WSOF newcomer Lance Palmer replaces Rick Glenn, faces Georgi Karakhanyan for inaugural featherweight title

A family emergency has forced Rick Glenn (14-2-1) to withdraw from a planned World Series of Fighting 7 title fight, allowing Lance Palmer (7-0) to step in and face Georgi Karakhanyan (22-3-1) for the promotion’s inaugural featherweight belt.

MMAjunkie today confirmed the change in plans with WSOF officials.

The new Karakhanyan vs. Palmer five-round title fight serves as the co-feature of “World Series of Fighting 7: Johnson vs. Kyle,” which takes place Dec. 7 at PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A Team Alpha Male product, “The Party” Palmer was a four-time All-American wrestler at Ohio State University. He’s since rattled off seven straight wins to open his career, including a split-decision win over Jared Downing in a title fight at June’s Resurrection Fighting Alliance 8 event.

“Insane” Karakhanyan fights for the World Series of Fighting title in his second fight for the promotion. He debuted in September with an impressive first-round submission win over Waylon Lowe and now boasts an eight-fight win streak.

Meanwhile, the company also announced three preliminary contests for the card, including light heavyweights Dwayne “D-Bomb” Lewis (13-8) vs. Kalib Starnes (15-8-1), featherweights Shawn Albrecht (9-5) vs. Josh Machan (11-4) and welterweights Michael “The Messenger” Hill (5-2) vs. Jordan Knippelberg (8-2).

With the changes to the card, World Series of Fighting 7 now includes:

MAIN CARD

• Anthony Johnson vs. Mike Kyle
• Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Lance Palmer – for inaugural WSOF featherweight title
• Elvis Mutapcic vs. Jesse Taylor – middleweight tournament semifinal
• Sabah Fadai vs. Nick Newell

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Dwayne Lewis vs. Kalib Starnes
• Shawn Albrecht vs. Josh Machan
• Michael Hill vs. Jordan Knippelberg

For more on WSOF 7, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Lance Palmer)