UFC’s loss is World Series of Fighting’s gain. At least that’s how Ray Sefo sees it.
With the UFC cutting fighters en masse, WSOF has no problem scooping up the best ones and signing them to contracts, the neophyte organization’s president told The Post on Thursday.
“There’s so much talent out there that needs a spot like this,” Sefo said. “Now all these fighters are gonna have a home. It seems like this was all meant to be.”
WSOF’s most high-profile signing will be Jon Fitch. Sefo said Thursday that the deal was close and MMAFighting.com reported Friday that it is done. Fitch is one of the best welterweights in the world and boasted a 14-3-1 record with the UFC. He was cut for financial reasons and because the UFC is purging fighters to make room for Strikeforce holdovers and females for the new women’s division.
“We’re really excited to have him on board,” Sefo said of Fitch. “The guy is a great fighter. I was surprised that he was actually let go.”
Fitch is likely to compete at WSOF 3, which Sefo has targeted for June 14 in Las Vegas. On March 23, World Series of Fighting will hold its second show featuring a main event between two former UFC veterans Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson. That event will be held at Revel in Atlantic City and air live on NBC Sports Network.
Nine former UFC fighters will enter the cage at WSOF 2 and ex-UFC lightweight Jacob Volkmann, another recent release, will fight at WSOF 3.
Sefo said WSOF is going to take it slow, build up the roster and then decide on how to allocate championships. The contract with NBC Sports Network stipulates six shows per year. He doesn’t believe WSOF can worry about going toe to toe with the UFC, at least not yet. He said he respects the UFC and its brass immensely.
“The biggest competition for us is ourselves,” Sefo said. “We have to make sure we keep putting on great events, signing great fighters to be on this big stage.”
The first show was a time buy on NBCSN and channel officials were pleased by the ratings so they locked WSOF into a three-year contract, Sefo said. Johnson and Arlovski both had highlight reel knockouts at that November event. Now they’ll be meeting each other in the cage.
“There were people out there second guessing whether there was a need for another [MMA] league,” Sefo said. “All you have to do is take a look at our first card to see there is.”
mraimondi@nypost.com