WSOF’s Sefo critical of Taylor’s style, but title fight with Branch expected for March

VANCOUVER – While Jesse Taylor punched his ticket into the inaugural World Series of Fighting middleweight championship bout, company President Ray Sefo isn’t particularly impressed with how “JT Money” earned the victory.

Taylor (27-9) used a wrestling-heavy strategy to neutralize Elvis Mutapcic (13-3) for the majority of three rounds in the WSOF 7 co-main event Saturday night at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver.

The 31-year-old was aware his bout was far from the most riveting contest on the card, but made no apologies for his performance afterward.

“I’m not going to stop until I prove I’m the best in the world at middleweight,” Taylor said in his post-fight interview. “I don’t care if it’s boring. I’m going to keep winning.”

The fact Taylor acknowledged and brushed off the lackadaisical nature of his fight did not sit well with Sefo, who was critical of the debuting fighter’s effort.

“Jesse is a wrestler, but at the same time, it’s not a wrestling match,” Sefo told MMAjunkie. “I personally want guys who can wrestle, can submit and can (fight) standup. I understand that he’s got to use his strength, but you’ve also got to be exciting if you want to be champion.”

Considering the fight was a semifinal matchup to receive a spot opposite David Branch (13-3) in next year’s 185-pound title fight, Taylor’s cautious strategy is somewhat understandable.

He did, after all, earn his way into a world-title fight, but unfortunately Sefo believes those types of performances, along with Taylor’s care-free attitude post-fight, is only going to drive fans away from watching him – especially if he becomes champion.

“If you want to be champion, you’ve got to be an exciting champion because the fans aren’t going to want to see a champion that is just going to sit around and do nothing or just wrestle the whole time,” Sefo said. “It’s not a wrestling match, it’s not a jiu-jitsu match, it’s not a kickboxing match – it’s mixed martial arts. Hopefully Jesse understands that, as well as all of the MMA fighters out there.”

While Taylor’s 15-minute grind of Mutapcic was criticized, Sefo isn’t willing to write off the UFC and Strikeforce veteran just yet.

The WSOF figurehead expects the Taylor-Branch middleweight title fight to go down at a yet-to-be-announced event in March, and he hopes to see a more developed version of Taylor for what will be the most significant contest of his career.

“The game continues to evolve, so you, as a fighter, you’ve got to evolve with it,” Sefo said. “So we’ll see how Jesse performs next time.”

For more on WSOF 7, check out to the MMA Events section of the site.