World Series of Fighting today announced two new events: WSOF 4, which takes place August 10 at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA, and WSOF 5, which takes place September 14 in Atlantic City, NJ. No fights have been confirmed yet, but WSOF did announce that Tyrone Spong will compete at WSOF 4, likely against Angel DeAnda, who he was supposed to fight at next week’s WSOF 3 event before pulling out of the contest. As well, former UFC lightweight Tyson Griffin will fight at WSOF 4 and former XFC star Nick Newell will compete at either WSOF 4 or WSOF 5. This is terrific news for fans of one of the best new promotions in the business. WSOF, which has a great television deal with NBC Sports Network, has put on two fantastic shows so far, with former UFC fighter Anthony “Rumble” Johnson being the star of both events. Johnson, by the way, is likely to compete on one of WSOF 4 or WSOF 5, as well. Speaking of WSOF, their third event takes place June 14 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The main card for next week’s event — which will soon be available to bet on at Several Bookmakers — is as follows.
- Jon Fitch vs. Josh Burkman
- Steve Carl vs. Tyson Steele
- Brian Cobb vs. Justin Gaethje
- Lyle Beerbohm vs. Jacob Volkmann
This is an excellent little card put together by WSOF that features a mix of UFC veterans and rising stars. The main event between Fitch and Burkman, a rematch of the pair’s 2006 fight in the UFC that Fitch won via submission, is a very intriguing matchup because it appears as though Fitch is on the downside of his career while Burkman has been experiencing a career resurgence as of late, winning seven of his last eight fights including a brutal TKO of Aaron Simpson at WSOF 2 with the only loss during that time period coming to young star Jordan Mein. I am guessing that Fitch opens up around -300, with the comeback on Simpson being about +250. I would definitely have to lean Fitch in this rematch but with the way Burkman has been fighting as of late it’s hard to count him completely out. Another fight that I find super intriguing is the lightweight matchup between Cobb and Gaethje. Cobb is a UFC vet and is actually pretty underrated, but Gaethje is one of the top prospects in the lightweight division in MMA right now and I have a feeling he’s going to win the fight in spectacular fashion. The line hasn’t been released yet, but if Gaethje is available at anything under -200, he will certainly be worth a play. And finally, the lightweight bout between Beerbohm and Volkmann is sure to be entertaining. Beerbohm, for some reason, was one of the few Strikeforce fighters not brought over to the UFC despite his talents, while Volkmann was cut after a surprise loss to Bobby Green at UFC 156. This is an interesting fight and although Volkmann will surely be the favorite, the poor cardio he showed in his last fight could be a huge cause for concern against a fighter who likes to push the pace like Beerbohm and it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw an upset. All in all the future of WSOF is looking bright and I’m very much looking forward to these upcoming events.