WSOF

Oh, what might have been.

On a spring night in Nevada, Rousimar Palhares latched onto the leg of World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Steve Carl, heel hooking his way to victory in 69 seconds to become champion himself.

Few men are able to withstand Palhares' unconventional approach to combat, and Carl was no different.

Palhares, something of an enigma and long embattled for his continuous injuring of opponents in MMA and grappling matches, arrived at the top of the heap in a welterweight division. Unfortunately, it's one where Steve Carl was the champion. It's one no one who isn't a hardcore fan would even see. It's one that's probably well beneath his considerable ability.

You see, the fine line of success for Palhares is one he's blurred repeatedly. His leglocks are nightmare fuel for opponents, either because they're nearly undefendable and will result in a loss without room for second chances, or because if he gets one in place it's highly likely that he'll let go when he's good and ready—not when an official intervenes.

He's left many a victim in his wake, a collection of guys hobbled because they didn't tap fast enough, or because Palhares elected to hold on for a while after they did. It's that attitude that cost him what could have been a real run in the UFC.

The world's biggest promotion was his home for 12 fights between 2008 and 2013, 11 of which took place at middleweight. The stocky Palhares, nicknamed Toquinho for his likeness to a Brazilian tree stump, went 8-4 there in an almost comically kill-or-be-killed run: get a leg, finish the fight in seconds. Don't, and get KO'd almost as quickly.

But it was his last fight—made so by a repeat offense of injuring an opponent seemingly on purpose—that raised eyebrows. Debuting at welterweight, he demolished the criminally underrated Mike Pierce in 31 seconds, snapping on a leglock and easily procuring a tap. And then another. And then another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYfe07LVDW4

After the event, he was released from the UFC for ignoring those taps, a gesture that left Pierce hobbled. Despite some pleading and some contrition that certainly seemed genuine, he accepted his jettison to the nether realm and signed with WSOF.

Still, fans were left to wonder: If he did that to someone as well-respected as Pierce, what could he have done with more time in the UFC? Especially now, with no GSP and a bunch of closely clustered contenders jockeying for position?

It's hard to say but fun to think about. With the division wide open and another year to get the weight cut down, Palhares might have fought one or two times since his last UFC appearance in 2013 and been in the title mix now.

Who wouldn't want to see him against Demian Maia or Jake Shields? Or against Nick Diaz or Robbie Lawler? Or even someone ranked a little lower, like Tarec Saffiedine or Gunnar Nelson?

Not to say he'd beat those guys, but wouldn't it be fun to watch? The frantic race of Palhares trying to lunge on a leg and break it off (maybe literally), while better proper mixed martial artists try to fend off the most abstract attack in the game long enough to impose their will?

There's no telling if it would be competitive, but it would damn sure be entertaining. And, that's just as big a part of MMA as anything else.

Palhares is no martyr. He did some dumb stuff—repeatedly—and he's paying the price with his ban from the biggest promotion in town. He's landed on his feet by becoming a WSOF champion, but it's hard not to wonder what might have been had the most intriguing part of his UFC run not been cut short so quickly.

What might have been, indeed.

When Rousimar Palhares' name is on the card, anything can happen. And it usually does.

The powerful Brazilian grappling ace rose to prominence as one of the most feared submission fighters in the middleweight ranks, and he has carried that mystique with him into welterweight waters since his transition into the weight class in 2013.

"Toquinho's" ability to end a fight with a leglock is well-known, but his inconsistency when it comes to letting go of those submissions has brought on trouble for the Team Nogueira fighter.

The 34-year-old veteran was released from the UFC when he held a fight-ending heel hook he had locked on Mike Pierce well past the moment when the fighter tapped out. The incident added another strange chapter to the Brazilian's career, and on Saturday night, he was hoping to get things back on track when he made his promotional debut at WSOF 9.

The task he would face under in his new organization was to derail welterweight champion Steve Carl, who became the inaugural champion in his previous outing. The two fighters squared off in the main event at WSOF 9, and Palhares wasted no time in adding another leglock submission to his collection and a new world title to put around his waist.

Carl tried to start things off with a haymaker, but Palhares put him on his back as soon as the action got under way. After playing in Carl's closed guard for a minute, Palhares dropped back and latched onto the champion's heel. While Carl attempted to spin out of the hold, the Brazilian locked on the inverted heel hook, and the fight ended shortly thereafter.

