World Series of Fighting 25 will feature an historic 8-man-one-night tournament with the winner becoming the promotions number one contender in the lightweight division.
“We are excited to roll out our first-ever, one-night tournament filled with some of MMA’s top lightweight fighters, and to distinguish a new number one contender in this weight class that has been growing aggressively and is packed with world-class talent,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo via press release.
The contestants are as follows-
Luis Palomino (23-11): Bellator veteran and two-time WSOF title challenger.
Brian Foster (23-7): UFC vet with wins over Matt Brown and Brock Larson.
Mike Ricci (10-4): UFC vet and TUF 16 finalist, trains under Firas Zahabi.
Islam Mamedov (12-1): on an eleven fight win streak, holds 7 submission wins.
Brian Cobb (20-8): UFC vet with a very dangerous submission game.
Jorge Patino (38-15-2): 42-earr-old Pride, UFC & Strikeforce veteran.
Joao Zeferino (18-6): UFC vet with a 72% submission rate.
Rich Patishnock (6-2): holds notable wins over Gregor and Igor Gracie.
Quarterfinal stage matchups for the tournament will be announced soon as will additional details concerning the format and rules of the tournament.
Alan’s Angle: Solid line-up for a one night tournament. I nice mix of fighters who each offer something different and are coming in at different stages of their respective careers.
I am a big fan of one-night tournaments and it is always a welcome seeing one in a major MMA organisation. Current champ Justin Gaethje holds a number of wins over a few of these fighters though so the outcome could provide something we’ve already seen like Luis Palomino who fought Gaethje twice this year already.
I expect the first two rounds of fights to be each two rounds with sudden death third round if there’s a draw and the final being three five minute rounds.