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World Series of Fighting 10, packed with three world title fights, set for June 21


The Las Vegas-based World Series of Fighting promotion will stay in its hometown for a championship triple-header on June 21.

Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino hosts "World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor," which pits David Branch against Jesse "JT Money" Taylor for World Series of Fighting's inaugural middleweight title in the night's five-round main event. World Series of Fighting featherweight kingpin Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan battles relentless finisher Rick "The Gladiator" Glenn in the co-main event.

A third championship matchup, which will also take place on the evening's main card, will be announced shortly.

"Every time we hold an event, we always work hard to put on the most exciting fights possible," said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo. " World Series of Fighting 10 will be no exception and will deliver one exciting fight after another at The Joint in The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which is such a fantastic venue we decided to return on June 21. With these two championship fights leading the way - not to mention a third one on the way - it's going to be an incredible night."

Branch (13-3) is a three-time World Series of Fighting veteran who earned his way into the championship fight with a September win over Danillo Villefort in the company's middleweight tournament semifinal. The 32-year-old Branch, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, also boasts wins over Paulo Filho and Dustin Jacoby under the World Series of Fighting banner. The highly-regarded New Yorker collides with Taylor (27-9), a highly-decorated wrestling machine who mashed Elvis Mutapcic in his semifinal bout five months ago and owns a seven-fight winning streak.

Russian-born Karakhanyan (23-3-1), coming off an impressive third-round submission over big-name talent Lance Palmer that won him the World Series of Fighting featherweight belt, is widely considered one of the top 145-pounders on the planet. The 28-year-old destroyer Karakhanyan goes for 10 straight wins against the very aggressive Glenn (14-2), an Iowa native who is trained by standup wizard Duke Roufus at the Roufusport MMA Academy. Karakhanyan vs. Glenn looks to be a war.

Full Five-Fight Main Card Set for WSOF 10: Branch vs. Taylor


World Series of Fighting 10 boasts three championship fights on the NBCSN-televised main card of the Saturday, June 21 event.

World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo today confirmed that one new title fight and two additional matchups complete a star-studded main card that also features a main event of David Branch (13-3) vs. Jesse Taylor (27-9) for World Series of Fighting's inaugural middleweight title, as well as a co-main event of World Series of Fighting featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan (23-3-1) vs. Rick Glenn (14-2).

In the night's third title fight, the world's no. 1 ranked women's strawweight and current World Series of Fighting champion Jessica "Jag" Aguilar (17-4) will defend her belt against Japanese contender Emi "The Kamikaze Angel" Fujino (13-7).

Additionally, the main card will include intense matchups of lightweights Tyson Griffin (16-7) vs. Luiz "Buscape" Firmino (17-6) and featherweights Nick Lobosco (7-0) vs. Lance Palmer (7-1).

"We wanted this event to be a special night, and it doesn't get much better than having three world titles on the line at one event," Sefo said. "This main card just might be our best yet. Three championship fights and two additional bouts that seem destined to deliver fireworks. This is going to be one night you don't want to miss."

Tickets for "World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor" start at just $39 and are currently on sale at AXS.com.

World Series of Fighting champion Jessica Aguilar, the first and only Mexican-American woman to hold a title in a major MMA promotion, is the world's best 115-pound female fighter. The American Top Team product made her World Series of Fighting debut in January, scoring a submission win over Alida Gray to claim the promotion's strawweight world title. Aguilar defends her belt for the first time against 33-year-old Fujino, a dangerous and well-rounded athlete who has fought a Who's Who of her home nation's best fighters since turning pro in 2004.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Tyson Griffin made his World Series of Fighting debut in August. He'll look to put on his best performance yet against the gritty Luiz Firmino, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who previously fought for PRIDE and DREAM during an impressive 14-year career. Firmino took part in his first professional bout shortly after his 18th birthday and remains an elite athlete at 32, as witnessed by his World Series of Fighting 6 win over Jacob Volkmann.

Nicky Lobosco is a heavy-handed featherweight fighting with St. Charles MMA in Missouri. The high school wrestling coach made a splash at WSOF 6 when he scored a vicious knockout of Fabio Mello with a head kick and punches. Lance Palmer is a highly decorated wrestler who is considered one of the sports top prospects to watch. The Team Alpha Male product contended for the WSOF featherweight championship this past December at WSOF 7, but came up short against current champion Georgi Karakhanyan. Palmer looks to reestablish himself as one of the sports best featherweights with a win over Lobosco.

In the previously announced main event, David Branch is a three-time World Series of Fighting veteran who earned his way into the championship fight with a September win over Danillo Villefort in the company's middleweight tournament semifinal. The 32-year-old Branch, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, also boasts wins over Paulo Filho and Dustin Jacoby under the World Series of Fighting banner. The highly-regarded New Yorker collides with Jesse Taylor, a highly-decorated wrestling machine who smashed Elvis Mutapcic in his semifinal bout five months ago and owns a seven-fight winning streak.

