WSOF 9: Carl vs. Palhares set for March 29 at Hard Rock Las Vegas

(PRESS RELEASE) -- LAS VEGAS - The World Series of Fighting returns home to the fight capital of the world for "World Series of Fighting 9: Carl vs. Palhares."

World Series of Fighting, the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promotion, returns to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas on March 29 with a pair of championship titles on the line, as welterweight title holder Steve Carl (21-3) defends his belt against Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Rousimar Palhares (15-5) and bantamweight Marlon Moraes (12-4-1), a world-ranked top-10 contender, meets Josh Rettinghouse (10-2) for the promotion's inaugural 135-pound championship.

"We are very excited to be returning home for this incredible fight card," World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo said. "Steve Carl will have a real serious challenge ahead for the first defense of his welterweight title as he faces Rousimar Palhares, and Marlon Moraes vs. Josh Rettinghouse will be an incredible fight and a great way to crown our first bantamweight champion.

"We're working on a few more fights that we should be able to announce shortly, but fans are really going to love the lineup for this event, and great fights are guaranteed."

The 29-year-old Carl earned World Series of Fighting's welterweight belt in October with a dramatic, fourth-round submission win over Josh Burkman. The Iowa native has already earned three victories under the World Series of Fighting banner and currently boasts a seven-fight winning streak.

For his first title defense, Carl now meets submission expert and one of the most feared men in MMA, Rousimar Palhares. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist, the 33-year-old Palhares is a grappling master who has earned 11 of his 15 career wins by way of submission.

Meanwhile, Moraes has quickly established himself as one of world's best fighters at 135 pounds and has already earned four wins for the promotion after downing Carson Beebe, Brandon Hempleman, Tyson Nam and Miguel Torres. A former Muay Thai Brazilian national champion, Moraes currently trains under respected MMA legend Ricardo Almeida. The 25-year-old Moraes is currently ranked as the No. 8 bantamweight in the world by Fightmatrix.com.

Moraes now meets Washington's Rettinghouse. The 23-year-old made his World Series of Fighting debut in October, earning a hard-fought decision win over Olympic wrestling bronze medalist Alexis Vila. Rettinghouse has won his past eight fights, and eight of his 10 career victories have come by stoppage.

Additional fights will be announced shortly.

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 following preliminary bouts that stream on World Series of Fighting's official website, WSOF.com.

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.

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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.