This weekend, the World Series of Fighting continues on its trek to become a third stable national MMA promotion in the United States. They have put together another card filled with recognizable names and intriguing prospects in hopes of drawing in a bigger audience. The main event is one sure to appeal to both MMA and kickboxing fans. Tyrone Spong, fresh off of his victory in the GLORY 95kg Grand Prix, returns to MMA looking to extend his unbeaten record (granted, it’s 1-0) against Angel DeAnda. Company president Ray Sefo also returns to MMA as he takes on Dave Huckaba in a bout that is likely to produce a knockout. In more relevant MMA action, Gesias Cavalcante and Tyson Griffin both try to recapture their old form at each other’s expense, both Marlon Moraes and Nick Newell look to extend their recent streaks, and Jorge Santiago and Gerald Harris square off in a welterweight bout that is on the undercard, and rivals most UFC undercard bouts in terms of talent. Today, MMA Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas added a bit more intrigue to these fights by releasing the opening lines for the event at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network, 10:30 p.m. ET) Tyrone Spong -1500 Angel DeAnda +700 Marlon Moraes -795 Brandon Hempleman +465 Ray Sefo -280 Dave Huckaba +200 Nick Newell -265 Keon Caldwell +185 Tyson Griffin -290 Gesias Cavalcante +210 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Two of these are actually interesting fights, two are a squash matches, and one is just kind of weird. It’s fairly obvious which is which, and that makes these lines fairly intriguing to me. Obviously, the huge favorites are difficult to bet at their current prices, but their opponents seem outmatched here, and these seem more like busywork matches than legitimate tests. The Sefo/Huckaba fight is just strange, and while it’s being set up for Sefo to win, the only thing I’d even look at here is the under, as Sefo’s defensive grappling deficiencies are so glaring that Dave Huckaba may even be able to exploit them. The interesting fights give us one tempting underdog, and one underdog I hope the public finds tempting. Nick Newell has an amazing story, and has proven to be quite the fighter thus far. My biggest concern with him has always been how his striking defence will hold up against a decent striker, and Keon Caldwell is certainly dangerous on the feet. Newell is many classes ahead on the ground, but if Caldwell can keep range and sprawl effectively (something his size advantage should help with), he could put the first blemish on Newell’s ledger. Caldwell is tempting to me, but at this price I’ll pass, so let’s see where the public takes it. Finally, I really hope the public thinks this is finally the fight where Cavalcante gets back on track, because I don’t think it is. Despite the recent struggles of both fighters, Griffin has at least been competitive in some of his fights against good competition, while JZ has looked utterly listless in his last outings and is simply not the same fighter who was ranked in the top 5 years ago during his run in Japan.
