World Fighting Alliance
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The World Fighting Alliance was a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States. It held its first event on November 3, 2001. About a year later, on November 23, 2002, it held its third event and then faded away.
After a rise of interest in mixed martial arts in the United States in 2005, the WFA reemerged with new ownership and began an agressive program to establish itself as a new major mixed martial arts promotion. The owners, Ross Goodman and Louis Palazzo, both attorneys from Las Vegas[1], began by signing contracts with several of the biggest free agents on the market, including former UFC middleweight contender and Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland, PRIDE middleweight contender Quinton Jackson, retired UFC and Pancrase champion Bas Rutten, top-ranked bantamweight fighter Urijah Faber, and fomer UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez. In their recruitment efforts, they also came close to signing Tito Ortiz before he was enticed by an offer from the UFC.[1]
The fruits of their acquisitions culminated in WFA: King of the Streets on July 22, 2006, a pay-per-view broadcast event at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The card was headed by a main event of Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Lindland, Jackson's first fight on American soil since becoming a headliner in PRIDE, and featured famed boxing broadcaster Barry Tompkins and wrestling star Bill Goldberg at the announce desk. Despite heavy expectations and an aggressive marketing campaign, including a pre-event special broadcast on Showtime,[2] the event only attracted a crowd of over 5,000, with only 2,300 tickets sold.[2][3] Pay-per-view buys were also low at 50,000.[4]
Despite the disappointing numbers, and rumors of financial troubles, the WFA announced their next event, WFA: King of the Streets II at Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada scheduled for December 9, 2006. However, the event was then postponed until early 2007 for undisclosed reasons.[5] On November 15, 2006, the WFA's CEO, Jeremy Lappen, sued the WFA and its owners for breach of contract, claiming he has not been paid since June 2006, a few weeks before King of the Streets. [1] Finally on December 11, 2006, Zuffa, the parent company of rival promotion UFC, announced it had acquired select assets of the WFA, including the contracts of WFA fighters. The WFA will cease operations per the sale agreement.[4]
[edit] Events
| Event | name | Date held | Venue | Location | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WFA 1 | WFA World Fighting Alliance 1 | 11/3/2001 | n/a | Las Vegas, Nevada | USA |
| WFA 2 | WFA LEVEL 2 | 7/5/2002 | n/a | Las Vegas, Nevada | USA |
| WFA 3 | WFA LEVEL 3 | 11/23/2002 | n/a | Las Vegas, Nevada | USA |
| WFA 4 | WFA King of the Streets | 7/22/2006 | Great Western Forum | Los Angeles, California | USA |
| WFA 5 | WFA King of the Streets II | cancelled | Aladdin Resort and Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada | USA |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Lappen Sues WFA for Breach of Contract
- ^ UFC beefs up with buyout of the WFA
- ^ Pride Fighting plans to stay in the US
- ^ a b Gross, Josh. "Eyes on the Prize: UFC Scoops up Jackson, WFA Fighters", Sherdog.com, 2006-12-12. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
- ^ Breaking News: WFA "King of the Streets II" Postponed
[edit] External links
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| Professional mixed martial arts organizations | |
|---|---|
| Major promotions: | Ultimate Fighting Championship | PRIDE Fighting Championships | HERO's |
| Other promotions: | Pancrase | KOTC | Rumble on the Rock | EFC | WEC | MFC | ZST | DEEP | Cage Rage | Cage Warriors | FFC | IFL | TKO | Strikeforce | WWCN |
| Defunct promotions: | IVC | RINGS | WFA |
| Sanctioning bodies: | Shooto | International Sport Combat Federation |