While the co-main event featured two of the more established names under the WSOF banner, the bout put the spotlight on one of the fastest-rising bantamweight stars on the MMA landscape in Marlon Moraes. The 25-year-old Brazilian locked up with Josh Rettinghouse to determine the first 135-pound champion for WSOF, and a barrage of leg kicks sealed the deal for Moraes.

Moraes spent the entire fight chopping away at the lead leg of Rettinghouse until his opponent submitted. He made it a long night for his opponent. In victory, Moraes takes home the WSOF bantamweight title and Rettinghouse's left leg for his mantle.

The Good

After being banned from the UFC for refusing to let go of a submission hold he had locked on Mike Pierce, Palhares needed a special performance on Saturday night to regain some of the shine to his name.

The Brazilian leglock ace brought his suspect reputation into his promotional debut at WSOF 9 and made quick work out of welterweight champion Steve Carl in the process.

"Toquinho" landed a takedown in the opening seconds of the fight and then waited patiently for his opportunity to grab hold of one of Carl's legs. Once the opportunity presented itself, Palhares locked on and forced Carl to tap in rapid fashion.

With the victory, he becomes the champion of what is arguably WSOF's deepest division. He will face former perennial UFC contender Jon Fitch later this year in what will be an interesting stylistic matchup between two of the top grapplers in the welterweight ranks. 

The majority of recognizable names on the WSOF roster originally made their bones in other promotions, but bantamweight Marlon Moraes has the potential to be the organization's first homegrown star.

The 25-year-old Brazilian has been lights-out since signing with WSOF in 2012. He was undefeated under the promotional banner coming into his title bout with Rettinghouse on Saturday night.

While the bout ultimately went the distance, it was as one-sided as it gets, as Moraes brutalized his opponent's lead leg with monster kicks early and often. Rettinghouse may have survived the entire 25 minutes, but that is all he did in the fight.

With the victory, Moraes has now been successful for seven consecutive showings, including all five of his outings for WSOF. He is quickly picking up steam as he's becoming recognized as one of the best bantamweight fighters on the planet. He will likely hold the 135-pound gold for WSOF for quite some time. 

It doesn't matter which promotion he's fighting for, Yushin Okami is absolutely one of the best middleweight fighters in the world.

MMA fans were shocked when "Thunder" was released by the UFC last year after a loss to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza broke up a three-fight winning streak. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old Japanese fighter was released from his Zuffa contract, and WSOF swooped in to scoop him up.

The savvy veteran made his promotional debut on Saturday night and mopped up fellow newcomer Svetlozar Savov in the process. After hammering Savov from the top mount for the entire first round, Okami continued to drop punishment on the Bulgarian before finishing the fight via arm-triangle choke midway through the second round.

With the victory, Okami has now been successful in four of his last five showings and will be a front-runner to get a shot at the WSOF middleweight title. Where he was the "Samurai Guardian" to the 185-pound crown under the UFC banner, he could have a long reign as the middleweight king of WSOF.

Josh Burkman has been experiencing a career resurgence under the WSOF banner. "The People's Warrior" floated around the MMA landscape for several years, fighting for numerous promotions before landing with the Las Vegas-based organization in 2012.

After finding victory in his first three showings for WSOF, the 33-year-old Utah-based fighter came up short against Carl back in October, and that brought an end to a five-fight winning streak.

He was looking to get things rolling again on Saturday night, and he did so by blistering Tyler Stinson with a smashing right hand in the first round.

Burkman put Stinson on the canvas with a haymaker and then sent his opponent's eyes rolling back in his head with an uppercut to finish things off. While Stinson is far from the biggest name in the welterweight ranks, Burkman's victory will keep him in the WSOF title hunt as a major player at 170 pounds.

The Bad

While the fights taking place inside the cage are ultimately the entertainment for MMA fans to consume, the team calling the action cageside is a huge part of the presentation. In other words, the men who are making the call are a crucial part of the show. Unfortunately, Todd Harris and Bas Rutten just aren't getting the job done for WSOF.

