Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch title fight headlines WSOF 16 in December

Rousimar Palhares will put his World Series of Fighting welterweight title on the line in December.

The submission artist, who tapped Steve Carl with a heel hook in 69 seconds to take his title in March, will defend the 170-pound championship against fellow UFC veteran Jon Fitch on Dec. 13, WSOF executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed to MMAFighting.com on Monday. WSOF 16’s city and venue still are yet to be determined.

Palhares (16-6) was initially scheduled to meet Fitch in July, but withdrew from the card because of his mother’s health issues. “Toquinho,” who holds 13 submission victories under his belt, enters the bout coming off a pair of quick finishes over Carl and Mike Pierce.

Fitch (26-6-1, one no-contest) earned a shot at the welterweight championship after defeating Marcelo Alfaya and Dennis Hallman via decision, getting back to the win column following a loss to Josh Burkman in his WSOF debut in 2013.

The next WSOF card is scheduled for Oct. 11 in Edmonton, Canada, and will be headlined by Jake Shields vs. Ryan Ford. In the co-main event, Smealinho Rama battles Derrick Mehmen for the heavyweight championship.

More title fights are set for WSOF 15. With David Branch putting his middleweight title on the line against Yushin Okami on Nov. 15 in Tampa, as MMAFighting.com reported in September, WSOF 15 also features Justin Gaethje vs. Melvin Guillard and Jessica Aguilar vs. Kalindra Faria lightweight and strawweight title fights, respectively, as reported on Monday by USA Today.

Rousimar Palhares will put his World Series of Fighting welterweight title on the line in December.

The submission artist, who tapped Steve Carl with a heel hook in 69 seconds to take his title in March, will defend the 170-pound championship against fellow UFC veteran Jon Fitch on Dec. 13, WSOF executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed to MMAFighting.com on Monday. WSOF 16’s city and venue still are yet to be determined.

Palhares (16-6) was initially scheduled to meet Fitch in July, but withdrew from the card because of his mother’s health issues. “Toquinho,” who holds 13 submission victories under his belt, enters the bout coming off a pair of quick finishes over Carl and Mike Pierce.

Fitch (26-6-1, one no-contest) earned a shot at the welterweight championship after defeating Marcelo Alfaya and Dennis Hallman via decision, getting back to the win column following a loss to Josh Burkman in his WSOF debut in 2013.

The next WSOF card is scheduled for Oct. 11 in Edmonton, Canada, and will be headlined by Jake Shields vs. Ryan Ford. In the co-main event, Smealinho Rama battles Derrick Mehmen for the heavyweight championship.

More title fights are set for WSOF 15. With David Branch putting his middleweight title on the line against Yushin Okami on Nov. 15 in Tampa, as MMAFighting.com reported in September, WSOF 15 also features Justin Gaethje vs. Melvin Guillard and Jessica Aguilar vs. Kalindra Faria lightweight and strawweight title fights, respectively, as reported on Monday by USA Today.