On Friday, April 10, World Series of Fighting will hold its 20th event from the Foxwood Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.
There may not be a title on the line at the event, but the promotion can boast quite a few things about this lineup. It includes a champion seeking to start his journey to a second piece of gold, a former Olympian, a man who overcame the odds as a congenital amputee, a late-replacement, and last, but not least, there’s even a real-life superhero.
The champion is middleweight kingpin David Branch, who shifts his focus to the 205-pound division and the promotion’s light heavyweight tournament. Branch will clash with Jesse McElligott in the tourney’s semifinal round, after his original opponent, Ronny Markes, was forced off the card on weigh-ins day.
The Olympian is Steve Mocco, who looks to rebound from a loss in his WSOF debut. His second WSOF opponent, Juliano Coutinho, is no pushover though. The two big men will kick off the evening’s main card.
The man who overcame the odds is, of course, Nick Newell. Newell came up short in his title bid against Justin Gaethje, but he’ll start his climb back up the ladder when he meets Joe Condon in the co-headliner.
The late replacement is Lucas Montoya, who steps in for Melvin Guillard on less than a week’s notice. He goes from being just one more name on the preliminary card to a featured bout opposite contender Ozzy Dugulubgov.
And then there’s the superhero, Ben Fodor. The welterweight fighter puts his “Phoenix Jones” persona aside to compete in the WSOF cage against Emmanuel Walo.
The preliminary card airs live below at 6:15 p.m. ET. The five-fight main card follows on the NBC Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET.
Joe Condon vs. Nick Newell
Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Lucas Montoya
Ben Fodor vs. Emmanuel Walo
Juliano Coutinho vs. Steve Mocco
Islam Mamedov vs. Leon Davis
Matt Secor vs. Chip Moraza-Pollard
Chris Foster vs. Saul Almeida
Darren Mima vs. Johnny Campbell