UFC
Josh Burkman explains how sudden World Series Of Fighting exit and UFC return came to be
Oct 14, 2014 - 1:55:57 PM Josh Burkman explains how sudden World Series Of Fighting exit and UFC return came to be

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Josh Burkman's sudden exit from the WSOF and quick return to the UFC came out of nowhere earlier this month, and this week Burkman explained what happened.

In an interview with BloodyElbow.com, Burkman said the WSOF gave him his release after failing to find him a timely fight, and encouraged him to speak to the UFC.

"What happened is that I had a fight with Steve Carl fall through so there was no fight for me in the World Series of Fighting," Burkman said. "I've had my problems with them, as you know, but I also really like the people there. I'm friends with Shawn Lampman. I like everyone over there, they have a lot of good people. And I really like what they've done for me, allowing me to continue my career.

"I have a young child and a pregnant wife and a new house so the one thing really important to me is consistency with regards to my work. I need that. And they knew that. They told me they couldn't get a fight for me but they wanted to make sure I and my family was taken care of so they the told me that morning [Friday, October 3] as much as they wanted to keep me they were going to release me so I could find a fight and that I should call the UFC. [Executive vice president Ali [Abdelaziz] told me I should give Dana a call."

White wound up getting in touch with Burkman, and after a short meeting they came to terms on a new deal for him to return and fight Hector Lombard. Burkman said he was more than happy with what he'll be getting from the UFC, and argued in favor of the UFC's pay scale compared to the rest of the organizations in the sport.

"I was very happy with what they were giving me," Burkman said of quickly signing the offered deal. "A lot of fighters are going to complain about the UFC paying this or that, but no one ever talks about how they pay more than everyone else. I know, no one payed me better. I had to take $10,000 flat to fight a tough guy on a regional show just to get myself back in the UFC, so I'm grateful to be here."

As for the WSOF, Burkman doesn't hold ill will to them despite the issues they've had during the past year, and hopes they are able to get on track.

"I think they've had some growing pains," Burkman said of the WSOF. "Things haven't always gone the way they've planned it but they're good people and they've learned their lessons. They saw the bad press they got before and what happened with Bjorn and Bellator and knew that wasn't them.They didn't want to be viewed that way. So World Series totally did the right thing here. People should remember that, they could have kept me around and just told me "sorry, we don't have a fight for you so you're going to have to wait some more." They could have done that but they didn't. They did something that did nothing for them but was good for me. I want fans to know that. I'm very thankful for what they did."

"I want World Series of Fighting to succeed. I want Bellator to succeed. It's good for the sport and the fighters that they do well. I'm proof of that. Without World Series I might not be here. [Fabricio] Werdum is a great example of someone who got a chance to prove himself outside the UFC and get a second chance. You need that. It only helps the sport."

Penick's Analysis: WSOF has had a lot of issues in getting their roster fights as promised at the contracted rate they were promised. Burkman was vocal about that, and it was an issue that clearly came up again, so they granted his release and allowed him the opportunity to seek out the UFC return. That's a good move on their part if they couldn't get him the fights he was trying to get, but if it's something that continues to happen they'll have further problems and more fighters looking to exit the organization as well.