(PRESS RELEASE) -- LAS VEGAS (Feb. 18, 2014) - With a stacked main card already in place that includes two championship contests, World Series of Fighting 9's full lineup is now complete with the addition of six preliminary bouts.
"One of the great things about being based in Las Vegas is the proximity to so many of the world's absolute best MMA camps," World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo said. "With us returning to our home base for this amazing event, it made sense for us to feature some of the city's best talent, and I think we've put together a preliminary card that is going to deliver an entertaining evening ahead of our spectacular NBCSN-broadcast main-card lineup."
"World Series of Fighting 9: Carl vs. Palhares," which features a welterweight title fight between champ Steve Carl and challenger Rousimar Palhares, as well as Marlon Moraes vs. Josh Rettinghouse for the inaugural World Series of Fighting bantamweight title, takes place March 29 at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Tickets for World Series of Fighting 9, which start at just $39, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at The Joint box office or by phone at (800) 745-3000. The night's featured fights air live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT local time) following preliminary bouts that stream on World Series of Fighting's official website, WSOF.com.
Gruetzemacher, a member of The MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., brings an impressive 10-fight winning streak to the cage. He faces Gunderson, a Syndicate MMA fighter who drops to featherweight for the first time in his career in this, his 50th professional fight.
Cantor is a Wanderlei Silva product who earned a close split-decision win in his professional debut. He now returns against Xtreme Couture fighter and transplanted Hawaiian Hansen, who recently rebounded from his first professional loss with a TKO win over Jesus Alvarado.
Syndicate MMA fighter Dace fought most recently in May, where he downed Jesus Wong via TKO. He now meets "Dee 1" Davis, who currently boasts a two-fight winning streak.
Xtreme Couture's Jones remains one of Las Vegas' most personable fighters, and he looks to rebound from a November 2012 loss to Sergio Pettis. He faces the hard-hitting Morales, who has earned two quick wins since turning pro in August.
Xtreme Couture' Guardado followed up his undefeated amateur career by turning pro in March 2012 and is still unbeaten after picking up a pair of stoppage wins. Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA's Spicuzza is also unbeaten through the first two fights of his professional career.
Rounding out the card, Utah's Cowan travels to Las Vegas to meet Syndicate MMA's Williams in a bout where each man makes his professional debut.
About "World Series of Fighting" (WSOF) "World Series of Fighting" (WSOF) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow "World Series of Fighting" on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and "World Series of Fighting" President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.
About NBC Sports Network NBC Sports Network, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 80 million homes, the network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), IZOD IndyCar Series, Tour de France and the 34th America's Cup, and beginning in 2013, the Premier League and Formula One. In addition, NBC Sports Network features college football, college basketball, college hockey, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Action Sports Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, The Crossover, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk and The Dan Patrick Show. NBC Sports Network is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.
About Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is Las Vegas' off-strip playground, just minutes and less than three miles from McCarran International Airport. The premier destination entertainment resort is owned by Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund II and managed by WG-Harmon, LLC, a subsidiary of Warner Gaming, LLC. Built in 1995, the property completed a $750 million expansion in 2010. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino offers an energetic entertainment and gaming experience with the services and amenities associated with a boutique luxury resort hotel. The property is known for its innovative nightlife and music scene where acts such as The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, Incubus, Foo Fighters, Carlos Santana, Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses have all performed. Features of the property include an 11-story Casino Tower with 640 guest rooms, 17-story Paradise Tower with 490 rooms and suites and the all-suite HRH Tower with 359 suites, eight spa villas and seven penthouse suites; 72,000 square feet of casino space featuring Peacock High-Limit gaming and Asian gaming amenities; 80,000 square feet of flexible meeting and convention space; more than $4 million in rare music memorabilia; Body English Nightclub; Reliquary Water Sanctuary, Spa & Salon; 4.5 acres of tropical pool paradise housing world-famous pool parties REHAB Sunday and RELAX Monday; live music/entertainment venues The Joint and Vinyl; Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co.; restaurants Culinary Dropout, Nobu, The Ainsworth, 35 Steaks + Martinis, Pink Taco, Mr. Lucky's Café and 福Fú; a state-of-the-art fitness center and trendsetting retailers John Varvatos, Affliction, Love Jones, Rocks The Jewelers and Rock Paper Photo. For room availability and additional information call 800.HRD.ROCK (800.473.7625) or visit hardrockhotel.com. Follow Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and updates.