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.