The team has put on some lackluster showings in the past, but their call on Saturday night was nothing short of awful. While Rutten's experience is legendary, his inconsistency on the mic is tough to deal with. In some fights, he pays attention; in others, he simply doesn't. That can't happen if WSOF wants to be taken seriously. The sad thing is, that is far from the worst part.

Despite Harris having years of experience doing his job, he continues to botch things in a major way when calling WSOF shows. In addition to flubbing several live calls during the broadcast, he continuously put forth factually incorrect information.

Fans watching the show learn about fighters from what the commentary team adds to the broadcast, and Harris is apparently pulling the information he uses from outer space.

If Ray Sefo wants to keep his promotion on the upswing, a total reconstruction of the commentary team is in order.

While Harris pulled enough gaffs to fill up this category on his own, referee Jason Herzog earned a mention for the way he handled the co-main event between Moraes and Rettinghouse. By the end of the third round, the Brazilian wrecking machine had smashed Rettinghouse's lead leg to bits to the point where he was dropping to the canvas with every kick that was thrown.

Fighter safety is the key reason for the referee being inside the cage, and with Rettinghouse obviously injured, Herzog needed to step in and end the fight.

Fighters by their very nature are too tough for their own good, and it is the referee's responsibility to protect fighters from themselves. But as Rettinghouse repeatedly winced, limped, dropped and hobbled around the cage, Herzog stood by and allowed the fight to continue.

It was a bad look from Herzog, who is typically a solid third man in the cage on most nights.

The Strange

Gift giveaways in the world of MMA are nothing new, but no organization does it more strangely than WSOF.

The promotion created one of the most awkward moments in recent history last year when Joey Varner attempted to present knockout machine Tyrone Spong with a Boost Mobile phone he had won. The "King of the Ring" had just finished adding another victim to his growing list, and Varner did his best to get Spong to care about the Boost Mobile phone.

Spong looked at Varner and then at the phone for a moment—and then confusion reigned supreme.

While there was no Boost Mobile incident on Saturday night, WSOF sponsor Shout 2 Win's attempt to give away a Ducati motorcycle was nearly as strange. During the live television broadcast, the CEO of Shout joined Varner on camera to talk about the contest that was under way, and after a rough minute of explanation, nothing was made clear.

Maybe the motorcycle would be won by a fighter? Maybe the motorcycle would be won by a fan in attendance or at home? The only thing made clear was that someone would be winning the spectacular piece of machinery...well, maybe.

Of course, the only thing that could make that situation more curious would be Harris chiming in, which he absolutely did, only serving to make the moment more "sideshow" than it already was.

In the description of the contest, they never once mentioned where the winner would be announced. Would it be on the broadcast or online? Who knows, and that lack of clarity qualifies the contest for this particular category.

Another element of the show that could have been cast into the "bad" category was the WSOF 9 card matchmaking.

The promotion has catered to the bigger names on the roster with squash matches at previous events, and that trend didn't necessarily stop on Saturday night. That said, this aspect of the event wasn't nearly as bad as it had been at recent shows, as former UFC middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami was the only high-profile fighter to have an unknown opponent.

It is understandable that the young promotion's lack of depth would create these situations, but the window of allowance for such things is coming to a close. WSOF has now instituted a belt system to crown champions, and the weight classes are filling out nicely.

In order to keep things moving in the right direction going forward, Ray Sefo and Ali Abdel-Aziz need to match their stars up with opponents who either make sense or carry equal status in the fight game.

Duane Finley is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

The World Series of Fighting promotion brought out several of its biggest names, old and new, for WSOF 9, held Saturday in Las Vegas.

Rousimar Palhares, who was banned from the UFC last fall amid allegations he held onto a dangerous submission hold for too long, didn't even need half a round to submit Steve Carl with his patented heel hook and take the WSOF welterweight title in his debut for the promotion. 

But the Palhares win was, again, met with some controversy on social media. He appeared to hold the heel hook once again for just a beat longer than was necessary. Fighters are coached to maintain a submission hold until the referee stops the fight, but referee Yves Lavigne seemed compelled to push for an extra instant on Palhares, who in turn appeared to ignore Carl's tapping hand. 

In any event, Palhares won the fight and the title, and he moves to 16-5 as a pro.

You need your eyes examined if you think Palhares broke the hold as soon as Yves touched him. Yves struggled at first attempt.

