World Series of Fighting (WSOF) returns this Saturday (March 18, 2017) with its latest mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which will take place inside Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The waters have been troubled for WSOF lately with former Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes and dual weight class champion David Branch both vacating their titles to seek better offers.
Now is WSOF’s chance to right the ship by putting on an event featuring two of its remaining champions in title defenses, while crowning a new 135-pound champion in the third. With an 11 p.m. ET start time, the promotion has even avoided a head-to-head battle with UFC Fight Night 107, which airs earlier in the day via Fight Pass. The odds are in WSOF’s favor, but the hand has yet to be dealt.
Nevertheless, let’s break down WSOF 35’s main card this weekend:
265 lbs.: Blagoy Ivanov (14-1) vs. Shawn Jordan (19-7)
Since being stabbed in a bar fight in 2012 and his departure from Bellator MMA in 2014, Blagoy Ivanov has proved himself by capturing WSOF’s Heavyweight title in his debut and successfully defending it twice since. The Bulgarian bruiser packs a lot of power into his squat frame at 5’11” and 250 pounds and he uses it to toss around foes and throw heavy blows. To take the title from him you’d have to be more vicious and ruthless than him ... perhaps even more “Savage.”
Even though UFC opted not to renew his contact after a loss to Ruslan Magomedov, a close inspection of Shawn Jordan’s record shows he has both the experience and pedigree to give Ivanov all he can handle. He owns two wins over UFC’s No. 6-ranked Derrick Lewis and can also boast victories over Lavar “Big” Johnson, Pat “HD” Barry and British strongman Oli Thompson. The flip side of that coin is that he lost fights that could have elevated his UFC standing each time the brass ring was in reach to the likes of Cheick Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga and Matt Mitrione.
Jordan is in many respects a less successful version of Ivanov. He’s only one inch taller, has a two-inch reach advantage (75”) and takes the “L” in approximately 25 percent of his fights, while Ivanov has only been bested just once. With knockouts in 79 percent of his wins (15 of 19) there’s little doubt he has power, but the only way so far to get to Ivanov’s chin is to go under it for a rear naked choke. That’s not really a Jordan specialty — he hasn’t tapped out anybody since 2011.
Final result: Blagoy Ivanov retains via technical knockout
145 lbs.: Lance Palmer (11-2) vs. Andre Harrison (15-0)
Lance “The Party” Palmer has been off since regaining the title from Alexandre Almeida last July, but given how busy Team Alpha Male is, you certainly can’t call him “inactive” in that span. After two close fights with the same opponent, though — one he lost via unanimous decision and one he won via majority decision — it’s time to see Palmer return to his form in a big fight. Hopefully he’s spent a lot of time working on the striking, too, because six of his 11 wins (54 percent) come via submission.
Undefeated Bellmore Kickboxing prospect Andre “The Bull” Harrison certainly isn’t going to make things easy for Palmer. Coming off an impressive rear-naked choke submission in his WSOF debut, Harrison quickly moved from unknown to title contender in a division that could use fresh blood (most WSOF divisions could). Even though he’s undefeated his deficit could be that finishes are rare for him, occurring in only one-third of his wins, accounting for three knockouts and two subs.
Palmer is (usually) a cardio monster. And since Harrison very often goes to a decision, the path to victory for Palmer seems clear — keep the taller (5’8” to 5’6”) Harrison at range to avoid power shots, then shoot for takedowns and do the damage on the ground, all the while searching for the vaunted Team Alpha Male chokes. There’s little chance the Bellmore team hasn’t thought of that and drilled takedown defense, so on Saturday night we’ll find out how effective it has been.
Final result: Lance Palmer takes a unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Bekbulat Magomedov (16-1) vs. Donavon Frelow (6-1)
On paper nearly everything would favor Bekbulat Magomedov taking the vacant title. He’s flawless barring a split decision loss to Josh Hill, has finishes in 11 of his 17 fights (64 percent), and has a size advantage over the less experienced Frelow at 5’8” to 5’6.” On the other hand, this is the depth of the division right now, and with Frelow’s only promotional loss coming in the inaugural Flyweight title fight to Magomed Bibulatov (who never defended that belt and is now in UFC) this makes as much sense as anything else WSOF could put together. Unfortunately, Bibulatov was a better size match-up for Frelow and he didn’t get it done so I don’t see him doing better at 135 pounds.
Final result: Bekbulat Magomedov finishes Donavon Frelow by knockout
That's a wrap!
Remember: MMAmania.com will deliver live play-by-play coverage of WSOF 35: "Ivanov vs. Jordan" on Saturday night, beginning with the first "Prelims" bout at 8 p.m. ET on WSOF.com and continuing with televised fights at 11 p.m. ET on NBC Sports!