WSOF 14 Results: Shields Taps Ford, Rama Demolishes Mehmen En Route to Title Win

On Saturday, Oct. 11, World Series of Fighting will host its 14th event from the Edmonton EXPO Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In the night’s main event, the promotion’s Canadian welterweight champion, Ryan Ford, will welcome former UFC title challenger and Strikeforce title holder Jake Shields to the WSOF cage. Ford enters the bout riding a six-fight winning streak that dates back to 2011. The Bellator and MFC veteran captured the belt in February with a 53-second knockout of Joel Powell. Shields, meanwhile, will compete for the first time since dropping a decision to Hector Lombard at UFC 171 in March. The fight marked the 35-year-old’s first loss since 2011.

The co-main event features WSOF gold on the line as the promotion will crown its inaugural heavyweight champion when Canadian Smealinho Rama locks horns with Strikeforce veteran Derrick Mehmen. The 22-year-old Rama has tasted defeat just once in his career and holds wins over wrestling stalwart Steve Mocco and UFC veteran Tim Hague. Mehmen has excelled inside the WSOF cage, reeling off three straight wins to extend his current streak to six.

The eight-fight event kicks off Saturday with four preliminary card bouts streaming live on the promotion’s website starting at 7 p.m. ET. The four-fight main card airs live on the NBC Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET.

Former UFC fighter and Strikeforce champion continued to prove that he’s a top welterweight with a first-round finish of WSOF Canada welterweight champion Ryan Ford. Ford caught Shields with a left hand early, rocking the Cesar Gracie product. Ford, wary of the ground game of Shields, held back and allowed Shields to recover. Shields responded by hunting for the takedown. Shields eventually capitalized by taking the fight to the mat and getting to Ford’s back. From there, he worked for the rear-naked choke. With approximately half a minute remaining in the round, Shields cinched up the choke and coaxed a tap from Ford to claim the victory. Shields will now likely await the winner of the championship bout between Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch.

Smealinho Rama wasted little time staking his claim to the WSOF heavyweight title. The Canadian heavyweight landed a series of strikes early in the opening stanza to leave opponent Derrick Mehmen scrambling to recover. The 22-year-old Canadian didn’t give Mehmen any breathing room, however, while pouring on the punishment. Rama’s strikes dropped Mehmen and forced the referee to step in, bringing an end to the fight. Rama captured the heavyweight crown with the TKO finish in just 51 seconds of the first round.

Chris Horodecki put together a dominant display of striking, wrestling and grappling i his featherweight clash with Luis Huete. Huete was no match for the kickboxer on the feet, but Horodecki’s best offense came in the form of takedowns and top control. The Canadian implemented his game plan throughout the three-round affair to walk away with all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards.

In the opening bout of the evening’s main card, Jared Hamman overwhelmed Luke Harris to claim a first-round TKO victory in the pair’s light heavyweight clash. The fighters traded on the feet for the first two minutes of the round with neither fighter gaining the upper hand. As the midway point of the round approached, Hamman caught Harris with a punch and followed up with a barrage that dropped the judoka and forced the referee to step in and call an end to the contest.