— FrontRowBrian (@FrontRowBrian) March 30, 2014

Palhares was still going 300% on that sub when Lavigne stepped in. After two Carl taps. Given his history, it looked bad to me. #wsof

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 30, 2014

In the evening's co-main event, bantamweight phenom Marlon Moraes continued to steamroll, winning his seventh straight bout and becoming the first man to don the WSOF bantamweight strap with a dominant decision win over Josh Rettinghouse.

Moraes hurt Rettinghouse with punches and then leg kicks. Down the stretch, Rettinghouse had difficulty moving and even standing, falling to the mat more than once in pain and in the vain hope of initiating a ground exchange. While it seemed the referee or Rettinghouse's corner could have justifiably ended the bout, he continued to the final horn.

Doctor and ref check on Rettinghouse in the corner again. And send him back out along w/ his corner. Because MMA

— Brent Brookhouse (@brentbrookhouse) March 30, 2014

Palhares wasn't the only UFC veteran making his WSOF debut Saturday. Yushin Okami was in the same boat, and he made the most of a fairly easy matchup by submitting Svetlozar Savov via second-round choke-out. Okami spent much of the bout to that point in full mount, and the fight was never seriously in question.

Also on the main card, Josh Burkman returned to the winner's circle after losing to Carl in October for the vacant WSOF welterweight title. Burkman landed a heavy lead right hook that dropped well-regarded youngster Tyler Stinson and then closed him out by swooping down with a single ground strike that shut off Stinson's lights.

That was the classic "take this one with ya" from Burkman.

— Duane Finley (@DuaneFinleyMMA) March 30, 2014

Here are the full results from the evening:

Main Card

Division	Fighters and Result	Method
Middleweight	Rousimar Palhares def. Steve Carl	Submission (heel hook), 1:09, Rd. 1
Bantamweight	Marlon Moraes def. Josh Rettinghouse	Unanimous decision
Middleweight	Yushin Okami def. Svetlozar Savov	Submission (arm-triangle choke), 4:46, Rd. 2
Welterweight	Josh Burkman def. Tyler Stinson	KO, 2:15, Rd. 1
Lightweight	Jonathan Nunez def. Ozzy Dugulubgov	Split decision

Preliminary Card

Division	Fighters and Result	Method
Featherweight	Mike Corey def. Shane Kruchten	Submission (rear-naked choke), 2:59, Rd. 2
Bantamweight	Bryson Hansen def. Sean Cantor	TKO, 0:46, Rd. 1
Featherweight	Chris Gruetzemacher def. John Gunderson	Unanimous decision
Featherweight	Brenson Hansen def. Boostayre Nefarios	Unanimous decision
Welterweight	Danny Davis def. Phil Dace	Unanimous decision
Lightweight	Jimmy Spicuzza def. Gil Guardado	Submission (rear-naked choke), 3:14, Rd. 1

World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Steve Carl walks the walk. 

In an age when fighters are quick to call out opponents on Twitter and engage in verbal sparring online without repercussion, Carl backs away from his smartphone and computer, buttons his big-boy pants and lives up to his status as the WSOF welterweight champion. 

Nothing exhibited these traits more than Carl's recent decision to accept a fight with UFC castoff Rousimar Palhares, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist with a checkered history of cranking submissions well beyond the referee's stoppage in fights, in practice and in grappling competitions. 

Now under the WSOF banner, Palhares finds himself thrust into title contention, and he is set to take on Carl March 29 at WSOF 9. 

Carl admits that he was not thrilled about this matchup, but dangerous fights come with the territory when one is champion, and he must accept all responsibilities and burdens that come with the shiny belt. 

"He's a bad matchup for me, and he's a dirty fighter," Carl told Bleacher Report. "But at the same time, I am the champion now, and I have to be willing to fight anybody." 

When Palhares' signing was announced to the public, one of the promotion's top welterweights, Jon Fitch, boldly exclaimed that he simply would not fight the Brazilian ground ace. 

Talking to MMAoddsbreaker's Brian Hemminger, Fitch said,  "It [a fight with Palhares] would be the first time in my career that I turned down a fight.”

Carl said that he felt the same about the prospect of facing Palhares inside the cage. 

