On Saturday, Nov. 15, World Series of Fighting held its 15th event fromĀ the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.
In the eveningās headliner, surging middleweight David Branch put his championship on the line against longtime UFC stalwart Yushin Okami. Branch defeated two opponents in the course of the WSOF middleweight tournament to capture his crown, but his first defense of the strap stood as a much tougher test. Okami, meanwhile, looked to capture the one thing that eluded him for so long in the UFC, a championship belt.
In the co-main event slot, Justin Gaethje was set to defend his lightweight title against challenger Melvin Guillard, but Guillard missed weight and the bout was switched to a non-title affair. Guillard, a longtime UFC veteran, had struggled to find consistency in his MMA career.
However, the WSOF stuck to the mantra of ladies first as one of the best female fighters in the world took the cage in an effort to defend her strawweight title. Champion Jessica Aguilar had been on a roll since a 2010 loss to Zoila Frausto. Her latest challenge came from Brazilian prospect Kalindra Faria, who left the XFC in the rearview mirror as she traveled to the United States for the first time in her career.
The four-fight main card, which also included a three-round lightweight bout between Jorge Patino and Eric Reynolds, aired live on the NBC Sports Network beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The seven-fight preliminary card kicked off at 6:30 p.m. ET and aired live on nbcsports.com.
For the full results and recap of the event, click here.
Above are video highlights of the title fight between Branch and Okami (courtesy of NBC Sports).