Jake Shields got off to a winning start in his first fight for the WSOF promotion last night with a first round submission victory against Ryan Ford.
Shields found himself in trouble early in the fight when he was dropped with a left jab from Ford. That was Shields cue to take Ford to the mat where he’s far more comfortable, and it paid dividends for him as he methodically took his back, softened him up with punches and sunk in the fight-ending choke at 4.29mins.
This was Shields first stoppage victory since finding a guillotine choke finish against Robbie Lawler five years ago and could be enough to set him up as a potential title challenger against the winner of December’s Rousimar Palhares Vs Jon Fitch encounter.
WSOF also crowned their first ever heavyweight champion last night with Smealinho Rama blasting through Derrick Mehmen in under a minute.
Rama wobbled Mehmen with a one-two combination, causing his opponent to back up on unsteady legs before momentarily stumbling to the canvas. Rama gave chase and began unleashing strikes as Mehmen got back up and began circling with his back to the cage. A knee to the mid-section followed, a kick, and a barrage of lefts and rights hooks with a right flooring Mehmen then another sending him back down as tried to stand, bringing an end to the fight by TKO after just 51 seconds.
Chris Horodecki opted for a cautious, safety first approach against Luis Huete, opting to use his wrestling to control the fight over the course of three rounds to pick up a clean sweep on the judges scorecards (30-27 x3).
Opening up the main card, former UFC fighter Jared Hamman made a successful WSOF debut and put an end to a three fight losing streak with a first round TKO victory against Luke Harris.
Hamman opened up a cut to Harris’ face early in the fight then really started to go work, teeing off on his head with punches as Harris tried in vein to clinch up.
Harris hunched over at one point during the onslaught as if he was out on his feet, but seemed to be woken up by more blows before finally a hard right snapped his head back and sunk him to his knees, and mercifully that was the end of the fight with 2.27mins on the clock.
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WSOF 15 Results:
Main Card:
Jake Shields def. Ryan Ford via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:29
Smealinho Rama def. Derrick Mehmen via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:51
Chris Horodecki def. Luis Huete via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jared Hamman def. Luke Harris via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:27
Prelims:
Tim Hague def. Craig Hudson via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:55
Hakeem Dawodu def. Mike Malott via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:13
Matt Baker def. Cody Krahn via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:28
Roger Alves def. David Swanson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
