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World Series of Fighting gives eight-man, one-night tourney a shot

World Series of Fighting gives eight-man, one-night tourney a shot

The eight-man one-night tournament is largely a relic of MMA's past. Athletic commissions generally hate them because they present a slew of safety concerns, and fight managers aren't always pleased with them because the best man doesn't always win in an event like this.

But the World Series of Fighting is going to give it a shot on Friday, and give the winner the ultimate prize, a chance at its lightweight championship, currently held by Justin Gaethje.

Ali Abdelaziz, the WSOF's senior vice president, said there have been rules modifications made in an effort to make it safer for the fighters. The finalists are going to have to fight three times for a potential of seven rounds. Fighters will fight two five-minute rounds in the quarterfinals and then again in the semifinals. The tournament championship match will be three five-minute rounds.

In addition, there will be no elbows.

"The reason is that we don't want guys bleeding all over the place," he said.

After each fight, the doctors will examine the fighters and have the authority to yank a fighter from the event for health reasons. There will be two bouts held at the beginning of the card and the winners of those will be on standby in case a winner in the tournament isn't able to compete in his next match.

The four first-round matches are:

• Islam Mamedov (12-1) vs. Jorge Patino (38-15-2): Mamedov is on a 10-fight winning streak, while Patino has already won five of these type of tournaments.

• Brian Cobb (20-8) vs. Mike Ricci (10-4): Cobb has won 12 times by submission in an 11-year pro career, while Ricci competed on The Ultimate Fighter.

• Brian Foster (23-7) vs. Joao Zeferino (18-6): Foster has finished 22 of his 23 wins, hiel Zeferino has five first-round finishes in succession, including four by submission.

• Luis Palomino (23-11) vs. Rich Patishnock (6-2): Palomino has already lost a pair of bouts to Gaethje, which were entertaining scraps. Patishnock is returning after nearly a two-year layoff.

Palomino's wild, attacking style has made him a fan favorite, but it may not be the most suited for a tournament in which he could be required to fight three times.

"In my opinion, Palomino isn't the favorite to win this thing with his style of fighting," Abdelaziz said. "Palomino is a guy who loves to go out there and go for broke. In this kind of a tournament, if you have that kind of a style, you could have problems. You can't take punches and get dropped. You have to fight smart. That's why in a tournament, the smartest guy wins and the most durable guy wins."

The event will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network on Friday at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. It will also be streamed on the NBC Sports Live Extra app.