http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/0...ski-vs-johnson
They will have at least 6 events per year on NBC Sports Network, starting on March 23rd with WSOF 2: Arlovski vs. Johnson
Fights announced for that card include:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson
Tyson Nam vs. Marlon Maroes (for bantamweight title)
Dave Branch vs. Paulo Filho
Josh Burkman vs. Ryan LaFlare
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Gaethje
Igor Gracie vs. TBA
The first event was pretty good, if not predictable.. but at least its more MMA on TV.
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Next friday will be the 3rd WSOF event .. Fitch vs. Burkman will headline .. anybody else find it strange that there are more known fighters on the prelims than the main card? I mean.. Beerbohm vs. Volkmann is a solid fight for any promotion.
Main Card
Jon Fitch vs. Josh Burkman
Steve Carl vs. Tyson Steele
Brian Cobb vs. Justin Gaethje
Rolles Gracie vs. Dave Huckaba
Prelims
Lyle Beerbohm vs. Jacob Volkmann
John Gunderson vs. Dan Lauzon
Kendrick Miree vs. Krasimir Mladenov
Jerrod Sanders vs. Jeff Smith
Carson Beebe vs. Joe Murphy
Hey can we get the name of this thread changed to just "World Series of Fighting" and we'll use it as the universal thread for the promotion?
Isn't Bobby Lashley signed with them?
Actually yes, I believe he is.. no fight yet, but this is only the 3rd show and they're not terribly deep at heavyweight. Pretty sure he is on the roster though.
I saw he signed with them last year, but I wasn't sure if that had changed. He's fighting for Titan this weekend, so here's hoping.
That wouldn't necessarily mean he isn't signed with WSOF. Besides the UFC, a lot of promotions will allow you to go outside the promotion to seek a fight if they don't have one for you at the present time.
So yeah.. here's hoping.
Rolles Gracie is injured and his fight has been scrapped.. bumping up Lyle Beerbohm vs. Jacob Volkmann to the main card, where it should be.
Main Card
Jon Fitch vs. Josh Burkman
Steve Carl vs. Tyson Steele
Brian Cobb vs. Justin Gaethje
Lyle Beerbohm vs. Jacob Volkmann
Prelims
John Gunderson vs. Dan Lauzon
Kendrick Miree vs. Krasimir Mladenov
Jerrod Sanders vs. Jeff Smith
Carson Beebe vs. Joe Murphy
Tyson Griffin will make his WSOF debut at WSOF 4 in August against Gesias 'JZ' Cavalcante
.. not a bad fight at all.
Yeah, I like it.
WSOF President Rey Sefo, 42, has announced that he plans to return to the cage in August at WSOF 4.
Antonio McKee (28-5-2) vs. Lewis Gonzalez (8-0) has been added to WSOF 4 in August.
I actually forgot WSOF 3 was on friday night ..
Last edited by Dubya; June 12th, 2013 at 10:48 AM.
Prelims are streaming ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=iPc_pfLdRg0
Holy fuck, Burkman just submittted Fitch in like 30 seconds.
0:41
Super impressive but wtf was Mazzagatti doing just hanging around chillin' while Fitch went asleep? Fuck, Cecil Peoples would have noticed it earlier. Good thing Burkman was a gentleman and released him. Burkman is on a 5-fight win streak with the last three being Gerald Harris (3-1 UFC), Aaron Simpson (7-4 UFC) and Jon Fitch (14-3 UFC) having a combined 24-8 UFC record. Not to shabby to have on your resume, good for him.
Never been a fan of fighters just running off without even shaking the hand of their opponent. I understand being disappointed about losing but be a sportsman about it, please.
Yeah, Mazzagatti wasn't in the right position at all to properly evaluate that choke. I understand that Fitch went out pretty quick but Mazzagatti should have been at least checking his arms for a response or something other than standing around.
He was rocked by that early punch and I honestly think Fitch should retire. Assuming he's well off financially, and who knows after the war of words he's been having with Dana, Fitch has nothing left to prove. He's 35 and obviously his best years are behind him, especially since his grinding style requires an extreme durability he appears not to posses anymore.
