World Fighting Alliance

Last updated
World Fighting Alliance
Company typePrivate
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
Founded2001
FounderJohn Lewis
Defunct2006
Successor Ultimate Fighting Championship
Headquarters,
Nevada, United States
Key people
John Lewis, Promoter/Match Maker
John Huntington, Producer
Louie Palazzo, Investor
Parent TKO Group Holdings

The World Fighting Alliance (WFA) was a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Contents

History

Owned and organized by MMA legend and trainer John Lewis (Promoter/Match Maker) and nightclub operator and "Club Rubber" promoter John Huntington (Producer) along with Lawyer Louis Palazzo (Investor), the WFA began promoting events after the Nevada State Athletic Commission began sanctioning mixed martial arts. The Las Vegas-based promotion, unlike its cross-town rival, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, featured a nightclub environment and a slogan of “Where the fight club meets the Night Club”. Its events featured several scantily-clad ring girls between rounds and go-go dancers between fights, and plenty of loud music, including guest performers like Ice-T.

However, in an incident at Level 3 which seriously harmed the promotion's reputation, credentialed photographers were ejected by venue security from their areas and were forced to move to where they could not take acceptable pictures. The inconvenience caused by the ejection was substantial, some writers at the event were forced to track down their photographers and leave their beat, while some offended editors decided to yank coverage of the event altogether. [1] While the difficulties of the last event did not seem to deter the promotion and the promoters promised a Level 4, Lewis and Huntington did not promote another WFA event since, and the promotion was assumed to be defunct.

After a rise of interest in mixed martial arts in the United States in 2005, the WFA reemerged with new ownership and began an aggressive program to establish itself as a new major mixed martial arts promotion. The owners, Ross Goodman and Louis Palazzo, both attorneys from Las Vegas, [2] began by signing contracts with several of the biggest free agents on the market, including former UFC middleweight contender and Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland, PRIDE middleweight contender Quinton Jackson, retired UFC and Pancrase champion Bas Rutten, former top-ranked Bantamweight fighter Urijah Faber, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez. In their recruitment efforts, they also came close to signing Tito Ortiz before he was enticed by an offer from the UFC.

The fruits of their acquisitions culminated in WFA: King of the Streets on July 22, 2006, a pay-per-view broadcast event at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The card was headed by a main event of Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Lindland, Jackson's first fight on American soil since becoming a headliner in PRIDE, and featured famed boxing broadcaster Barry Tompkins and wrestling star Bill Goldberg at the announce desk. Despite heavy expectations and an aggressive marketing campaign, including a pre-event special broadcast on Showtime, the event only attracted a crowd of over 5,000, with only 2,300 tickets sold. [3] [4] Pay-per-view buys were also low, reportedly under 50,000. [5]

Despite the disappointing numbers, and rumors of financial troubles, the WFA announced their next event, WFA: King of the Streets II at Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled for December 9, 2006. However, the event was then postponed until early 2007 for undisclosed reasons. On November 15, 2006, the WFA's CEO, Jeremy Lappen, sued the WFA and its owners for breach of contract, claiming he has not been paid since June 2006, a few weeks before King of the Streets. [2] Finally on December 11, 2006, Zuffa, the parent company of rival promotion UFC, announced it had acquired select assets of the WFA, including the contracts of WFA fighters. The WFA afterward ceased operations per the sale agreement.

The WFA brand was revived in THQ's video game UFC Undisputed 2010, an update to their wildly popular multi-platform MMA video game UFC 2009 Undisputed. In the game's career mode, which mimics that of an actual MMA fighter, players start off in the WFA and after a certain amount of success are invited to the UFC. [5] The WFA made its video game return in EA's video game EA Sports UFC 3. The Brand was then again revived to appear in EA Sports UFC 4 in 2020. WFA Also Appears In EA Sports UFC 5 In 2023.

