World Series of Fighting 24 took place tonight (Saturday, October 17, 2015) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and it features some very violent and entertaining finishes plus a few surprises. Overall from a betting perspective, eight betting favorites won while three underdogs won based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Favorites That Won In the co-main event of the evening, Heavyweight champion Blagoi Ivanov successfully defended his title against Derrick Mehmen. Ivanov bloodied Mehmen up badly both in the first and second rounds before finishing him with a brutal onslaught near the end of the second frame to pick up a TKO victory. Ivanov came through as a -355 favorite (bet $355 to win $100) while Mehmen lost at +320 (bet $100 to win $320). In a lightweight fight, Nick Newell scored his second straight victory with a scrappy showing against Tom Marcellino. Despite being a huge betting favorite, Newell had his work cut out for him, repeatedly looking for takedowns while Marcellino attempted a hefty amount of submissions while trying to work in strikes. Both men faded down the stretch, but Marcellino wasn’t able to overcome losing the first two rounds as Newell picked up a close decision. Afterwards, the infamous one-armed fighter retired from mixed martial arts, going out on top. Newell held serve as a -750 favorite while Holder lost at +600. In a light heavyweight battle, UFC veterans Matt Hamill and Vinny Magalhaes had the quickest bout of the evening. Hamill appeared to rock Magalhaes in the opening minute but made a poor decision in dropping to the canvas after the Brazilian, where the former ADCC champion quickly latched on a kneebar to force “The Hammer” to tap out. Magalhaes picked up the win as a -360 favorite while Hamill was defeated as a +325 dog. In a flyweight title bout, Magomed Bibulatov defeated Donavon Frelow via a one-sided beatdown that included excellent takedowns, clinch work and some wild striking attacks to take all five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. Bibulatov came through as a massive -1100 favorite, while Frelow was defeated as a +900 underdog. In a featherweight bout, former champion Rick Glenn got back to his winning ways with an impressive knockout victory over veteran Adam Ward. Glenn cracked Ward with a huge walkoff shot early in the second round and didn’t need referee intervention to know it was over. Glenn cashed as a -800 favorite while Ward lost at +500. In a welterweight bout, Colton Smith picked up a pretty easy unanimous decision victory over Washington Nunes de Silva. De Silva had no answer for Smith’s relentless wrestling attack and was dominated for all three rounds as the judges easily sided with the former TUF winner. Smith came through as a -325 favorite while de Silva was a +250 dog. In a heavyweight scrap, former TUF semifinalist Patrick Walsh picked up a victory over Tyler King via one-sided unanimous decision. Walsh was able to dominate the fight with both his wrestling and his busy clinch work, easily taking all three rounds to pick up the nod from the judges. Walsh was victorious as a -450 betting favorite while King was +330. In a middleweight contest, Rex Harris squeaked by Justin Torrey via a close and slightly controversial split decision. According to most, both fighters traded rounds, with Torrey taking the first and third while Harris won the second frame, but the judges saw otherwise, as two awarded Harris the fight. Harris earned his fourth straight win, this time at -180 while Torrey was a +150 underdog. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, Jon Fitch earned the number one contender status for the vacant WSOF welterweight title by outgrinding former UFC middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami. Okami, who was making his welterweight debut, surprisingly couldn’t handle Fitch’s strong wrestling attack. After a close first round which could have gone either way, Fitch dominated rounds two and three with repeated takedowns. Despite Okami’s best efforts to get back to his feet, he was repeatedly put on his back by the American Kickboxing Academy veteran and the judges rewarded him with a unanimous decision nod. Fitch came through as a +135 underdog while Okami failed to deliver as a -145 betting favorite. In a featherweight number one contender fight, Alexandre Almeida was tenacious, earning a takedown on his second attempt against Saul Almeida before quickly transitioning to back control and a rear naked choke to force a tap in less than 90 seconds. Alexandre picked up the title shot as a slight -110 underdog while Saul Almeida was quickly defeated as a -120 favorite. In a closely contested featherweight bout, Bruce Boyington picked up a slightly controversial split decision victory over Rodrigo Almeida. Both men had their moments, but it appeared Almeida had done just enough with slightly better ground work, submission attempts and top position, but the judges barely sided with Boyington instead. Boyington picked up the win as a +215 dog while Almeida lost as a -275 favorite.