Fitch overrates his submission defence. Just because he survived Demian Maia doesn't mean he's untappable, anybody can catch anybody in MMA. Kind of like Big Nog going for submissions against Werdum and Mir, if you play with fire you get burnt.
That's the problem, remember the 'Broke Fitch' meme before the Silva fight? I think it could be time for Fitch to sell that glamorous (expensive) California house of his.Originally Posted by kangus
Great job getting in there quickly Mazzagatti..
Last edited by OD50; June 15th, 2013 at 8:28 AM.
Totally forgot about this last night. Poor promotion ftw.
Anyways while it's hard to argue about his submission defense anymore after going out like that, Erick Silva had him in a DEEP RNC and he survived a three round Fitching from Damian Maia (who to be fair has some pretty over-rated sub offense). I don't know what to think about Fitch anymore, he is clearly on the decline. I have to think that had 2009 era Fitch fought Silva he would have dominated him a bit more than he did.
I haven't seen Fitch's house but I have seen Koscheck's, complete with his own personal airplane in the back yard. I don't know if Fitch has it made like that but I'm hardly sympathetic to his "financial woes" considering he made far more than he was actually worth during his UFC stint.
Haha Christ. Worst ref of all time.Great job getting in there quickly Mazzagatti..
I fucking love how his corpse is rolled over, completely limp and lifeless, and Mazzagatti casually just "hmmmmm...."s the situation while slowly investigating why Burkman let go of the choke.
Ugh. If Burkman had waited until Mazzagatti stepped in to end it, last night could have been the end of MMA.
Good thing it was a grizzled veteran like Burkman and not some hot-headed 20-year old noob holding that guillotine.
Well, I think the veteran thing could go either way. You can have someone like Burkman who knows that he's won and will let go like he did (in super badass fashion), and then you have some other veterans that know "better" than to let go of a submission/stop striking before the ref officially steps in to end it.
Just finished watching all the fights .. felt the need to make this ..
World Series of Fighting 4 in August is starting to shape up ..
Main Card
Tyrone Spong vs. Angel DeAnda
Marlon Moraes vs. Brandon Hempleman
Rey Sefo vs. Dave Huckaba
Gesias Cavalcante vs. Tyson Griffin
Nick Newell vs. Keon Caldwell
Prelims
Gerald Harris vs. Jorge Santiago
Lewis Gonzalez vs. Antonio McKee
Gotta say, I think its really lame that Sefo is putting himself on the main card (against a fucking nobody on top of that) over a fight like Gerald Harris vs. Jorge Santiago, that could actually be on a UFC card.
Was just going to say that.
Harris/Santiago could very well have been a decent UFC prelim fight. I have no problem with ol' sugarfoot wanting to fight since he needs 7 more to reach his '100' goal but yeah, leave the main card to the guys working their way up to get some recognition. It's not like Ray Sefo is some super draw in the US either, I bet most peeps watching NBC have no clue who he is. His K-1 prime ended about 2002 and he's had what, 2 MMA fights? I remember him beating some Japanese (maybe Korean..) guy in K-1 Hero's and then fighting someone in Strikeforce (Mike Whithead?).
Tyson/JZ is interesting and Spong possibly beating the shit out of someone is always fun. No idea who Hempleman is but Moraes is a really exciting little firecracker. Kind of strange going from beating Miguel Torres and Tyson Nam to this Hempleman dude, maybe he's a really exciting up-and-comer or something, who knows.
Very regional-looking card they've put together. Harris vs Santiago on the prelims is interesting, I wonder if it was placed there deliberately to wash off some of the "UFC reject" criticism they've been receiving.
I think they originally put Volkmann/Beerbohm on the prelims at WSOF 3 too.
Yeah, Volkmann vs. Beerbohm was originally on the prelims.. there was an injury that forced a fight off the main card a week prior. Should've been there anyway.
Decent card on Saturday. So far I've been very impressed with WSOF.
