Tag: Ben Ellis

Cage Warriors 134 results: Jordan Vucenic pulls off beautiful standing submission to defend title

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 โ€“ and eventually got it.

Check out that finish below:

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 Iโ€™m going to be one of the best in the world,” Vucenic told MMA Junkie before the fight. “I believe Iโ€™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. โ€ฆ I believe Iโ€™m ready to hang with the top 10n guys already, let alone the starters of the UFC roster.โ€

The full Cage Warriors 134 results include:

  • Champ Jordan Vucenic def. James Hedin via submission (rear-naked choke) โ€“ Round 2, 1:36
  • [autotag]Will Currie[/autotag] def. [autotag]Patrick Vallee[/autotag] via TKO (strikes) โ€“ Round 1, 2:56
  • [autotag]George Hardwick[/autotag] def. [autotag]Lukasz Kopera[/autotag] via TKO (punches) โ€“ Round 2, 4:00
  • [autotag]Tobia Harila[/autotag] def. [autotag]Decky McAleenan[/autotag] via TKO (punches) โ€“ Round 1, 1:55
  • [autotag]Ben Ellis[/autotag] def. [autotag]Nik Bagley[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Kingsley Crawford[/autotag] def. [autotag]Aidan James[/autotag] via submission (anaconda choke) โ€“ Round 1, 1:28
  • [autotag]Lone’er Kavanagh[/autotag] def. [autotag]Ryan Morgan[/autotag] via knockout (punches) โ€“ Round 3, 1:13

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Cage Warriors 120: Kent Kauppinen claims first decision win, becomes instant contender

After a career spent winning his fights inside the distance, Kent Kauppinen marked his Cage Warriors debut with a first: A decision win.

[autotag]Kent Kauppinen[/autotag] marked his debut as a Cage Warriors fighter with a first: A decision win.

Former Bellator campaigner Kauppinen (13-6) had claimed each of his previous victories inside the distance, but was forced to battle all the way to the scorecards against former middleweight title challenger [autotag]Jamie Richardson[/autotag] at Cage Warriors 120 in London as he positioned himself as a serious title contender at 185 pounds.

The first round saw Kauppinen immediately take the center of the cage as he walked down Richardson (9-7), who seemed happy to work off the back foot and frustrate the veteran. Despite his aggressive positioning, Kauppinen was economical with his output through the opening five minutes as he spent much of the round trying to draw shots from Richardson to open his man up for counter punches.

Round 2 saw Richardson give Kauppinen what he wanted by upping his work rate and giving the former Bellator man opportunities to counter. A solid lead uppercut reminded Kauppinen that he had to be wary, however, as both men started to load up in the middle round.

Richardson worked the jab well and followed up with some decent straight shots, while Kauppinen, after finding his man’s chin a little hard to locate with his counters, switched up his attack and connected with a thumping body shot.

Kauppinen came out of his corner for the final round and immediately looked to connect with big shots, while Richardson stayed elusive on the back foot. After a clinch battle against the cage, Kauppinen again tried to walk down Richardson, and fended off a takedown attempt from the former title challenger.

Then, with 35 seconds remaining in the fight, Kauppinen made the crucial breakthrough. He dropped his man with a huge right hand but, rather than follow him to the mat in search of a ground and pound finish, he called for Richardson to get back to his feet. He then connected with a big body kick and, even though he was subsequently taken down, Kauppinen connected with a succession of elbows off his back to put the seal on his most decisive round of the fight.

After the final horn had sounded, all three judges were in agreement as Kauppinen earned scores of 29-28 across the board to seal a debut victory and push him right into the title mix at 185 pounds.