Conflict resolved, Burkman stays with WSOF, fights winner of Palhares vs. Fitch

LAS VEGAS – Despite a very public conflict between Josh Burkman (27-10) and his WSOF employers, “The People’s Warrior” plans on staying with the Las Vegas-based promotion and will soon fight for the company’s welterweight title.

“I’m happy to tell you that we spoke with Josh Burkman, and everything is good,” WSOF exec Ali Abdelaziz told MMAjunkie. “We had a few issues to work out, but everything is good, and Josh will now fight for the welterweight title against the winner of Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch.”

On Thursday night, Burkman took to Twitter to petition for his release from the promotion, citing contractual issues and hinting at a strained relationship with Abdelaziz. But the WSOF exec said he was able to speak with the welterweight contender today and work through their differences.

“Josh has done some incredible things in his five fights with us,” Abdelaziz said. “His win over Tyler Stinson last week was amazing, and he had a great fight against Steve Carl for our first welterweight title. Now he’ll get another shot at the belt after Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch fight in June.”

At the center of the controversy was Burkman’s pay at WSOF 9, where he knocked out Stinson in the first round. While Burkman agreed to be paid a flat rate of $25,000 rather than his contracted amount (which Abdelaziz declined to reveal but did say the show money was less than the flat rate). After some back-and-forth between the fighter and the promotion, WSOF officials elected to make up the difference between the flat fee and the contracted rate with a special bonus check, cut today.

Palhares earned the WSOF welterweight belt at March’s WSOF 9 event, submitting Carl in just 69 seconds. He’ll meet Fitch in the main event of WSOF 11, which takes place July 5.

Burkman will then challenge the winner in what remains the last fight on his current deal. What happens after that – win or lose – remains to be seen, but Abdelaziz is happy to be moving forward.

“Josh Burkman is a great fighter, and I look forward to see him fight either Rousimar Palhares or Jon Fitch,” Burkman said. “Either way, I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
Mmajunkie.com

Today, World Series of Fighting executive Shawn Lampman called Bleacher Report from the promotion's Las Vegas office. On the line with Lampman were both Burkman and Abdelaziz. Over the next twenty minutes, the trio shed some light on the roots of Burkman's frustration with the promotion.

Abdelaziz told Bleacher Report that his issues with Burkman had been resolved, and that Burkman would face the winner of the title fight between Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch, which takes place this summer.

Burkman confirmed the news.

"We can get into this from time to time. Especially me and Ali, because it has happened multiple times," Burkman said. "But once it's resolved, it's resolved and we move on. And I'm very happy that they made it right and that I'm next in line to fight Fitch or Palhares."

Burkman told Bleacher Report that his issues with Abdelaziz and WSOF stemmed from his recent fight with Tyler Stinson. Burkman told Abdelaziz he wanted to fight on the card, but the promotion was already over their fighter pay budget. Burkman was insistent on fighting, however, and ultimately agreed to take lower pay than what his contract called for.

But though he agreed to take the pay cut, Burkman wasn't happy. After he knocked Stinson out, Abdelaziz came in the cage.

"I love you, Ali, but I don't like you," Burkman told the matchmaker.

"That's our relationship. I don't think it's going to change. I don't think it's the last run-in we're going to have over contracts or fights," Burkman said. "But at the same time, I appreciate the person that Ali is. Some things got blown out of proportion, and I didn't want that to happen.

"I like Ali, but he's kind of a pain in my ass sometimes. Which is kinda his job, right? What happens is that there are some changes and miscommunication in contracts, and I was unhappy about it. I should have voiced how I felt about it a little bit better, maybe before I fought Tyler Stinson. But I figured the time for me to voice my opinion was after I won. I probably should have done that before the fight instead of doing it after. We didn't all see eye to eye on it, but we came to a common ground. I appreciate how this has been handled."

Burkman said he was unhappy with his treatment after coming off a loss to Steve Carl last year.

"I didn't really like how I was treated. But I think that's how it is in our sport. When you win, everything goes smoothly. But when you lose, that changes," Burkman said. "There was a little bit of miscommunication. I wasn't real happy with the way it all went down."

"World Series of Fighting is a new company. We're about to announce a very big thing, and there are a lot of moving parts," Lampman said. "There was just some lack of communication. I think Josh had a reason to be a little upset. But I talked to Josh and we figured it out.

Lampman told Bleacher Report that the promotion on Friday paid Burkman the difference in what he should have contractually received for the fight.

"When a fighter is coming off a big win, they have an expectation. And I think sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. Not intentionally. I was talking to Josh, and I completely understood how he felt. On a couple of issues, we agreed to disagree, but we resolved it," Lampman said. "I think now, as Ali said, we have the making of an epic fight. Either Fitch vs. Burkman 3, or a war with Palhares. And Josh has the tools to beat both of them. It's an honor to have him in our company and as a friend."

Abdelaziz addressed Burkman directly.

"Josh, listen, me and you are going to become best friends," Abdelaziz said. "I'm going to come down there and maybe you can choke me a couple of times."

Burkman and Abdelaziz both expressed some regret in the way the situation played out over Twitter, but both ultimately chalked it up to the often volatile nature of social media.

"I'm a very emotional guy, and I speak my mind very loud. And when I saw the tweet, I got a little bit hurt. I kinda feel bad about it, because everyone started talking about me and Josh," Abdelaziz said. "And that's what people want. They want drama. I think I should have texted him, and he should have texted me. Whatever happens, me and Josh respect each other because we always speak our mind. No regrets. That is part of life."

Burkman agreed.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images
"I don't have any regrets. I made sure I thought about what I was going to say, and that I knew what I was getting myself into. I never said anything derogatory about Ali. I just said that, yeah, he can be a pain in the ass to deal with. I never said anything about World Series of Fighting except that I was unhappy and that, contractually, something went wrong.

"Social media is something else. You say one or two things, and then people ask you questions. And then it turned into something very big. Which is why I posted that WSOF has been mostly good to me. The people involved there are good people. So I wasn't trying to bash the WSOF in any way. I was just trying to get things fixed that I wanted to get fixed, and it has been done."

When asked by a fan on Twitter if Burkman wanted to fight the winner of Palhares vs. Fitch for the championship, the fighter responded by saying he didn't want their belt.


"Josh, let me ask you a question: Do you want that belt now?," Abdelaziz asked Burkman.

Burkman said he does, in fact, want the belt.

"I definitely am very competitive. I think that comes out in the way I fight and negotiate. Now? I'm very interested in the Fitch vs. Palhares fight," Burkman said. "And I'm very excited for the opportunity to fight the winner. I want to be the best in this organization, and you need the belt to do that."

Bleacherreport.com

how the fuck did Fitch get a title shot?

he looked awful against a top 50 brazilian welterweight


rousimar will heel hook him