Steve Carl choking out Burkman was solid. Burkman just couldn't really get anything going. A little surprised at the ending though, you clearly see Burkman tapping out, it wasn't a hard tap, but he was tapping and idk if Burkman was already going to sleep or if the hold being left on 5-6 seconds after the tap so the ref could do the WWF count was the cause. Still, Steve Carl kicked some ass, and I'm assuming that his fight title defense will be against Jon Fitch.
Fitch I thought was going to get taken out, I actually thought he lost but then I watched the fight again and I could see where the split decision came into play. Fitch did seem a little more active in the 3rd than Alfaya, who impressed the hell out of me because I'd never seen him fight and he seemed pretty bad ass.
Marlon Moraes is the man, so is that Gaethje cat. Moraes made short work of Beebe with a brutal KO. I felt really bad for Dan Lauzon, he was getting hit with some Pat Barry level leg kicks and I bet he woke up yesterday with his right knee looking like a globe. Gaethje is no joke, kind of a hard fight to watch, even the KO was tough.
All in all a good show, I saw Miguel Torres got choked out, boy that guy has fallen off hardcore. I remember at one point the mega fight was Faber v. Torres, glad they never followed through with it cuz it looks like Faber would've ran through him at this stage in his career.
Seems like WSOF is interested in both Rousimar Palhares and Ben Askren. They seem intent on building a pretty decent WW division.
If Askren went to the WSOF and beat a couple of UFC calibre fighters (let's be honest, if Neil Magny still is then the whole of the WSOF division is), he'd get to the UFC. I can see Dana's point now, he'll have to pay Askren a reasonable amount of money being a champion from another league, but he could easily blow out. Douglas Lima is a good fighter, other than that he's not been smashing top 20 guys. I think Lombard was signed A: because he was devastating against that level of competition and B: his record is littered with names like Doerkenson and Starnes, experienced dudes. Askren doesn't have that.
Askren has a win over Jay Heiron though, who is better than most of the guys Lombard had faced. Personally I think the UFC just doesn't want a shit ton of wrestlers that 90% of the time just hold you on your back and control position, not really doing much. That style isn't something people care to see. Even the Japanese will boo the shit out of you if you're not really doing anything, and they're a lot more lenient with negative reaction than other areas. Askren is just a boring dude and while I can definitely respect his game, if the UFC would have to fork out money they're not willing to spend on this guy then let him go somewhere else.
I know some people will disagree but Bellator is not direct competition like Pride was, not yet. For every 1 top guy Bellator has, the UFC has probably 20 that are just as good in that division. Eddie Alvarez is a great 155er, but you put him in the shark tank with the other 155ers in the UFC and compare that to Bellator, it's not even close. It'd be one thing if Askren was a bigger name, but he's not, Idk if the guy even draws crowds for Bellator, no one really even talks about Bellator unless something fucked up happens lol.
If WSOF have the loot, I say why not bring in Askren? I wouldn't grab Paul Harris, he's talented but the guy needs some type of psychiatric intervention lol.
WSOF 7 tomorrow night!
Main Card (on NBC Sports Network)
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Lance Palmer-WSOF Featherweight Title Match
Elvis Mutapcic vs. Jesse Taylor†-WSOF Middleweight Title Semi-Final Match
Sabah Fadai vs. Nick Newell
Dwayne Lewis vs. Kalib Starnes
Preliminary Card (on MMAWeekly.com)
Michael Hill vs. Richard Arsenault
Matt Baker vs. David Perron
Shawn Albrecht vs. Gabriel Solorio
Dan Ring vs. Myles Merola
Micah Brakefield vs. Brendan Kornberger
I'm pretty excited for this card. Elvis Mutapcic is from Iowa and I've seen him fight for MCC quite a few times and other regional promotions. He's fighting the infamous Jesse Taylor of kick a limo window and lose your TUF finale spot fame. The featherweight title fight will be pretty good, and I know some of you cats are just itching to see Kalib Starnes return to national t.v. Plus we have Nick Newell, who I'm still trying to decide whether I'm a fan of his or not but I respect the fuck out of the guy rolling with the lions with one hand. He's got a wicked stump though that looks like you're getting hit with a small bat lol.
Decent event.
Mutapcic certainly got LnP'd to death. JT looks like some weird Big John McCarthy/Ryback hybrid..
