Tag: Cage Warriors 120

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.

Cage Warriors 120 live results (3:15 p.m. ET)

A battle of middleweight contenders takes center stage as Cage Warriors kicks off its first “Trilogy” of 2021 with Cage Warriors 120.

Cage Warriors returns to action with the opening leg of the U.K. promotion’s first “Trilogy” of 2021.

Cage Warriors 120 kicks off the promotion’s three-night residency at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, with a battle between two middleweight contenders headlining the card.

Former Bellator fighter [autotag]Kent Kauppinen[/autotag] (12-6) will make his promotional debut after his release by the U.S. promotion earlier this year. The hard-hitting 29-year-old, who has a knockout win over Alessio Sakara on his record, will look to blast his way into immediate title contention against the last man to challenge for the belt.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Jamie Richardson[/autotag] (9-6) looked good early against reigning 185-pound champion Nathias Frederick, but eventually succumbed to a third-round knockout in his title challenge at Cage Warriors 118. Now “Young Gun” is looking to regroup and reposition himself for another shot at the gold.

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The night’s co-main event features a pivotal bout in the Cage Warriors featherweight division. “The Honey Badger,” [autotag]James Hendin[/autotag] (5-0), has registered four wins in a row under the Cage Warriors banner, and now the undefeated prospect will look to push himself to the front of the featherweight queue.

He’ll face a tough test, however, as he faces an opponent who returns to the cage looking to bounce back from his first career defeat.

Ireland’s [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] was touted as a potential champion in waiting, but lost a split decision to England’s Jordan Vucenic in their featherweight title eliminator at Cage Warriors 119. Now Hughes (6-1) is looking to return to form by handing Hendin his first career loss and putting himself next in line to face the winner of the title fight between champion Morgan Charriere and Vucenic at Cage Warriors 122 on Saturday.

Cage Warriors 120 takes place Thursday at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. The card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

Full Cage Warriors 120 results include:

MAIN CARD (5 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass)

  • Kent Kauppinen vs. Jamie Richardson
  • James Hendin vs. Paul Hughes
  • Will Currie vs. Christian Duncan
  • Kieran Lister vs. Decky McAleenan
  • Michal Figlak vs. Steven Hooper

PRELIMINARY CARD (3:15 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass)

  • Coner Hignett vs. Leigh Mitchell
  • Manny Akpan vs. Ben Ellis
  • Mateusz Figlak vs. Josh Plant
  • Matthew Elliott vs. Scott Pedersen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGfGeQzhdwk

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Cage Warriors 120: Undefeated middleweights set for action in London

Undefeated English middleweights Will Currie and Christian Duncan will go head to head in a main card showcase at Cage Warriors 120 in London.

A pair of rising English contenders will collide in London as undefeated English middleweights [autotag]Will Currie[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag] prepare to face off in Cage Warriors’ latest “Trilogy” series.

Cage Warriors officials confirmed to MMA Junkie that the pair will go head to head on the main card of Cage Warriors 120, which takes place Thursday, March 18 at York Hall. The event streams live on UFC Fight Pass, and forms the first leg of the promotion’s three-night “Trilogy” series at the venue.

The matchup will see two of England’s most promising up-and-coming 185-pounders face off in a bid to move one step closer to a shot at reigning Cage Warriors middleweight champion Nathias Frederick.

Currie (5-0) made an instant impact on his promotional debut at Cage Warriors 119 in December 2020 as he handed then-unbeaten Italian prospect Dario Bellandi his first career defeat in a dominant display in London.

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Now “Drago” will return to action to face spectacular striker Duncan (2-0) whose transition to the professional ranks in 2020 saw him claim a pair of eye-catching knockout victories.

The IMMAF European silver and world bronze medallist finished Kyle McClurkin via second-round knockout on his professional debut at Cage Warriors 116 in September 2020, then followed up with a spectacular spinning back kick finish of Lucasz Marcinkowski at Cage Warriors 119 in December.

Also confirmed for the card is a featherweight bout between England’s James Hendin (5-0) and Irish prospect Paul Hughes (6-1). That bout was first announced by “The Bash” podcast.

With the additions, the lineup for Cage Warriors 120 includes:

  • James Hendin vs. Paul Hughes
  • Will Currie vs. Christian Duncan

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