows what’s going on New Year’s Eve.”
The NBC Sports Network portion of the prelims begins at 3 p.m. ET. The main preliminary bout will feature a middleweight title match between champion David Branch and Louis Taylor. The main card beings at 4 p.m. on NBC. It’ll be headlined by undefeated lightweight champ Justin Gaethje defending his gold against Luiz Firmino.
There will be two other title fights on the main card. Welterweight title holder Jon Fitch will put his strap on the line against Jake Shields. Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes will also defend his belt when he meets Josenaldo Silva.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNnP03xxzSU
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) will make its New York City debut on Dec. 31. The event will take place inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden (MSG). Four championships will be on the line for WSOF’s biggest card to date.
WSOF President Ray Sefo joined Sherdog’s Beatdown show to promote “WSOFNYC.” When WSOF announced they would hold an event inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” many were surprised. Even more eye opening is the fact that WSOF booked the event for New Year’s Eve.
Sefo admitted the event was tough to pull off, but is happy to have sealed the deal.
“It was [difficult]. It’s who you know, not what you know. That’s how it came about. We were able to finalize it and move forward with it. We’re fortunate and blessed we get to be in New York City and Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve. There’s so many legendary names and fighters that have fought in this arena, so I can’t think of a better place for New Year’s Eve.”
In “The City That Never Sleeps,” people are always looking for things to do. Especially the day before the ball drops. Sefo said he’s confident that his team is getting the message across of WSOF’s event this Saturday.
“We have a great team down there, a PR team….we’ve got some of the best people in the business in New York City, making sure the whole city of New York knows what’s going on New Year’s Eve.”
The NBC Sports Network portion of the prelims begins at 3 p.m. ET. The main preliminary bout will feature a middleweight title match between champion David Branch and Louis Taylor. The main card beings at 4 p.m. on NBC. It’ll be headlined by undefeated lightweight champ Justin Gaethje defending his gold against Luiz Firmino.
There will be two other title fights on the main card. Welterweight title holder Jon Fitch will put his strap on the line against Jake Shields. Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes will also defend his belt when he meets Josenaldo Silva.