Events

No.EventDateVenueLocation
1 World Fighting Alliance 1 November 3, 2001 The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
2 WFA 2: Level 2 July 5, 2002 The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
3 WFA 3: Level 3 November 23, 2002 The Aladdin Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
4 WFA: King of the Streets July 22, 2006 Great Western Forum Los Angeles, California, United States

World Fighting Alliance 1

World Fighting Alliance 1
Information
PromotionWorld Fighting Alliance
DateNovember 3, 2001
Venue The Joint
City Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Event chronology
World Fighting Alliance 1WFA 2: Level 2

World Fighting Alliance 1 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Fighting Alliance on November 3, 2001 at The Joint in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Results
Main card
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Light Heavyweight Rich Franklin def. Marvin Eastman Submission (armbar)11:02
MiddleweightJermaine Andredef. Ronald Jhun TKO (punches)13:11
WelterweightAntonio McKeevs.Jason BlackDraw (split)35:00
Featherweight João Roque def.Stephen PallingSubmission (armbar)11:29
Welterweight Tony DeSouza def.Chatt LavenderTKO (doctor stoppage)13:24
Lightweight Vitor Ribeiro def.Charlie KohlerTKO (doctor stoppage)13:50
Welterweight Tiki Ghosn def.Paul RodriguezDecision (unanimous)35:00

    WFA 2: Level 2

    WFA 2: Level 2
    Information
    PromotionWorld Fighting Alliance
    DateJuly 5, 2002
    Venue The Joint
    City Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
    Event chronology
    World Fighting Alliance 1WFA 2: Level 2WFA 3: Level 3

    WFA 2: Level 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Fighting Alliance on July 5, 2002 at The Joint in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Results
    Main card
    Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
    MiddleweightJermaine Andredef. Joey Villaseñor TKO (foot injury)10:21
    Middleweight Frank Trigg def.Jason MedinaTKO (submission to elbows)13:43
    Heavyweight Kimo Leopoldo vs. Tim Lajcik TKO (toe injury)11:55
    Heavyweight Aaron Brink def. Valentijn Overeem TKO (punches)12:24
    Welterweight Tiki Ghosn def. Kit Cope TKO (retirement)25:00
    Lightweight Vitor Ribeiro def.Joe HurleyTechnical Submission (arm-triangle choke)21:19
    Light Heavyweight Marvin Eastman def. Tommy Sauer TKO (elbows)21:35

      WFA 3: Level 3

      WFA 3: Level 3
      Information
      PromotionWorld Fighting Alliance
      DateNovember 23, 2002
      Venue The Aladdin
      City Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
      Event chronology
      WFA 2: Level 2WFA 3: Level 3 WFA: King of the Streets

      WFA 2: Level 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by World Fighting Alliance on November 23, 2002 at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, Nevada.

      Results
      Main card
      Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
      Welterweight Frank Trigg def. Dennis Hallman TKO (injury)13:50 [lower-alpha 1]
      Light Heavyweight Marvin Eastman def. Alex Stiebling KO (punch)11:07 [lower-alpha 2]
      Lightweight Josh Thomson vs. Rob McCullough Decision (unanimous)35:00
      Heavyweight Mike van Arsdale def. Chris Haseman TKO (punches)23:10
      Welterweight Vitor Ribeiro def.Eddie YaginTechnical Submission (arm-triangle choke)22:23
      Welterweight Jason Black def.Chad W. SaundersTKO (retirement)25:00
      Featherweight Jeff Curran def.Todd LallySubmission (triangle choke)14:49
      1. For the WFA Welterweight Championship
      2. For the WFA Light Heavyweight Championship

      WFA: King of the Streets

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      References

      1. "Full Contact Fighter - WFA Level 3 Problems - December 2002".
      2. 1 2 Lappen Sues WFA for Breach of Contract
      3. UFC beefs up with buyout of the WFA
      4. Pride Fighting plans to stay in the US
      5. 1 2 Gross, Josh (2006-12-12). "Eyes on the Prize: UFC Scoops up Jackson, WFA Fighters". Sherdog.com . Retrieved 2006-12-12.