Palmer is promising but Karakhanyan was pretty much too well-rounded and experienced for him. I remember watching Insane back in his Bellator days.. Very good, underappreciated fighter.
Always fascinating to watch Notorious Nick choke people out with the Stump of Death.
Just saw that WSOF will stage 8-10 shows in 2014 with two of them being aired on the main NBC channel. That's pretty cool.
I like to watch WSOF develop, they have a nice mix of well known fighters (Rumble, Yushin Okami, Jon Fitch, Burkman, Palhares, JZ, Kyle, Aaron Simpson, Jorge Santiago, Volkmann, Tyson Griffin, Buscapé..) and some interesting up and comers (Moraes, Gaethje, Karakhanyan, Palmer, Newell, Spong, Carl..). Really wish they could have signed Askren, he can be quite boring but he's got to be the highest ranked non-Zuffa WW available.
I'm really looking forward to their 2014 Japan event.
They run shows the right way, they have their showpiece fighters but have generally been good at trying to get a few homegrown talents on main cards even at the expense of established fighters. Gerald Harris vs. Jorge Santiago was a prelim so Newell, Spong and Moraes could star. Gaethje and Carl have been constants on the main card too, and therefore easier to build into established names. In their short history they've shown that their guys can hang with established ZUFFA veterans, and that's a good launching pad for being seen as a relevant MMA promotion.
Rousimar Palhares and Yushin Okami will make their WSOF debuts on March 29. No opponents announced yet though.
Why not each other?
Palhares is a WW now.
I was thinking the same thing, figured Paul Harris would be able to just move back to 185, but Okami would probably beat his ass. Okami is a big dude. I hope whoever Paul fights, they beat his ass, I have no desire to see that guy fight in MMA.
He's only one fight deep at 170 pounds and that was in the UFC. I don't see why he couldn't take another fight at middleweight.
Yeah, he probaly could and it's not even announced in which division he'll make his debut yet.
I'm guessing this way they can have two pretty big names challenging for titles instead of just one. Okami for example would surely get a crack at the Branch/Taylor winner for the MW title with a win here. Palhares would probably get a WW shot (vs. Steve Carl) or fight Fitch or Burkman in a number one contenders fight if he wins his debut.
WSOF is really starting to shape up, I hope they can keep it going. They have a nice mix of 'name' fighters, veterans and great up-and comers.
Rousimar Palhares (15-3) vs. Steve Carl (21-3) for the WW title and Marlon Moraes (12-4) vs. Josh Rettinghouse (10-2) for the inagural BW title at WSOF 9 in Las Vegas on March 29.
They gave that piece of shit Paul Harris a title shot right off the bat? Dumb.
What a joke. Bush league 101.
I'm not sure what's worse, giving Jardine a title shot against Rockhold in Strikeforce, or giving this asshole a title shot right out the gate.
That's a really good question. The Jardine titleshot was outright embarrassing because he was riding what, a 6 or 7 fight skid? At least Palhares isn't coming off a L but giving him an immediate titleshot following the controversy surrounding him being an animal who can't be trusted to follow the ref's orders isn't much better.
I'm surprised the WSOF hired him. Don't get it twisted, he's not a terrible fighter, only 3 losses, all to tough guys, but his shit is getting old.
He's a massive liability and not only jumping to hire him but throwing him into an immediate title fight absolutely reeks of vultures pecking at UFC scraps.
He'll probably win too, UFC scraps make Champions in bushleagues. Well...except Fitch.
Who are they?
Yeah I can't think of any former UFC guys that are/were champions of B-level promotions like Strikeforce, Bellator. Maybe Frank Shamrock? Was Babalu champ in Strikeforce? I wouldn't consider those 2 scrubs at the time, 2004-2006ish I'm assuming they were champs in Strikeforce.... And not everyone who is cut or leaves the UFC are scrubs, anyone who thinks Fitch, Okami, and Paul Harris are scrubs should go watch a different sport.
I don't think anyone has argued that those guys are scrubs. Just that they're UFC rejects, which they are.
Im talking small promotions. Im sure the likes of Paul Buentello and Joe Riggs have held titles in places like Tachi Palace or whatever.
