Ashlee Evans-Smith def. Marciea Allen via TKO (elbows) at 3:01 of Round 3
Jimmy Spicuzza def. Justin Jaynes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
A.J. Williams def. Tanner Cowan via TKO (strikes) at 0:44 of Round 1
Next up? World Series of Fighting 11 on July 5.
Being held just a couple of weeks away and getting shown on the real NBC, WSOF might just be facing a make-or-break night. With that in mind, the promotion has pulled together some of the biggest names it can muster, including a lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Nick Newell and featuring UFC veterans like Melvin Guillard, Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman.
So what topics are worth considering for the next two weeks? Find out right here!
On a Saturday night chock-full of combat sports, World Series of Fighting 10 wrapped up remarkably fast. Topped by three title fights, we saw one champion get minted, one champion dethroned and one champion establish themselves among the pound-for-pound best in the world. The headlining bout, a showdown between Jesse Taylor and David Branch to […]
On a Saturday night chock-full of combat sports, World Series of Fighting 10 wrapped up remarkably fast. Topped by three title fights, we saw one champion get minted, one champion dethroned and one champion establish themselves among the pound-for-pound best in the world. The headlining bout, a showdown between Jesse Taylor and David Branch to […]
The World Series of Fighting organization may be a relatively new addition to the mixed martial arts landscape, but it has picked up solid momentum in a short amount of time.
Since making its debut in November 2012, the Ray Sefo-led promotion has…
The World Series of Fighting organization may be a relatively new addition to the mixed martial arts landscape, but it has picked up solid momentum in a short amount of time.
Since making its debut in November 2012, the Ray Sefo-led promotion has rolled out a steady string of events that have showcased a variety of talent from all corners of the ever-evolving roster.
In just 19 months of work, the Las Vegas-based organization has put a strong focus on bringing the best talent available under its promotional banner, which has served to keep a solid amount of buzz attached to its name.
WSOF’s aggressive approach to the free-agency market has allowed the organization to land a collection of proven talent, as well as notable fighters who were either former champions or legitimate title contenders for their previous promotions. Those high-profile signings—in addition to a handful of talented prospects—have allowed WSOF to establish a solid roster in the brief span of its existence.
That said, in order to have proper divisional hierarchies in the weight classes, WSOF needed to institute titles in each division. While it has kept a measured pace in bringing championship belts to every weight class under the promotional banner, the process to establish champions got underway late in 2013 and took another step in that direction at WSOF 10.
Coming into Saturday night’s fight card in Las Vegas, five of the eight divisions already had crowned champions, and it was finally the middleweight division’s turn to establish a titleholder.
Former UFC veteran David Branch squared off with The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 alum Jesse Taylor in the main event at WSOF 10 with the opportunity to become the promotion’s inaugural 185-pound champion hanging in the balance.
Both fighters carried a solid amount of momentum into the championship tilt on Saturday night, with Taylor finding success in his last seven showings and Branch having won five of his past six outings. With the middleweight title on the line, one of those streaks would come to an end, and it was Taylor’s that disappeared in a flash.
Branch wasted no time getting the action to the canvas—and once there—immediately set about looking to advance his position. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for, as he locked up a D’arce choke and submitted Taylor shortly after to become WSOF’s first-ever middleweight champion.
While the fight at the top of the billing determined a divisional champion, the co-main event tilt between Georgi Karakhanyan and Rick Glenn saw a champion attempt to make the first successful defense of his title.
The talented Armenian striker became the first featherweight champion in WSOF history when he battered and then submitted highly touted prospect Lance Palmer at WSOF 7 last December. His win over the Team Alpha Male fighter added another strong chapter to Karakhanyan’s already impressive winning streak.
The GFC-trained fighter came into his bout with Glenn carrying a nine-fight winning streak, but that run of fortune would come to an abrupt end on Saturday night.
After getting off to a good start, locking Glenn in a deep armbar, Karakhanyan was no match for the Duke Roufus-trained prospect.
Once Glenn broke up Karakhanyan’s submission attempt, he set about peppering the champion with huge shots from the top position. While Karakhanyan survived the first round, he probably wishes he hadn’t, because the amount of the punishment he received multiplied in the second round.
