The World Series of Fighting 8 card kicked off with the prelims from Hard Rock Live inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida and Tyler Stinson won his WSOF debut by knockout in the third round.
The entire fight would be on the feet and Stinson was able to hurt Araujo with a body shot in the third round.
Following the body shot, Stinson pushed the pace and Araujo ended up falling to the ground. Stinson would force him to stand up and continued to push the pace. Stinson would land a series of punches and the referee would come in to stop the fight at the 2:23 mark of the final round.
Stinson (26-9) has won four in a row and all of those victories have come by knockout. His previous three wins came in the first round and this is his first third round stoppage victory since 2010.
Mehmen wins fifth straight with decision over Barrett
Derrick Mehman was able to rock Scott Barrett early in the fight and won the fight by unanimous decision.
As the fight opened, Mehmen landed a flurry of punches and had Barrett rocked. Barrett would be able to survive the onslaught and make it to the second round. They continued to have a striking exchange in the final two rounds with each fighter landing significant strikes. As the fight was coming to an end, each fighter began to unload and the fans in attendance showed their appreciation.
All three judges scored the fight for Mehmen (17-5) and he has won five in a row. His last two wins have come in the WSOF cage and two of his last three wins have come by decision.
Vila scores first WSOF victory with win over Honorio
Alexis Vila stepped into the WSOF cage for the second time and scored his first victory in the organization as he defeated Sidemar Honorio by unanimous decision.
Vila was able to use his striking to set up multiple takedowns in the fight and became more confident as the fight went on. During the final round, he landed two takedowns and went for the finish on the mat with strikes. While being on his knees, Vila appeared to be hit with an illegal strike, but the referee let the fight continue.
All three judges would score the fight for Vila (14-4) and one of the judges gave him all three rounds.
Assuncao wins split decision over Hansen
In the only featherweight bout of the fight card, Freddy Assuncao won a split decision over Brenson Hansen.
The entire fight would be on the feet with the fighters exchanging strikes for nearly all fifteen minutes. The fight would only go to the gone once in the fight, and that was in the final ten seconds. The judges would be split on who won the fight as two of the three judges scored the fight for Assuncao (8-1), 29-28, who has now won seven fights in a row.
Melo submits Caceres in 70 seconds
The opening bout of the WSOF 8 preliminary card was welterweight bout as Anderson Melo submitted Jose Caceres with a heel hook at the 1:10 mark of the opening round.
Caceres had success with his strikes as the fight opened and the bout would end up on the ground after Caceres landing a jumping strike. Once on the ground, Melo began to look for a submission and locked in a heel hook for the finish.
Melo (11-7) has won three in a row and all of those wins have come by submission. Overall, he now has five career wins by submission and this is his first submission via heel hook.
WSOF 8 Preliminary Card Results:
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