Sefo: Nick Newell among potential ‘JZ’ replacements for WSOF 8 lightweight title fight

VANCOUVER – With a spot open in the inaugural World Series of Fighting lightweight title bout next month, the stakes of Saturday’s WSOF 7 fight against Sabah Fadai (7-2) just dramatically increased for Nick Newell (10-0).

News surfaced on Thursday that Gesias Cavalcante, who was supposed to fight Justin Gaethje (10-0) for the title, is injured and must be replaced at the Jan. 18 event in Florida.

WSOF has several lightweights on the roster, but one of the most suitable to fill in may be Newell, who fights Fadai from the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, Canada, this Saturday night. WSOF 7 has a main card on NBC Sports Network following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Company President Ray Sefo agrees with that sentiment. But he is unwilling to commit until seeing the result of Newell’s upcoming fight and says there are other potential replacements being worked on as well.

“‘JZ’ unfortunately is hurt and it’s sad because he wanted that fight with Justin Gaethje,” Sefo told MMAjunkie at Thursday’s WSOF open workouts. “As an opponent, there’s a few names floating around. Obviously Nick’s name is in the mix, but until this event is over, we probably won’t make a decision.”

For Newell, news that he could potentially be fighting for a world title sooner rather than later is encouraging. Moreover, he believes a matchup with Gaethje would produce nothing short of fireworks.

“I’m really only focused on Sabah, but after this I would love to fight Justin Gaethje,” Newell said. “He’s very tough and he’s done nothing but steamroll through everyone he’s fought, so that’s the type of fight I want. I want to be the first guy to stop the train, but overall he’s a great fighter and I have a lot of respect for him. I’m a fan of him and his style, so it would be very good to have a fight against him.”

While it’s hard to not get caught up in all the conversation about what could be next, Newell knows it’s all a moot point unless he comes out victorious against Fadai.

Competing for a WSOF belt would be an accumulation of everything “Notorious” has worked toward in his young career, but he said he won’t let anything take away from the task at hand.

“It would be a dream come true to fight for the World Series of Fighting title,” Newell said. “But I’m more concerned about what I have to do to get there and I’m not going to let anything deter my focus. I’m very straight ahead, very driven and very motivated for this fight.”

Sefo was unwilling to comment on what other names could fill in for Cavalcante should Newell lose or not work out for the scheduled date.

One thing he was willing to share, though, is that he will have a very close eye on this weekend’s action, as it will play a large role in the outcome of the situation, which should officially be determined next week.

“Obviously for us that decision is going to be made soon,” Sefo said. “In the next week or so, we will make an announcement and see who we have.”

For more on WSOF 7, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Nick Newell)