Things were going downhill in a hurry for him, and the chances of anything getting better were slim to none. With that in mind, he did not answer the bell to begin the third round, and a new featherweight champion was crowned.
Although the two bouts at the top of the billing carried the majority of the weight where name recognition was concerned at WSOF 10, plenty of face-punching action went down at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Saturday night.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from WSOF 10.
The Good
When David Branch signed with World Series of Fighting in 2012, he saw the potential to begin a definitive chapter in his career. Up until the point where he joined the Ray Sefo-led outfit, the North Carolina native’s career had been in a holding pattern where genuine progress was difficult to come by.
Granted, he was landing some big fights on some solid platforms, but he wasn’t able to find a place where he could have a future. That all changed when he joined WSOF in November 2012—and on Saturday night in Las Vegas—he solidified himself in the history books as well.
The New York-based fighter made short work out of Taylor to become the first middleweight champion in the history of the promotion. He earned the opportunity to compete for inaugural championship gold by winning his first three showings out of the gates and was determined to carry that run all the way to champion status.
With Taylor’s strength and wrestling skills, the bout was expected to be a grinding affair, but that’s simply not how Branch was going to have things go down.
Rather than enduring a long, drawn-out affair, Branch put Taylor away in less than a full round of work as he submitted The Ultimate Fighter alum with a D’arce choke in the opening frame. It was an impressive submission finish and undoubtedly one of the best showings of Branch’s career, as he took his place atop the WSOF’s middleweight division.
Rick Glenn came to WSOF 10 to make the biggest statement of his young career, and it was a task he accomplished in brilliant fashion.
While champion Georgi Karakhanyan came into the co-main event tilt with the featherweight title and the oddsmakers on his side, the 25-year-old Roufusport fighter brought a few things of his own.
The biggest of which was a 12-fight unbeaten streak where he’d continued to progress his skill set and grow his confidence with each and every step, and he was determined to silence the buzz growing around the 145-pound titleholder.
That said, things looked grim in that department when Karakhanyan locked on a tight armbar shortly into the opening round.
While Glenn was in dangerous waters, he kept calm and not only broke free of the submission attempt but also flipped the script to take top position on the ground. Once he established the advantage, he used his reach to blast the champion with ground-and-pound from outside of the guard and was landing clean on nearly everything he threw.
The champion was clearly rattled as the opening round came to an end—and when Glenn immediately returned to battering him at the start of the second—Karakhanyan’s will began to visibly break.
While he didn’t get trapped with his back to the canvas like he did in the first round, he wasn’t much better off in the second, as he was pinned against the cage and eating a buffet of shots Glenn launched in his direction. The 27-year-old Armenian was able to make it out of the second round, but he wouldn’t see the next round begin.
In between rounds he chose not to answer the bell, and Glenn became the new featherweight champion on the strength of an excellent showing in Las Vegas. This bout was only Glenn’s third showing under the promotional banner, and his stunning display of skills and determination served to officially elevate him to legitimate status on the WSOF stage.
*** Coming into his bout against Adam Acquaviva at WSOF 10, Timur Valiev was already considered one of the most promising young talents on the roster…even if he hadn’t yet officially competed for the organization.
The Dagestan-born fighter came into his promotional debut on a six-fight winning streak, and he validated the hype surrounding him on Saturday night, thoroughly dismantling Acquaviva en route to picking up the victory.
The Jackson/Winkeljohn-trained fighter battered his opponent throughout the first two rounds before salting Acquaviva with a beautifully violent flying knee to end the fight in the third. The knockout was brutal and the perfect end to a maestro performance by the 26-year-old Russian.
With the lack of depth in the WSOF’s bantamweight division, it will be interesting to see how the organization handles Valiev’s progression. Yet, after his drubbing of Acquaviva on Saturday night, it is highly doubtful there will be a long list of fighters itching to face him inside the cage.
*** Another prospect who knows a thing or two about expectation is Lance Palmer. The Team Alpha Male fighter created a lot of hype by winning his first seven outings in the professional realm, and that buzz was recognized by WSOF as it gave The Party a championship opportunity in his promotional debut back in December.
