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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
One of the criticisms levied against the first World Series of Fighting event on Saturday night was the relatively one-sided matchmaking on the card. It seemed to be most apparent in the televised card's opening bout, which saw longtime kickboxer Tyrone Spong make his MMA debut by beating up 7-2 Travis Bartlett.
Though Spong had never been in an MMA fight before, he was a world class kickboxer with well over 100 fights. The way the fight played out decried the matchmaking, and brought into question just why Bartlett was in the cage against him on the card.
There's a very simple answer for that: he's the only one who said yes.
According to WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz, via a report from MMAWeekly.com, Bartlett agreed to the fight after seven other fighters turned the bout down. Abdel-Aziz said seven fighters were approached with the fight, and seven fighters turned it down. He said the list included a number of notable names, and confirmed that former UFC fighter Houston Alexander was one of the names approached for the fight.
Ultimately, it was Bartlett who agreed to the bout, and that's what brought the fight to the NBC Sports Network on Saturday night.
Penick's Analysis: Given the way Spong looked and the way that fight played out, it's hard to blame anyone for turning down a fight against Spong right now. For the time being, anyone stepping in the cage against him is going to be considered an underdog, and they'll all just be stepping stones to get him to the next level in the sport. He's a seriously elite striker, and though we'll eventually have to get an idea of his ground game, his violent tendencies on the feet are more than suitable for getting through opponents at 205 lbs. and above outside of the UFC.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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