Growing up in the late ‘90s, an era defined by Don Frye’s mustache, Mark Coleman’s ground and pound, and a rising star with yellow hair named Tito Ortiz, I had the privilege to grow up with two dogs. The first dog was a two hundred pound Great Dane named Shadow and the other, was a fifteen-pound toy poodle appropriately named Nino (little boy). When my family hosted visitors, Shadow would sniff around, say hello, and eventually go back to his favorite spot to chew on his cow femur sized bone. However, Nino thought he was Shadow’s identical twin and when people invaded his house, no ankle was safe. In fact, God forbid someone was brave enough to walk around the house bare foot, they were not only putting their ankles in danger, but losing a toe nail was quite possible.
Out of sixteen events, the upstart promotion of The World Series of Fighting has chosen to go head to head against the UFC six times. While mixed martial arts fans all over the world already question the decisions made by Vice President and matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz, the business model of the promotion has to be examined closely. There is no doubt that Bellator MMA has secured it’s spot as the number two largest mixed martial arts organization in the world and no one can deny that their strategy of putting the majority of their shows on Friday night as opposed to Saturday when the UFC rules the mixed martial arts world has played a key role in their growth and success. Furthermore, with the advantage of airing it’s events on the NBC sports network and the recent decision by Bellator MMA to cut back on their number of events per year, one would think that The World Series of Fighting would gladly embrace the opportunity to air it’s events on Friday nights. For some unexplainable reason they show no intention of doing so and it is becoming a reality that it is only a matter of time before their business decisions will eventually lead to the promotion’s demise.
Adding further pressure to The World Series of Fighting, American promotion, Titan FC based out of Pompano Beach, Florida has not only signed a television deal with the CBS sports network, but they seem primed to lock up the Friday night slot to make a serious run at earning the respectable title of being the third largest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Still not convinced? How about the recent signing of former Bellator MMA number one contender, Rick Hawn or the signings of UFC fighters such as Steven Siler, Jack May, Illiard Santos, Mike Ricci, and Matt Riddle which are the symbols of the promotion’s growth potential especially with the recent news of high profile fighters like Josh Burkman and Cody Bollinger begging to be released from their WSOF contracts. It is apparent that if The World Series of Fighting continues to viciously attack the UFC like a fifteen-pound toy poodle, they won’t be around in a year or two from now.
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Main Photo courtesy of Sherdog