The 26-year-old locked up with fellow contender Georgi Karakhanyan to determine the organization’s inaugural featherweight champion. Unfortunately for Palmer, the scrappy striker was the better man that night and picked up the victory via submission in the fourth round.
The ability to bounce back strong from a setback is a crucial element in the development of a young fighter, and the former Ohio State University wrestling standout proved he was up to the challenge against Nick LoBosco at WSOF 10.
From the opening bell, Palmer was in the driver’s seat, as he put LoBosco on his back with a powerful double-leg takedown. Once Palmer had top position, he poured on the offense, and LoBosco had very little to offer in terms of resistance. Palmer eventually locked up the match with a fight-ending rear-naked choke late in the opening round.
*** Krasimir “The Wrestler” Mladenov lived up to his nickname on Saturday night as he used his grappling talents to earn the unanimous-decision victory over Angel DeAnda. The Bulgarian powerhouse kept the pressure on throughout the 15-minute affair as he shot, snatched and power-bombed his way to victory at WSOF 10.
*** After a successful run in the amateur ranks, Ashlee Evans-Smith decided to start her 2013 campaign as a professional. The 26-year-old’s decision paid immediate dividends, as she cruised to victory in each of her first two showings, with her most recent win coming against controversial transgender fighter Fallon Fox back in October.
Evans-Smith wanted to keep things rolling in her WSOF debut, and that’s what she accomplished by defeating Marciea Allen on the preliminary portion of the card.
While the first two rounds weren’t necessarily action-packed, Evans-Smith remained patient as she continued to work toward putting Allen where she wanted her. That opportunity materialized early into the final frame, as Evans-Smith put Allen on her back and quickly moved into the crucifix position.
With her arms pinned, Allen couldn’t defend herself, and the Orange County native rained down short elbows until the referee stepped in to stop the fight. With the victory, Evans-Smith not only made a strong promotional debut on Saturday night but also kept her undefeated record intact in the process.
*** Debuts always come with an added element of pressure, and A.J. Williams was making two “firsts” at WSOF 10.
Not only was he making his first showing under the WSOF banner, but his fight against Tanner Cowan was also his first in the professional ranks. While those circumstances could have proved overwhelming for Williams, Black Dynamite made a blistering first impression as he flushed Cowan shortly into the opening round.
The Bad
The sport of mixed martial arts can be described in many ways, but “forgiving” isn’t one of them. It is a rigorous realm where the opportunity to obtain glory is already a small window, but when said window begins to close, it can do so in rapid and brutal fashion.
Five years ago, Tyson Griffin was considered one of the elite lightweight fighters on the planet. The Xtreme Couture fighter had been a staple of the 155-pound ranks for years and began his run under the UFC banner by winning seven of his first nine showings inside the Octagon.
Along the way he carved out his place in the upper tier of the lightweight fold—and in 2010—appeared to be poised to make a run at the 155-pound throne.
Yet, fortunes can change quickly inside the cage, and Griffin certainly fell victim to the shifting tides. Whereas he had only lost two bouts over his first three years with the organization, the next two years would see him drop four out of five outings, with three of those setbacks coming in consecutive fashion.
Looking to break out of his three-fight skid, he decided to drop down into the featherweight ranks. While he found victory in his debut in the weight class, his next showing would be his undoing with the UFC, as he not only failed to make the 146-pound weight limit but also came out on the business end of a first-round knockout at the dynamite hands of Bart Palaszewski at UFC 137.
Following his fourth loss in five fights, Griffin was released from the promotion and set about trying to get his career back on track. He picked up a victory over fellow UFC veteran Efrain Escudero on the regional scene, and that earned the Sacramento, California, native a call from the World Series of Fighting.
Griffin was hoping to start a new chapter with WSOF, as he squared off with Gesias Cavalcante in his promotional debut at World Series of Fighting 4 last August.
Unfortunately for Griffin, the Team Blackzilians fighter proved to be too much, as JZ earned the TKO victory in the third round. With the loss being his first setback on a new stage, it wasn’t going to be enough to push Griffin out of the picture entirely, but it put a lot of emphasis on him finding victory in his next outing.
