Most of the MMA world will be focused on this weekend’s Word Series of Fighting event as an appetizer to the UFC card the following day. Not to be outshone, the third event from the organization features several well matched bouts that bear watching. The event airs on NBC Sports as part of their deal with WSOF. In just three shows, the WSOF has done a very credible job of building their roster from what the UFC has left behind, and the results are evident in this third offering of theirs. The main event features well known veteran Jon Fitch against Josh Burkman in what is a rematch, and bouts like Lyle Beerbohm vs Jacob Volkmann and Dan Lauzon vs John Gunderson highlight the solid matchmaking on the card. Several Bookmakers has already put up lines for these fights throughout this week, so check them out and keep an eye on the movement throughout the rest of the week. Fitch is going to be under a lot of pressure in this fight, and Burkman is definitely an improved fighter from where he was when they met almost seven years ago. By any assessment, Fitch was cut by the UFC despite still being a top welterweight in the world, and he remains one of the top guys. The WSOF is going to need Fitch to carry their banner for the length of this contract with NBC Sports, which means Fitch is going to have to show charisma and finish fights. When you are looking for a reason for his UFC cut, it may be lack of personal charisma and a tendency to fight to “boring” decisions that got him axed. Yes, Fitch did a number on Erick Silva recently, but his career work shows that the expectations at WSOF are high for what he is capable of. Despite this, Fitch was a large -380 favorite (bet $380 to win $100) when the line opened, and it has only gone up from there. That makes Burkman a very dangerous opponent. Burkman is 7-1 since being cut by the UFC, and he is solid in all aspects of the game. If Fitch plays it too safe, or opens up and makes mistakes, Burkman will capitalize, and therefore he may have underdog value. What would be bad for the WSOF is for Burkman to be just good enough to force Fitch to put on the type of performance he was maligned for in the UFC. Lyle Beerbohm was a hot prospect a little while back, until he dropped two Strikeforce fights to Shinya Aoki and Pat Healy. Since then he has quietly won six in a row to give him an impressive 21-2 record. Facing him is solid UFC veteran Jacob Volkmann, who was cut with a winning UFC record. What we are seeing is something new in the sport, and that is fighters in their post UFC careers, so it will be interesting to see if Volkmann finds a home at WSOF or if he is looking to win his way back into the UFC. Two guys definitely wanting back into the UFC are undercarders Dan Lauzon and John Gunderson. Lauzon, whose brother Joe is a UFC star, brings a similar aggressive submission-seeking style while Gunderson is a blood and guts veteran of the small show circuit who has fought a lot of good people on their way up. The bottom line is a matchup of the winners between these two fights at WSOF 4 would really show they are strong at matchmaking.