I guess just hearing top 5-10 fighters being called "rejects" throws me off a little bit, considering Fitch, Okami, and Paul Harris have proven they can hang with the top guys and beat practically anyone in their division, especially Fitch and Okami, and I'm not a fan of either guy but shit show some respect.
When you are no longer wanted you are rejected.
The UFC no longer wanted these rejects.
It's about understanding the words you're using.
Usually the term is used as a negative so forgive me for assuming that's what was being implied.
Mark already qualified his use of the word reject though...
He literally said nobody argued they were scrubs just that the UFC didn't want them anymore.
But again, calling someone a "reject" isn't used as a positive 99% of the time. When was the last time you heard a promotion call a fighter who fought somewhere else and was released a "reject"?
Bastardisation occurs in language, look at the word "unbelievable". It is now used to describe something impressive when in actual fact it means "unrealistic".
Dan Henderson for one
???
They were rejected by the UFC. What would have been a better term, fired boys?
I understand what you were trying to say but to me, calling top 10 fighters REJECTS seems a little wrong. Former UFC fighters or former employees works. I mean would you like to be called a REJECT simply because you couldn't come to a contractual agreement with your former employer? Probably not.
I'm sorry that word offends you.
You fucking better be with your UFC reject avatar.
Rampage wasn't fired or released though.
???
Didnt he win the SF belt between UFC stints?
Yeah...and?
2 months later....
Everyone's favorite ground fighter Paul Harris is your new WSOF Welterweight champion. Sub in the first round, heel hook I believe. The crazy shit about Paul Harris is that if he just had his shit together, I could honestly see him being a champion in the UFC with that ground game being so deadly.
Nah, I cant see it. His deadly ground game just doesnt work at the top level.
True, it did seem like the big fights he had (Henderson, Marquardt, Lombard) he lost.
I'm with Mik, I think Palhares would have run into problems with the top 5 or so. Being a one trick pony can only get you so far.
Congratulations to him I guess. He was gifted an instant title shot though so I'm not quite as impressed as I could be.
First title defense will be against Jon Fitch. Now that is a pretty big fight for WSOF, probably their biggest fight to date. Fitch is still a top 10-15 guy, Paul Harris loves to go to the ground and that's really the only place Fitch is good at.
Shame they insist on riding UFC's coattails and being a blatant UFC reject league.
I know we've talked about this before but here's the thing. While I can respect that opinion to a certain degree, the reality is that you'd be a fool to pass up on Fitch, Okami, Anthony Johnson, even Paul Harris. Burkman hadn't fought in the UFC for years, same with Arlovski. The UFC is gigantic, it's going to be hard to find fighters that are ranked pretty high that haven't fought for them. It's not like Fitch and the others suck and that's why they're not in the UFC. Look at Rumble, he's BACK in the UFC. Would you say the only reason he's back is because of what he did in WSOF?
Plus, some of the guys I personally watch over anyone previously named because none of those guys really appeal to ME, but I like the guys like Marlon Moraes, One Arm Nick, Justin Gaethje.
Read above moron, OD50 clearly said hecouldn't remember a UFC released fighter winning a title in another promotion.
Christ you are thick.
lol. Yet we have people crying about myself and Mark Hammer, yet we deal with this guy?
Well, what you actually said was that basically UFC "rejects" make great champions in bush league promotions, and then when OD50 asked WHO, you brought up Dan Henderson, like that guy sucks. So I was just trying to figure out what the point you were making was because to say Dan Henderson is a scrub or that he couldn't win a title in a major promotion, that's just dumb.
Dude, that was 2 months ago, where have you been with the response? Took you this long to come up with that tired SOB-style response? You're losing your touch son, usually we'd get something idiotic from you immediately, now I have to wait 2 months? Great
You're the one that's using the wrong definition of reject "son". This is precisely why people complain about you, you are thick and stubborn which is the wasters dream ticket.
Two months is nothing in an inactive forum, a forum you rendered this way with posts like that "son".
Nash stop being thick all over the shop you ridiculous man.
I think your approach is outdated.
