WSOF CEO Carlos Silva expects promotion to keep its current event pace for 2017

The sudden consolidation of two WSOF events into one year-end event naturally led to speculation the promotion is in trouble.

But WSOF CEO Carlos Silva said his team plans to keep pace with the year’s previous schedule and rely on grassroots support to strengthen its product.

“I think you’ll see, give or take, a show a month on NBCSN and NBC in 2017,” Silva recently told MMAjunkie Radio. “We’re pretty excited about the future.”

The newly rebranded WSOF 34 came about when the previously scheduled WSOF 34 and WSOF 35 were merged into a Dec. 31 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event’s main card, which airs from 3-4 p.m. ET, marks the promotion’s return to NBC, while the two-hour preliminary card from 4-6 p.m. airs on its usual broadcast home, NBCSN.

Still, the date is likely to be challenging for the promotion in terms of competition for the consumer’s attention, to say nothing of the logistical headaches that will come with working in the city on such a crazed day.

Silva said the decision to dismantle two fight cards and rebook talent was made to ensure the banner event is successful. As MMAjunkie previously reported, WSOF 34 now features three title fights, including a lightweight title bout between champ Justin Gaethje (16-0) and Joao Zeferino (21-8), a welterweight title fight between champ Jon Fitch (28-7-1) and Jake Shields (31-8-1), and a bantamweight clash featuring champ Marlon Moraes (17-4) opposite a to-be-determined opponent.

“It really is about bringing in these great headliners in,” Silva said. “We felt Madison Square Garden is a big deal for such a number of reasons. The UFC is there on Nov. 12; they did a lot of hard work to make MMA happen in New York City. We’re going to be that second big national MMA promotion at (Madison Square) Garden. I think we made the right decision, and everyone is excited about Dec. 31.

“When you’ve got great fights like Shields against Fitch, two guys that have been at the top of their game … we think that’s just a great fight, so we thought it was best to bring the brightest stars to New York City. We’ll go back to Denver and Everett (Wash.), because those markets supported us, and we loved the fans over there.”

For next year, WSOF plans to return to the cities where events were canceled. Generally, Silva said, the promotion plans to leverage the local fan base of its stars.

“All of those are in our thinking, and absolutely there’s a big show around those college campuses or arenas around the corner, because we think that would be packed,” he said. “I could easily imagine everyone in red and white cheering Lance Palmer if he was near Ohio State. He’s a very proud Buckeye, and I think there’s a great way to bring in those fans to WSOF.”

For more on WSOF 34, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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