World Series of Fighting 9 took place on Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and Rousimar Palhares won the welterweight title with a heel hook submission in 69 seconds.
As the fight opened, Carl came out looking for the knockout and Palhares was able to score a takedown. Once on the mat, Palhares would go for the heel hook and Carl would tap out.
Palhares would let go of the hold after Carl appeared to tap twice and referee Yves Lavigne came in to break the hold. While it was not like the situation he had with Pierce, it can be argued that he should have let go of the submission quicker than he did.
Moraes dominates Rettinghouse to win inaugural bantamweight title
The co-main event of the card was for the inaugural bantamweight title and Moraes dominated Rettinghouse from the opening bell to win the title by unanimous decision.
Moraes would nearly score a stoppage victory in the opening round with his strikes, but Rettinghouse would be able to make it to the second round. Moraes would land his leg kicks at will and Rettinghouse struggled to mount much offense and it appeared that he would not be able to continue after the third round.
He would be able to continue and Moraes would crush in the championship rounds to secure the victory by decision. All three judges had the fight 50-44, which means every judge had one 10-8 round. Moraes (13-4-1) has now won seven fights in a row and five of those wins have come in the World Series of Fighting.
Okami submits Savov for first submission victory since 2006
Former UFC title challenger Yushin Okami made his World Series of Fighting debut on Saturday night and he submitted Svetlozar Savov in the second round.
Okami dominated the entire fight as he scored takedowns in both rounds. During the opening round, he used a trip to get the fight to the ground and worked in the mount position for a good portion of the round. Savov would survive the ground attacks of Okami and make it to the second round.
Savov opened the second round by throwing spinning strikes but Okami would be able to secure a takedown. He would immediately get in the mount position and worked him strikes from the position. As the round was coming to an end, he went for an arm triangle choke and Savov tapped. Okami (30-8) now has five career wins by submission and he has won four of his last five fights.
Burkman stops Stinson in first round by knockout
Josh Burkman stepped into the cage for the first time since being defeated by Steve Carl in October and stopped Tyler Stinson in the first round with a knockout victory.
After a brief feeling out process, the fighters began to find their range and Burkman would land a right hand that would drop Stinson. He would foliow up the right by landing one more punch on the ground before referee Jason Herzog came in to stop the fight. Burkman (27-10) has now won four of his five fights in the World Series of Fighting and three of those victories have come in the first round.
The complete World Series of Fighting 9 results are below
Main Card: (NBCSN)
Rousimar Palhares def. Steve Carl via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:09
Marlon Moraes def. Josh Rettinghouse via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
Yushin Okami def. Svetlozar Savov via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:46
Josh Burkman def. Tyler Stinson via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:15
Johnny Nunez via Ozzy Dugulubgov via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (NBCSports.com)
Mike Corey def. Shane Kruchten via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:59
Bryson Hansen def. Sean Cantor via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :46
Chris Gruetzemacher def. John Gunderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Brenson Hansen def. Boostayre Nefarios via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Danny Davis def. Phil Dace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jimmy Spicuzza def. Gil Guardado via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:14