XFC announces four-man featherweight tourney with Bass-Sharipov, Hicks-Ribeiro

Xtreme Fighting Championships officials recently announced the promotion will conduct a four-man tournament to crown a featherweight champion, starting with Stephen Bass (10-1) vs. Farkhad Sharipov (13-5) at September’s “XFC 25: Boiling Point” event.

The winner of that contest meets the winner of an Oct. 18 contest of Jason Hicks (5-1) vs. Deivison Ribeiro (23-9) for the right to wear the XFC featherweight belt.

Featuring Stephanie Eggink vs. Angela Magana for the company’s inaugural strawweight title, XFC 25 takes place Sept. 6 at New Mexico’s Albuquerque Convention Center. The night’s main card airs on AXS TV.

“Bigfish” Bass opened his career with 10-straight victories before earning his way on to “The Ultimate Fighter 14? cast as a member of Team Bisping. Eliminated in the quarterfinal round by eventual finalist Dennis Bermudez, Bass was brought back for the live finale but lost a decision to Marcus Brimage and was released from the promotion.

Meanwhile, Sharipov looks to rebound from a pair of back-to-back decision losses under the Bellator MMA banner. After building up a six-fight win streak, Sharipov fell short in 2011 fights with Fabio Mello and Jessie Riggleman.

Additionally, the XFC 25 lineup added a welterweight contest of Ian Stephens (2-0) vs. Ryan Thomas (16-7).

With the additions to the lineup, the XFC 25 main-card lineup now includes:

For more on XFC 25, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Stephen Bass)