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WSOF 23 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Gaethje vs. Palomino II" event
Sep 18, 2015 - 11:15:54 PM WSOF 23 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Gaethje vs. Palomino II" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

WSOF 23
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
LIVE FROM PHOENIX, ARIZONA

We get an intro video package and it's time to kick things in gear. Todd Harris welcomes in Chael Sonnen and we've got fighters in the cage to start off the night.

FIGHT ONE: BRIAN FOSTER VS. LARUE BURLEY (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Foster connected on a body kick, then landed a few strikes in combination. Burley ducked under a strike and landed one, then Foster knocked him out cold with a right hand. Foster was winging strikes wildly, and though he connected on several he was at risk of counters. Burley was just even sloppier in this one and got caught by that right hand.

WINNER: Foster via KO at :32 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**) Not long enough to be much more than a highlight, but nice finish for Foster. He called out Gaethje after the bout, and said he wants to take part in the eight-man tournament coming up later this fall.


FIGHT TWO: PHOENIX JONES VS. ROBERTO YONG (160 LB. CATCHWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Jones rushed straight ahead, but Yong pressed him back with strikes. Jones got back in close for the clinch, looking for the takedown to no avail. Yong threw a few strikes and Jones clinched up briefly again. Yong connected on several strikes on the cage. Jones grabbed a front headlock after wildly returning fire. Jones connected on a big knee to the head, missed a few strikes, and went for the front headlock again. He went for the standing finish but lost it. Yong landed a few hard punches. He rocked Jones and pressed him to the cage. Jones threw some back wildly, landing one or two. Yong got in a few more strikes, but Jones recovered, shot in, picked him up, and scored a takedown into side control. He moved to north-south, then tried to attack for a kimura. He then went back to north-south and trapped Yong's head in a head scissors and he tapped. Yes. He tapped to a head scissors.

WINNER: Jones via submission (head scissor choke) at 3:09 of the first round

STAR RATING (*+) Low level MMA. Enjoyable enough for what it was, but that was not a display of anything remotely resembling an actually good MMA fight.


FIGHT THREE: TIMUR VALIEV VS. TITO JONES (BANTAMWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Somewhat slow start, then Valiev scored a spinning kick to the body. They traded punches, then went back to a bit of tentative work. Valiev was the aggressor to a point, but neither was throwing much. Valiev landed a body kick and ate a counter strike that he partially blocked. Jones caught a kick and knocked Valiev down with a left. He tried to rush in but Valiev recovered and smiled at Jones as he got back up. Jones caught another kick but didn't do anything with it. Valiev continued walking Jones down, but wasn't cutting him off and so he wasn't getting much actual offense in. He went for the spinning back fist but missed, then missed a knee. Valiev landed a hard leg kick. Jones got in a couple of counter-strikes, but he wasn't doing much as he continued moving around the cage. Valiev briefly closed distance for a body kick. Todd Harris actually compared Valiev's leg kicks to Jose Aldo just before the end of the round. I just... I mean...

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jones. The knockdown was the only effective piece of offense from either. This is a bad fight right now.

ROUND TWO: Valiev tried to close distance again but couldn't land much. He got in a couple of kicks, but Jones countered. Valiev missed a spinning back fist. They clinched briefly and he got in a couple of knees. Jones managed to land a couple of strikes as he got backed up. Valiev continued to throw kicks, though it was only a small percentage landing. Neither was really doing much of anything, with Valiev's "something" being only slightly more by the midway point. Valiev swung wildly and missed, then got hit by a strike. In the ensuing clinch, Valiev scored a takedown into Jones' guard. Valiev got in a little bit of offense, but Jones actually cut him open from the bottom with elbows. Valiev stayed wild, but wasn't landing a ton. He started connecting a bit more late and rode out the round on top.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Valiev. Jones did absolutely nothing in that round.

ROUND THREE: Valiev threw a wheel kick that missed by a mile. He got in a couple of kicks, then missed some punches. Very little happened over the next two minutes before some wild exchanges midway through the round. Valiev then scored another takedown, this time into half guard. Jones tried to get up but wound up on his back again with Valiev in side control. He tried to pass to mount but didn't get it, then threw down a few strikes late to finish out the fight.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Valiev. Slightly more action than the second. Still a bad fight.

