The World Series of Fighting returns to Las Vegas, NV for it’s 10th event this coming Saturday, June 21st with a card featuring 3 title fights. Look for the lines to start popping up at the sport books throughout this coming week.
Women’s straw weight Champion Jessica Aguilar will defend her title against Emi Fujino. Look for Aguilar to be heavily favored, as she has earned her spot as the number one fighter in the world in her weight class. She has put years into the sport, and at 17-4, she owns an 8 fight winning streak that includes two wins over the legendary Megumi Fujii. Fujino should not be confused with Fuji. She is a veteran with a 13-7 record, and is coming off a loss in her last outing.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Aguilar, now that the UFC is starting a women’s straw weight division. The WSOF has re-upped their deal with network TV, but they have allowed the UFC to pluck talent from them at will, as both Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson, both poster boys for their weight classes, both left for the UFC. Aguilar may be the athlete where the WSOF draws the line with the UFC and letting fighters go there. Though the competition at straw weight in the UFC will need to develop, Aguilar needs to be there, and it would be a shame if the WSOF uses her as the example with the UFC. Though the WSOF 10 card has 3 female bouts, once the UFC gets the straw weight division up and running, they are expected to close whatever perceived edge the WSOF has right now.
The evening’s main event will be for the vacant Middleweight Title, as David Branch faces Jesse Taylor. Taylor is a veteran who is riding a solid 8 fight winning streak ,while Branch has gone 3-0 under the WSOF flag. It could come in as close to a toss up fight at the books.
The final title fight is also expected to be competitive, as Rick Glenn (14-2-1 overall) attempts to take the Featherweight title from Georgi Karakhanyan. Karakhanyan is a crowd pleaser when he gets going, and should open the favorite when the lines hit the books. For Karakhanyan too, the UFC question hangs over his head – how long before he migrates to face Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and the competition over there?
