World Series of Fighting returned to the NBC Sports Network for another evening of MMA bouts.
If you missed this event, you likely saved yourself a couple hours of boredom by doing just about anything else. This was not an enjoyable card.
The main card was littered with lackluster fights going the full distance, and even when the fights had action, it was mostly errant strikes leading the charge. The main event was the only fight that delivered.
The company chose to put four fights on the undercard and five on the main card. There was not many fighters of note on the entire billing. UFC veteran Ronny Markes was in the co-main event, but he was never a thrilling fighter to watch. Numerous fighters were coming off layoffs of a year or more.
All in all, it was a forgettable event. Luckily, we did get one nice finish.
Luis Palomino vs. Lewis Gonzalez
Palomino rocked Gonzalez with a left hook midway through the fight, but he could not finish the bout off of it. That would come shortly afterwards.
Gonzalez was knocked out when he lowered his head while Palomino threw a high kick. He landed flush with his knee upon Gonzalez’s face. It was a quality finish, and the only one fans got to see on the main card.
Palomino will now put his name in the mix for the WSOF lightweight championship. It is not a deep division, but with a performance like that, he will earn himself a bigger fight against some credible competition within the 155-pound ranks at WSOF.
Ronny Markes vs. Cully Butterfield
In a forgettable 15 minutes, Markes defeated Butterfield by unanimous decision.
Butterfield was able to land some punches of his own and even opened a cut over Markes‘ eye in the third round. It wasn’t enough to stop Markes‘ smothering ground game, though. This fight didn’t offer much excitement at all, and fans in the crowd were busy taking photos with pro fighters.
Elvis Mutapcic vs. Kevin Tiller
A lackluster affair saw Mutapcic get a unanimous decision victory over Tiller.
After a fairly close first round, Mutapcic‘s ground game took over. He took Tiller to the mat and controlled him in both of the final two frames. Tiller had opportunities to get in offense, but he was not able to capitalize.
Mutapcic did not do too much from top position, but the control was enough to get the win.
Alexis Vila vs. Brandon Hempleman
Vila and Hempleman went the full 15 minutes, and it was the former U.S. gymnast who came away with the victory.
There was plenty of striking in this fight, but the majority of it was errant. Vila came closest to landing fight-altering shots, and he seemed just a hair off in his attempts to land the finishing blow in the third round. Regardless, the volume of Hempleman is what swayed the judges.
It was a really close fight, and the media scores from around the world of MMA reflect that.
Bryson Hansen vs. Matt Sayles
Within two minutes of the opening bell, Hansen dropped Sayles with a crisp left hand. He repeatedly connected with punches as Sayles worked his way back to his feet. Referee Steve Mazagatti saw that he was working and allowed the fight to continue.
Hansen easily took the first frame, but Sayles rebounded with more output in the second to even the score.
There is a good chance Hansen punched himself out. Sayles continued his up-tempo attacks in the third frame, and in spite of a late takedown, he secured a unanimous-decision victory. Hansen did not have the energy to muster up credible attacks to combat Sayles‘ volume.
Main Card
- Luis Palomino defeats Lewis Gonzalez by TKO at 4:42 of the first round
- Ronny Markes defeats Cully Butterfield by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Elvis Mutapcic defeats Kevin Tiller by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Brandon Hempleman defeats Alexis Vila by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Matt Sayles defeats Bryson Hansen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
- Lucas Montoya defeats Jimmy Spicuzza by TKO at 4:11 of the first round
- Danny Davis Jr. defeats Jorge Lopez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Adam Acquaviva defeats Cody Maltais by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Bryson Gutches vs. Soslan Abanokov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:07 of the second round
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com