Ronny Markes Hospitalized & Off Tomorrow’s WSOF 20
The bad breaks just keep on coming for fledgling promotion World Series of Fighting (WSOF).
One day before headliner Ronny Markes was supposed to take on David Branch in the main event of tomorrow’s (Fri., April 10, 2015) WSOF 20 from Mashantucket, Connecticut, WSOF executive president Ali Abdel-Aziz informed MMAFighting.com that Markes is in the hospital for an undisclosed condition and will not fight.
Markes’ bout versus Branch was originally a light heavyweight tournament semifinal bout, but now that may change according to Abdel-Aziz. He revealed that 24-year-old WSOF debutant Jesse McElligott will replace Branch in the main event on extremely short notice, and it remains unclear if the bout will still be a part of the tournament.
The finding comes only three days after Melvin Guillard was pulled from his bout against Ozzy Dugulubgov on the card for failing to provide his necessary medicals and fulfill his public relations obligations, forcing Luiz Montoya to step in. The fight was then replaced as the co-main event by Nick Newell vs. Joe Condon at lightweight.
Now the card has lost one of its main event participants, continuing the unfortunate trend that began when Matt Hamill was forced to withdraw from his WSOF 19 co-main event against Thiago Silva on March 28, allowing prospect Teddy Holder to step in and shock the longtime UFC veteran with a first round TKO win.
Will WSOF be able to survive this seemingly endless barrage of last-minute event changes?