Additionally, Russian-born Georgi Karakhanyan, coming off an impressive third-round submission over big-name talent Lance Palmer that won him the World Series of Fighting featherweight belt, is widely considered one of the top 145-pounders on the planet. The 28-year-old destroyer Karakhanyan goes for 10 straight wins against the very aggressive Rick Glenn, an Iowa native who is trained by standup wizard Duke Roufus at the Roufusport MMA Academy. Karakhanyan vs. Glenn looks to be a war.

The WSOF 10 lineup now includes:


MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network):

David Branch vs. Jesse Taylor - WSOF inaugural middleweight title bout
Georgi Karakhanyan (c) vs. Rick Glenn - WSOF featherweight title bout
Jessica Aguilar (c) vs. Emi Fujino - WSOF women’s strawweight title bout
Luiz Firmino vs. Tyson Griffin
Nick LoBosco vs. Lance Palmer


PRELIMINARY CARD:

Dave Huckaba vs. Derrick Mehmen
Angel DeAnda vs. Krasimir Mladenov
Rudy Morales vs. Timur Valiev
Marciea Allen vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
Brandon Hempleman vs. Andrew Yates
Justin Jaynes vs. Jimmy Spicuzza
Lynn Alvarez vs. Sofia Bagherdai
Tanner Cowan vs. A.J. Williams

WSOF 10 Tripleheader Lineup Now Complete with 12 Bouts


The lineup for World Series of Fighting's most impressive card to date is now complete with 12 total contests supporting an amazing championship triple-header. The previously announced featured contests for "World Series of Fighting 10: Branch vs. Taylor" include a main event of David Branch (13-3) vs. Jesse "JT Money" Taylor (27-9) for World Series of Fighting's inaugural middleweight title, as well as dual co-main events with World Series of Fighting featherweight champion Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan (23-3-1) vs. Rick "The Gladiator" Glenn (14-2) and the world's best female strawweight and current World Series of Fighting champion Jessica "Jag" Aguilar (17-4), who will defend her belt against Japanese contender Emi "The Kamikaze Angel" Fujino (13-7).

Additionally, the main card will include intense matchups of lightweights Tyson Griffin (16-7) vs. Luiz "Buscape" Firmino (17-6) and featherweights Nick Lobosco (7-0) vs. Lance Palmer (7-1).

Those five bouts air live on NBCSN at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT local time) and follow a now-confirmed seven-bout preliminary card of heavyweights Dave Huckaba (21-5) vs. Derrick Mehmen (17-5), bantamweights Rudy Morales (3-0) vs. Timur Valiev (6-1), middleweights Angel DeAnda (11-3) vs. Krasimir Mladenov (10-0), women's bantamweights Marciea Allen (3-1) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (2-0), bantamweights Brandon Hempleman (9-2) vs. Andrew Yates (7-1), lightweights Justin Jaynes (2-1) vs. Jimmy Spicuzza (3-0) and debuting lightweights Tanner Cowan (0-0) vs. A.J. Williams (0-0).

The hard-hitting Dave "Bad Man" Huckaba earned a knockout victory in his World Series of Fighting debut and has won four-straight fights and 10 of his past 11. The 39-year-old Californian brawler who boasts 17 knockouts among his 21 career wins now meets Iowa's Derrick Mehmen, who previously defeated Rolles Gracie and Scott Barrett under the World Series of Fighting banner to extend his current winning streak to five fights. His knockout over Gracie was a viral sensation that earned him "KO punch of the year" honors at the 2013 Bazzie Awards.

"Ruthless" Rudy Morales makes his World Series of Fighting debut with a perfect 3-0 mark that includes a pair of hard-fought split-decision wins. He now meets Russian import Timur Valiev, who lost his professional debut in September 2010 but has gone undefeated in his next six outings.

Angel "The Dream" DeAnda made his World Series of Fighting debut in a tough assignment against light heavyweight Tyrone Spong at World Series of Fighting 4, going the distance before losing a hard-fought decision. Meanwhile, Krasimir "The Wrestler" Mladenov is a Bulgarian athlete who competed most recently at this past June's World Series of Fighting 3 against Kendrick Miree. Mladenov earned a decision win, maintaining his perfect career mark.

Ashlee Evans-Smith returns to action for the first time since her shocking ground-and-pound TKO win over Fallon Fox. She now faces Marciea "Black Widow" Allen, whose lone career loss to date came to current UFC fighter Jessamyn Duke.

Brandon "Hot Rod" Hempleman made his promotional debut in August, losing a hard-fought decision to the top-ranked Marlon Moraes but impressing many with his incredible heart. He now meets Andrew "The Golden Boy" Yates, who suffered the first professional loss of his career in a technical submission loss to Chad Robichaux at World Series of Fighting 6.

Justin "Guitar Hero" Jaynes is an Xtreme Couture fighter who makes his World Series of Fighting debut against Robert Drysdale protege Jimmy Spicuzza, who picked up an impressive submission win over Gil Guardado at World Series of Fighting 9.

In the first fight of the evening, Utah's Tanner Cowan and Nevada's A.J. Williams will each make their professional debut.