World Series of Fighting 10 took place on Saturday night at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and was headlined by David Branch winning the inaugural middleweight title with a submission win against Jesse Taylor.
Taylor was able to get an early guillotine choke submission attempt, but Branch would be able to defend the attempt and he began to look for his own submission attempt from top position.He would end up locking in a d’arce choke and Taylor would tap out to the hold.
Branch (14-3) has now won four of his fights by submission and this is his first submission to come by d’arce choke. He is now 4-0 in the World Series of Fighting and his first title defense will likely come against Yushin Okami.
Glenn wins featherweight title with stoppage victory after 2nd round
The co-main event of the fight card was the second title fight on the card as Rick Glenn became the featherweight champion with a stoppage victory over Georgi Karakhanyan at the end of the second round.
As the fight opened, Karakhanyan got the fight to the ground and began to look for a submission. He would end up locking up an armbar, but Glenn would survive the submission attempt. Glenn would be able to control the remainder of the round with his strikes and Karakhanyan was on his back.
Glenn would be able to keep his momentum going in the second round as he was able to use his reach advantage to land strike after strike on the ground. After the round concluded, Karakhanyan told his corner that he was struggling with his breathing and the fight was stopped.
Glenn (15-2-1) has now gone unbeaten in his last thirteen fights and his last three wins have come in the World Series of Fighting. This is his eighth career win to come by TKO/KO and two of those wins have come in his last three fights. The defeat for Karakhanyan (23-4-1) snaps a nine fight winning streak and this is his first defeat since 2011.
Aguilar retains title with dominating victory
Jessica Aguilar made her first women’s strawweight title defense on Saturday night as she scored a dominating decision victory over Emi Fujino.
The opening two rounds would be a striking bout as Aguilar would control the action. In the third round, Aguilar would get the fight to the ground and nearly came up with a submission victory as she attempted an arm triangle choke. Fujino would defend the attempt and Aguilar went to work in mount position with her strikes.
Fujimo would be able to survive the offense of Aguilar and make it to the championship rounds. Aguilar would continue to dominate the fight in the final ten minutes and she would retain her title with a decision victory.
Aguilar (18-4) has now won nine fights in a row and seven of her last eight wins have come by decision. Fujino (13-8) has now dropped back to back fights and both of those defeats have come by decision.
Palmer hands LoBosco his first career defeat
The opening bout of the main card on NBCSN was a featherweight bout as Team Alpha Male product Lance Palmer scored his first victory in the World Series of Fighting as he submitted Nick LoBosco in the first round with a rear-naked choke.
After a striking exchange to start the fight, Palmer was able to get the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, he was able to get on the back and immediately began to work for the rear-naked choke. While he would not be able to initially get the hold, he went to work with strikes to loosen up LoBosco. After loosening him up, he would attempt the submission once again and would get LoBosco to tap out.
This is the fourth career submission win for Palmer (8-1) and this is his first submission win since last year. With this victory, Palmer should put himself right back in line for another title shot in the World Series of Fighting featherweight division.
The complete World Series of Fighting 10 results are below.
Main Card: (NBCSN)
David Branch def. Jesse Taylor via submission (d’arce choke) – Round 1, 1:41
Rick Glenn def. Georgi Karakhanyan via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
Jessica Aguilar def. Emi Fujino via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
Luiz Firmino def. Tyson Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Lance Palmer def. Nick Lobosco via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:15
Preliminary Card: (NBCSports.com)
Derrick Mehman def. Dave Huckaba via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-27)
Timur Valiev def. Adam Acquaviva via TKO (flying knee) – Round 3, 1:35
Krasimir Mladenov def. Angel DeAnda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ashlee Evans-Smith def. Marciea Allen via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:01
Jimmy Spicuzza def. Justin Jaynes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
A.J. Williams def. Tanner Cowan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:44