World Series of Fighting 32: Moraes vs. Hill II preview

Here are the ins and outs for this Saturday’s World Series of Fighting 32 from Everett, Washington; including two title on the line and a brother vs. brother showdown,

Two titles will be up for grabs as the World Series of Fighting brand of MMA travels to Everett, Washington for WSOF 32 on July 30, 2016. The main event will see bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes look to continue his reign in a rematch with ‘Gentlemen’ Josh Hill. The WSOF featherweight belt will be on the line in the co-main event as Lance Palmer looks to recapture gold against the recently crowned Marcos Alexandre Campos de Almeida. The main card will kick off with a tough test for a top prospect followed by a family affair in a battle between brothers. Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 10:30 P.M. EDT for the WSOF 32 main card with the preliminary bouts streaming online at 7:00 P.M. EDT.

Main Card: 10:30 P.M. EDT on NBCSN

Marlon Moraes (16-4-1 MMA; 9-0 WSOF) vs. Josh Hill (14-1 MMA; 2-1 WSOF) II: Bantamweight Title

Elite talent Marlon Moraes has yet to taste defeat inside of the World Series of Fighting promotion. Nine straight promotional victories including four straight title defenses puts Moraes’ name towards the top of the list of the planet’s best bantamweights. The most resistance to Marlon’s reign came at the hands of one ‘Gentlemen’ Josh Hill at WSOF 18 back in February of 2015. Hill delivered some early damage to the nose of Moraes, however, the champion was able to overcome the adversity to win a unanimous decision victory.

Since their initial bout, Marlon Moraes has finished both Sheymon Moraes and Joeseph Barajas while Josh Hill has strung together four straight victories. Who will be more improved? Who will be better prepared?

Click HERE for Bloody Elbow’s interview with Josh Hill.

Here is WSOF president Ray Sefo and the currently retired Chael Sonnen on Moraes vs. Hill II:

Marcos Alexandre Campos de Almeida (18-5 MMA; 2-0 WSOF) vs. Lance Palmer (10-2 MMA; 3-2 WSOF) II: Featherweight Title

Team Alpha Male’s Lance Palmer recently dropped his featherweight crown in a close unanimous decision loss to Alexandre de Almeida at WSOF 26. Neither guy was able to put an exclamation point on the match and not everybody agreed with judges decision including WSOF president Ray Sefo who had this to say:

“When you’re the challenger, you got to come in there and you got to work and you got to take the belt from the champion. I didn’t feel like Almeida did that. I thought he controlled the center of the cage but I thought in terms of the striking part it was pretty even. Where I saw Lance Palmer win the fight was with his wrestling. He was able to take him down from time to time and there was a period where he controlled him. But again, there were a lot of times where Almeida scrambled and got up. It was a close fight. It was too close for Lance Palmer to lose his title.”

Click HERE for more of WSOF president Ray Sefo’s thoughts on the WSOF 32 event.

In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, Lance Palmer explained how he has stepped back from coaching to focus more on recapturing his WSOF featherweight crown. Will a more self-oriented training camp be the difference in this rematch, or will Alexandre de Almeida prove that his fighting style is superior to Palmer’s?

Here is WSOF president Ray Sefo and the potentially un-retiring Chael Sonnen on Almeida vs Palmer II:

Caros Fodor (10-5 MMA; 0-1 WSOF) vs. Ben Fodor (6-1-1 MMA; 1-1 WSOF): Catchweight of 162 lbs.

You have seen a set of brothers compete together on the big stage in MMA a time or two. Have you seen brothers compete against each other on the big stage? Well, at WSOF 32, brothers Caros and Ben Fodor are slated to face one another at a catchweight of 162 pounds.

The AMC Pankration trained Caros Fodor is looking for his first win inside of the WSOF as he is fresh off of a unanimous decision loss to Luiz Firmino at WSOF 27 back in January of this year. Fodor is looking to find the consistency he once found in his Strikeforce days to climb up the rankings in the World Series of Fighting. Click HERE forCaros Fodor’s thoughts on competing against his own brother.

Ben Fodor, also known as Seattle’s own superhero Phoenix Jones, is coming off of a highly entertaining first round Leg Scissor Choke of Roberto Young at WSOF 23 back in September of 2015. Since signing up to fight his older brother, Phoenix Jones has been rather public about the bad blood he shares with Caros. As brothers that usually train together will now be at odds, Ben Fodor has been tasked with training at a separate gym from his brother at AMC Pankration. Click HERE for Ben Fodor’s version of how this bout with his brosef came to be.

The Fodor brothers will be breaking an MMA barrier by competing against one another on an MMA big stage at WSOF 32. The event will be held in their backyard of Everett, Washington as the Fodor’s are set to square off in front of friends and family. In the name of sportsmanship, let’s hope these gentlemen can put aside their differences for long enough to have a clean and complete competition of mixed martial arts.

Louis Taylor (12-3 MMA; 1-0 WSOF) vs. Phil Hawes (4-0 MMA; 1-0 WSOF):Middleweight

It is a quick turn around for top middleweight prospect Phil Hawes as he is slated to face the finish heavy Louis Taylor. Hawes made his promotional debut for the World Series of Fighting last month at WSOF 31 by unleashing a barrage of elbows to obliterate Joshua Key in just 2:52 of the very first round. A much tougher test awaits the Jackson/Wink prospect in the form of the nearly 10 year veteran Louis Taylor. Taylor has won five straight matches, all of which came by first round stoppage. Will Phil Hawes be able to pass the test presented by the finish happy Louis Taylor?

Preliminary Card: Streaming Online at 7:00 PM EDT

Hakeem Dawodu (5-0-1) vs. Marat Magomedov (7-0-1) II

Rex Harris (9-2-0) vs. Nicolai Salchov (6-0-0)

Andrews Nakahara (4-3-2) vs. Travis Doerge (5-8-0)

Alfonso Gonzales (9-1-0) vs. Thomas Hoeper (5-2-0)

Matt Kovacs (11-16-0) vs. Bill Wilder (8-6-0)

Patrick Benson (2-0-0) vs. Brett Malone (1-0-0)

Matt Coble (9-7-0) vs. Colt Hausauer (5-4-0)

Justin Hugo (1-1-0) vs. Tycen Lynn (0-0-0)

Jon Marc Cortez (0-2-0) vs. Joey Elzea (0-1-0)

Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 10:30 P.M. EDT for the WSOF 32 main card with the preliminary bouts streaming online at 7:00 P.M. EDT. Follow Bloody Elbow for full event coverage including a live discussion, results, highlights, and more!

You can find all the up to date odds on WSOF 32 over on OddsShark