Tag: Will Currie

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 – 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 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:

  • Champ Jordan Vucenic def. James Hedin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:36
  • [autotag]Will Currie[/autotag] def. [autotag]Patrick Vallee[/autotag] via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:56
  • [autotag]George Hardwick[/autotag] def. [autotag]Lukasz Kopera[/autotag] via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:00
  • [autotag]Tobia Harila[/autotag] def. [autotag]Decky McAleenan[/autotag] via TKO (punches) – 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) – Round 1, 1:28
  • [autotag]Lone’er Kavanagh[/autotag] def. [autotag]Ryan Morgan[/autotag] via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 1:13

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Cage Warriors 123 results: Matthew Bonner taps Nathias Frederick to become new middleweight champion

Check out the main card results of Cage Warriors 123, which took place on Thursday evening.

Kicking off a trio of events, Cage Warriors 123 took place on Thursday evening with a title fight in the middleweight division.

The event took place at York Hall in London, England, featuring a main event bout between [autotag]Nathias Frederick[/autotag] and [autotag]Matthew Bonner[/autotag] for the middleweight title. The main card aired on UFC Fight Pass.

After dropping his first two professional bouts, Frederick (9-3-1), went on a tear of nine wins with one draw, which included picking up the middleweight title at Cage Warriors 111. On Thursday, he looked to defend his title for the second time by picking up a win over Bonner (10-6-1), who entered the cage on a three-fight win streak.

Bonner, of course, would have his say in the matter.

In this striker versus grappler matchup, there was no secret to each fighter’s game plan. Throughout the first round, Bonner proved to be a problem in the clinch and on the mat. For a majority of the opening frame, the challenger was able to dictate the action. He achieved full mount after a takedown and began throwing heavy punches, but Frederick was able to see the end of the round without taking too much damage.

With the action back on the feet to begin the second, the champ did his best to land hard strikes while defending takedowns. At one point, he pressed Bonner down to one knee against the fence and threw an illegal knee. The referee decided it was serious enough to deduct a point from Frederick for the strike.

When the action resumed, Bonner continued to have success grappling, ending the second round on top of the champ.

Frederick started the third round looking to change the course of the fight by turning up the pressure. He had success finding home for strikes and defended takedowns well for the first half of the round, but Bonner was able to turn the tides and end the third round on top of Frederick yet again.

The champ quickly ended up in Bonner’s guard early in the fourth round, where he would land a few heavy punches before his opponent was able to reverse position. Frederick threatened with a kimura, but used it as a sweep to return to the feet. Moments later, the fight would return to the ground with Frederick on top looking to land strikes.

Out of nowhere, Bonner slipped to Frederick’s back and sunk in a deep rear-naked choke to get the tap to become the new middleweight champion.

Bonner’s win streak extends to four in a row in impressive fashion, earning the title of Cage Warriors middleweight champion in the process.

The full results of the Cage Warriors 123 card are below:

  •  Matthew Bonner def. Nathias Frederick via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 4:16
  • Christian Duncan def. Will Currie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Liam Gittins def. Emrah Sommez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:38
  • Sam Creasey def. Aaron Aby via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
  • Mick Stanton def. George Smith via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:45
  • Keir Harvie def. Manny Akpan via submission (arm triangle) – Round 1, 4:30
  • Omiel Brown def. Joel Downey-Cave via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:56
  • Adam Cullen def. Josh Plant via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:42
  • Rory Evans def. Jimmy Fell via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:10

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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.

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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