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World Series of Fighting 7- December 7th, 2013

PNE Agrodome - Vancouver, British Columbia

Review & Photos by Mike Renouard


Georgi Karakhanyan finishes Lance Palmer with a 3rd Rd Guillotine to win the WSOF 145 lb Title


On December 7th, the World Series of Fighting went north of the border for the first time in its history with their 7th event overall taking place at Vancouver BC's PNE Agrodome on December 7th. The all-pro card featured 5 undercard bouts streamed live on the WSOF website and the 4-bout main card aired live in the US on the NBC Sports network, with Todd Harris and MMA legend Bas Rutten calling the action. Local fight fans were out in force as 10 of the 18 fighters on the card hailed from British Columbia. Also in the house was One FC's Bantamweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes who cornered a couple of the fighters and signed autographs during the intermission.



In the main event, the inaugural World Series of Fighting Featherweight Title was on the line as Southern California-based "Insane" Georgi Karakhanyan of Millennia MMA squared off with late replacement Lance "Unstoppable" Palmer fighting out of Sacramento's Team Alpha Male. Karakhanyan may have had the experience edge with his 26 pro bouts versus only 7 fights for Palmer, but the former 4x All-American collegiate wrestler in Palmer did not appear overly awed and the ensuing fast-paced bout provided for the Fight of the Night. The first round started out with some good standup from both fighters but midway through, Palmer inadvertently poked Karakhanyan in the eye and the bout was temporarily halted as the doctor came in to check it out. Though nasty, Karakanyan gamely fought on and the action did not slack through the first. In the second, Palmer started landing takedowns but Karakhanyan neutralized by working for submission finishes from guard. In the third, Palmer again scored with takedowns and a bit of ground and pound, but just as it looked that the fight would move into the championship rounds, Karakhanyan maneuvered and nailed a slick guillotine choke for the finish at the 4:40 mark. A great finish to a great fight!










The night's Co-feature was the much anticipated WSOF Middleweight Tourney Semi-final matchup between Jesse "JT Money" Taylor and Elvis "The King" Mutapcic. The pair were originally scheduled to fight at WSOF 5 in September but the NJ Athletic Control Board nixed that fight last second due to prohibited meds found in Mutapcic's locker room. Fortunately, there was no such trouble in Vancouver under the watchful eye of the recently formed BC Athletic Commission. Unfortunately for Mutapcic though, Taylor's takedowns and smothering ground game proved too much with Taylor taking the decision 30-27 on all 3 judges scorecards. Taylor post-fight mentioned that he played it a bit safe, due to the tournament format. To be fair though, he stayed busy and was working for the finish on the ground the entire fight, and it was only through sheer toughness that Mutapcic was able to survive all 15 minutes. With the win, Taylor will face Dave Branch in the finals for the WSOF inaugural Middleweight Title, likely in March at WSOF 9 in San Jose.




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Rising star "Notorious" Nick Newell, fighting out of Springfield Mass., kept his undefeated record intact with a quick submission win over local fighter Sabah "The Persian Warrior" Fadai out of Mamba MMA in Abbotsford BC. Newell, born a congenital amputee with his left arm ending just below the elbow, has finishes in 10 of his 11 wins, and both of his World Series of Fighting victories came via guillotine choke. Against Fadai, Newell shot early, grabbing a single leg and pushing Fadai against the cage. Newell got Fadai to the ground briefly, still holding the leg. Fadai went to stand but left his neck exposed and Newell capitalized by sinking the standing choke at 1:21 of the first. In the post-fight interview with Bas Rutten, a confident Newell said he felt like he was next in line for a shot at the winner of the inaugural Lightweight Championship bout being held next month at WSOF 8 in Florida.





Opening the NBC broadcast was a light heavyweight contest between UFC vet Kalib Starnes who fights out of Aegis Athelics in Surrey BC and Alberta fighter Dwayne Lewis of Bowman's MMA. The pair started out slow finding range but midway through the first Starnes looked to have Lewis in trouble with some power punches. He remained patient though until the 2nd when a couple well placed elbows put Lewis to sleep at 3:52 of the round. With the KO victory, the 38 year old Starnes has 4 straight wins and afterwards spoke of his hopes for a shot at the WSOF 205 lb belt.



On the undercard, David "Showtime" Perron rebounded from a 2nd Rd TKO loss to Kalib Starnes this past May by submitting Kamloops BC middleweight Matt Baker in the first round. The Vancouver-based Perron, fighting out of the Creative Fighters Guild, had the biggest crowd support by far of anyone on the card and he rewarded their support with a strong performance. Upon the opening bell, the pair quickly engaged and it was Baker who scored a big slam of Perron. Perron though shook it off and went immediately for a guillotine. Baker escaped but Perron deftly transitioned to a triangle choke, getting the tap at just 1:46 of the first.






Former TUF 16 cast member Michael Hill out of Kelowna BC's Toshido MMA took on late replacement Richard Arsenault who traveled from the eastern province of Prince Edward Island for their welterweight contest. Both fighters came out strong and a good scrap was going when Arsenault suddenly pulled up and started limping with a leg injury of some sort. Hill went in hard for the kill while Arsenault gamely took Hill to the ground and fought on. Hill ended the round in top position after a good scramble on the mat. Between rounds, the cageside doctor checked Arsenault who said he was OK and the bout continued. Arsenault though was clearly not OK and could hardly stand. When Hill kicked Arsenault's leg out from under him, the ref called a timeout, brought the doctor back in, and this time the fight was stopped due to injury at 1:29 of the 2nd, handing Hill the TKO victory. Afterwards, Hill expressed disappointment in the outcome, saying he'd rather get knocked out than win in the fashion he did.