The 30-year-old came into his bout with Luiz Firmino on Saturday night with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Not only did he need a victory, but he also needed to do so in impressive fashion to silence the doubt that had steadily increased since his release from the UFC. Griffin needed to look reinvigorated inside the cage, and that just didn’t happen at WSOF 10.
While he had moments where he put some solid shots on Firmino’s chin piece, Griffin spent the majority of the 15-minute affair looking as if his legs were never truly under him. He was constantly off balance as he slung wild punches, and Firmino frequently took advantage of this by getting inside and easily putting Griffin on his back.
Whereas Griffin was once a formidable grappler by any standard, the former UFC fighter either couldn’t figure out how or didn’t have the energy to get Firmino off him. The end result was Griffin coming out on the losing end of a unanimous decision and getting handed his sixth loss in his last eight fights.
The fight was a rough look for Griffin, and the doubt that lingered prior to his fight on Saturday night will amplify in the aftermath of WSOF 10. Five years isn’t a long stretch of time by most indicators, but inside the vortex of MMA, those five years can yield brutal results, and he has quickly become an example of just how unforgiving the sport can be.
The Strange
There are a handful of elements involved in determining whether or not an event is successful from a presentation standpoint.
The biggest of which is easily the quality of the fights on the card, and WSOF had done a solid job in that regard through the nine shows it had put on coming into Saturday night’s stop in Las Vegas. Granted, not every card carried a ton of name value, but the majority of the fights inside the WSOF cage had been passable coming into WSOF 10.
That said, the men making the call from the commentator’s table also play a huge role in how the show comes across, and that area hadn’t been doing the promotion any favors throughout its first nine shows.
While Todd Harris and Bas Rutten are well-versed in calling the live action that takes place inside the cage, the duo has struggled in their WSOF role.
While the MMA legend’s high-energy delivery has always been “hit or miss” with the MMA fanbase, El Guapo hasn’t been able to find a groove over the course of the first nine events he’s called for the organization. But while Rutten has been rough in the booth, he’s been sparkling when compared to the job Harris has done thus far.
Considering the years Harris has under his belt calling fights, the former WEC commentator has come off nothing short of aloof during his time with WSOF. And with both men off their respective games, the play-by-play element of the organization’s shows has been a big knock, while the action inside the cage has mostly been praised.
That said, Saturday night’s event was a different story. Harris and Rutten bucked their recent trend and called a solid show. Where head-scratching moments came in droves throughout their previous shows, the commentary duo stayed pretty much on point throughout the 11-fight card.
Rutten kept his zaniness in check, while Harris remained on task from start to finish, as the team behind the microphones gave their best offering to date at the WSOF table.
Nevertheless, not everyone in the MMA universe shared my opinion. While Harris and Rutten were better on Saturday night than they were during their previous efforts, things still aren’t where they need to be for WSOF’s presentation to match what is happening inside the cage.
A few installments back in this column, I decided to include a “Tweet of the Night” at the end every one of my “GBS” articles, and my motivation to do so came from two different places.
First, I wanted to highlight what I believed to be the brightest gem from what is typically a storm of 140-character entries on a fight night. I also believed it would be a fitting way to cap off a night of face-punching and liver-kicking and provide a proper closing point for the article as well.
Although TOTN is still a relatively new addition, I’m confident my reasons to include it have been validated.
The current schedule chaos from the major MMA promotions all but guarantees every weekend will be filled with caged ruckus in some form, which means the timelines of MMA Twitter will be pumping with electricity, commentary and a tasty brand of nuanced snark that can only come from the world of MMA media.
While previous winners of this honor did so by taking their perspectives outside of the proverbial box, on Saturday night, Bleacher Report MMA’s own Jeremy Botter pushed things to the next level by creating a new verb that has the potential to grow legs.
During the heavyweight “sludge” fest between Derrick Mehman and David Huckaba, The Caveman employed an unpopular method of offense to obtain the victory.
