Tag: Donovan Desmae

Cage Warriors 121: Agy Sardari, Jack Cartwright retain titles on wild night in London

Agy Sardari and Jack Cartwright retained their titles in contrasting circumstances on an eventful night at Cage Warriors 121 in London.

Cage Warriors lightweight champion [autotag]Agy Sardari[/autotag] was made to work for it, but the 27-year-old Dutchman successfully defended his title after a hard-fought battle at Cage Warriors 121.

Sardari (14-2) was pushed to the limit by short-notice challenger [autotag]Donovan Desmae[/autotag], who answered the call to replace Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar on just 10 days’ notice at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London. But, after five grueling rounds of action, the champion edged a split decision to hang on to his title and register his first title defense.

The first three rounds of their lightweight title fight were virtual coin-flip calls as Belgian challenger Desmae (14-6) made light of his short-notice preparation by going toe to toe with the champion. But as the fight went into the championship rounds, Sardari turned up the pressure and made use of his takedowns to do just enough to take the victory on the scorecards. The judges scored the bout 48-47, 47-48, 48-47 in the Dutchman’s favor.

Cage Warriors 121 live results

Two titles are on the line on the second night of fights at Cage Warriors’ latest “Trilogy” series in London.

The second night of fights at Cage Warriors’ latest “Trilogy” in London boasts a packed card with a pair of title fights at the top of the bill.

The main event of Cage Warriors 121 sees the Cage Warriors lightweight title on the line as newly crowned champion [autotag]Agy Sardari[/autotag] (13-2) looks to complete the first defense of the title against short-notice replacement [autotag]Donovan Desmae[/autotag] (14-5).

The bantamweight belt is up for grabs in the co-main event, as undefeated champion [autotag]Jack Cartwright[/autotag] (9-0) takes on Polish challenger [autotag]Sylwester Miller[/autotag] (9-3).

The card also features two semifinals in Cage Warriors’ welterweight title tournament, with two-time lightweight title challenger [autotag]Jack Grant[/autotag] (16-6) moving up to 170 pounds to take on Latvia’s [autotag]Madars Fleminas[/autotag] (8-2). The second semifinal sees unbeaten Irish contender [autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag] (5-0) take on Sweden’s [autotag]Rostem Akman[/autotag] (6-2).

Cage Warriors 121 takes place Friday at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Full Cage Warriors 121 results include:

MAIN CARD

  • Champ Agy Sardari vs. Donovan Desmae – for lightweight title
  • Champ Jack Cartwright vs. Sylwester Miller – for bantamweight title
  • Matthew Bonner vs. James Webb
  • Madars Fleminas vs. Jack Grant – welterweight title tournament semifinal
  • Rostem Akman vs. Ian Garry – welterweight title tournament semifinal

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Josh Reed def. Bryan Creighton via TKO (punches and knee) – Round 1, 3:59
  • Omiel Brown def. Josh Onwordi via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:26

Cage Warriors 121: Donovan Desmae steps in for short-notice lightweight title shot

With injury ruling out Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar, Belgium’s Donovan Desmae will step to challenge for the lightweight title at Cage Warriors 121.

Newly crowned Cage Warriors lightweight champion [autotag]Agy Sardari[/autotag] will face a new opponent in his first title defense.

Sardari was originally scheduled to face [autotag]Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar[/autotag] in the main event of Cage Warriors 121, which takes place Friday, March 19 at the York Hall, London. The event streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

However, following an undisclosed injury, Ben Lakhdhar (5-0-1) has been forced off the card, with Belgium’s [autotag]Donovan Desmae[/autotag] agreeing to step in on 10 days’ notice to challenge for the 155-pound title.

Desmae (14-5) is currently riding a two-fight winning streak, including a second-round TKO of former lightweight title challenger Alexander Jacobsen and a first-round submission finish of former BAMMA lightweight champion Tim Barnett.