"I absolutely thought twice, and I'm 100 percent on board with Fitch," Carl said. "I kind of wanted to jump on board with him [Fitch] and say, 'I don't want to fight that guy.'" 

To Carl's delight, he was initially offered a bout against Fitch, not Palhares, for his first WSOF title defense. 

However, the promotion offered him that matchup in June, and Carl expressed interest in fighting sooner. He had snagged the belt from Josh Burkman at WSOF 6 in October 2013, and he wished to stay active and keep in the groove of fighting every few months. 

June was just too far away, and the WSOF brass reassembled, whipped up a plan and offered their champ a new fight. 

Palhares. 

Despite his initial reluctance, Carl said yes, and the WSOF 9 main event was booked. 

"I'm the champion now, and I have to be willing to fight anybody," Carl said. "When they offered me that fight, regardless, if I beat Fitch, I'm going to have to fight him [Palhares] anyway. Besides, I was requesting to fight sooner, and that's what they offered me."

The welterweight titleholder said that he does not have a strict game plan heading into this bout with Palhares. Rather than fearing his opponent's strengths on the ground, he is focusing on what he can do and where he can impose his will. 

And there's one area in particular where Carl feels he holds a significant advantage. 

"I would definitely like to use my hands," Carl said. "If he gets a little too confident and sticks his head out there a little too far, I think I can put him to sleep." 

Should Carl seize victory at WSOF 9 and emerge unscathed, a fight with Jon Fitch looms in July. 

This is a fight that Carl has already thought about, and it's one that he eagerly anticipates. 

"I have to go through Palhares to get it, but I think I match up really well with Fitch," Carl said. "I think it'd be not only a good win, but it'd be a hard-fought fight. It'd be action-packed, and everyone would love watching it." 

For now, a limb-snatching, Hulk of a man who goes by "Toquinho" stands in Carl's path. It's not a fight that the WSOF champion awaits with the same giddiness that he feels for a showdown with Fitch, but it's part of his job. 

And to him, that's all that matters. 

It’s the North Caucasian Invasion. 

Easy enough to label it something else. You know, slap it with the Russian Revolution moniker, then tie it up in a neat collection of archetypes involving bears and Aleksandr Karelin and nursery rhymes with huntsmen in them.

It’s easy, but it’s like a lot of easy things in that it’s not correct. Ozzy Dugulubgov, for one, wants to make that clear.

“I’m not Russian.”

Yes, Ozzy (born “Azamat”) Dugulubgov was born in Russia. But he was also born in the North Caucasus region, an area that was annexed by the Russians in the 19th century and has remained politically turbulent more or less ever since.

Like most fighters from that part of the world, Dugulubgov draws a bright dividing line between his homeland and the nation that controls it. Their common ground stretches to fighting, too; Dugulubgov is the latest in a string of elite North Caucasian MMA prospects.

In Dugulubgov’s case, the mark is being made in the lightweight division of the World Series of Fighting promotion. He fights Jonathan Nunez Saturday at WSOF 9, and if he wins, he’ll be 6-1 as a pro, five for his last five and 3-0 in WSOF. That’s title contender territory.

“This is the third fight in WSOF for me, and if I win it, it will bring me closer to a new stage and closer to the title shot,” Dugulubgov said.

The 25-year-old Dugulubgov (6-1) is certainly focused on that fight. Nunez is a former D-1 college wrestler, and will test Dugulubgov in that phase. But it’s Ozzy's homeland that really gets him talking.

It isn't exactly front-page news that misconceptions exist about places like the stridently Muslim North Caucasus region, which includes the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan and has recently turned out MMA phenoms like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rustam Khabilov and Frodo Khasbulaev, among others. With mild manners but clear conviction, Dugulubgov addresses those misconceptions, comparing the ethnic groups of North Caucasus with one that might be more familiar to the Western world.

“We’re almost like Native Americans,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “We were natives of that area. At the end of the day, now we’re part of Russia. But we’re still a different people…I used to get so pissed when people called me Russian. But now I understand that’s just the way it is a lot of times. People don’t always understand what goes on, and I get that."

It has been five years since Dugulubgov left his parents, friends and hometown of Baksan, located in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, for the United States. He ultimately settled in New Jersey with his two younger siblings, for whom he is now the legal guardian.

