UFC Veteran Justin Buchholz Added To WSOF 16 Event

Already featuring a star-studded lineup with two championship fights, including welterweight kingpin Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch and featherweight title holder Rick Glenn vs. Lance Palmer, “World Series of Fighting 16: Palhares vs. Fitch” now has two more action-packed matchups.

The two new main-card contests include featherweights Brenson Hansen (7-2) vs. Josh Berkovic (5-0) and welterweights “Lethal” Lewis Gonzalez (9-1) vs. Justin Buchholz (15-8).

“From start to finish, I think this might be the most exciting card we’ve ever put together for NBCSN,” World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo said. “The two championship fights are absolutely incredible, and Sheymon Moraes vs. Gabriel Solorio looks like a fantastic matchup, as well. Now we’re seeing a superstar-in-the-making in Brenson Hansen meet an undefeated challenger looking to build his own name in Josh Berkovic. Then you have top prospect Lewis Gonzalez returning to the World Series of Fighting decagon against a battle-tested fan-favorite in Justin Buchholz.

“I think we’re in for a very special night of fights.”

“World Series of Fighting 16: Palhares vs. Fitch” takes place this Saturday, December 13, at McClellan Conference Center in Sacramento, California. The evening’s NBCSN-broadcast main card kicks off 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, at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT local time).

Tickets for the event, which start at just $50, are available at WSOF.com.

Hawaii’s Brenson Hansen now lives in Las Vegas and trains at the world-famous Xtreme Couture camp. Just 25 years old, Hansen has already compiled a 3-1 record fighting for World Series of Fighting, debuting with a spectacular flying-knee knockout of Tom Marcellino before bookending victories over Boostayre Nefarios and Josh Montalvo around a contentious split-decision loss to Freddy Assuncao.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Josh Berkovic is fresh off his stint as a coach of Team Melendez on “The Ultimate Fighter 20: A Champion Will Be Crowned.” A California native, Berkovic fought most recently in February, earning a first-round submission win over gritty veteran Anthony Avila. The result was Berkovic’s third straight first-round finish.

California’s Lewis Gonzalez is one of the most talented featherweight prospects on the World Series of Fighting roster who opened his professional career with nine consecutive wins, including an upset of Antonio McKee in his first fight for the promotion. Gonzalez returned in August, where he suffered a knockout loss to Luis Palomino in a thrilling standup war. He now looks to rebound from the first defeat of his career.

Meanwhile, Justin Buchholz will enjoy home-field advantage as a key member of Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male. The 31-year-old, who is often seen in the corner of teammates Urijah Faber, T.J. Dillashaw, Chad Mendes, Joseph Benavidez, Danny Castillo and Andre Fili, among others, returns to the cage for the first time since a five-round loss to Clay Collard in September 2013. Prior to the loss, Buchholz had been 6-1 in his previous seven appearances.

The complete lineup for “World Series of Fighting 16: Palhares vs. Fitch” now includes:

MAIN CARD:
WSOF Welterweight Champion Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch
WSOF Featherweight Champion Rick Glenn vs. Lance Palmer
Sheymon Moraes vs. Gabriel Solorio
Josh Berkovic vs. Brenson Hansen
Justin Buchholz vs. Lewis Gonzalez

PRELIMINARY CARD:
Dave Huckaba vs. C.J. Leveque
David Mitchell vs. Justin Baesman
Martin Sano vs. Dominic Waters
David Douglas vs. Sinjen Smith
Drey Mitchell vs. Erick Sanchez
Jason Powell vs. Chris Avila
Christian Espinosa vs. Joseph Morales
Dylan Blakesly vs. Justin Durham