WSOF

Brian Foster's world has been on a roller coaster for the past three years.

In November of 2010, he was coming off an impressive second-round submission victory over Matt Brown—current resurgent title contender—which was his second consecutive win after being tapped out by resilient veteran Chris Lytle at UFC 110. His victory over "The Immortal" provided the momentum he had been looking for to move up the 170-pound ranks, and when his next bout against Sean Pierson was lined up for UFC 129 in Toronto, everything appeared to be moving precisely to plan.

But that is where the story takes a jagged turn, and anyone familiar with the Oklahoma native's plight can certainly understand the frustration that came as the result of what happened.

A failed MRI for a brain hemorrhage knocked him out of the bout, and eventually led to Joe Silva releasing him from the organization. While there was no surgery necessary to repair what essentially was a broken blood vessel in his brain, he was too much of a liability for the company to keep around.

The 29-year-old took every precaution and the necessary steps to ensure his health was back on track, but with the door to the sport's biggest stage closed, he sought work elsewhere. Foster picked up two victories in smaller promotions before signing with Bellator in 2012. Yet, when he was slated to face David Rickels in the opening round of the promotion's Season 6 tournament, the athletic commission at the Mohegan Sun refused to medically clear him for the bout.

While this situation was undoubtedly unsettling for Foster, the scenario became more intense when the commission placed him on national suspension. This meant he couldn't fight anywhere in the United States until the issue was cleared up, and while steps needed to be taken, his inability to fight directly affected his ability to produce income.

As he set about getting the situation resolved, he continued to fight and took a series of unsanctioned bouts in Mexico. Foster emerged from south of the border with four victories in tact, which brought his running total to six since being released by the UFC.

Finally, in March of this year, he was cleared from national suspension and could return to fighting in the U.S. It was his goal to get back to the UFC, where he felt he belonged all along, but a setback against fellow former UFC veteran Daniel Roberts in his first fight back pushed that dream back a bit further. He would bounce back in his next outing by scoring a first-round knockout over James Woods under the Victory Fighting Championship banner, and that victory was a big step to putting things back on track.

On Friday, World Series of Fighting announced they had signed the heavy-handed welterweight to a four-fight deal, and while Foster is excited to be back fighting with a reputable promotion, he's far from satisfied.

"It's good to be signed to WSOF and I believe they have some good people running the show here," Foster told Bleacher Report. "They have a good collection of welterweights and I'm coming to bring some fire. They are a solid organization and have a good relationship with the UFC. I think I'm one of the best welterweights in the world and if I win a couple high-profile fights, I'll be in a position to get back to where I want to be. I'll be able to get back to where I believe I belong. But I have some work to do and I'm looking forward to doing it at WSOF.

"I'm coming in to mad dog some cats. I'm going to prove to everyone I haven't fallen off and I'm still a force to be reckoned with. Since I was released from the UFC, I've won seven fights and the only loss I had came against Daniel Roberts. He is a solid fighter and I wasn't entirely right for that fight. I'm going to be looking to beat up whoever I have to at WSOF and get them out of there as fast as I can. That's the way I fight, man. It's all or nothing all the time."

While the Ray Sefo-led organization is still in its relative infancy, the promotion has made solid strides by picking up some quality free agents. Their welterweight division is by far their deepest weight class, and Foster will be a solid addition to an already strong collective. By signing with WSOF, he now joins fellow former UFC veterans Jon Fitch, Josh Burkman and Rousimar Palhares in the 170-pound ranks.

While all those names look appealing and Foster is open to fights with all of them, he's also hoping Bellator champion Ben Askren decides to make the jump over to WSOF, who has an offer on the table for the Duke Roufus-trained fighter.

"I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," Foster said. "I've already beat their champion Steve Carl and their belt isn't my primary focus. I'm looking to beat up four quality guys and see where things go from there. I'll fight the best guys they have right off the bat—that's absolutely no concern for me. Give me your toughest guys and let's go. They signed Rousimar Palhares and they are trying to sign Ben Askren—put me in there with those guys right away and let's get after it. I'm prepared for all facets of the game.

"Askren is a one-trick pony and if he wants to get in there and try to lay on me then bring it on. I guarantee I'll give him the hardest three rounds he's ever fought. I guarantee it."