“Family is important,” Dugulubgov said with the kind of gravitas that you probably don’t have unless you’ve done something like move half a world away from your parents and assume legal guardianship of your two younger siblings. “I miss my parents and my extended family. I would love to have them around me. When I have a day off, I love to spend time with my younger brother and sister. They live here, but I don’t see them much because I’m training all the time.”

That’s about all the softness you’re going to get out of Dugulubgov (6-1), especially if you’re another fighter. Although he touts a well-rounded skill set—honed in part by a wrestling-champ father and training with Renzo Gracie for the past three years—his bread and butter is taekwondo-based striking, an unusual weapon among the North Caucasian contingent. But unlike other MMA fighters with a deep background in the karate branch of martial arts, Dugulubgov doesn't nibble around the edges. He maintains distance but pounces on openings with extreme prejudice. The approach has netted him two knockout victories as a pro and a reputation as a precise headhunter. 

He also attacks with a combination of calm and ferocity that's probably unique to the North Caucasus and Russian contingents. What about the region’s warrior combat poet spirit people are always referencing? Turns out that’s more than just an abstract nod to a fable or the region's recent military history.

“Fighting and being an athlete and being able to defend yourself was so important growing up. You have to know how to wrestle, and you have to be athletic,” Dugulubgov says. “Everyone who was even a little chubby, it was a big deal. In first grade, on up through the grades, people are always separating you out based on your level. You always had to face the challenge from your friends and those around you. Almost every day, you’d go back to the train tracks and there would be someone fighting each other. Sometimes in the early years, you fight your friend, but then you build a bond. All my friends, I fought them all.”

And he’s not done shedding light on the area. What about that quiet attitude of fighters from the region?

“Sometimes people say while I’m sparring or fighting, they say ‘Ozzy, kick his ass!’” he said. “But one of the things I grew up on was a style on the street where you really watch what you say. You say ‘your mother is this or that,’ and they will cut your head off. We don’t threaten each other. If I tell someone else I’m going to kill them tomorrow, you have to go do what you say.”

Dugulubgov may not be inclined to talk, but he says he doesn’t miss it.

“The way I see it is, why do you have to have so much thunder in your mouth if you have God in your heart and lightning in your hand?”
 

The Beaten Path series highlights the top prospects in MMA. For the previous article in the series, click here. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter.

The World Series of Fighting is setting a new standard for the way MMA fans across the globe consume their events online. 

In a recent press release, the organization announced that WSOF 9—and all future events—will be streamed for free internationally on NBCSports.com. 

There will be no validation for a television subscription to NBC Sports; users will simply select whether they are international or U.S. viewers, and the card will be open for their enjoyment, according to WSOF publicist Danny Brener. 

In addition, Brener told Bleacher Report via text message that, while the vast majority of the card will be seen online, the first two bouts of the night will not be available for streaming. That means that bouts Nos. 3 through 11 will be shown, which includes the co-main and main events. 

This is huge news for us, as well as for our fans in the U.S. as well all around the world, World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo said. I am constantly receiving emails and tweets from fans who are eager to be able to watch our fights, and I'm so proud to finally offer them this opportunity. It's been my mission since day one to have these amazing fights playing in homes all around the world, and this is a massive step in that direction!

World Series of Fighting 9 will be the first card to test this new means of consumption, and the WSOF brass assembled a nice slate of fights for its inaugural run. 

The welterweight championship will be on the line, as champion Steve Carl faces ex-UFC fighter Rousimar Palhares in the night's main event. 

In addition, Marlon Moraes will battle Josh Rettinghouse for the inaugural WSOF bantamweight championship, and ex-UFC middleweight Yushin Okami makes his promotional debut against Svetlozar Savov. 

The event takes place March 29 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and the stream will begin at on NBCSports.com at 7 p.m. EST. 

The World Series of Fighting 9 main event between welterweight champion Steve Carl and newly acquired ex-UFC fighter Rousimar Palhares is in jeopardy. 

On a conference call Tuesday afternoon, WSOF senior executive vice president and matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed that the Nevada State Athletic Commission requested additional drug testing for Palhares before the showdown. 

He failed a drug test after his UFC on Fox 6 loss to Hector Lombard, and while Abdel-Aziz believes the test will come back clean, he is preparing for the worst. 