While there are plenty of names for putting your opponent on the canvas and then simply holding him there (lay and pray, the wet blanket approach, etc.) Botter saw an opportunity to coin a new term, and midway through the second round, “Rosholting” was born.
The term pays a certain type of homage to Team Takedown’s sibling duo of Jake and Jared Rosholt. The brothers Rosholt are notorious for using their grappling talents to put their opposition on the canvas but then not doing much once the fight hits the mat.
While referee stand-ups are common in a fight where one of the Rosholts is involved, they only provide short-term relief, as Rosholt will undoubtedly put things back exactly where they were before the pesky official got involved.
Mehman’s approach to fighting Huckaba on Saturday night was a page taken straight out of the Rosholt playbook, and Botter felt obligated to bring his analysis to the masses.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.
On a Saturday night chock-full of combat sports, World Series of Fighting 10 wrapped up quickly. Topped by three title fights, we saw one champion get minted, one champion get dethroned and one champion establish himself among the pound-for-pound best …
On a Saturday night chock-full of combat sports, World Series of Fighting 10 wrapped up quickly. Topped by three title fights, we saw one champion get minted, one champion get dethroned and one champion establish himself among the pound-for-pound best in the world.
The headlining bout, a showdown between Jesse Taylor and David Branch to name the promotion’s first middleweight champ, saw Branch take a surprisingly quick win. Taylor shot for a takedown as soon as the bell sounded, but Branch sprawled with ease, prompting Taylor to pull guard with a guillotine choke. Branch defended without incident and turned his way into a brabo choke, which forced Taylor to tap shortly thereafter.
It was a surprisingly quick win between two grinders, but it showed that Branch is not somebody to be trifled with. He will almost certainly face fellow UFC veteran YushinOkami in his first title defense.
In the night’s co-main event, Roufusport’s Rick Glenn pulled off a big upset over the heavily favored Georgi Karakhanyan. The fight got off to a fast start as Karakhanyan got deep on an armbar attempt and nearly tore his arm apart a la Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate 1. Glenn miraculously escaped and attacked Karakhanyan with savage ground-and-pound to, quite possibly, steal the round.
In the second, the two exchanged blows before Glenn stuffed a takedown attempt, worked Karakhanyan to the cage and unleashed savage strikes. While the now-former champ would survive the round, he was unable to answer the bell for the third due to a broken rib and was declared the loser by TKO.
Glenn would receive his belt, flanked by Ben Askren and Duke Roufus, and sent a strong message to WSOF’s entire featherweight division.
Women’s strawweight champion Jessica Aguilar made EmiFujino look every bit the jobber she was supposed to be with an absolutely dominant win. Aguilar busted up the challenger with punches in the first round and kept her a bloody mess for all 25 minutes of their fight.
It was every bit the squash match people expected, and Aguilar looked every bit the elite talent she is billed as, scoring a unanimous 50-44 decision victory.
Unfortunately, this is the only kind of fight we can look forward to from “Jag.” With Invicta and the UFC both scooping up all the strawweight talent they can find, WSOF has no serious opponents for her and few prospects it could build toward such a fight.
UFC castaway Tyson Griffin and Pride Bushido veteran LuizFirmino combined for what was quite possibly the best fight of the night. Firmino asserted himself early, getting the better of Griffin with punches. Griffin would bounce back nicely in the second, landing heavy punches and taking Firmino’s back. Unfortunately, Griffin’s iffy gas tank got the better of him, and Firmino took advantage late to secure the decision win.
In the opening fight, Team Alpha Male prospect Lance Palmer absolutely ran through Nick LoBosco. The four-time All-American wrestler scored a takedown in the opening seconds of the fight, worked his way to back position and poured on uncontested punches for minutes on end before sinking in a rear-naked choke.
It was an eerily dominant win by Palmer, and it certainly made him look like one of the best featherweights outside the UFC.
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) strawweight champion Jessica Aguilar can’t be a professional cage fighter.
Speaking with the American Top Team standout and No. 1-ranked women’s strawweight in the world, one gets the feeling that she’s just too ki…
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) strawweight champion Jessica Aguilar can’t be a professional cage fighter.
