This past Saturday's World Series of Fighting card saw a fighter named Dustin Holyko take on Neiman Gracie in an undercard fight. When the broadcast on NBC--the promotion's first shot at a slot on network TV--had some extra time after the main event, they slid Holyko vs Gracie onto network television.
The problem here was, as we reported this morning, Holyko has several white pride and Neo-Nazi related tattoos and one of the more lengthy rap sheets in MMA. He seems to be piling up at least one domestic violence incident a year along with weapon charges, animal cruelty and escape charges.
WSOF is now cutting ties with Holyko for the tattoos and criminal record that a simple bit of research should have turned up.
Here's the statement as provided to Sherdog:
"Honestly, we were not aware of Dustin Holyko’s criminal record or any potentially offensive tattoos prior to him competing at WSOF 11. He was licensed by the Florida commission prior to the fight, and it was his third professional fight under their jurisdiction. That said, with the information that has since come to light, we immediately elected to terminate our relationship with Mr. Holyko."
It's the right move for the promotion, but one wonders why their most important card to date didn't also include their most aggressive background checks.