The WSOF returns on Friday as the promotion will be holding a fight card at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and the main card will air live on NBCSN.
The event will kick off with the online preliminary card on WSOF.com at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT with the main card on NBCSN will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will be headlined by a title fight as Lance Palmer defends the featherweight title against Canada’s own Chris Horodecki.
Along with the featherweight title fight in the main event, the main card will see another title fight as Smealinho Rama defends the heavyweight title against former Bellator heavyweight tournament finalist Blagoi Ivanov.
Below is a pre-fight statistical breakdown of the four fights that will take place on the main card broadcast on NBCSN.
Lance Palmer (9-1) vs. Chris Horodecki (21-5-1, 1NC)
Palmer won the WSOF featherweight title at the end of last year when he defeated Rick Glenn by rear-naked choke submission at WSOF 16. Both of his wins in the promotion have come by rear-naked choke submission and all of his stoppage wins are by submission.
- His win over Glenn is the 3rd latest stoppage in a WSOF title fight.
- Currently tied with Georgi Karakhanyan for the most submission wins in WSOF featherweight division history.
- His 5 submission wins have come via rear-naked choke, arm-triangle choke, and guillotine choke.
Horodecki won his WSOF debut last year when he defeated Luis Huete by unanimous decision at WSOF 14. He is 3-1 in his last four fights and his last three fights have gone the distance.
- 11 wins by finish (7 TKO/KO, 4 Submission).
- 5-2, 1NC in his last 8 fights.
- Holds notable wins against Ed West, Bart Palaszewski, and Danny Downes.
Smealinho Rama (9-1) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (11-1, 1NC)
Rama won the inaugural WSOF heavyweight title last year when he defeated Derrick Mehmen in 51 seconds. It was his third straight win and his last two wins have come by TKO in the first round.
- The 51-second win over Mehman is the fastest victory in WSOF title fight history.
- Has the 2nd most wins in WSOF heavyweight history and can tie Mehman for the most with a win on Friday.
- Only gone the distance once in his career and 8 of his wins have come in the 1st Round.
Ivanov is making his WSOF debut after having seven fights in Bellator. His last fight came 385 days ago when he lost to Alexander Volkov in the season ten Bellator heavyweight tournament final at Bellator 120.
- Four of his six wins in Bellator came by submission and this is the most in Bellator heavyweight competition.
- He is tied with Volkov for the 2nd most wins in Bellator heavyweight division history.
- 9 wins by finish (4 TKO/KO, 5 Submission).
Michael Hill (7-3) vs. Mark Drummond (7-2)
Hill has gone 2-0 in the WSOF and his most recent win in the promotion came in February as he scored a decision victory against Ryan Dickson. He will enter this fight following a defeat as he lost to Bristol Marunde in March by decision.
- 4 wins by TKO/KO.
- 2-3 in his last 5 fights after starting his career 5-0.
- Only stoppage defeat in his career came in 2013 against current WSOF welterweight Ryan Ford.
Since losing his pro debut in 2010, Drummond has gone 7-1 and will be looking for his second win in the WSOF cage. He is currently on a two fight winning streak and is coming off a knockout win at WSOF 18 against Spencer Jebb.
- 5 wins by finish (2 TKO/KO, 3 Submission).
- Both of his defeats have come by submission.
- 3 of his stoppage victories have come in the 3rd Round.
Hakeem Dawodu (4-0) vs. Chuka Willis (4-0)
Dawodu turned pro last year and all of his fights have come in the WSOF. All of his wins have come by stoppage and he is coming off a TKO win against Tristan Johnson at WSOF 18 in February.
- In his pro debut, he defeated Behrang Yousefi by knockout in 67 seconds and this is the fastest victory in WSOF featherweight history.
- His 4 wins by TKO/KO is the most in WSOF featherweight competition.
- 2 of his 4 wins have come in the 1st Round.
Willis is making his WSOF debut and made his pro debut in August of last year. After starting with two wins by decision, his last two wins have come by stoppage.
- Coming off a TKO win in March against Travis Draper.
- In his 3rd pro fight, he scored his first win by submission in 45-seconds.
- This will be his first pro fight to take place outside of the United States.
The current WSOF 21: Palmer vs. Horodecki fight card lineup is below.
Main Card: (NBCSN – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Lance Palmer (9-1) vs. Chris Horodecki (21-5-1, 1NC)
Smealinho Rama (9-1) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (11-1, 1NC)
Michael Hill (7-3) vs. Mark Drummond (7-2)
Hakeem Dawodu (4-0) vs. Chuka Willis (4-0)
Preliminary Card: (WSOF.com – 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT)
Marcus Hicks (19-24) vs. Louis Grover (1-2)
Mike Scarcello (7-3-1) vs. Dan Lariviere (4-2)
Michael Hay (1-1) vs. Louis Grover (1-2)
Postliminary Card: (WSOF.com – 11:05 p.m. ET/8:05 p.m. PT)
Stephen Beaumont (7-2) vs. Mukai Maromo (8-4)
Tim Smith (14-8) vs. Spencer Rohovie (9-7)
Garret Nybakken (6-7) vs. Nick Hrabec (3-1)
Roger Alves (2-1) vs. Danny Doig (2-2)