"We'll get the result the Wednesday before the fight [March 26]," Abdel-Aziz said during the conference call. "We wish we had more notice, but I'm not worried about Rousimar not being clean. He was clean for his last fight. I'm very sure he's a clean fighter, but if anything bad happens, I have a backup for Steve Carl. Steve Carl will fight regardless."

While Abdel-Aziz said he is thankful that the NSAC is strictly testing fighters, he admitted that this last-second decision on their end caused a bit of tension for the organization and for the WSOF 9 main event.

"I'm almost 100 percent sure he [Palhares] is going to come back clean," Abdel-Aziz said. "To be honest with you, I support that they test 100 percent. I think all fighters should be tested. But please give me a heads up or a notice." 

Regarding this matter, Carl said that he is ready for anything that comes his way. If he's fighting Palhares, that's fine, but if Palhares fails his drug test, Carl is prepared to step into the cage on March 29 and put on a show.

"On short notice, you can't really prepare for anything," Carl said. "You just have to be ready for anything, and that's what I am. If it comes down to where Palhares can't fight and Ali has a backup plan for me, then it looks like I'm going to fight the backup plan, no questions asked." 

As for Abdel-Aziz's backup plan? 

Welterweight contender Tyler Stinson, who fights Josh Burkman in a featured bout on the WSOF 9 card, chimed in during the call, saying that he was next in line for Carl if Palhares cannot compete.

"Yesterday, I woke up, and there was an article on Sherdog, and it says on there that—I think it was Ali—said that if Palhares' things don't go through, then I get bumped up," Stinson told Bleacher Report. "In this whole mix-up with the drug testing, I think I'm the guy that it doesn't affect at all. Either I fight the guy I've been training for or I get to fight for the title against a guy I almost beat. Either way, I make out the best." 

Stinson and Carl previously fought at Bellator 26 in August 2010, when Carl won via first-round technical submission due to a guillotine choke. 

Despite Carl's decisive victory, Stinson found success in the bout, nearly cinching up a fight-ending triangle choke on multiple occasions. On top of that, both fighters have evolved since that time, and Stinson feels that no matter what the WSOF decides for him come March 29, he is ready to capitalize on the moment. 

"The first time I fought Steve, we had about four days notice, so this won't be any different," Stinson said. "The fact that I might get bumped up is so exciting. This sport's too dangerous to look for some fights here and there. I'm trying to be the best in this world...Either I get to knock out Burkman, or I get to win the title, so either way, I make out the best out of all of us." 

Stinson said that he did not speak directly to Abdel-Aziz or WSOF president Ray Sefo about the shuffle, but he mentioned that he is mentally preparing for the moment and will be ready if they call his name before March 29. 

Stay tuned as more details emerged regarding Palhares' drug test and the WSOF 9 main event. 

Ray Sefo has that itch again.

The 43-year-old former kickboxing champion, ex-MMA fighter and current president of the World Series of Fighting MMA promotion said in an interview Friday that he may return to professional kickboxing as soon as this year.

"I just got a text not too long ago from Ernesto Hoost," Sefo said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. "He's looking to fight again. He asked me if I was interested and I said, 'Yes, 100 percent.'"

As it happens, Hoost, 48, recently came out of an eight-year retirement, announcing on his personal Facebook page that he will face Thomas Stanley March 23 at a Japanese event known as the Hoost Cup. Sefo may join him later this year, though according to Sefo, the two will not face each other.

In February, Hoost broached the idea to Sefo on Twitter, and Sefo reciprocated with his own expression of interest:

@ernestohoost65 Nice let know my friend!!

— Ray Sefo (@SugarRaySefo) February 9, 2014

According to Sefo, nothing is official, but informal conversations are ongoing. Sefo guessed that such a fight might happen later this year in Japan, potentially as part of a Hoost Cup event. 

Sefo has not entered the kickboxing ring since 2012, and he hasn't competed extensively since 2008. In August 2013, he returned to the MMA cage to face Dave Huckaba, a bout he lost by TKO. The fight happened under the banner of Sefo's WSOF and helped foster interest in the card, particularly among hardcore combat sports fans.

