MAIN EVENT: CARLOS FODOR VS. MIKE RICCI CO-MAIN: TEDDY HOLDER VS. SHAMIL GAMZATOV
LIVE ON NBCSN FROM FEDEXFORUM IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
LAS VEGAS (January 2016) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) announced today that it has completed the live NBCSN televised (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), main card portion of its inaugural event of the New Year that will also mark its debut at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan. 23, with two new bouts featuring three undefeated, rising stars.
In a lightweight (155 pounds) contest that will kick off the live NBCSN telecast of WSOF27, unbeaten Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell will square off with Jorge Medina while, in a welterweight (170 pounds) matchup, Jaleel “The Realist” Willis and Chauncey “The Machine” Foxworth will put their respective, perfect records on the line against one another.
“We are looking forward to kicking off 2016 with another spectacular, action-packed fight card that is filled with our customary mix of established, name fighters and top level prospects that have been climbing the ranks of rival competitors in order to make it to the big show,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.
Bryce Mitchell vs. Jorge Medina
At just 21 years of age, Mitchell (4-0) of Searcy, Ark. is quickly gaining steam on the professional circuit and a reputation for being a considerable threat on the mat. Since making his pro debut last January, he has produced first round submissions – three by way of rear-naked choke and the last by way of armbar – in all four of his starts.
As an amateur, Mitchell delivered similar results, earning all five of his victories between June 2013 and August 2014 by way of first round submission, en route to a near-perfect 5-1 record.
Mitchell’s opponent, Medina (4-2) of Nashville, Tenn., has also imposed his will on the canvas with phenomenal submission work, forcing his first three professional opponents to tap out from either strikes or from a rear-naked choke.
A product of Nashville MMA, the training camp that gave rise to notable stars such as Dustin Ortiz and undefeated Luke Sanders, Medina is looking to rebound from a second round (4:22) TKO (kicks) defeat at the hands of Pedro Gomes on March 28, 2015.
Jaleel Willis vs. Chauncey Foxworth
Willis (5-0) of Memphis is a former high school wrestling star who has carried his previous athletic success into the cage where he has been taken the distance of a fight just once over the course of five professional matchups.
Outside of the sole unanimous decision that he was the victor of, Willis has finished all of his adversaries inside of one round, and all with an onslaught of punches.
To date, Foxworth (2-0) of Hot Springs, Ark. has dominated similarly, scoring first round TKO’s in both of his efforts as a professional. The 24-year-old competed as an amateur for nearly three years and 15 bouts, winning 7 of the contests by way of (T)KO or submission.
Tickets for WSOF27 start at just $39.99, and are on sale at WSOF.com, all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com, the FedExForum Box Office, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
In the lightweight (155 pounds) main event, Mike “The Martian” Ricci will square off rival star Caros “The Future” Fodor.
The 29-year-old Ricci (11-4) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is riding a three-fight win streak after scoring a highlight reel KO on Joe Condon with a head kick in the first round (2:41) of their WSOF25 quarterfinal stage tournament matchup on November 20, 2015.
Fodor (10-4) of Kirkland, Wash. is a 31-year-old protégé of Matt Hume and brother of fellow World Series of Fighting athlete Phoenix Jones, looking to notch his third consecutive win in his promotional debut after concluding a successful, four-fight run in Asia.
In the light heavyweight (205 pounds) co-main event, heavy-handed finisher Teddy Holder (9-2) of Bartlett, Tenn. will battle undefeated Shamil Gamzatov (9-0) of Makhachkala, Russia.
Gamzatov, the number two ranked light heavyweight in the Ukraine, has yet to be taken past the second round of a fight, while Holder has earned all nine of his professional career wins by way of (T)KO or submission.
The WSOF27 preliminary bout card will be announced soon.
