World Series of Fighting

World Series of Fighting

Type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded	2012
Headquarters	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Key people	Carlos Silva (CEO)[1] Ray Sefo (President) Kevin Alires (VP of Operations)
Parent	MMAWC[1]
Website	http://wsof.com/

World Series of Fighting is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its live events and competitions have been shown on NBCSN in the United States, TSN2 in Canada, on Esporte Interativo in Brazil and in the Kiswe^[2] and FITE.tv apps worldwide.

Background

Formation

WSOF was formed in 2012, having signed a broadcast deal with the NBC Sports Network. This will be the third MMA promotion that NBC Sports has hosted, having broadcast World Extreme Cagefighting and Ultimate Fighting Championship events when the channel was formerly known as Versus.^[3] NBC Sports had been one of the bidders for the rights to broadcast future UFC events, but lost out to Fox.^[4] However, some journalists regarded WSOF's deal with NBC Sports to be a considerable coup for a debuting promotion, considering NBC Sports' past interest in the UFC.^[4] Upon the announcement of the broadcast deal, WSOF President Ray Sefo stated that the promotion wanted to host 8-10 events per year, whilst holding a one-year deal with NBC Sports.^[5] However, the next day, an NBC spokesman revealed that the deal only covered WSOF's inaugural event, with the option for more, should NBC hold a positive evaluation.^[4] On February 4, 2013, it was reported by several news outlets that NBC Sports signed a 3-year deal with WSOF.^[6][7] On September 23, 2014, it was announced that the WSOF was moving their events to PPV in 2015.^[8]

Presentation

Soon after the promotion's event announcement, they confirmed that Bas Rutten, Michael Schiavello and Kurt Angle would be the commentators for the debut event.^[9] However, days later, Angle, a TNA wrestler, was removed from the broadcast by Viacom (the owner of Spike TV, who broadcast TNA Wrestling), who claimed that the job was a conflict of interest. On September 10, 2012, Ray Sefo tweeted "There's a conflict of interest, so he won't be able to do the (Nov.) 3 show," Sefo said, adding the split was amicable. A replacement had yet to be found, until commentator Kenny Rice was added at WSOF 5 on September 14, 2013, along with reporter Joey Varner. Ring Announcer Jazz Securo was also acquired and debuted September 14, 2013 at WSOF 5 in Atlantic City, NJ. He has since become the "Official Voice of the World Series of Fighting Decagon".

WSOF uses a ten-sided (Decagon) cage for their events, unlike the UFC's eight-sided octagon.^[5]

Rules

WSOF uses the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts implemented by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.^[5]

International promotions

In the Summer of 2013, the World Series of Fighting quietly purchased Nicaragua’s Omega MMA and rebranded it World Series of Fighting: Central America. The promotion held its first event on July 27, 2013, headlined by former boxing world champion Ricardo Mayorga. In September 2013, World Series of Fighting purchased the Aggression Fighting Championship organization to enter the Canadian market, but it was later found out the AFC executives closed down the company to join a new organization World Series of Fighting: Canada.^[10] World Series of Fighting: Japan was created along with the newly formed partnership with Pancrase to host events in Japan,^[11] whilst plans are in place to create branches in New Zealand and Australia.^[12]

World Series of Fighting started the WSOF Global Championship brand it features events in Japan, China, Philippines and other destinations.^[13]

WSOF Records

Record	Fighter	Number
Most Wins	Marlon Moraes	10
Youngest Champion	Justin Gaethje	25 years, 65 days
Oldest Champion	Jon Fitch	38 years, 40 days
Most Finishes	Justin Gaethje	8
Most Knockouts	Justin Gaethje	8
Most Submissions	David Branch Rousimar Palhares	3
Most Decision Wins	Marlon Moraes Jon Fitch David Branch	4
Most Bouts	Marlon Moraes	10
Most wins in title bouts	Justin Gaethje Marlon Moraes	5
Most title bouts	Justin Gaethje Marlon Moraes	5
Most consecutive title defenses	Justin Gaethje Marlon Moraes	4
Longest winning streak	Marlon Moraes	10
Fastest knockout	Alvin Williams	0:30
Fastest submission	Louis Taylor	0:29

Roster

Events

As of October 7, 2016, World Series of Fighting has held a total of 40 events.

Champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title Defenses
Heavyweight	265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)	Blagoy Ivanov	WSOF 21 June 5, 2015	2
Light Heavyweight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)	David Branch	WSOF 23 September 18, 2015	1
Middleweight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)	David Branch	WSOF 10 June 21, 2014	2
Welterweight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)	Jon Fitch	WSOF 30 April 2, 2016	0
Lightweight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)	Justin Gaethje	WSOF 8 January 18, 2014	4
Featherweight	145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)	Lance Palmer	WSOF 32 July 30, 2016	0
Bantamweight	135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)	Marlon Moraes	WSOF 9 March 29, 2014	4
Flyweight	125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st)	Magomed Bibulatov	WSOF 24 October 17, 2015	0

References

1. "USA Today: MMA promoter ranks grow by one: Miguel Torres in WSOF 1 headliner". mmajunkie.com. September 6, 2012.
2. "Deeplink: Kiswe WSoF Channel".
3. "Viewpoint: Uphill Climb". sherdog.com. September 10, 2012.
4. "NBC Sports: World Series of Fighting deal only covers one event". mmafighting.com. September 7, 2012.
5. "Ray Sefo ready for new challenge with World Series of Fighting". mmafighting.com. September 6, 2012.
6. "World Series of Fighting Inks 3-Year Deal with NBC Sports Network". bleacherreport.com. February 4, 2013.
7. "World Series of Fighting signs 3-year deal with NBC Sports Network". mmafighting.com. February 4, 2013.
8. "WSOF announces "revenue sharing model" in 2015 move to PPV; WSOF 15 moves head to head with UFC 180 and Bellator 131". mmatorch.com.
9. "TNA contract nixes Kurt Angle commentator job at World Series of Fighting". mmajunkie.com. September 10, 2012.
10. "AFC closes doors to join WSOF Canada". Topmmanewscom. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
11. "World Series of Fighting launches WSOF Japan, partners with Pancrase". MMAjunkie.
12. "World Series of Fighting Targets New Zealand for April 2014". Yahoo Sports. 5 November 2013.
13. "WSOF Global Championship website".

External links

• Official WSOF Site
• WSOF event results at Sherdog