How does WSOF compare to UFC?

TireeTerror

My friend recently tried out for Ultimate Fighter 23, but did not make it due to a slightly chequered past.

He told me today he is now going to be fighting at WSOF 29.

Ive seen quite a lot of UFC stuff over the years, but Im not a huge follower of MMA outside of watching the big events.

Obviously UFC is what everyone knows about, but I just wondered if the WSOF would be highly regarded in the MMA world or not.

TimRiggins

WSOF is probably the 3rd biggest MMA organisation, certainly in the states. Very poorly run company though, the matchmaker is the president and also a fighter, Ray Sefo.

The standard in comparison to the UFC would largely depend on where in the card the fights are. Prelims would be guys with only a handful of professional fights, guys making their pro debut and guys with losing records but great prospects do come through. The guys at the top of the WSOF divisions could probably get a couple of UFC wins if matched correctly but probably wouldn't be ranked in the top 15.

Bellator is the second biggest organisation, and have a handful of fighters (aside from former UFC fighters) that could do well, like Will Brooks, Liam McGeary, Michael Venom Page and Andrey Koreshkov who is fighting Benson Henderson in his Bellator debut.

TireeTerror

Thanks Tim.

At least I get to see him fight live in HD as its on NBCSN, normally I have to wait until some of his friends post some early videos on facebook who were there, or until the proper video has been uploaded to YouTube, by which point I obviously know the result, which takes the edge of it.

Paully D

Care to share his name so we can keep track of him?

TireeTerror

Sure, its Ian Heinisch. Or Ian "The Hurricane" Heinisch if you find it easier to track him that way. He has only turned pro recently.

That_Guy

The last WSOF event (27 I think??) was really strange. I think I wrote recently that they've lost their way of late. I think they have some great fighters on their roster but it's like they don't believe that they are an MMA powerhouse promoter or something. I dunno, it's weird.

They've clearly got money and are on NBC which is a big network in the States.

Despite all of this, their production and even venues look like they just want to aspire to being the top dog of the regional circuit.

They don't really have an identity as yet imo.

The UFC guys will get you nicely tipsy. You'll have a good night more often than not and you'll go back nearly all the time because it's a safe haven and you trust the people at the wheel.

Bellator are like the college party guys. They want to get you fúcking thrashed. They'll insist you try mental concoctions. Sometimes you like hanging out with these guys. Other times you'll look on from a distance.

WSOF have some familiar faces you've not seen in a while. You'll drop in for a chat and a quick drink but you'll never outstay your welcome with them.

====

And yes, I did just compare MMA promoters to types of alcohol drinkers. :pac:

TireeTerror

For me the best thing is being able to watch it live in NBCSN because it normally takes a few days before Sparta Combat League (league he fights in normally) to upload the video to their youtube channel. I always know the result because its all over my facebook, so it will be a hell of a lot more exciting watching it as it happens without knowing the result.

califano

That_Guy

I'm liking this free agency market that fighters are testing now. It's good for fans and fightesr and it shows that the UFC maybe doesn't have that much of a stranglehold over MMA anymore.

Ok, their roster is still by far the best out there but the likes of Ben Henderson and possibly Matt Mitrione to a lesser extent could draw big ratings to the likes of Bellator/WSOF and entice big name fighters to their promotion.

I still miss Strikeforce and in my eyes was far more of an enjoyable promotion to watch than the UFC right before Zuffa took it over.

While the roster for the most part moved over to the UFC, I feel the match ups they were given weren't as mouth watering as the ones they were given on Strikeforce.

I do think that Coker has a good eye for talent and rather than the circus of Shamrock/Gracie etc, I hope he's given room to scout future talent because Bellator are making some good waves and their roster is really improving.

TireeTerror

Here is the promo Ian has put up on his facebook. He is the guy right in the middle with the black shorts.

Paully D

Cool. I'll keep an eye out for him. Is he favourite to win this matchup? I've had a quick look to see if I can find odds but no one seems to have them up yet (including Vegas). Probably a bit too early in fairness.

TireeTerror

I was telling Ian I was asking about WSOF in here and he said he is hoping you guys will give him some support. So I asked him to send me a video.

TireeTerror

Paully D wrote: »

Cool. I'll keep an eye out for him. Is he favourite to win this matchup? I've had a quick look to see if I can find odds but no one seems to have them up yet (including Vegas). Probably a bit too early in fairness.

Ian said he is the favourite to win. He had called out another guy who had beaten his friend, but as it was that guys debut in the WSOF, it wouldnt look good if Ian smashed him as they are wanting to build him. So they have given him this guy from South Dakota who has been running his mouth of and sending Ian messages every single day. He must have seen Connors tactics and thought it would work for him. So now Im really excited to see Ian shut him up.

Ian's next fight after this is in April as the main event at a local show in Colorado, then he is on WSOF again.

Mellor

Good stuff. Keep us updated.
Are you living in america? Or how do you know him.

TireeTerror

Mellor wrote: »

Good stuff. Keep us updated.
Are you living in america? Or how do you know him.

Im in Donegal.

I live in Tenerife for 5 years, he was there for 2 years. He introduced me to MMA. I had not watched any UFC at all, I had wrongly assumed it was fake just like WWE. When he was telling me he used to be Colorado state wrestling champion I was slagging him for ages about how fake it was. Eventually he was getting annoyed and told me to download a UFC torrent and then he came over to my apartment and we watched it. I cant remember what UFC it was, but I remember being so shocked at the level of brutality, that it was allowed to smash people in the face with kicks and hammer fists etc.

JoeyJJ

Can you watch this in Ireland on legit HD feed? Haven't really followed it.

Is there still rule chages? was it ground kicks to head or 12-6 elbows remember some of these were legal?

JoeyJJ

Can you watch this in Ireland on legit HD feed? Haven't really followed it.

Is there still rule chages? was it ground kicks to head or 12-6 elbows remember some of these were legal?

Mellor

JoeyJJ wrote: »

Can you watch this in Ireland on legit HD feed? Haven't really followed it.

Is there still rule chages? was it ground kicks to head or 12-6 elbows remember some of these were legal?

That was OneFC is Asia.
WSOF is in America, so it bound by the same Unified rules as the UFC

JoeyJJ

Cheers Mellor, so is there legit feeds open to us here?

TireeTerror

JoeyJJ wrote: »

Cheers Mellor, so is there legit feeds open to us here?

I have a subscription to Sportsmania. Its £26 for 6 months. It has all the sports channels and almost all of them are in HD.

Normally I wouldnt post about this kind of thing in here as it would have been considered copyright infringement previously, but its been ruled that streaming is not illegal so until the law is changed to make it illegal, it should be ok to talk about it in here.

http://sportsmania.eu/sites/view.php?pg=home

Paully D

TireeTerror wrote: »

I was telling Ian I was asking about WSOF in here and he said he is hoping you guys will give him some support. So I asked him to send me a video.

I only saw the video now. That's cool!

The Boards.ie MMA forum's adopted fighter?

TireeTerror

I will make a different thread so its more noticeable as this one started on a different topic.