With his immediate future locked in with WSOF, Foster will find comfort in the stability of not having to bounce around for a paycheck. His most recent outing came as a kickboxer under the Glory banner, where he faced undefeated powerhouse Raymond Daniels in his debut. Foster suffered a first-round knockout via spinning heel kick, but even the defeat wasn't enough to break his spirit.

The man simply loves to fight, and it doesn't matter what form or fashion that ruckus comes in. He enjoys the challenge and is passionate about engaging in a battle of wills with whoever decides to step in with him. 

"I want to have another kickboxing match," Foster said. "I'm not going out like that. I'm not a b***. I made a mistake and messed up. I fought the number one guy right off the bat, made a mistake and paid for it. But I'll fight anybody, man. I think I've at least gained that type of reputation. I'm not scared of any man. I'll fight whoever, whenever and however they want to do it. I'd box Floyd Mayweather this weekend if they wanted me to. I just love to fight and that feeling of getting in there and finding out who is the better man on that night. 

"Fighting hasn't really been there for me financially for the past few years because of everything I've had to deal with. I have these boys I'm supporting and I'm coming to get a paycheck, but I'm also coming to reclaim my name and stature in this sport. I don't have very much time left to make a statement so I'm bringing it hard and mean, brother."

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. 

Marlon Moraes’s English is a work in progress. But there’s at least one concept he has no trouble getting across.

“I live for this.”

Luckily, Moraes is in a line of work that allows other body parts to do the talking. If that were true in other facets of society, he’d probably be a translator at the U.N. right about now.

There's no ambiguity in a Marlon Moraes fight. Simply put, the dude is violent. Ergo, the 25-year-old Brazilian bantamweight is widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects in all of MMA, much less at 135 pounds. Despite his youth, Moraes’ pro MMA career reaches back to 2007, and during that span he has racked up a record of 11-4-1, and will try to move to 4-0 under the World Series of Fighting banner Saturday, when he faces Carson Beebe at WSOF 6.

After an unspectacular 6-4-1 start to his career, Moraes has now ripped off six in a row, and in so doing became one of WSOF’s most exciting new faces. “Exciting” is undoubtedly the operative word: Many fighters profess a desire to finish in any phase, but Moraes really lives it.

It all flows from a Muay Thai attack that made him a Brazilian national champion in that discipline. Every point of his body seems constructed out of saw blades. His leg kicks are particularly brutal, and his fists, elbows and knees seem to have long ago acquired a taste for human flesh.

To make matters scarier, he launches all of it at his opponent in hard-to-predict combinations. That means knockouts; two of his last four wins have come by straight knockout, a pretty high number for a bantamweight. In his most recent fight, only Brandon Hempleman’s thick skull and general sense of duty staved off the stoppage.

But it’s more than striking that makes him dangerous. Moraes also brandishes a fairly polished jiu-jitsu game, as evidenced by three submission wins. He seems to have a knack for coming out ahead after a scramble. That attribute will be needed against a solid wrestler in Beebe.

“I like to fight on my feet,” Moraes said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I can go wherever the fight goes. Wherever it is, I’m dangerous.”

In speaking, Moraes shows an eagerness to please that belies his aggression in the cage. If you didn’t know he was a stone-cold murderer, you might take him for another fan. Moraes watches as often as he can, and readily rattles off the names of other fighters he likes to watch.

Among bantamweights, his favorites are Michael McDonald, Urijah Faber, Renan Barao and Eduardo Dantas. With the WSOF running out of fodder for Moraes’ cannon, it may not be long before he heads to a new pasture.

“I’m a big fan of MMA,” Moraes said. “I watch all the shows. I love fighting. It’s my dream to fight the best guys in the world.”

Do you sense a theme emerging? Moraes gives off the air of a man full of self-actualization. As long as everyone continues to let him shred the limbs and faces of other men for money, he’ll continue to be as chipper as the milkman from a 1950s sitcom.

“I’m ready,” he said of Saturday’s fight. “This is a big show. I just want to fight. I hope I answered all your questions, man. I try my best. All I want to do is fight. Thank you.”

The Beaten Path is an article series profiling top MMA prospects. Read the previous interview here. Scott Harris is a writer for Bleacher Report. Find him on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Minnesota. If Justin Gaethje breaks through, we might need to add Northern Colorado to that list.

It doesn’t have the name recognition of those big state wrestling monoliths, which roll MMA fighters off their lines like high-polished SUVs. But Northern Colorado has pedigree nonetheless.

It is, after all, situated in the home state of the UFC, with Denver having hosted UFC 1 all the way back in 1993. It is the headquarters for current UFC fighters Donald Cerrone, Melvin Guillard and Nate Marquardt. It is the birthplace of former lightweight champ Benson Henderson and current heavyweight Brendan Schaub. As for the program itself, Northern Colorado faced tough straits last season thanks to NCAA sanctions but advanced at least one competitor to the national championships the preceding three seasons.

During his time in the program, Gaethje was its star pupil. Following the 2009-10 season, he became the first Northern Colorado athlete to attain All-American status since the school joined Division I in 2006.

But it doesn’t end there, not for the school or for Gaethje.

Gaethje is 9-0 now as a professional MMA lightweight and would like to make it a perfect three for three under the World Series of Fighting banner with a win over UFC veteran Dan Lauzon Saturday at WSOF 6.

As for the program, it turns out the Bears have a tiny little weapon up their collective sleeve when it comes to developing not only standout wrestlers but also mixed martial artists: a volunteer coach by the name of Shane Carwin.

“He came in a lot,” Gaethje, now 24, said of Carwin in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I remember Cub Swanson came in once, and so did Clay Guida. The coach told me that if I got my grades up, he’d help get me a fight some day.”

That wasn’t the first time the thought occurred to Gaethje, who has wrestled in some form since he was 4 and remembers rooting for Tank Abbott back in the old days of the UFC. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7f3jOU4raM

“I was always sort of a competitor,” he said. “I got into wrestling when I was four years old. I watched the UFC way back in the day, before there were time limits. I always knew it’s what I wanted to do some day.”

Gaethje is now chasing that dream, all while carrying the banner of both his alma mater and his adopted state. He now trains alongside Carwin, Guillard, Marquardt, top striking coach Trevor Wittman and others at Grudge Training Center, located in the Denver suburb of Arvada.

Though wrestling is his obvious bread and butter—his double-leg takedowns are particularly hard to resist—the standup game Gaethje now brings is a weapon in itself. His shots have always been powerful, but Gaethje now says he can get them off more frequently in the vertical phase of the game.

“Don’t take me as a wrestler too much,” Gaethje said. “I’m working on my standup.”

Gaethje showed as much when he finished Brian Cobb with leg kicks back in June at WSOF 3. That win came on the heels of the biggest in Gaethje’s career. In his WSOF debut he finished Strikeforce veteran Gesias Cavalcante in the first round with a clubbing barrage of short right hands and knees from a smothering clinch game, forcing a doctor’s stoppage.

Lauzon may want to expect more of the same Saturday night from the newest ambassador of Colorado combat.

“I watch a little bit of tape to pick up small stuff, but I don’t try to pick apart my opponent’s game plan,” Gaethje said. “I’m going to keep coming forward. I don’t ever take a step backward. I get hit, and I’m right back into range.”

The Beaten Path is an article series profiling top MMA prospects. Read the previous interview here. Scott Harris is a writer for Bleacher Report. Find him on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

The UFC has a big pay-per-view coming up with UFC 166 this weekend, but its competitors have finalized key shows in their respective companies.

Both Bellator and World Series of Fighting have completed their important upcoming cards, which are on quite opposite ends of viewing access. While Bellator 106 will be on pay-per-view, a first for Bellator, World Series of Fighting will be on their normal NBC Sports slot.

Both companies are seen as the biggest competition of the UFC and are looking to gain ground in the market with stacked cards and exciting action. Let's take a look at each card.

Bellator 106: Rampage vs. Tito (Nov. 2)

Bellator's first pay-per-view will place former UFC light heavyweight champions against one another, even though they are obviously over the hill. Those two champs are Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Tito Ortiz.

Bjorn Rebney is obviously relying on the drawing power of two old guardsman, which can either pay off or fail horribly. So far it's not looking promising, as there are way too many seats left to be comfortable with.

Also on the PPV portion of the card are a bevy of title fights. The most intriguing one is a lightweight title tilt between champ Michael Chandler and the man he uncrowned, Eddie Alvarez.

Chandler upset Alvarez after last time they met after dropping and tapping him out. Alvarez, who was involved in a well-publicized contract dispute with Bellator and the UFC, returns for the first time in a very long time looking to avenge that loss to Chandler.

Also defending his title is Pat Curran, who is also in a rematch against a man he beat before his amazing Bellator run. Curran takes on Daniel Straus, who earned his title shot through the patented Bellator tournament.

In a controversial move, Emanuel Newton and Muhammed Lawal will meet for an interim title at light heavyweight in yet another rematch. The champion, Attila Vegh, is apparently unable to defend his belt, which led to this bout.

The final main card bout is the heavyweight tournament final between Cheick Kongo and Vinicius Queiroz. The winner of this bout will take home $100,000 and earn a title shot at the winner of Alexander Volkov and Vitaly Minakov later this year.

The preliminary card hosts a number of notable talents, including UFC vets Terry Etim, Karo Parisyan and Mike Guymon. Four of the prelims will air on Spike TV before the PPV, while the rest of the prelims stream live on bellator.com and spike.com.

Main Card

LHW	Quinton "Rampage" Jackson	Tito Ortiz
LW	Michael Chandler	Eddie Alvarez
LHW	Emanuel Newton	Muhammed Lawal
FW	Pat Curran	Daniel Straus
HW	Cheick Kongo	Vinicius Queiroz

Preliminary Card

WW	Joe Riggs	Mike Bronzoulis
LW	Terry Etim	Patrick Cenoble
FW	Mike Richman	Akop Stepanyan
WW	Karo Parisyan	Cristiano Souza
WW	Jesse Juarez	Joe Williams
LHW	Hector Ramirez	Brandon Halsey
LW	Mike Guymon	Aaron Miller
FW	Cleber Luciano	Joe Camacho
LW	Darren Smith	Josh Smith

World Series of Fighting 6: Burkman vs. Carl (Oct. 26)

World Series of Fighting's sixth installment looks to be a good one, as the company heads to Florida for the first time. If you were unaware, recently they made an aggressive expansion (pun definitely intended) when they purchased Canadian MMA promotion Aggression Fighting Championship, showing they are serious about becoming a major player.

Their upcoming card will be headlined by Josh Burkman and Steve Carl, who will fight for the vacant welterweight strap. Both men have been dominating the competition in the company since joining.

Burkman is well noted for his last win, where he quickly choked out heavily-favored Jon Fitch with a guillotine. As for Carl, he earned his title shot when he outlasted Tyson Steele recently.

In the co-main feature, new bantamweight star Marlon Moraes returns to the cage in hopes of keeping his undefeated streak in WSOF alive. With wins over Miguel Torres, Tyson Nam and Brendan Hempleman, he looks to be a world-ranked bantamweight.

Standing in his way is Carson Beebe, a highly touted up-and-comer in the sport who is the brother of the better-known Chase Beebe. The wrestler looks to upend Moraes, who is one of the main pieces of this company.

The other two bouts on the main card will see welterweights Jon Fitch and Marcelo Alfaya meet, as well as lightweights Justin Gaethje and Dan Lauzon.

The prelims, which you can catch on mmajunkie.com, have a number of notables on them. A couple of the names you may recognize are Miguel Torres, Alexis Vila and Jacob Volkmann.

Main Card

WW	Josh Burkman	Steve Carl
BW	Marlon Moraes	Chase Beebe
WW	Jon Fitch	Marcelo Alfaya
LW	Justin Gaethje	Dan Lauzon

Preliminary Card

FW	Miguel Torres	Pablo Alfonso
LW	Jacob Volkmann	Luiz Firmino
LHW	Francisco France	Hans Stringer
BW	Alexis Vila	Josh Rettinghouse
FW	Nick LoBosco	Fabio Mello
BW	Chad Robichaux	Andrew Yates
FW	Alexandre Pimentel	Jade Porter

MMAFighting.com is reporting that former UFC middleweight title contender Yushin Okami has found a new home with the World Series of Fighting. WSOF President Ray Sefo, speaking with Ariel Helwani, confirmed that "Thunder" agreed to a multi-fight exclusive deal with the upstart promotion. 

Sefo predicted that Okami would make his debut "around March 2014," but was unsure regarding a specific date or opponent. 

Okami was controversially released last month following a harsh knockout loss to former Strikeforce contender Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. While Okami lost that bout, he was 3-1 in his last four fights, and 13-5 overall. He was widely ranked in the top five of the 185-lb division when he was cut, but his grinding, wrestling-based fighting style alienated some fans.

