On Saturday, Feb. 20, World Series of Fighting hosted its 28th event from the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, Calif. The event was co-promoted with Californian promotion BAMMA USA.
In the night’s main event, the promotion’s bantamweight champion, Marlon Moraes, looked to defend his 135-pound strap for a third time as he took on Joseph Barajas. The 27-year-old Moraes had won eight straight fights inside the WSOF cage, extending his winning streak to 10 straight. The Brazil native was last in action in August, submitting Sheymon da Silva Moraes via rear-naked choke at WSOF 22. Barajas, meanwhile, made his second appearance for the promotion. The California fighter stopped Erik Villalobos at WSOF 25 in November. It marked his 12th win in 13 career outings.
The co-main event also featured action in the bantamweight division as Dagestan native Timur Valiev welcomed Chris Gutierrez to the promotion. Valiev entered the contest riding a 10-fight winning streak, including four straight under the WSOF banner. The 26-year-old was last in action at WSOF 23, edging Tito Jones on the scorecards. The Bellator MMA veteran Gutierrez stepped into the cage with the momentum of a six-fight winning streak. Five of his eight career wins had come via strikes.
The action kicked off with a preliminary card stream live on Combat Press beginning at 6:45 p.m. ET, before transitioning to the NBC Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET for the four-fight main card. Additional postlim action continued at 11:45 p.m. ET.
Chris Gutierrez def. Timur Valiev by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Jamie Yager def. Daniel McWilliams by submission (armbar). Round 1, 0:38
Ozzie Alvarez def. Andrew Ramm by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Chris Saunders def. Darren Smith by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – for BAMMA USA lightweight title
Albert Morales def. Anthony Paredes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Steve Ramirez def. Kyle Estrada by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 1:01
Isaias Alvarrado def. Garrick Evans by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 3:21
Heinrich Wassmer def. Keenan Lewis by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 3, 3:02
Jalin Turner def. Eric Steans by knockout (punch). Round 1, 0:38
Fard Muhammad def. Mike Kubeska by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 28-27)