WSOF President Ray Sefo takes Temporary Leave

[keithlewis]

World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo takes temporary leave to concentrate on upcoming fight

Sefo makes 100th career appearance at Aug. 10's World Series of Fighting 4 event in Ontario, Calif.


With a return to active competition on the horizon, World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo has officially elected to take a temporary leave from his executive role.

"I'm looking forward to another chance to step into the cage, but before I do, I felt taking a temporary leave from my executive duties was the right thing to do," Sefo said. "I'm fortunate to have an outstanding team at World Series of Fighting which I know will handle our operations while I'm gone. And after my fight, I'll step back into my role as World Series of Fighting President."

Sefo returns to the cage on Aug. 10, where he meets Dave Huckaba (20-5) of Sacramento, Calif., on the NBC Sports Network-televised main card of World Series of Fighting 4, which takes place at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.

Sefo, an 18-year veteran of combat sports, is best-known as a six-time Muay Thai world champion and eight-time K-1 World Grand Prix participant. However, he's also a longtime trainer at the famed Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas and has previously competed three times under mixed martial arts rules.

In fact, between his kickboxing, boxing and MMA experience, Sefo boasts 99 total combat-sports appearances. His most recent outing was a March 2012 kickboxing bout against respected veteran Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, and Sefo has since maintained hope that he would have a chance to compete just one more time.

"Even though I took on an executive role at World Series of Fighting, I never actually retired from active competition," Sefo said. "About three years ago, I set a personal goal of reaching the century mark, 100 fights, and then calling it quits. Now I'm excited to say I have a chance to do that.

"But I knew I couldn't be the president of World Series of Fighting and fight for the company at the same time. To try and do so would have been a disservice to all of our fighters and my team at WSOF, not to mention me as an athlete and to all of the fans who will be watching me in action again. I'm fortunate to work with an outstanding group at World Series of Fighting, and I have total confidence their work will allow the success we've enjoyed so far to continue on Aug. 10."

Tickets for World Series of Fighting 4, which start at just $29, are currently on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets. Doors at Citizens Business Bank Arena open at 4 p.m. PT local time (7 p.m. ET), and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5 p.m. PT local time (8 p.m. ET). The live, two-and-a-half-hour NBC Sports Network telecast of the World Series of Fighting 4 main card begins at 7:30 p.m. PT local time (10:30 p.m. ET). The night's preliminary bouts stream live on World Series of Fighting's official website, WSOF.com.