Fact Check: World Series of Fighting 32
If the World Series of Fighting organization has a face, it belongs to Marlon Moraes.
Moraes will put his bantamweight championship on the line in the World Series of Fighting 32 headliner, as he confronts Josh Hill in a rematch on Saturday at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington. The Brazilian bested Hill across five rounds in their first encounter, handing the Canadian his first career defeat while walking away with a unanimous decision at WSOF 18 in February 2015.
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Hill, meanwhile, has rattled off four straight wins since his failed first encounter with Moraes. The 29-year-old Hamilton, Ontario, native last fought at a regional event in Canada on April 9, as he captured a three-round unanimous decision from the well-traveled Bendy Casimir. Hill has gone the distance 10 times in his 15-fight career.
With the Moraes-Hill title clash as the featured attraction, here
are 10 facts surrounding World Series of Fighting 32:
FACT 1: When Moraes enters the cage against Hill, four years, eight months and 12 days will have elapsed since his last defeat -- an arm-triangle choke submission loss to Deividas Taurosevicius under the Ring of Combat banner on Nov. 18, 2011.
FACT 2: Hill reached the quarterfinals on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series before being eliminated by Mike Wootten, a British Association of Mixed Martial Arts veteran who remains undefeated at 9-0. Neither man has set foot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s famed Octagon.
FACT 3: Reigning WSOF featherweight champion Alexander Almeida has 25-, 33-, 51-, 65-, 72- and 80-second finishes on his resume.
FACT 4: Team Alpha Male’s Lance Palmer was a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler (2007-10) at Ohio State University. Only two other Buckeyes in history, Tommy Rowlands (2001-04) and Logan Stieber (2012-15), have accomplished the feat.
FACT 5: AMC Pankration mainstay Caros Fodor compiled a 5-1 record in six Strikeforce appearances, an arm-triangle choke submission loss to Pat Healy the lone hiccup.
FACT 6: Ben Fodor, aka “Phoenix Jones,” won 15 of his 17 amateur bouts, including a five-round unanimous decision victory over Cody McKenzie in March 2008.
FACT 7: A decorated amateur wrestler, unbeaten Blackzilians prospect Phil Hawes won a national championship at Iowa Central Community College -- the same junior college program that gave rise to Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez.
FACT 8: The three men who have beaten Louis Taylor -- Bellator MMA vet Perry Filkins, former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Joe Riggs and American Kickboxing Academy rep Nate Moore -- own a cumulative record of 57-23.
FACT 9: The undefeated Hakeem Dawodu trains out of Champions Creed Martial Arts in Calgary, Alberta, where he sharpens his skills under trainer Brad Bird, a third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who once coached Nick Ring to a spot on the UFC roster.
FACT 10: Marat Magomedov boasts six submissions among his seven pro victories: two by rear-naked choke, two by triangle choke, one by kimura and one by armbar.
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