Speaking with the American Top Team standout and No. 1-ranked women’s strawweight in the world, one gets the feeling that she’s just too kind to punch somebody in the face. She’s bubbly, energetic and giggly, the enthusiastic vibes surrounding her and creating an aura of happiness and positivity.
“I’m a really happy person,” Aguilar told Bleacher Report. “But I have my times. I’m only human. I can be a grouch, like if my A/C isn’t working or something. I don’t like to spread the negatives.”
Once the 17-4 fighter’s foot connects with the canvas of battle, however, something happens. Something changes.
She slings leather with purpose and hunts for submissions with a relentless, aggressive attitude that has earned her eight victories via tapout, including her most recent masterpiece against Alida Gray to capture the WSOFstrawweight title.
That win marked Aguilar’s eighth in a row, and she will look to extend that streak to nine against EmiFujino, a relatively unknown Japanese fighter making her WSOF debut, at WSOF 10 on Saturday, June 21.
“A lot of people don’t know her because she’s Japanese, and it’s sad that a lot of people don’t recognize the top talent in Japan,” Aguilar said. “I believe in my ground game. Although she’s never been submitted, that’s my plan.”
There was a time, though, when Aguilar was not the dominant, poised and overwhelming fighter she is today. Like former UFC bantamweight champion RenanBarao, Aguilar began her professional career with a loss, and this defeat pushed her to improve, creating the dominant force that exists today.
Despite going into this fight against Lisa Ellis (now Lisa Ward) with just two months of Brazilian jiu-jitsu training and a five-day fight camp, Aguilar owned up to her mistakes, and she vowed to bounce back from her second-round submission defeat with authority.
“I didn’t like the taste of losing and I didn’t like not knowing what was going on,” Aguilar said. “That’s what got me hooked on MMA. I said, ‘Nobody’s ever going to do that to me again. I’m never going out like that again.’ So that’s what I did. I joined American Top Team after that fight, which is the best thing I ever did, and here I am.”
While Aguilar has lost three times in 20 fights since this debut, all three have come via decision, and controversial ones at that. Always keeping things upbeat and happy, though, Aguilar doesn’t dwell on the past. She’s looking at the present and the future and is motivated to showcase her full skill set under the WSOF banner.
“WSOF has given me a great platform, and we’re fighting on a big network with NBC Sports. Everything they’ve promised, they’re doing,” Aguilar said.
But still, the cloud of the world’s premier MMA organization hangs overhead. When a fighter on a streak like Aguilar’s fights anywhere but the UFC, fans and critics have to wonder how he or she would stack up against the world’s finest inside the legendary Octagon.
Aguilar noted that the UFC could be in her future, but right now, she’s content fighting Fujino and then finishing out the last two fights on her four-fight contract with the WSOF.
“We’ll see what the future holds,” Aguilar said. “I’m really excited about all the girls in the UFC and what Dana White is doing for my division. It’s amazing. It just shows that there’s more opportunity out there for us.”
And while her recent blaze through the strawweight division has been impressive to watch, the Mexican-born American combatant sees only improvements and greatness in her future. The next step comes at WSOF 10 in Las Vegas, and Aguilar, with her trademarked exuberance, talked about what we can expect from her on fight night.
“I feel that I’m getting better, but I still haven’t reached my prime. That’s the great thing about this sport,” Aguilar said. “You feel like you never reach your peak. You’re always getting better, and each fight I think I’m better, so that’s a really cool thing.”
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) matchmaker and executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz saw the recent shakeup at Bellator MMA coming, and he wasn’t alone.
MMA journalists such as MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas and Fox Sports’ Mike Chiappetta sai…
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) matchmaker and executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz saw the recent shakeup at BellatorMMA coming, and he wasn’t alone.
MMA journalists such as MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas and Fox Sports’ Mike Chiappetta said that grumblings of Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney‘s departure could be heard as long ago as 2012, making his eventual split anything but a surprise.
To Abdel-Aziz, the move, while not shocking, represents a key moment for the sport of mixed martial arts.
