After the cancellation of the WCO event on January 12th by the CSAC, it looks like the World Cagefighting Organization is heading to Japan now with the backing of a private Japanese businessman, Nori Igawa. The WCO event on the 12th was cancelled due to concerns about the funding for the event, and it was perceived that Bellocchi was going to pay the fighters with monies made at the door and through sales online. Unfortunately, the CSAC felt the sales were pitiful. This caused the CSAC to shut the event down because of insufficient funding to pay the fighters and other expenses. It was a mere case of the promoters not doing their jobs.

Now, the WCO plans to hold an event in Japan, and their goal is to "replace PRIDE and give the Japanese fans another top organization to be excited about". Bruce Bellochi had this to say:

"We are not looking to start slow, said Bruce Bellocchi, President of The WCO. We want to make a statement. It should have happened on January 12th. It's going to happen now! Everyone who stuck with The WCO is going to be rewarded in a big way! All of those fighters who stuck us and believed in us will be rewarded with big fat contracts! All of the people who ran for the hills during the tough time we encountered can go to hell. What can I say, I am bitter about all of the mud that has been thrown around but success is the sweetest revenge!"

So, the WCO is planning on going from a cancelled event in California to a PRIDE event in Japan. That's the plan, and it DOES sound as ridiculous as it really is.

It would seem that actually holding an event of smaller size would be the ideal situation for a newer organization that hasn't tackled a larger scale event before. It is obvious that experience plays a big factor into saving money on production, and actually producing a quality show. Money is another issue, and I'm not sure if Igawa will allow Bellocchi to still snag some proceeds for the San Diego Fire Department, although it is a worthy cause.

The WCO has the makings of becoming a bust, so I won't be holding my breath for this event to actually get off the ground. I'd also be surprised if some of the fighters on the previous card will actually show up considering the cancellation of the last event. With the recent demise of the IFO, the WCO could be down for the count before getting an event off.

On tap for your MMA action this weekend is the WCO event at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The card features a long list of MMA veterans that include Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Vernon White, Ricco Rodriguez, Joe Riggs, Wesley Correira, David Loiseau, Tiki Ghosn, and the "Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr. Although the event doesn't have the quality matchups that we've come to expect from some of the bigger promotions, it does have star power and young talent out of Southern California that we may see in bigger promotions down the road. Let's take a look.

Vernon "Tiger" White vs. Renato "Babulu" Sobral

Sobral makes his return once again to the cage for his second performance after his controversial Anaconda choke on David Heath at UFC 74 that resulted in his contract termination. He'll take on the veteran Vernon White in what could be a one-sided bout considering "Babalu" will most likely come into this fight with a huge chip on his shoulder and excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu to back it up.

Sobral is a BJJ specialist and we should expect him to take this battle to the ground instantly. White has had a long career, but has compiled a losing record of 25-32-2 in that career. He has lost his last two fights to Marcelo Tigre and Mike Whitehead, both by TKO, after defeating Sam Hoger at an IFL event in April. This would make the assumption that he is fairly susceptible to strikes, but 13 of his losses are by submission. The fact is that Vernon White is susceptible from being defeated from any angle, and is usually overpowered when his opponent is great at any one skill.

With that said, Sobral is a world-class grappler with great skills on the ground. Vernon White doesn't have great defense against the submission. Combine those two thoughts and you have your prediction.

Leland's Prediction: Sobral via submission, Round 2

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Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle

This is one of the more interesting fights on the card for a number of reasons. Rodriguez hasn't been the same in years due to his apparent cocaine addiction, but with his stint on Celebrity Rehab on VH1 and the quotes he's been floating around that claim he wants to eventually get down to 205 in weight, what can we really expect from Rodriguez? A re-energized fighting machine or the same old Ricco?

Mike Kyle, on the other hand, had his own problems. He was suspended indefinitely by the CSAC for kicking Brian Olsen in the head at WEC 20. This doesn't sound that bad, except for the fact that he repeatedly kicked him and had to be pulled off of Olson. Olson received such horrible injuries that it nearly ended his career.

Kyle still has a decent record regardless of his antics in the cage. He stands at 9-5-1, but has only fought mainly striking opponents. It'll be a test to see if Kyle can handle Ricco's ground skills. It'll also be equally intriguing to see if Ricco actually takes down Kyle to avoid his punches or stubbornly stand with Kyle.

Nonetheless, Ricco has both some good power and great submissions. If he doesn't get stubborn and puts Kyle to the floor, he should be able to end it by the second round. Don't count out Mike Kyle though, he has some significant power in his hands and could catch Ricco.

Leland's Prediction: Rodriguez via submission, Round 2

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