Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch
Rousimar Palhares (17-6) added another victim to his growing list of submission wins when he finished Jon Fitch (26-7-1) with a first-round knee bar in the WSOF 16 headliner at McClellan Conference Center in Sacramento, Calif.
“Toquinho” defended his WSOF welterweight title for the first time with a leg lock submission of Fitch, who tapped out in a fight for just the third time in his professional career.
After roughly a minute of time spent on the feet, the action shifted to the ground. To the surprise of no one, Palhares immediately attacked Fitch’s leg and began working toward his trademark heel hook.
Fitch briefly defended the submission, but once Palhares adjusted the knee bar, the former UFC title challenger frantically tapped out to give the Brazilian his sixth victory in his past eight bouts.
Palmer submits Glenn to capture featherweight gold
Lance Palmer (9-1) made good on his second opportunity to win the WSOF featherweight championship when he scored a third-round submission of Rick Glenn (15-3-1) in the co-main event.
Palmer started the fight by using some of his striking, but as time wore on he implemented more wrestling into his strategy and mauled Glenn on the ground. Once Palmer got comfortable on the mat, he worked toward the submission until he secured the rear-naked choke.
The 26-year-old was on the receiving end of a submission loss in his first opportunity at the title a little more than one year ago. He wasn’t going to let history repeat itself, though, and made sure to come out with the win.
Moraes stays undefeated with close decision
In a bantamweight bout, Sheymon Moraes (7-0) added another victory to his perfect pro record when he edged Gabriel Solorio (11-8) in a competitive split decision.
The three-round affair had a little bit of everything. Moraes and Solorio battled from striking range, in the clinch against the fence and on the ground. While it seemed Solorio may have had the upper hand throughout most of the contest, two of the three judges felt he did enough to earn a victory.
With the win, Moraes was successful in his WSOF debut.
Takedowns lead Berkovic to victory over Hansen
The offensive wrestling of Josh Berkovic (6-0) played a major in his unanimous decision victory over Brenson Hansen (6-3) in the opening bout of the main card.
While parts of the contest played out on the feet, it was the timely takedowns of Berkovic in the second and third rounds that gave him the advantage needed to get the nod on the judge’s scorecard.
Berkovic kept his undefeated record in tact with the victory while Hansen has lost two of his past three contests.
Complete WSOF 16 results included:
MAIN CARD
- Rousimar Palhares def. Jon Fitch via submission (knee bar) – Round 1, 1:30 to retain welterweight title
- Lance Palmer def. Rick Glenn via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, to win featherweight title
- Sheymon Moraes def. Gabriel Solorio via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Josh Berkovic def. Brenson Hansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Lewis Gonzalez def. Justin Buchholz via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
- Dave Huckaba def. C.J. Leveque via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:47
- David Mitchell def. Justin Baesman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:44
- Dominic Waters def. Martin Sano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Erick Sanchez def. Drey Mitchell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jason Powell def. Chris Avila via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joseph Morales def. Christian Espinosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
For more on WSOF 16, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
