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Modestas Bukauskas says he’s ready for whatever challenge the UFC throws at him for his octagon debut.
Modestas Bukauskas says he’s ready for whatever challenge the UFC throws at him for his octagon debut.
The UFC has added another top European prospect to its roster: Modestas Bukauskas.
The UFC has added another top European prospect to its roster.
Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] announced on social media Thursday he has signed with the UFC. He is the UFC’s second recent 205-pound signing from Europe, joining the Czech Republic’s Jiri Prochazka, RIZIN’s light heavyweight champ.
“They say dreams come true, if you work hard, stay the course, and never give up. Ever since I started MMA, it has always been the dream of my father @gintas50 and I, to sign with the UFC (best MMA organisation in the world) and compete against THE BEST fighters in the world. After much adversity, a rollercoaster of events/emotion, and a ton of hours in the gym, I am pleased to announce that just a few days ago, We signed a contract with the @ufc @ufceurope, the DREAM has become REALITY!! What a way to start 2020, I want to give a special thanks to my management @iridiumsportsagency @iridiumsports @jacobparga @ed.kapp for their absolutely incredible work and countless hours of dedication to get me to this point in my career. The best thing about my management, is that I can truly say they are FAMILY, and cannot wait to make them all proud !! Another massive thanks goes out to all my training partners, sponsors and everyone that has helped me achieve everything I have done!! Without you guys I could not have done it !!! I have the best team around me and I am forever grateful !!! The amount of love I have for you all is insane and we are ALL going to come up and make it to the top TOGETHER !!! The journey has only just begun, we are just getting warmed up !!! Time to cement our legacy in the history books!! My name will forever be known as the very first Lithuanian born athlete to sign with the UFC. There are New goals and milestones to reach, and I cannot wait for the journey and the road ahead …. WATCH OUT CAUSE WE ARE COMING TO TAKEOVER !!!”
Fighting out of England, Lithuania’s Bukauskas (10-2) is riding a six-fight winning streak with all six wins coming by stoppage. He captured the vacant 205-pound title with a fourth-round TKO over Marthin Hamlet at Cage Warriors 106 this past June. In November, he notched his first title defense with a first-round finish of Riccardo Nosiglia.
The UFC has not officially announced Bukauskas’ signing, and no first fight date or opponent is known.
Recap a memorable year of action from European promotion Cage Warriors in their 2019 highlight film.
European promotion Cage Warriors has forged a well-earned reputation as one of the key regional promotions for fighters looking to launch their careers to the world stage.
The London-based organization has seen 93 of its fighters graduate to the UFC over the years, including former UFC champions Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and continues to produce UFC-ready talent, with former champions Jack Shore and Nathaniel Wood tipped for stardom on the big stage in the months and years ahead.
The promotion had a big year in 2019, holding 11 events in total, including an historic night at the iconic Hammersmith Apollo in London for “Cage Warriors 106: Night of Champions” and a return to the BT Sport studios for their “Cage Warriors: Unplugged 2” event that featured a one night tournament that crowned its new bantamweight champion, [autotag]Jack Cartwright[/autotag].
As well as bantamweight, the organization crowned new champions at flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, middleweight and light heavyweight, as [autotag]Samir Faiddine[/autotag], [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag], [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag], [autotag]Nathias Frederick[/autotag] and [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] all captured championship gold in their respective weight classes.
And Scotland’s undefeated welterweight champion [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] held on to his 170-pound title after his epic back-and-forth war with interim champion [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] was ruled a no contest after the cage floor became flooded with blood from both men after one of the most punishing contests ever seen inside the Cage Warriors cage.
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It all added up to a spectacular year for Cage Warriors, who have already announced a packed schedule of events for 2020, including a return to London’s Indigo at The O2 on Mar. 20, just one day before the UFC packs the main O2 Arena the following night for UFC London.
Relive the best of Cage Warriors in 2019 via the video above.
Nathias Frederick exploded into action late in Round 4 to stop middleweight champion James Webb at Cage Warriors 111 in London.
LONDON – [autotag]Nathias Frederick[/autotag] produced a thrilling finale of flying fists and knees to stop [autotag]James Webb[/autotag] and capture the Cage Warriors middleweight title in their championship rematch at Cage Warriors 111 on Friday night.
The first meeting between the pair ended in a draw after Frederick fell foul of point deductions for an illegal spike on the champion, while Webb bemoaned the judging that saw him only scrape a draw, despite the scorecard sanctions handed to his opponent.
It meant a rematch was essential, and the pair met in a grueling encounter in the main event at Indigo at The O2 that looked set to go all the way to the judges’ scorecards once again. But Frederick had other ideas.
The Birmingham-based middleweight – a teammate of Leon and Fabian Edwards at Team Renegade – looked to find a home for his strikes early in each stanza, but found himself under intense pressure from Webb’s grinding wrestling-heavy approach as the champion looked to wear heavy on the challenger throughout the first three rounds.
But heading into the fourth frame, Webb’s gas tank started to run dry, and Frederick took full advantage. And, after being shoved against the fence for long spells, Frederick came to life and unleashed a blistering volley of strikes that overwhelmed Webb, who covered up against the cage.