“It’s a victory for MMA that this individual is out of the sport,” Abdel-Aziz told Bleacher Report. “It’s great for the sport to get these promoters who want to come and hold guys hostage on their contract out. Listen, you can keep your champion and try to protect your contract sometimes. You just have to be fair to guys and give them title shots when you need to. When it comes to hurting people’s families and taking guys to court and all this stuff, it’s not worth it.”
Like Rebney‘s exit from Bellator, Abdel-Aziz’s sentiment is not startling. He previously challenged Rebney to a cross-promoted event, Bellator vs. WSOF. He’s called Rebney a “candyass,” his actions “dirty” and “slimy.”
The WSOF matchmaker did acknowledge Rebney‘s successes, complimenting the former Bellator executive on his longevity and the positive impact he had on the sport and its fighters.
“You also have to give this guy credit, though, because he put on 121 shows, he started a promotion to give guys some fights,” Abdel-Aziz said. “He did something positive, for sure. I personally wish him the best of luck in whatever he does.”
Now that Rebney is gone, though, Abdel-Aziz looks forward to a cleaner, more professional MMA landscape. He thinks newly named Bellator President Scott Coker can do great things for the sport, and he eagerly anticipates the new Bellator regime.
“Now they want to clean up their image, and they bring in a gentleman like Scott Coker, who is an unbelievable human being, a great guy, and now I think it’s great for the sport,” Abdel-Aziz said.
And while he said that he doesn’t wish to publicly challenge Coker—a man he respects—to a Bellator vs. WSOF show, Abdel-Aziz talked about how such an event would look.
“Scott is somebody I respect. I might pick up the phone and say, ‘Look, dude, let’s do it,’ but he’s too smart, too clever,” Abdel-Aziz said. “He probably won’t do it because right now our roster is too strong, too talented versus the Bellator roster…If we beat them—and we’d beat them—five to zero, that would not help their promotion.”
While this concept is fun and interesting for the promotions and the fans alike, Abdel-Aziz knows he has something successful at home, something that he’s building with a band of young, talented fighters and established veterans competing side by side. He’s proud of this product, and he works day and night to ensure that the WSOF becomes the world’s No. 1 MMA promotion.
“Honestly, I believe as soon as we did our NBC deal on July 5, Newell vs. Gaethje, we separated ourselves. You got the UFC on Fox. You got us on NBC. Now, everybody comes third and fourth and fifth and sixth, because we’re on network television. It’s a completely different ballgame,” Abdel-Aziz said. “If you wake up in the morning wanting to be No. 3, you’re going to be No. 10. If you want to wake up No. 2, you’ll be No. 5. But if you want to be No. 1, you’ll be No. 1 because you have goals, you have energy, and you’re challenging yourself. That’s our goal. We want to be the best promotion out there.”
The next two steps on the WSOF‘s road to No. 1 are huge.
First, the promotion will run WSOF 10—a card featuring three title fights and the No. 1-ranked women’s strawweight in the world, Jessica Aguilar—June 21. The company will then follow that card with WSOF 11 July 5 on NBC.
From there, things keep expanding. Abdel-Aziz said that the WSOF will host two cards on NBC this year (including WSOF 11), but next year it will “probably have more.” In addition, he mentioned that holding a card live on pay-per-view is not outside the realm of possibility moving forward.
“Right now, we’re trying to build our roster, we’re trying to have our own stars…At some point do I think we’ll have pay-per-views? Yes,” Abdel-Aziz said. “I want to make a pay-per-view, and we’ll make a whole bunch of money if we do it, but I don’t think our time is here yet..I have my team working on some of the stuff, and we just want to take our time and do it and make sure we do it right.”
For now, the present-day status of the WSOF is not too shabby. With a big-time upper management shakeup in Bellator and the UFC continuing to grow and expand, competition has never been healthier for Abdel-Aziz and company, and he’s enjoying every second of the wild ride.
“We’re working hard, we’re humble…I remember where I come from, and I remember what we need to do,” Abdel-Aziz said. “It feels so good when we’re putting on events, and we hand a guy a check and they support their family with it. For me, that’s the greatest satisfaction ever.”
The World Series of Fighting organization may be a relatively new addition to the mixed martial arts landscape, but it has picked up solid momentum in a short amount of time.