World Series of Fighting 12 will take place on Saturday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and the five fight main card will air on NBCSN beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
The fight card will be headlined by a lightweight bout that may end up being classified as a potential number one contender fight as Lewis Gonzalez looks to remain undefeated as he will meet Luis Palomino.
Also on the main card, former UFC light heavyweight Ronny Markes will make his promotional debut as he faces fellow World Series of Fighting newcomer Cully Butterfield and Elvis Mutapcic will look for his first victory in the promotion as he faces Kelvin Tiller in a 195 pound catchweight bout.
Check out a preview and pre-fight statistical breakdown of all five main card fights below.
Lewis Gonzalez (9-0) vs. Luis Palomino (22-9)
Gonzalez made his World Series of Fighting debut last year and defeated Antonio McKee by technical decision and he would end up being scheduled to face Justin Gaethje for the inaugural lightweight title. However, an injury will pull him out of the fight and Saturday night will be his first fight since defeating McKee.
- Five of his nine wins have come by submission and three of those are by punches.
- Three of his wins have come in the first round, including a 2011 submission win against current Bellator welterweight Justin Baesman.
- Saturday night will mark 364 days since his last fight against McKee and this is the longest layoff in his career.
Palomino has been fighting professionally since 2006 and has competed in the state of Florida for most of his career. He made his debut with the World Series of Fighting in January and scored a second round knockout victory against Jorge Patino.
- His fight on Saturday night will mark the fifth time in his career that he fights outside the state of Florida.
- Palomino is one of five fighters in World Series of Fighting lightweight history to win a fight by knockout.
- Twelve wins by knockout.
Ronny Markes (14-3) vs. Cully Butterfield (13-3)
After having five fights in the UFC, Markes makes his World Series of Fighting debut and will be looking to snap a two fight losing streak. Both of those defeats came in the middleweight division and he is returning to the light heavyweight division for the first time since 2011.
- Prior to his recent defeats, he had won seven in a row.
- His last victory came 567 days ago at UFC on FX 8 against Andrew Craig.
- Nine of his wins have come by knockout or submission and his last stoppage victory came in 2011 against Diogo Osama at Shooto Brazil 22 (1226 days ago).
- Went 3-2 in the UFC and all of those victories came by decision.
Butterfield is riding a two fight winning streak and he is coming off a submission victory against Jason Buck at a King of the Cage event last year. His most notable victory came at the end of 2012 as he defeated Bellator light heavyweight Egidijus Valavicius by unanimous decision at Flawless FC 2.
- Ten of his thirteen wins have come by knockout or submission.
- When he steps into the cage on Saturday, it will be his first fight in 483 days and this is the longest layoff of his career.
- Five wins have come in the first round and two of his three defeats have come in the first round.
Elvis Mutapcic (13-3) vs. Kelvin Tiller (6-0)
Mutapcic was one of the four men in the inaugural World Series of Fighting middleweight tournament and he was defeated in the semifinals by Jesse Taylor. The defeat snapped a five fight winning streak and all three of his defeats have come by decision.
- Eleven of his thirteen wins have come by knockout or submission.
- Last victory came against Sam Alvey at MFC 36 (540 days ago).
- Notable victories: Zak Cummings, Cezar Ferreira, and Alvey.
Tiller will be making his World Series of Fighting debut against Mutapcic and three of his career wins came in Bellator. Three of his last four wins have come by submission and two of those came in the first round.
- Holds a decision win over Ultimate Fighter 19 alum Dan Spohn.
- First fight in 406 days, which is the longest layoff of his career.
- Four career wins by submission (armbar, triangle choke, kimura, and rear-naked choke).
Alexis Vila (14-4) vs. Brandon Hempleman (9-2)
Vila was a season five and six participant in the Bellator bantamweight tournament and he has gone 1-1 in the World Series of Fighting. After losing his promotional debut to Josh Rettinghouse, he returned in January and defeated Sidemar Honorio by decision.
- Won the bronze media in Freestyle Wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics.
- Holds a knockout victory over current Bellator interim bantamweight champion Joe Warren.
- Vila has won three of his last four.
Hempleman returns to the promotion following a decision defeat to current bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes at World Series of Fighting 4. Prior to facing Moraes, he had won six in a row and three of those wins came by stoppage.
- Three career wins by submission.
- When he steps into the cage Saturday, it will be 364 days since his last fight against Moraes.
- His last three fights have gone the distance.
Bryson Hansen (7-1) vs. Matt Sayles (2-0)
Hansen made his World Series of Fighting debut in March as he defeated Sean Cantor by TKO in 46 seconds. It was his second straight victory and his only career defeat came against current UFC bantamweight Russell Doane.
- One of three fighters in World Series of Fighting to win by TKO/KO in a bantamweight bout.
- His 46-second TKO win over Cantor is the second fastest knockout in World Series of Fighting bantamweight division history.
- Five wins by TKO/KO.
Sayles turned professional at the beginning of the year and has won both of his fights by TKO in the first round. Both of those fights came in the Xplode Fight Series and his last win came in March.
- In his two professional fights, his total cage time is 2:01.
- Trains out of Alliance MMA.
- Two of his 3 amateur wins came by TKO in first round, according to Sherdog.
The complete World Series of Fighting 12 fight card is below and TheMMAReport.com will have live coverage of the event on Saturday.
Main Card: (NBCSN – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Lewis Gonzalez (9-0) vs. Luis Palomino (22-9)
Ronny Markes (14-3) vs. Cully Butterfield (13-3)
Elvis Mutapcic (13-3) vs. Kelvin Tiller (6-0)
Alexis Vila (14-4) vs. Brandon Hempleman (9-2)
Bryson Hansen (7-1) vs. Matt Sayles (2-0)
Preliminary Card: (NBCSports.com – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
Lucas Montoya (6-3) vs. Jimmy Spicuzza (4-0)
Danny Davis Jr. (9-8-1) vs. Jorge Lopez (11-4)
Adam Acquaviva (1-1) vs. Cody Maltais (2-0)
Soslan Abanokov (4-1) vs. Bryson Gutches (2-0)