Fitch signs with WSOF, Legacy FC signs some big names, Feijao crosses over, Coleman & Kingsbury retire, Takayama gets 1st MMA win! - Bellator 94 prelims

*All Rankings taken from Fight Matrix at time of writing. NR-I indicates Inactive fighter

World Series of Fighting: Strikeforce 2.0?
Ray Sefo's World Series of Fighting has emerged as a big player in MMA having signed several of the sport's top free agents, locking down a 3-year deal with NBC Sports, and pulling off a successful debut show that garnered almost 200k viewers. While some may say they've heard this tune before in regards to previous promotions like Affliction who sign big names and fold soon after, but MMA is a different game now that TV is willing to play. Promoters don't have to book a huge venue and pull unrealistic PPV numbers to stay afloat. You could call it the Scott Coker Plan, and with Strikeforce, Coker played his draw perfectly and set the stage for future promoters to follow in his footsteps. In fact, WSOF feels so familiar that you have to wonder if Sefo didn't sit in on a few meetings while he was employed by the sport's former #2 promotion. And luckily for Sefo, the spot has been left wide open as Bellator stands pat with their prospect and tournament model. Not only that, but Sefo is willing to work with the UFC in regards to letting fighters move up if the opportunity arises as long as it doesn't affect an already established card. As always, time will tell, but I am excited to see how WSOF builds their roster and future cards. I hope that Sefo and crew can make it fun, profitable, and lasting so that it fills a needed void in the MMA market.

The Hammer Retires

Mark Coleman officially retired this week on the heels of deciding to undergo complete hip replacement surgery. Coleman was a decorated wrestler at Miami (OH) and Ohio State, as well as a 1992 Olympian, Pan-Am gold medalist, and silver medalist at the 1991 World Championships, prior to beginning his career in MMA at UFC 10 in 1996.
Coleman's MMA career accomplishments included two UFC tournament wins, winning the inaugural UFC Heavyweight title against Dan Severn in 1997, and the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Openweight crown. In 2008, Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and finished his career in the UFC.

Upcoming Regional Bouts

BAMMA-Badbeat 8: Commerce, CA – March 15
Jared Papazian: 14-9-0 (37-FLY) vs Terrion Ware: 3-1-0 (UR)
Joseph Henle: 8-1-1 (159-MW) vs Miguel Cosio: 1-10-0 (UR)
Steve Magdaleno: 9-3-0 (339-LW) vs Chris Culley: 14-10-0 (291-FW)
Shooto: Tokyo, Japan – March 16
Kyogi Horiguchi: 9-1-0 (23-BW) vs Hiromasa Ogikubo: 10-2-2 (71-BW)
Yuji Hoshino: 18-7-7 (86-FW) vs Yusuke Yachi: 8-3-0 (124-FW)
KSW 22: Warsaw, Poland – March 16
Jan Blachowicz: 16-3-0 (24-LHW) vs Goran Reljic: 11-3-0 (65-HW)
Oli Thompson: 10-4-0 (244-HW) vs Karol Bedorf: 8-2-0 (85)
Pancrase 246: Tokyo, Japan – March 17
Shintaro Ishiwatari: 14-4-4 (79-FW) vs Nobuhiro Yoshitake: 9-12-4 (189-BW)
Koji Oishi: 23-9-9 (63-FW) vs Takumi Nakayama: 17-13-5 (89-FW)
Atsushi Yamamoto: 16-7-3 (9-FLY) vs Daichi Kitakata: 9-3-0 (61-FLY)
Isao Kobayashi: 13-1-3 (103-LW) vs Dave Mazany: 10-4-0 (151-LW)

Regional Results

BAMMA 12: Newcastle, England – March 9
Jim Wallhead: 24-7-0 (57-WW) def Matt Veach: 16-5-0 (258) by RNC (R1)
Max Nunes: 10-0-0 (90-LHW) def Marcin Lazarz: (245) by TKO (R3)
Curt Warburton: 12-3-0 (73-LW) def Steven Ray: 12-4-0 (153) by UD (3)
CWFC 52: London, England – March 9
Cathal Pendred: 12-2-1 (50-WW) def Gael Grimaud: 17-6-0 (62) by UD (5) to win Welterweight title
Graham Turner: 22-7-0 (103-FW) def Fouad Mesdari: 10-4-0 (UR) by TKO punches (R1)
Bruno Carvalho: 15-6-0 (139-WW) def Steven Dinsdale: 5-1-0 (UR) by TKO punches (R2)
Jack Mason: 23-11-0 (190-WW) def Matt Inman: 9-5-0 (UR) by TKO elbows (R2)
Paul McVeigh: 19-8-0 (45-FLY) def Paul Marin: 5-2-0 (UR) by UD (3)
U-Spirits:Again: Tokyo, Japan – March 9
Yuki Kondo: 55-27-8 (257-WW) def Hiromitsu Kanehara: 19-27-5 (UR) by Points DEC
Minori Suzuki: 30-20-0 (UR) def Hans Nijman: 9-7-0 (UR) by Achilles lock (R2)
Kazuo Takahashi: 30-26-3,1NC (UR) def Kenichi Yamamoto: 5-12-2 (UR) by knee KO (R1)
Katsunori Kikuno: 19-5-2 (90-LW) def Takafumi Ito: 36-33-13 (UR) by palm strike KO (R1)
Yoshihiro Takayama: 1-4-0 (UR) def Hikaru Sato: 21-22-4 (UR) by suplex KO (R1)
Keiichiro Yamamiya: 45-29-10 (211-MW) def Daijiro Matsui: 12-26-6 (UR) by Points DEC
SHC 7: Geneva, SWI – March 9
Jeff Monson: 49-13-1 (23-HW) def Drazen Forgac: 8-9-0 (UR) by verbal SUB (R2)
Chaban Ka: 5-1-1 (86-HW) def Haris Reiz: 8-2-0 (157) by RNC (R1)
Other Results
Leandro Silva: 11-0-1 (212-WW) def Chris Wilson: 18-9-0 (183) by SD (3) at Predator FC 23 – Mar 9

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