With Frederick ceaselessly unloading heavy-handed punches and punishing knees, referee Rich Mitchell stepped in to call a stop to the fight with just one second remaining in the penultimate round.
What a fight! What a performance from Nathias Frederick! 👏
He stops the his opponent at the end of the 4th round to become the NEW Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion 🏆☝️#CW111 #AndNew pic.twitter.com/JDuVr6JlZe— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 22, 2019
In the night’s co-main event, light heavyweight champion [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] scored a decisive stoppage victory to complete his first title defense, then revealed that he had recovered from a pre-fight scare after dislocating his left knee just three weeks before the fight.
Lithuanian-born, England-based Bukauskas finished [autotag]Riccardo Nosiglia[/autotag] inside a round with a salvo of powerful elbows to cement his position as the organization’s premier 205-pounder, then called on Dana White and the UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard to give him a chance at the big time.
Welcome to elbow city 💪
Modestas Bukauskas successfully defends his title at #CW111 in devastating fashion! 😳👏#AndStill pic.twitter.com/UCUS7BDGwQ— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 22, 2019
“I’m ready for the UFC!” he declared. “Please give me my shot! Please give me the chance to show I’m ready for the world stage!”
Cage Warriors featherweight champion [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] is well known for his submission skills, but in his main card non-title matchup with [autotag]Steve Aimable[/autotag] he showcased his educated hands in an impressive display of his boxing skills.
The champ @Burnellmma puts the pressure on early, but Aimable hangs tough! #CW111 pic.twitter.com/abnlJBmfOh
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 22, 2019
After a dominant round of striking from the Dane, Aimable came storming back at the start of Round 2 with some solid shots of his own, and a big uppercut briefly appeared to stun the reigning 145-pound champ. But Burnell came firing back with well-placed shots as he ripped Aimable to the head and body with strong, accurate punches.
Eventually, Aimable was forced to switch tactics, but his attempted pick-up and slam ended up with Burnell threatening with his go-to submission – the Japanese necktie – before eventually finishing the round in top position, landing strikes.
Burnell continued to outbox Aimable through Round 3, using his superior accuracy and smart head movement to land cleanly while avoiding Aimable’s best shots. Then, with two minutes remaining, the Dane took the fight to the mat once again and maintained top position to see out the remaining seconds of the fight, and a landslide victory on the scorecards with scores of 30-26 across the board.
In the main card opener, Germany-based Brazilian [autotag]Joilton Santos Lutterbach[/autotag] scored a quickfire finish as he stopped former BAMMA champion [autotag]Alex Lohore[/autotag] in just 27 seconds before taunting his still-stunned opponent in celebration.
WOW 😲 what a statement!
Joilton Santos Lutterbach wasted no time at #CW111 pic.twitter.com/WfUtmuTY3c— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 22, 2019
Santos landed a left-hook, right-kick combination twice in a row before stunning Lohore with a third left hook that sent him to the canvas, where he followed up with a vicious salvo of ground strikes to seal the victory.
And, after such a clinical finish, the Brazilian may well find himself right at the front of the queue to face the reigning Cage Warriors 170-pound champion, Scotland’s Ross Houston.
Cage Warriors 111 main card results:
Three titles are on the line when the top European promotion returns to London on Friday for Cage Warriors 111.
Top European promotion Cage Warriors returns to its regular London home at the Indigo at The O2 for Cage Warriors 111, and the promotion is bringing a stacked card of fights to the capital Friday.
Three title fights will be on the line, with the headline bout featuring a hotly anticipated rematch of one of the promotion’s most controversial fights of 2019.
Middleweight champion [autotag]James Webb[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Nathias Frederick[/autotag] battled to a majority draw at Cage Warriors 106 in a fight that saw Frederick (7-2-1 MMA, 0-0-1 CW) deducted a point for an illegal spike that eventually proved crucial on the judges’ scorecards. Without the deduction, Fredericks would have claimed the title, and that knowledge irked Webb (6-1-1 MMA, 4-1-1 CW), who expressed his frustration at the judges’ scoring of the fight. Now the pair will meet in a rematch in a bid to produce a definitive result.
Also on the card, two more fighters who captured titles at Cage Warriors 106 will look to complete maiden title defenses in their returns to London.
Denmark’s [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 3-0 CW) produced one of the best submissions of the year to capture the featherweight title, and will hope for a similarly impressive finish when he puts his title on the line against England’s [autotag]Steve Aimable[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 4-2 CW).
And England-based Lithuanian [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 4-1 CW) will look to cement his position as Cage Warriors’ premier 205-pounder by defeating Italian [autotag]Riccardo Nosiglia[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-0 CW).
The fight card also features the return of former featherweight champion [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 9-3 CW), who aims to kick-start a run toward the 155-pound title after moving up to lightweight. He takes on short-notice replacement and former “TUF” finalist [autotag]Joe Giannetti[/autotag] (8-2-1 MMA, 0-0 CW).
And former BAMMA welterweight champion [autotag]Alex Lohore[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 3-1 CW) has his sights set on championship gold at 170 pounds. He takes on [autotag]Joilton Santos Lutterbach[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 1-0 CW) looking for a performance to catapult himself into a title fight in early 2020.
The complete Cage Warriors 111 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 12:30 p.m. ET)
