World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II

World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II was a mixed martial arts event to be held September 18, 2015 (2015-09-18) in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. This event aired on NBCSN in the U.S and on Fight Network in Canada.

World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II
Promotion	World Series of Fighting
Date	September 18, 2015
Venue	Comerica Theatre
City	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Attendance	5,000
Event chronology
World Series of Fighting 22: Palhares vs. Shields World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II World Series of Fighting 24: Fitch vs. Okami

Background

The main event was a rematch for the WSOF Lightweight Championship between champion and Arizona native Justin Gaethje making his third defense of his title against challenger Luis Palomino. Their first fight at WSOF 19 ended in a TKO victory for Gaethje.^[1]

The co-main event featured the tournament final fight for the inaugural WSOF Light Heavyweight Championship between middleweight champion David Branch and Teddy Holder.^[1]

This event also was the debut of Chael Sonnen on commentary.^[2]

The fight between Estevan Payan and Isaac Vallie-Flagg was canceled after Vallie-Flagg sustained an elbow injury.

Results

Fight Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Justin Gaethje (c)	def.	Luis Palomino	KO (punches)	2	4:30	[a]
Light Heavyweight	David Branch	def.	Teddy Holder	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	2:21	[b]
Bantamweight	Timur Valiev	def.	Tito Jones	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Catchweight (160 lbs)	Phoenix Jones	def.	Roberto Yong	Submission (scissor choke)	1	3:09
Lightweight	Brian Foster	def.	LaRue Burley	KO (punch)	1	0:32
Preliminary Card (WSOF.com)
Middleweight	Vagab Vagabov	def.	Brian Grinnell	TKO (knees and punches)	2	2:29
Middleweight	Clifford Starks	def.	Krasimir Mladenov	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Matthew Frincu	def.	Danny Davis Jr.	Decision (split)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	David Nuzzo	def.	Andres Ponce	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Joey Miolla	def.	Randy Steinke	KO (head kick and punches)	2	3:55
Lightweight	Benny Madrid	def.	Jeff Fletcher	Submission (rear naked choke)	1	1:26

1. For the WSOF Lightweight Championship.
2. For the inaugural WSOF Light Heavyweight Championship.

^[3]

Tournament bracket

	Semifinals					Finals
	David Branch		SUB
	Jesse McElligott		2
						David Branch		SUB
						Teddy Holder		1
	Thiago Silva		TKO
	Teddy Holder		1

See also

• World Series of Fighting
• List of WSOF champions
• List of WSOF events