Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past two weeks.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 18-May 1.
Jordan Vucenic continues to make a strong case he’s owed a UFC call.
[autotag]Jordan Vucenic[/autotag] continues to make a strong case he’s owed a UFC call.
In the Cage Warriors 134 main event, Vucenic (9-1) used a beautiful back-take to move into position for a submission of [autotag]James Hedin[/autotag] (6-2) via rear-naked choke.
The finish came 1:36 into Round 2 and marked Vucenic’s first title defense as Cage Warriors featherweight champion a successful one. Vucenic first attempted a standing arm-triangle choke. He used the threat and momentum to quickly backpack Hedin. From there, Vucenic worked and worked for the proper grip – and eventually got it.
Check out that finish below:
#ANDSTILL Jordan Vucenic takes the back and earns the second round submission! What a performance in the #CW134 main event! @CageWarriors
[ #CW134 | 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪 | on #UFCFIGHTPASS ] pic.twitter.com/VcUUmXqsZN
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 18, 2022
The event took place Friday at the Indigo at 02 Arena in London.
Vucenic, 26, has now won seven fights in a row, including a title-clinching victory over popular French fighter Morgan Charriere. Cage Warriors 134 marked his first submission victory since May 2017.
“I believe I’m going to be one of the best in the world,” Vucenic told MMA Junkie before the fight. “I believe I’m going to be one of the all-time best fighters to do it, not just out of the U.K., but worldwide. This is just, again, another fight to solidify what I believe. … I believe I’m ready to hang with the top 10n guys already, let alone the starters of the UFC roster.”
The full Cage Warriors 134 results include:
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Paul Hughes’ superior grappling was the difference in claiming interim featherweight gold against Morgan Charriere at Cage Warriors 128.
[autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag]’ superior grappling was the difference in claiming interim featherweight gold against [autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag] in Friday’s Cage Warriors 128 main event.
The second headliner of Cage Warriors’ three-event weekend saw Hughes (8-1) put his pressure fighting and grappling to work to rack up points over the course of five rounds and net a majority decision over Charriere (17-9-1) by scores of 48-46, 47-47 and 49-45
Cage Warriors 128 took place at York Hall in London. The entire event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.
🇮🇪 IRELAND RAISE THE FLAG.
Raw emotion from Paul Hughes, who is crowned Interim Featherweight Champion after one of the most electric title fights in Cage Warriors history.#CW128 pic.twitter.com/ok6hJ5Rvel
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 1, 2021
The first round was high intensity as both men came out throwing big strikes and exchanging grappling positions against the clinch and briefly on the ground.
Things picked up right where they left off in the second frame, with Charriere charging after Hughes and looking to take the fight to the ground. Hw ent for a submission attempt that left him in bottom position, but found his way up and fought from there.
The momentum started to swing significantly in the favor of Hughes in the third round. He landed a hard punch and subsequently found massive success in the grappling department, establishing top position and working to finish Charriere from the mount and back control. Charriere hung tough, though, and avoided a stoppage.
As the fight spilled over into the championship rounds, Charriere had bad swelling around his right eye. Hughes went hunting for it with head shots, but wasted no time trying to take the fight back to the ground, too. He spent the majority of the frame controlling from on top, securing another round in his favor.
With the fight seemingly in the bag for Hughes going into the final frame, Charriere showed some desperation in the form of some heavy strikes. He tagged Hughes with some of his best punches of the fight, but the pressure of Hughes caused him some issues until the final belt.
With the win, Hughes claimed interim 145-pound gold and put himself in position for a title unification contest with Jordan Vucenic (8-1).
Complete Cage Warriors 128 results include:
