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It's tough times for upstart mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion World Series of Fighting (WSOF), which is expected to pull the trigger on its sophomore effort later this evening (March 23, 2013) at Revel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The first sign of trouble emerged when former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) Middleweight champion Paulo Filho "panicked" in Brazil and cast doubt on his NBC Sports-televised main card bout with David Branch. Then yesterday issues at the WSOF 2 weigh in event (watch the replay here) delayed its start time by more than one hour.
It was then revealed late last night a significant oversight by promoters has led to its cage not being cleared be the New Jersey State Athletic Commission (NJSAC), triggering the possibility that the event could be scrapped altogether. According to a report from BloodyElbow.com, WSOF has been forced to borrow corner pads from a local promoter and had to fly in a canvas for the cage, which may or may not fit with the borrowed pads.
If the cage is not cleared before showtime -- the under card is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET -- it is likely that the event will have to be canceled altogether and rescheduled for a later date. The good news is that WSOF has been very active on Twitter.com, assuring fight fans that, "all will be good!" In addition, WSOF recently posted this Tweet first thing this morning:
#WSOF2 is TONIGHT! If you don't have tickets yet, get them now, we are nearly sold out! @revelresorts will be packed! Revel in it.
— MMA World Series (@MMAWorldSeries) March 23, 2013
Nick Lembo, NJSAC executive director, stated that the cage will be will be inspected for approval at some point today when the parts puzzle is finally complete. This wouldn't be the first time the NJSAC has cancelled an event after cage complications, as a similar situation in Wildwood Beach forced the cancelation of the inaugural "Jersey War" in July 2011.
Safety first!
For now, WSOF is apparently still on, featuring former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski taking on ex-Welterweight contender Anthony Johnson in the main event of the evening. MMAmania.com will provide live coverage of WSOF 2: "Arlovski vs. Johnson" later this evening if the show indeed goes on, delivering LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the WSOF 2 main card at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports.
Stay tuned.
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