The highly-anticipated inaugural World Series of Fighting (WSOF) event kicks off this evening at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski faces Strikeforce vet Devin Cole in the main event, while Anthony “Rumble” Johnson squares off with D.J. Linderman in the co-main event.
We’ve got the ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) crew LIVE on the scene doing video interviews while I’ll be doing play-by-play duty from home.
The live telecast of the WSOF main card begins at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on NBC Sports Network, while the prelims stream live on Sherdog.com.
WSOF quick results:
MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network)
- Andrei Arlovski def. Devin Cole by knockout (punches) Rd 1 (2:37)
- Anthony Johnson def. DJ Linderman by knockout (punch) Rd 1 (3:58)
- Marlon Moraes def. Miguel Torres by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Tyrone Spong def. Travis Bartlett by knockout (punch) Rd 1 (3:15)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Sherdog)
- Tyson Steele def. Gregor Gracie by TKO (punches) Rd 1 (4:52)
- Brian Cobb def. Ronys Torres by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Josh Burkman def. Gerald Harris by unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
- JZ Cavalcante def. T.J. O’Brien by submission (heel hook) Rd 1 (1:03)
- David Branch def. Dustin Jacoby by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
WSOF play-by-play:
Tyrone Spong vs. Travis Bartlett
Round 1 – This kinda looks like a mismatch. Bartlett looks very soft. Body shot from Spong. Front kick. Body kick. Head kick, body punch and a head kick drops Barlett. Spong kicks his thighs. Ref lets him up. Head kick again from Spong. Jumping knee to the body and a leg kick from Spong. Knee and a big right from Spong. Body shot. Leg kick. Leg kick. Barlett is game, has some decent boxing but nothing landing. Body hook from Spong. Left hook to the body from Spong, left to the liver, now a straight right drops Barlett on his butt and Mazzagatti stops it. Total domination from Tyrone Spong in his MMA debut.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Tyrone Spong def. Travis Bartlett by knockout (punch) Rd 1 (3:15)
Miguel Torres vs. Marlon Moraes
Round 1 – Touch gloves. Leg kick Moraes. High kick, blocked. Body kick from Moraes, he follows up with more shots. Torres goes for a heel hook but Moraes escapes. Moraes was rocked for a moment there. Big leg kick from Moraes. Jab from Torres. Spinning back kick to the gut knocks Torres back. Jab from Torres. Big right from Moraes, Torres fires back. Torres goes for a takedown, stuffed. Leg kick on the break from Torres. Wheel kick misses from Moraes, leg kick. Chants of Torres. Huge right hook from Moraes. Torres seems tentative on the feet. Torres slipped to the ground, tried to roll for a leg. Back to the feet. Inside leg kick from Torres. Jab from Torres. Jab again. Head kick from Moraes. Big leg kick from Moraes. Head kick from Moraes blocked mostly. Jab from Moraes rocks Torres’ head back. PMN scores it 10-9 Moraes.
Round 2 – Leg kick Moraes. Left from Torres, left. Leg kick Moraes. Jab from Torres. Big leg kick Moraes. Leg kick Moraes. Jab from Torres. One two Moraes. Leg kick. Jab from Torres. Uppercut Moraes. Leg kick Moraes. Torres shoots, Moraes escapes. Right from Torres. Left jab, again. Leg kick Moraes. Torres with a leg kick. Jab Torres. Leg kick Torres. Jab. Left hook Moraes, blocked. Spinning back kick to the gut knocks Torres back. Right left Torres. Right haymaker from Moraes. Leg kick. Torres with a combo. Moraes counters and Torres slips to his butt. Gets right up. Head kick from Moraes, Torres gives one back but it’s blocked. Nice right from Torres. Close round… PMN scores it 10-9 Torres.
Round 3 – Leg kick Moraes. Big leg kick from Moraes. Right from Moraes. Jab. Enormous leg kick from Moraes. Jab, front kick, leg kick from Torres. Torres shoots, stuffed. Head kick from Moraes blocked. Jab Torres. Again. Leg kick Moraes. Some morons are actually booing. Jab from Torres snaps Moraes’ head back. Leg kick Moraes, jab Torres. 360 jump kick from Moraes blocked. One two, one two leg kick from Torres. Left from Torres. Big heat being thrown. Jab from Moraes. Jab from Moraes. One minute to go and they are turning it up. This crowd sucks. I seriously hate them right now. Moraes gets a takedown, inside full guard. Torres boxing his ears. Torres beating him up off his back. PMN scores the round 10-9 and the fight 29-28 for Torres.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Marlon Moraes def. Miguel Torres by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Anthony Johnson vs. D.J. Linderman
Round 1 – Touch gloves. DJ shoots, takes a knee to the body. Stuffed. Low kick to the groin from Johnson and Linderman goes down to one knee. Nasty. Front kick from Johnson, lands a head kick. Left from DJ. Another left. Leg kick from Johnson. DJ checks the next one. Left from Johnson. Leg kick knocks DJ down. Lef, left from DJ. Jab. Jab again. Johnson with two leg kicks. Shoots for a single, gets DJ on his back. Johnson on top inside a half butterfly guard. DJ gets to his knees, gives up his back. Johnson lands some lefts to the head. Johnson scoops out his legs and puts him on his butt as he tries to get up. DJ gets to his knees. Big knees to the body from Johnson. DJ is up, eats a knee and a right hand to the face. Oh my God, DJ Linderman gets countered with a huge right hand and he falls face first to the canvas and is OUT COLD. KO of the year. Johnson was blinking his eye like he got poked, looking at the ref. DJ comes in with punches and gets countered with a huge right that put him out. One hitter quitter. Johnson has big power at 205 guys.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Anthony Johnson def. DJ Linderman by knockout (punch) Rd 1 (3:58)
Andrei Arlovski vs. Devin Cole
Round 1 – Jab from Arlovski. Front kick. Arlovski’s hands are low. Right from Arlovski. Good head movement. Cole shoots for a single, eats some shots as he lifts the leg high. Arlovski defends perfectly. Clinched against the cage. Knees to the thigh from Cole. Arlovski gives some back. Arlovski turns Cole to the cage. He backs out. Arlovski drops Cole with a big right to side of the head behind the ear, he follows up with a couple hammerfists and Mazzagatti stops it. Arlovski picks up his coach Greg Jackson and runs around the cage. Now he goes outside the cage to kiss some girls and hug some friends.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Andrei Arlovski def. Devin Cole by knockout (punches) Rd 1 (2:37)
IMO – K.O. of the year goes to Edson Barboza (against Terry Etim) hands down.
Yeah, Eddie Alvarez’s head kick KO of Patricky Freire was nice too. I get excited with big KO’s like “Rubmle’s”. I’ll have to go back and review for my official KO of the year but… Face down out cold one shot is definitely a contender for me.
I hear ya, and those were good too…but falling like the Statue of Liberty, from a kick rarely thrown, much less connected, carries more weight than a typical punch that is thrown/connected in many of the K.O.’s seen throughout the year.
Thanks for the play-by-play! (wish you would of had some staff picks for this card)
See you next weekend.
Thanks Kerry
Word, I agree Kerry…Barboza’s KO was that ish!
[…] […]
[…] To make a short story shorter, the 27-year-old Spong looked absolutely flawless. It was as about a perfect pro MMA debut as anyone could ask for and ended with Spong stopping Bartlett with a straight right hand 3:15 into the first round (read ProMMAnow.com’s play-by-play of the fight). […]