In a lightweight matchup, West Coast BJJ's Shawn Albrecht of Port Coquitlam BC took on last minute replacement Gabriel Solorio of the White Buffalo Warriors in Kirkland WA. Albrecht won the first round with takedowns and top control. In the 2nd though, Albrecht was less effective with his takedowns and when he did get them, he was ineffective on he ground while Solorio was active from the bottom in defense. When the fight was on the feet, Solorio had the edge. Albrecht decided to forgo any takedown attempts in the third turning the bout into a kickboxing match, and again Solorio was the aggressor and the more accurate striker. Towards the end of the round Albrecht decided it was better to take it to the mat, but Solorio had more in the gas tank, shucking the attempt, and then Solorio ending up on top throwing strikes to finish the 3rd. Going to the judges, all three correctly saw it 29-28 for a delighted Solorio.





Myles "The Cowboy" Merola, fighting out of Revolution Martial Arts in Vancouver, had a 3+ year layoff before returning to the cage in Nov 2012 where he scored a decision win. At WSOF 7, he faced Dynamic MMA's Dan Ring in a 155 lb matchup, and again Merola came away with the unanimous decision. This was an entertaining and relatively close fight that saw plenty of grappling action on the ground, with both fighters going for submissions. Merola executed a couple big slams in both the 2nd and 3rd, and spent more time in top control on the ground. Ring had a point taken from him late in the 3rd for an illegal heel strike to Merola's head as both fighters were on the mat. It was moot though as the judges gave the bout to Merola 2 rounds to one, all 3 scorecards reading 29-27.






Opening the night was a middleweight contest between Aegis Athletics' Micah Brakefield out of Vancouver BC and Richmond BC's Brendan Kornberger of Dynamic MMA. Brakefield got the takedowns in the first, including one sweet suplex, but was unable to finish Kornberger. In the 2nd, it was Kornberger who exerted his will, getting Brakefield to the ground and raining down punches. Brakefield took a lot of punishment before the referee finally stepped in to end it at 2:45 of the 2nd.



The World Series of Fighting travels to Hollywood FL for WSOF 8 on Jan 18. The main event will feature the inaugural WSOF Lightweight Championship between Justin Gaethje and Gesias Cavalcante. The co-main event will see UFC vet Anthony Johnson going up against Strikeforce vet Mike Kyle in a bout that was postponed from WSOF 7 when Kyle suffered a broken toe in training. NW Bantamweight Tyson Nam will return the the WSOF cage to face TUF 18 alum Cody Bollinger. More info at WSOF.com.


Bout 1 - 185 lbs

Brendan Kornberger (3-0 - Dynamic MMA, Richmond BC) def Micah Brakefield (3-1 - Aegis Athletics, Vancouver BC) by TKO (Ref Stop - Ground Strikes) @ 2:45 Rd 2


Bout 2 - 155 lbs

Myles Merola (10-7 - Revolution Martial Arts, Vancouver BC) def Dan Ring (5-1-1 - Dynamic MMA, Richmond BC) by Unanimous Decision (All judges 29-27)


Bout 3 - 155 lbs

Gabriel Solorio (9-6 - White Buffalo Warriors, Seattle WA) def Shawn Albrecht (10-5 - West Coast BJJ, Port Coquitlam BC) by Unanimous Decision (All judges 29-28)


Bout 4 - 185 lbs

David Perron (5-2 - Creative Fighters Guild, Vancouver BC) def Matt Baker (9-4 - Team Nogueira, Kamloops BC) by Triangle Choke @ 1:46 Rd 1



Bout 5 - 170 lbs

Michael Hill (5-2 - Toshido MMA, Kelowna BC) def Richard Arsenault (9-2 - Team Bueno, Charlottetown PE) by TKO (Doc Stoppage - Leg injury) @ 1:29 Rd 2


Bout 6 - 205 lbs

Kalib Starnes (15-8-1 - Aegis Athletics, Surrey BC) def Dwayne Lewis (13-8 - Bowmans MMA, Fort McMurray AB) by KO (Elbow Strikes) @ 3:52 Rd 2


Bout 7 - 155 lbs

Nick Newell (10-0 - Fighting Arts Academy, Springfield MA) def Sabah Fadai (7-2 - Mamba MMA, Abbotsford BC) by Guillotine Choke @ 1:21 Rd 1


Bout 8 - WSOF 185 lb Tournament Semi-final

Jesse Taylor (26-9 - Team Quest, San Diego CA) def Elvis Mutapcic (13-2 - Round Kick Gym, Des Moines IA) by Unanimous Decision (All judges 30-27)


Main Event - WSOF 145 lb Championship

Georgi Karakhanyan (22-3 - Millennia MMA, Riverside CA) def Lance Palmer (7-0 - Team Alpha Male, Sacramento CA) by Guillotine Choke @ 4:40 Rd 3


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