Undefeated, One-Armed Lightweight Nick Newell Signs with World Series of Fighting
Undefeated lightweight fighter Nick Newell has signed a multi-fight contract with World Series of Fighting.
The promotion on Tuesday announced the signing, first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Newell was the XFC lightweight champion, but had the title stripped when he and XFC brass came to an impasse on contract negotiations. The situation played out in a heated fashion in the media with words coming from XFC promoter John Prisco, Newell, Newell's manager Angelo Bodetti, and Scott Holtzman, who was on tap to be Newell's next opponent had he remained with XFC.
Now that the soap opera is over, Newell moves on to a new promotional home with WSOF, where he is expected to make his debut at an as yet to be announced summer date.
Running his record to 9-0 to kick off his professional career should be enough, but Newell's story is amplified by the fact that he has just one arm.
Born with only one arm, the 27-year-old, 5-foot-10 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and skilled Muay Thai-based striker has defied all odds throughout his life, winning over 300 career high school and collegiate wrestling matches before transitioning to MMA.
He has finished eight of his nine career professional MMA opponents – six by submission and one by knockout. All but one of his victories came inside of the first round of action.
“Nick Newell is an incredible individual who exemplifies the sheer strength of the human spirit and the kind of courage and determination that martial arts embodies,” said World Series of Fighting president Ray Sefo. “So we are naturally thrilled to welcome him to the World Series of Fighting roster, and look forward to having him compete and, hopefully inspire, our national audience on NBC Sports Network.”
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