I took your comments as negatives, should that be a shocker to you? If you weren't implying Dan Henderson being champion in Strikeforce was a negative and that he's not a top or was not a top tier guy when he LEFT the UFC on his own, then please, have it with the negativity SOB. You didn't really explain yourself 2 months ago.
Point was that Hendo was no "UFC reject'', as in being cut by the UFC. He wanted more money after KO'ing Bisping at UFC 100 and Dana didn't give it to him, so he quit and signed with Strikeforce for more $$$. But if UFC reject includes everyone that has fought in the UFC prior, and left for whatever reasons then yeah, Hendo should be included.
Now we can also include Palhares, and I'm pretty sure Okami will become WSOF's next MW champion (beating Branch/JT Money). I think the only non-UFC MW that could challenge Okami is Mamed Khalidov. I don't think David Branch or Jesse Taylor has all that much for him.
And while I'm in the WSOF thread, here's their upcoming events:
WSOF 10 - June 21, San Jose, CA
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Rick Glenn (FW title)
David Branch vs. Jesse Taylor (MW title)
WSOF 11 - July ? (5th or 12th), Location TBA
Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch (WW title)
Justin Gaetje vs. Nick Newell (LW title)
Tyrone Spong vs. TBA
WSOF 12 - August 2, Tokyo, Japan
Yushin Okami vs. TBA
Some pretty interesting fights.
I just read a piece on BJPenn.com that Fitch is actually wanting the title shot to happen on the June card....Might be a little too stacked with 2 titles already on the line.
Yeah, Strikeforce did that once and it didn't pan out too well.
Some people feel that Burkman deserves the shot more than Fitch. Fitch eeking out a split decision against a total unknown in Marcelo Alfaya while Burkman flattened Tyler Stinson inside one round.. AND choked Fitch completely unconscious before that. I guess WSOF feels Fitch still has a fairly strong name value. Palhares/Fitch could have been a UFC co-main event or Fight Night main event not too long ago.
I think it's about name value, even if Fitch isn't EXCITING, he's still a decent name. Maybe it's because Burkman failed miserably in his title fight with Carl so they want someone else to get a crack, then they can do Fitch-Burkman 3 with the strap on the line which would be a nice X factor to end their trilogy.
I hear you, I was just speaking from a literal sense. As in they are literally rejects of the UFC. Having a UFC fight on your resume seems to be an instant ticket to an immediate title fight, etc in this promotion. Not that I can blame them, it just makes them look bush league in my opinion, hopping at every recent UFC release to put in their main event. Which in fairness they are, bush league I mean.
I don't know too many bush league promotions with top 10 fighters or t.v. deals worldwide.
Also, it's not like these guys who are ranked in the top 10-20 should really work to earn a title shot if you think WSOF is bush league. Why should a top 10 guy like Fitch have to fight a bunch of nobodies if he beat solid talent in the UFC where the depth is much greater? Did you have an issue with Dan Henderson coming in and getting a title shot against Jake Shields? Some considered Strikeforce "bush league". Again I'm not really invested in the guys like Fitch, Okami, but I can see WHY they're not having to beat a bunch of guys who aren't ranked anywhere near them. Look at how easy Okami whipped that nobodies' ass....Why should a guy like Okami who's fought and beat some of the top MW in the world NOT get an immediate title shot, or a guy like Paul Harris who's ranked higher than anyone at 170 in the WSOF other than maybe Fitch? You want the BEST in your company to be champion, being a former UFC fighter shouldn't be considered a negative.
This isn't 2005 where everyone that was doing something major (UFC, Pride) were on a level playing field and nobody jumping from one company to another was going to suddenly sky rocket the value of the brand. Nowadays there's the UFC, and everyboyd else. If WSOF brought in top guys from OneFC, that would do pretty much nothing for their brand, just like bringing in Shinya Aoki didn't do jackshit for Bellator or Strikeforce. So I agree that they shouldn't just say "oh you're from the UFC, TITLE SHOT!" but if they're good and nobody can deny Okami, Fitch, etc accomplishments whether it was in Pride, UFC. Again, if they're "bush league" it only makes sense to give top guys the title shots, especially when it's not like WSOF has this insane roster of guys that are getting fucked over. They have like 25 people on the entire roster spread out between 7 weight classes.