[lawrence-related id=592091,591904]

Desmae was twice scheduled to face former featherweight champion Paddy Pimblett but, on both occasions, the bout failed to come to fruition. Now “Vegas” will step up on short notice in a bid to capture the lightweight title in London.

Sardari (13-2) won the 155-pound strap at Cage Warriors 119 after edging a split-decision verdict against England’s Jack Grant. The Dutchman is riding a seven-fight winning streak that stretches back to March 2018.

With the change, the fight card for Cage Warriors 121 includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Champ Agy Sardari vs. Donovan Desmae – for lightweight title
  • Champ Jack Cartwright vs. Sylwester Miller – for bantamweight title
  • Matthew Bonner vs. James Webb
  • Rostem Akman vs. Ian Garry – welterweight tournament semifinal
  • Madars Fleminas vs. Jack Grant – welterweight tournament semifinal

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Oban Elliott vs. George McManus
  • Bryan Creighton vs. Josh Reed

Contenders assemble as the battle for Cage Warriors’ lightweight title heats up

Eight of the best lightweights in Europe are set for action as they bid to challenge for the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight title.

Following the news of Jai Herbert’s graduation from Cage Warriors lightweight champion to UFC newcomer, the race is on to capture the newly-vacated Cage Warriors 155-pound title.

The U.K. promotion’s lightweight division has proved to be something of a finishing school for Europe’s best 155-pounders, with former lightweight champions Herbert, Chris Fishgold, Stevie Ray and, of course, Conor McGregor all stepping up to the UFC after capturing Cage Warriors gold.

Now the coveted strap is up for grabs once again, and a host of talented 155-pounders are set to jockey for position in a bid to earn themselves a spot in the battle for the vacant title later this year.

[lawrence-related id=484545,456966]

Liverpool fan-favorite [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] will lead the charge when he returns to action against Belgian contender [autotag]Donovan Desmae[/autotag] on March 20 at Cage Warriors 113 in London, but he faces competition from a clutch of fellow lightweights who all have their sights set on the title.

Unbeaten Welshman [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag] (8-0) has looked better with each performance in Cage Warriors, and in 2019 claimed notable wins over Desmae and Finland’s Aleksi Mantykivi. He’ll take on Italian former UFC lightweight and fellow contender [autotag]Danilo Belluardo[/autotag] (12-5) in London while looking to stake an undeniable claim for a title shot.

While Pimblett and Jones look set to compete in separate bouts in a bid to earn their crack at the gold, four more contenders will go head to head in a pair of bouts in Birmingham with the same goal in mind.

Former featherweight champion and all-action crowd-pleaser [autotag]Dean Trueman[/autotag] (10-6) has decided to step up to lightweight and will face Norway’s former lightweight title challenger [autotag]Alexander Jacobsen[/autotag] (9-5), while Cage Warriors officials confirmed Tuesday that another former title challenger at 155, England’s [autotag]Jack Grant[/autotag], will take on undefeated Frenchman [autotag]Mehdi Ben Lakhdar[/autotag]. Both matchups will take place at Cage Warriors 114 on April 18.

Grant (15-5) has long been considered a potential lightweight champion in the making, but he fell short against Herbert when the pair met at “Cage Warriors 106: Night of Champions” in July 2019. He’ll get the chance to re-establish his championship credentials against Ben Lakhdar (4-0-1), who announced his arrival in Cage Warriors with back-to-back first-round knockouts in 2018, then battled to a draw with Northern Ireland’s Joe McColgan in Cage Warriors’ “Fight of the Year” for 2019.

All eight men have a legitimate shot at the title, but only two can make it all the way to fight for the vacant belt. By the end of April we should know who has earned their shot.

Upcoming lightweight bouts:

Cage Warriors 113 (London, March 20)

  • Paddy Pimblett vs. Donovan Desmae
  • Mason Jones vs. Danilo Belluardo

Cage Warriors 114 (Birmingham, April 18)

  • Jack Grant vs. Mehdi Ben Lakhdar
  • Alexander Jacobsen vs. Dean Trueman