WSOF has been actively picking up fighters cut by the UFC who were likely cut due to their distance-focused approach. Jon Fitch was released from the promotion with a 14-3-1 record. Unlike Okami, however, Fitch was 1-2-1 in his last four fights, and actually lost his WSOF debut in a rematch against Josh Burkman.

In addition to Fitch, WSOF has picked up Jacob Volkmann (6-4 in the UFC) and David Branch (3-1). Both fighters are undefeated in the promotion.

There are several interesting middleweights currently fighting in WSOF. The promotion currently has a middleweight tournament going on to determine who its first champion will be. The winner of Elvis Mutapcic vs. Jesse Taylor will fight David Branch (another UFC alumnus) for the inaugural middleweight belt.

Having Okami fight the eventual champion, or having him face off with the loser of the promotion's first title fight, both make sense.

World Series of Fighting will be extending its reach on a global scale in the next few years with a series of deals that are expected to be announced in the coming days.

First, World Series of Fighting has acquired Canadian fight promotion Aggression Fighting Championships and will begin promoting shows north of the border in the next few months. Sources close to the promotion confirmed the news to Bleacher Report on Thursday.

Aggression Fighting Championships is known throughout Canada as one of the top fight promotions in the area. It has employed several well-known fighters including Ryan Ford, current UFC fighter Jesse Ronson and The Ultimate Fighter competitor Louis Fisette.

The purchase will allow WSOF to enter the Canadian market immediately, although no specific time line has been given for when the promotion will start there. It is expected, however, that WSOF will plan its first Canadian show sooner rather than later.

Moving into Canada puts the World Series of Fighting alongside promotions such as the UFC and Bellator, which also hold shows in the area as well as the United States.

In addition to the purchase of Aggression Fighting Championships, WSOF has also secured a new global partner to expand its brand into new countries and markets.

IMG Media has signed a multiyear deal with World Series of Fighting to represent the brand globally and extend its reach. International shows are expected to take place in Canada, the United Kingdom and other areas around the world.

IMG will handle any number of services including advertising, media, licensing, talent management and a laundry list of other jobs. It will work with World Series of Fighting on a global expansion for the brand, the fighters and their shows as well as broadcast rights and other responsibilities.

World Series of Fighting remains in a multiyear deal with NBC Sports Network for its United States television rights.

The promotion is expected to make a formal announcement about both deals in the coming days as well as potential plans for its next show, but no details are available at this time about the location or date for the event.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

The growth of women's MMA is undeniable these days. The UFC is pushing a new women's bantamweight division, while promotions like Invicta Fighting Championships are dedicated solely to women's fighting.

While Bellator MMA recently took a step back from promoting women's MMA, another player in the game has decided to test out the waters by forming a new division in 2014.

World Series of Fighting will begin scouting and looking to add a women's division to its growing roster of fighters. The first bouts between women are expected to take place early next year.

According to senior vice president and matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz, who confirmed the move with Bleacher Report on late Tuesday evening, the plan is to start scouring the world for the best women available to add to the World Series of Fighting roster as soon as possible.

Abdel-Aziz said the organization is looking to promote women's MMA right away, but he isn't setting a course for specific weight classes or adding championships just yet.

The goal for now is to find the best female fighters on the planet to make top fights happen, and WSOF will go from there in terms of adding depth and new athletes and growing competition.

Women's MMA has been at the forefront of the sport throughout 2013 when the UFC finally got on board by adding a women's division led by bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

The promotion also focused on the women's division with the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, which is coached by Rousey and her next opponent, Miesha Tate. They are currently coaching bantamweight men and women on the reality show.

It marked the first time in the 18-season history of the show that women had been allowed to compete as contestants. Rousey and Tate are also the first-ever female coaches.

Meanwhile, Invicta FC has continued to grow its platform as an all-women's MMA promotion by signing top names like Cristiane '"Cyborg" Justino among others. Invicta FC moved to pay-per-view earlier this year as well.

Now it appears women's fighting will have a new home with World Series of Fighting getting into the game.

Abdel-Aziz said that he will begin scouting for talent immediately with matches likely to begin in early 2014.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Former UFC lightweight Jacob Volkmann has been itching to get back in action ever since his debut in World Series of Fighting, and now he finally has a date and an opponent.

The chiropractor-turned-fighter picked up a win in his World Series of Fighting debut back in June when he defeated former Strikeforce lightweight Lyle Beerbohm.