Oh it's definitely not a negative to have top 15-20 guys in your promotion. It's just that it's obvious what the goal is when they sign a former UFC guy and give him an immediate title shot and main event slot; that goal is to coast off of his UFC recognition.
I'm not saying any of this as an insult to the WSOF by the way, I'm just speaking on the very transparent truth.
It's smart though. WSOF put Paul Harris in the main event not just because he was a former UFC fighter, but because there was so much controversy behind his release and his actions in the cage prior to his release that people would tune in to see what was going to happen next with him. But beyond that, the devil's advocate role I'm taking influencing these posts btw, these guys are also top talent so it's not like with Bellator where they took Tito Ortiz, who was like 1-8 in his last 9 fights and Rampage, who was on a 3-fight losing streak, to headline their first ppv. At least promotions like Affliction or Strikeforce or WSOF, they took guys that actually won fights and were top guys and put them in title fights or title contention right off the bat because that's where they belonged.
Except Keith Jardine.. Damn it still annoys me that he got a title shot against Rockhold in SF.Only good thing about that was Rockhold nuking the Dean of Mean in the first round.
I don't have any problem with smaller orgs signing former UFC talents though, many of them still has name value and recognition which is crucial for organizations trying to grab some attention. Nothing different from TNA or ROH signing former WWE guys when they get the chance. And hey, remember when the UFC signed that Pride reject, Anderson Silva back in the day? Unlike Hendo AS actually got cut from Pride after getting subbed by Chonan and Takase.
But yeah, Bellator signing a beyond washed up Tito Ortiz for big money and trying to have him headline a PPV in 2013 over Chandler/Alvarez was stretching it.
And speaking of WSOF and former UFC talent.. I listened to WSOF match-maker Ali Aziz on the MMA Hour yesterday and he said he was already in talks with Melvin Guillard's manager, and that he was very interested in bringing Melvin to WSOF. Good or bad (possible) signing?
Its pretty obvious that they need the named recognition stars AND they need to be scouting for new talent too. Problem is that any new talent that sticks its head above the water that the UFC ISNT already watching...they soon will be and then WSOF and Bellator just end up nurturing talent to feed the UFCs pool. They don't have the competition that people want to face and they don't have the credibility to get that recognition. The only way that they will ever overtake the UFC is by buying the big names from them.
That's why Bellator have these super restrictive contracts, it's very difficult for someone to join the UFC if Bellator wants to keep them around. Shit, the Alvarez stuff was crazy. As was the Askren deal, although in a completely different way.
WSOF have openly stated that they won't try to stop anyone from joining the UFC when their WSOF contract is up, like Rumble Johnson. I can imagine that the UFC will come knocking on Marlon Moraes door fairly soon if he keeps winning, maybe Georgi Karakhanyan and Justin Gaethje as well. Not sure about Nick Newell, Dana said there's no place in the UFC for a guy with his disability, though he said we'd never see women in the UFC too.
/And it's kind of funny that some people felt Strikeforce was bush-league. Former SF fighters have a winning record against UFC fighters since the ''merger". That's quite the talent roster for a bush-league.
Last edited by OD50; April 2nd, 2014 at 7:21 AM.
Dana said there's no place in the UFC for Nick Newell's disability?
I'm going to need a direct quote for this please.
Google.
http://www.fightline.com/fl-news-201...49-dana-white/
About a year old but still if you wanted to read it for yourself.
Here's the other thing about WSOF. The UFC rolled out the red carpet for Rey Sefo at a recent UFC event, even acknowledged him on camera as the owner of WSOF. When have they ever done that? I think there's a solid relationship between the 2 promotions. I doubt we'll ever see any cross-promotion but you have to think this is probably why Sefo and his people have said they have no issues with fighters wanting to go to the UFC.
So Dana blatantly didn't say he had no place for Nick Newell is what you are telling me.
OD50 does that make Nick Newell a UFC Reject or do you have another interesting definition of reject to share?
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