Sefo is only 2-2 in MMA, but he's 56-22-1 in his kickboxing career, during which he captured several world titles. He is also a multi-time World Muay Thai champion.

Questions of safety and competitive validity will inevitably arise whenever an older fighter returns to the cage. Sefo, for one, is undeterred, emphasizing that he never officially retired and would like to fight two more times, once in Japan, where he first became a celebrity and earned many of his biggest kickboxing wins, and once in New Zealand, where he was born and raised.

"I'd like to fight in Japan one more time and New Zealand one more time," Sefo said. "I've never said I was done. We'll see how I feel. I know we can't do this forever. But I'm in the gym every day, either coaching or training. I feel good. I live very healthy. I still have the hunger and the itch and the passion to compete. I definitely would like to fight again."

UPDATE: This report previously stated that Sefo would be fighting Hoost. While the two have been discussing Sefo's return to fighting, there are no plans for the two to fight.

Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. 

You barely need to watch it; the audio has everything you need. 

Ryan Ford, a promising if controversial welterweight prospect, poured a few gallons of rocket fuel on the inaugural World Series of Fighting Canada card Friday night with an absolutely brutal flash knockout of Joel Powell. 

The clean KO came only 53 seconds into the first round of the evening's main event. With the win, Ford became the first welterweight champion for WSOF Canada, the North-facing offshoot of the World Series of Fighting promotion.

Out of nowhere, Ford fired a front kick that slammed home with a loud cracking sound right under Powell's chin. The Edmonton, Alberta crowd immediately went wild. 

Although the card went down on Feb. 21, it will not air until Feb. 28 because of Winter Olympics conflicts. In the United States, the card will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

The win moved the 31-year-old Ford to 22-4 as a professional fighter. It was Ford's sixth victory in a row and 10th in his last 11. He has also notched wins over fairly well-known fighters like Karo Parisyan, Luis Santos and Pete Spratt.

In 2003, Ford was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a home invasion in Alberta. It is safe to say that incident hampered his MMA career and rendered him damaged goods in the eyes of many in and around the sport.

In 2011, Ford signed with Aggression MMA—which WSOF purchased in September and changed to WSOF Canada—after a protracted contract battle with Maximum Fighting Championship, another Canadian promotion. He also lost the second half of 2013 to a broken arm.

However, Ford now appears to be back on the straight and narrow. Ford twice competed in Bellator in 2012, going 2-0 under that banner with wins over Santos and Kyle Baker. Ford has not competed for Bellator since, and though he has previously indicated he is not overly interested in fighting again for Bellator, his reasons are murky.

Ford is presumably interested in putting past controversies behind him. Performances like Friday's scintillating knockout will surely help him accomplish that.

Scott Harris writes about MMA, including fighter prospects, for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter. 

Nick Newell might not challenge newly-minted World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title, after all. 

Recent reports indicated that the lightweight standout Newell had been granted a title shot against Gaethje, but WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz said nothing is official just yet. 

"I said this is a fight, I think Nick Newell deserves it, but I have to talk to both camps," Abdelaziz told Bleacher Report. "It's going to be a timing issue." 

Newell last fought at WSOF 7, where he submitted Sabah Fadai in Round 1 via guillotine choke. The win placed Newell in the lightweight title picture, but Abdelaziz said he does not know if Newell and his camp would be willing to wait until the summer for a potential showdown with Gaethje. 

"I don't know if Nick Newell will want to wait this long—until June or July," Abdelaziz said. "I just have to be sure both guys agree and it fits our TV schedule. It has to make sense all around because it's such a big fight. It would go down in the summer, but it's not confirmed yet." 

Newell, for his part, said he is open to any road that leads him to the title. 

"Yeah, absolutely (I'd wait for the title shot)," Newell told Bleacher Report. "I'm willing to fight him; it's just whenever they book it. If I have to beat somebody else first to get a title shot, I'll do that, too. I'm down with whatever."

At 11-0 with 10 first-round finishes, Newell boasts a championship resume. 

A fight with Gaethje, however, would represent the toughest test of Newell's career to this point, and the consequences of this showdown could either completely legitimize his spotless record or cause detractors to point out that he was over-hyped all along. 

If Newell and Abdelaziz get their way, we will find out this summer in what will be a hotly-anticipated lightweight showdown between two undefeated juggernauts.