Now Volkmann will face another tough test in veteran fighter Luiz "Buscape" Firmino as the featured fight on the preliminary card for the upcoming World Series of Fighting show taking place October 26 in Miami.

The bout was confirmed to Bleacher Report by World Series of Fighting's senior vice president and matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz on Tuesday night with verbal agreements in place from both fighters for the matchup.

Volkmann will make his second appearance in the World Series of Fighting cage, which also marks his second bout since exiting the UFC. The former welterweight who dropped down to lightweight in 2010 became quite the outspoken fighter during his time with the UFC and even managed to get a visit from the Secret Service after offering to fight President Barack Obama during a post-fight interview.

Regardless of the controversy, Volkmann racked up a very respectable 7-4 record during his 11-fight run with the UFC before leaving the promotion after suffering a loss in early 2013 to Bobby Green.

Now a part of the World Series of Fighting roster, Volkmann has requested to stay very active, and so now he will get his second fight for the promotion inside the past five months.

Former CFA fighter and Blackzilian team member Firmino is a well-respected veteran who has fought some of the toughest fighters in the world during his career, which has spanned the past decade. He has also competed in promotions like Shooto, Dream and Pride Fighting Championships.

His resume is littered with top names, including Masakazu Imanari and Tatsuya Kawajiri, and he's currently riding a three-fight win streak as he makes his World Series of Fighting debut.

The two fighters will be featured in the headline bout for the undercard that will air online prior to the main card that will be shown on NBC Sports Network.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

While the UFC is taking next weekend off and Bellator switches to Friday night, there is another promotion putting on a card in Atlantic City on Saturday night, and it will be shown live on free television.

The card features a former UFC heavyweight champion as well as the opening stages of a middleweight title tournament, and some up-and-coming fighters hoping to make their way to the main card of a televised show in the future.

Now MMA on television can be a notoriously tough nut to crack, but it's made even harder when the network the show is airing on doesn't even seem to know there is a fight card taking place on Saturday night.

World Series of Fighting signed a multi-fight deal with the NBC Sports Network recently to broadcast their shows on the fledgling broadcast station. The station that has been rebranded twice since its inception is no stranger to MMA after broadcasting both the WEC and UFC in the past while named the Versus network.

Versus eventually got folded into the NBC Sports family after the station's owner, Comcast, bought a majority stake in that company, and so in 2011 the network was officially rebranded the NBC Sports Network.

The station had already lost the WEC after it merged with the UFC, and then the UFC bolted after signing a multi-year deal with Fox. It appeared the NBC Sports Network was out of the MMA business for good until they struck a deal with World Series of Fighting.

Now to back track a little bit, when the UFC and WEC were on the Versus network they were generally promoted and broadcast in key times and with the full support and advertising with the network. WEC shows averaged solid numbers peaking above 500,000 viewers on several occasions.

When the UFC went to Versus they received even higher ratings peaking at more than 1.2 million viewers for their first show, and the lowest still receiving 681,000 viewers on average.

The new NBC Sports Network without the UFC and other sports staples struggled in initial ratings. Studio shows routinely pulled well less than 100,000 viewers, and even live events such as college basketball were drawing only just over 50,000 viewers.

While the network did get a major boost last summer with the ratings for the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, the NBC Sports Network only had two shows that topped 200,000 viewers in the final quarter of 2012.

World Series of Fighting debuted on the NBC Sports Network in November of 2012 and pulled in a respectable 198,000 viewers, but this was before their multi-fight deal was signed. Since that time, World Series of Fighting has increased viewership, pulling in 210,000 viewers for their second show, 201,000 viewers for the third show and most recently 264,000 viewers for their fourth show in August.

This is without virtually any notable support from the network itself, at least visibly on their website or through social media.

After a quick look at the NBC Sports Twitter, the last mention of World Series of Fighting was on August 10, the night of the promotion's fourth show. There were two Twitter messages that night—one was a retweet from fighter Nick Newell, and the second was another retweet, this time from the official World Series of Fighting Twitter account talking about Newell's first-round victory.

Prior to that night, the NBC Sports Network Twitter sent out one message on August 9—again promoting Newell's fight. Before that there was one other mention on August 7 with a brief note of the fight card from one of the promotion's ring card girls.

