World Series of Fighting 8 took place on Saturday night at Hard Rock Live inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida and Justin Gaethje only needed 69 seconds to stop Rich Patishnock and win the inaugural WSOF lightweight title.
The two fighters wasted little time in going straight into a brawl with each fighter landing significant strikes. Gaethje would end up getting the better of the strikes and began to land elbows in short range.
Gaethje continued to land short strikes and referee Troy Waugh would come in to stop the fight at the 1:09 mark of the opening round.
Gaethje (11-0) is now the WSOF lightweight champion and this is his sixth straight victory to come by TKO/KO. Two of his four wins in the WSOF have come in the first round and this is his fifth career win to come in the opening round.
Johnson KO’s Kyle in last fight on WSOF deal
Anthony Johnson entered the cage on Saturday night knowing that this was the last fight on his WSOF contract and he made a statement with a knockout victory over Mike Kyle.
Kyle attempted to get the fight to the ground early when he caught a kick of Johnson, but Johnson was able to stop the attempt. They would end up brawling against the cage and Johnson would drop Kyle and knock him out.
Johnson (16-4) has won six in a row since his exit from the UFC and he may end up back in the UFC following this victory.
Aguilar submits Gray to win strawweight title
Jessica Aguilar won the inaugural WSOF women’s strawweight title with a first round submission victory against Alida Gray on Saturday night.
Aguilar was able to get the fight to the ground early and ended up locking in an arm triangle choke. Gray attempted to defend the attempt, but she was unable to get out of the submission an tapped at the 2:45 mark of the opening round.
Aguilar (16-4) has now won seven fights in a row and this is her first submission victory since 2010. Seven of her professional wins have come by submission and this is the second time she has won by arm-triangle choke.
Bollinger scores unanimous decision against Nam
In what was considered a potential battle to see who Marlon Moraes would meet for the inaugural bantamweight title, Cody Bollinger scored a decision victory over Tyson Nam.
The opening round would be mainly on the feet before Bollinger appeared to slip and Nam took advantage. He would land several strikes on the ground before Bollinger was able to recover and get back to his feet.
The striking battle would continue in the second and third rounds and once again, Bollinger would slip. Nam would attempt to take advantage, but Bollinger was able to limit the damage and get back to his feet.
They would end up going the distance and all three judges scored the fight for Bollinger, 29-28. Bollinger (15-2, 1NC) has now won back to back fights since exiting Bellator but this is not likely a victory that will secure him a title shot.
Palomino wins WSOF debut by knockout
The opening bout of the WSOF 8 main card was a lightweight bout as Luis Palomino won his WSOF debut with a second round knockout against Jorge Patino.
In the opening round, the fighter engaged in a striking battle and ended up getting into a brawl. As they brawled against the fence, Patino was able to lock in a guillotine choke against the fence. Palomino would be able to survive the submission and make it to the end of the round.
They continued to have their striking battle in the second round and Palomino hurt Patino with his right hand. He would end up dropping Patino and finished the fight with strikes on the ground.
Palomino (22-9) has won six of his last eight fights and this is his 12th win coming by knockout.
The complete WSOF 8 results are below.
Main Card: (NBCSN)
Justin Gaethje def. Rich Patishnock via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:09
Anthony Johnson def. Mike Kyle via KO (punch) – Round 1, 2:03
Jessica Aguilar def. Alida Gray via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:45
Cody Bollinger def. Tyson Nam via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Luis Palomino def. Jorge Patino via KO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:20
Preliminary Card: (WSOF.com)
Tyler Stinson def. Valdir Araujo KO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:23
Derrick Mehmen def. Scott Barrett via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Alexis Vila def. Sidemar Honorio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Freddy Assuncao def. Brenson Hansen via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Anderson Melo def. Jose Caceres via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:10