WINNER: Valiev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (*) Wholly forgettable fight. Less said the better.


FIGHT FOUR: DAVE BRANCH VS. TEDDY HOLDER (WSOF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE)

ROUND ONE: Holder tossed out an opening right hand. After a tentative start, Branch grabbed a clinch and scored a quick takedown. Holder landed a couple of elbows from the bottom. Branch postured up and landed a few hard strikes. He used that to pass to side control. Holder tried to move out, but Branch landed a big strike. He transitioned to Holder's back in a scramble and went for the rear naked choke. Branch locked it on and forced the tap. There's your two-division WSOF Champ.

WINNER: Branch via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:21 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**-) Not much to it, really. Branch has been very good under the WSOF banner, and he was clearly the much more advanced ground fighter here. Another good performance for WSOF's Middleweight and now Light Heavyweight Champion.


MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: JUSTIN GAETHJE VS. LUIS PALOMINO (WSOF LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE)

ROUND ONE: Gaethje came out trying to walk Palomino down, but the challenger tossed out a right hand as he got close. They traded strikes at the cage. Gaethje got in a strike, but ate a big punch in return. Palomino hurt Gaethje with a big flurry. Gaethje was wobbled badly and Palomino dropped him again. Palomino erred in clinching, giving Gaethje time to recover. Gaethje tried to come forward again, but he was getting cracked still. He clinched again. He shot in for a takedown and completed it, slowing things down after being put in a bad spot early. Palomino worked easily back to his feet. Gaethje landed an elbow to break. Gaethje shot, gave it up, then floored Palomino with an uppercut! Gaethje started throwing strikes as Palomino turtled up. So little defense, but it leads to some crazy results. Gaethje landed some knees to the body. Palomino got to his feet, but Gaethje suplexed him back down hard. He unloaded some elbows from half guard, then backed off and let Palomino up with a minute left. Gaethje delivered a few kicks. Palomino connected with a couple of strikes. Gaethje missed a spinning kick and Palomino made him pay with a few strikes in combination. Gaethje landed a right hand. Palomino caught Gaethje low and action was halted with 15 seconds left in the round. They restarted almost immediately, and Gaethje came back ahead. He landed a leg kick, then ate a punch before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Gaethje. Picked up where they left off. All caution's been thrown out, so this won't be all that technical, but they're putting forth a crazy brawl once again.

ROUND TWO: Gaethje went to that spinning kick again as he tried to close distance. He landed another hard leg kick and covered up to block some counter-strikes. They traded punches. Palomino got in with a few quick combinations. Gaethje dropped Palomino on the cage and went for a front choke. He lost it and Palomino recovered in the clinch. Palomino got free without eating any more strikes. Gaethje stalked him across the cage. They both missed. Palomino got in a knee to the body. Gaethje landed an uppercut. He connected on a knee to the face. Gaethje got in some more knees in the clinch to the body, then added an elbow to the face. Palomino separated and they traded leg kicks. Gaethje landed a nice right hand, but Palomino just absorbed it. They traded punches at the cage. Gaethje kicked out Palomino's left leg. Palomino connected on a couple of strikes. Gaethje landed a couple more as he backed Palomino up. He barely missed an uppercut. Gaethje got in a knee to the body and a short combo. Gaethje connected on yet another leg kick. Palomino landed a hard body kick. Gaethje swung wildly and missed. Palomino missed, then Gaethje just put him out with a right hand. Gaethje dove down to keep it going and the ref gave Palomino a chance to get back, that led to a couple more punches before it was finally stopped. Shotgun blast to the jaw to finish that off.

WINNER: Gaethje via KO at 4:30 of the second round

STAR RATING: (****-) It was a blast to watch again, with an even more decisive finish than the first fight. Absolutely lacking in a semblance of defense, but those two absolutely know how to put on a sloppy brawl. Gaethje still gets hit way too much and it's going to hurt his career longevity, but man does he hit hard.

Thanks for joining us here tonight! We're back with live coverage tomorrow night for the Bellator MMA/Glory kickboxing "Dynamite 1" show on Spike!