Ready for this Weekend? RT @JLoveUrLife @MMAWorldSeries #WSOF4 4 Days AWAY! Aug 10 live on @NBCSN 👏👊 #MMA #ringgirl pic.twitter.com/fEocMS6wGl

— NBC Sports Network (@NBCSN) August 7, 2013

Now, take a look at the NBC Sports Network page currently set up for World Series of Fighting. With a fight card less than a week away, the page currently reflects the World Series of Fighting 4 card from August and videos from that night of fights. (note the NFL scores overhead to denote the day this picture was taken).

Having a television partner in MMA has been crucial to the sport's overall success in the last eight years. The UFC signing a multi-million dollar deal with Fox Sports was considered a game changer in the industry, and since signing that deal the network has placed the sport prominently on all of their stations in terms of advertising as well as appearances during key NFL games and other sporting events.

Bellator was recently purchased by Viacom—the broadcast company that owns several major television networks including Spike TV, where the promotion is currently shown. It's hard to find a day or time where Spike TV isn't promoting Bellator or doing a cross-promotion advertisement with the company or its athletes.

Meanwhile, the NBC Sports Network can't seem to be bothered to even note that there is a fight card taking place on Saturday night.

Ratings have become big business talk in the MMA world ever since shows began appearing on free television. UFC numbers are routinely scrutinized by every expert in the industry. The same can be said for Bellator and World Series of Fighting as well.

But when the ratings come back for the next World Series of Fighting card on Saturday night from the NBC Sports Network, whatever they happened to be, realize they got there with seemingly no push, no advertisement and apparently not much interest from the broadcast partner that put them there.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report 

Ever since Nick Newell decided to become an MMA fighter, he had dreamed of making it all the way to the big leagues of the UFC.

Newell is well known throughout the MMA world because he was born with only one arm after he was diagnosed with a condition called congenital amputation. Instead of letting the situation discourage him from pursuing athletic goals, Newell just pushed that much harder, as he was a successful wrestler before transitioning to MMA.

Once he made it to the fight world, Newell quickly proved that he wasn't in the sport just to test himself—he wanted to get to the top of the rankings as well. Newell has proven that time and again while amassing an undefeated record of 9-0 with only one fight thus far in his career making it out of the first round.

Quickly, after building up his record to that impressive status, Newell began campaigning for a shot in the UFC, but his hopes were dashed when UFC president Dana White said they didn't have much interest in him, according to MMA Weekly.

"Never, no," White answered when asked if they would have interest in Newell. "It's hard to fight here with two arms. It's tough. There's guys that we bring in that are considered top guys on The Ultimate Fighter that don't ever really pan out and make it."

White went on to question if major athletic commissions would even license Newell to fight given the fact that he does only have one arm.

Well, leave it to Newell to take that negative and turn it into a positive, because like he was reciting the character John Locke from Lost, don't ever tell this man what he can't do.

If the UFC avenue wasn't open to him, Newell would find another suitable home and that's what he did by signing a multi-fight deal with upstart promotion World Series of Fighting where he will make his debut this weekend against Keon Caldwell.

"I was very excited," Newell told MMA's Great Debate Radio about the chance to compete in World Series of Fighting. "The stakes are high and the league is one of the biggest leagues in the world, and they've got a lot of great things going on and a lot of great people running it, and I'm very excited."

Newell can't deny that there was always a part of him that wanted to be in the UFC, but the chance to compete in World Series of Fighting is a dream come true as well.

"I'm not complaining, I'm not begging to be in the UFC. I was a free agent and they had their chance, and they didn't give me an offer," Newell said. "It's World Series of Fighting's gain and I'm extremely happy. I've got four fights on my contract and I can't wait to fulfill all of them."

Newell would love to keep the focus on his fight career, which has a chance to really take off if he can beat Caldwell this weekend and move onto some of the other tough matchups available at lightweight in World Series of Fighting.

The promotion houses a slew of former UFC and Strikeforce lightweights, and Newell is champing at the bit to test himself against all of them. Of course Newell knows his accomplishments will always come with attention about his arm, but he's hoping the performances he puts on in the cage will be the real headline grabber.

"People are always going to talk about my arm or whatever, I've kind of come to terms with it. It's a part of me, it's one of the first things you notice when you see me fight as a new viewer, and I like that I can inspire people and do stuff like that," Newell stated. "At the end of the day, I started fighting because I love it, not to prove anything to anyone or show how tough I am. It's just something I enjoy."

Newell will look to make an immediate impact in World Series of Fighting this weekend when he competes on the main card airing on NBC Sports Network starting at 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.