TEDDY HOLDER VS. SHAMIL GAMZATOV
ELEVATED TO MAIN EVENT STATUS

Las Vegas (January 12, 2016) –A re-injury of his hip has forced Mike "Te Martian" Ricci to withdraw from his scheduled World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) main event bout with Caros "Te Future" Fodor (10-4), who will now face streaking Blackzilians ace Luiz “Buscape” Firmino (18-6) under co-main event status at WSOF27, ora i runga i NBCSN i 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. i runga i Rāhoroi, Jan. 23.

Originally billed as the co-main event, the light heavyweight (205 pauna) contest between heavy-handed finisher Teddy Holder (9-2) o Bartlett, Tenn. a tūturu Shamil Gamzatov (9-0) o Makhachkala, Russia has been elevated to the main event.

“Our entire team wishes Mike Ricci a full and speedy recovery, and hopes to see him return soon,"Ka mea a World Series o Fighting peresideni Rangatira Matua.

“Luiz Firmino, no stranger to our decagon cage,"Haere tonu te rangatira, “is truly a courageous warrior for stepping up on such short notice to compete against a fellow star like Caros Fodor. We commend Luiz for doing so and look forward to seeing him back in action.”

The 33-year-old Firmino of Joao Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil is riding a five-fight win streak. His last two victories – a unanimous decision over Jacob Volkmann i runga i Oketopa 26, 2013 me te whakatau loto ki runga Tyson Griffin i runga i Pipiri 21, 2014, both came under the World Series of Fighting banner.

Prior to the victory over Volkmann, Firmino earned an impressive, five-round unanimous decision over Luis "maki touwhero" Palomino, who has since gone on to challenge reigning, toa tūturu Justin "Ko e Miramirahia" Gaethje twice for the World Series of Fighting lightweight title.

A veteran of professional MMA since the young age of 18, Firmino also boasts notable wins over prolific striker “Diamond” Ryan Healy me te tohunga tukungaToby Imada, both of whom Firmino defeated by way of unanimous decision.

Tickets for WSOF27 start at just $39.99, and are on sale at WSOF.com, tauwāhi Ticketmaster katoa, ticketmaster.com, the FedExForum Box Office, ranei i te waea i (800) 745-3000.

A three-bout preliminary card will stream live on an embeddable video player on WSOF.com, timata i 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Mō ētahi atu pārongo, toronga fedexforum.com, ‘like’ FedExForum on Facebook or follow on Twitter (@FedExForum).

KĀRI MAIN

Light Heavyweight Main Event: Teddy Holder vs. Shamil Gamzatov
-Main Co Takahanga Kōmāmā: Caros Fodor vs. Luiz Firmino
Welterweight a'ee: Jaleel Willis vs. Chauncey Foxworth
Mā whitu a'ee: Jorge Medina vs. Bryce Mitchell

KĀRI PRELIMINARY

Welterweight: Justin Hartley vs. Wade Johnson
Kōmāmā: Zach Underwood vs. Jason Williams
Kōmāmā: Alvin Williams vs. Wes Sharp