WSOF 14 results and recap: Jake Shields chokes out Ford, calls out Fitch

World Series of Fighting (WSOF) returned to action on Saturday evening (October 11, 2014) inside the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with a line up full of Canadian and U.S. fighters going to war on NBC Sports.

In the WSOF 14 main event, Jake Shields had a successful debut for the promotion by finishing Ryan Ford via rear naked choke in the final minute of the opening round of their welterweight affair. Ford dropped Shields with a stiff left jab (not bad for a guy with a broken arm), but the former UFC contender immediately got back to his feet, then shot in and failed on his first takedown attempt.

That wouldn't deter his confidence as he got Ford up against the cage and then down to the mat. Ford would pop back up, but Shields got him down again with a head and arm takedown from the clinch.

From there it was all Shields.

The world-class jiu-jitsu phenom put on a clinic as he mounted Ford before taking his back. Ford fought off several submission attempts, but Shields maintained control and was relentless until finally locking up the fight-ending rear-naked choke at the 4:29 of the first round.

See the GIF of his finish here.

"I want to fight anyone. I want that belt. I'm here to be the best in the world," Shields said afterward. "Ryan Ford is a great fighter, but whoever the best fighter is here, I want to fight him. I want to fight Jon Fitch. I'm his friend, but we were old sparring partners and I want to kick his ass. No offense. I like the guy, but we've been needing to fight for years."

In the co-main event, Smealino Rama needed less than a minute to become the inaugural WSOF heavyweight champion. The 22-year-old Canadian defeated Derrick Mehmen via technical knockout at 0:51 of the opening round after showcasing a very impressive striking arsenal.

Rama pressed the action early, landing several leg kicks in the center of the cage. Not long after, he landed a clean one-two combo that rocked Mehmen. "The Prince" smelled blood and went in for the kill, firing punches, knees, and a standing elbow that was followed by more punches, sending Mehmen down once again.

As soon as he got up, Rama landed several more punches that dropped Mehmen once more and referee John Braack waved it off for good.

"I'll come in here and take on anybody. I wasn't the favorite to win this fight, but listen, these guys over here make me who I am," Rama told Bas Rutten after the fight as he pointed and gave credit to his coaches.

In a featherweight clash, former WEC and Bellator fighter Chris Horodecki used superior grappling and several timely takedowns to defeat Luis Hette via unanimous decision. Horodecki controlled all the action on the ground, save for one or two submission attempts by Hette. "The Polish Hammer" also had to deal with a few questionable stand ups by referee Kyle Cardinal in the last two rounds.

All three judges scored the contest 30-27.

Jarred Hamman put on a dominant performance over Luke Harris to kick off the main card in a light heavyweight contest. After a few exchanges, Hamman began to pick apart the 37-year-old Harris and after landing about a dozen unanswered punches, a clean right hand found its mark and dropped Harris to his knees. Referee Kyle Cardinal immediately stepped in at the 2:27 mark, giving Hamman the technical knockout victory.

For complete WSOF results and live discussion click here.