Jordan Vucenic successfully defends his
title! With a beautiful back take, he slipped in a choke for the
2nd round finish
#AndStill
#CW134 pic.twitter.com/Vz31WMb3M4— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
March 18, 2022
Based on his performance on Friday night, Jordan
Vucenic may expect a call up to the major leagues in the near
future.
After a long absence from the venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returned to
the iconic Indigo at the O2 Arena in London, England. The CW
134 main event featured a featherweight championship affair as
Vucenic (9-1, 5-0 CW) put his belt on the line against James
Hendin. The challenger Hendin (6-2, 5-2 CW), a short-notice
replacement for Paul
Hughes, showcased stifling wrestling to nullify his opponent’s
sophisticated striking game early on. While “The Honeybadger” was
able to ground Vucenic for much of the round, he was unable to put
any major offense together and threaten for a finish. Nevertheless,
Hendin rode out most of the round while keeping Vucenic
guessing.
The second frame looked to go the same way as the first, at least
for the first 30 seconds or so. In an eye-catching move, “The
Epidemic” stepped in to snag a standing arm-triangle choke, using
the maneuver to sneak around to the back and hop on his opponent’s
back. From there, the champ immediately started looking for a
rear-naked choke. Hendin defended the attempt for a brief period,
but once Vucenic sunk it in, “The Honeybadger” had no choice but to
surrender at 1:36 of Round 2. The 26-year-old called “The Epidemic”
pushed his win streak to seven in a row, including five under the
Cage Warriors banner.
Unfazed and untouched. Will Currie knocked
his opponent down and followed up with his strong ground game to
finish his opponent in round 1. Absorbing 0 strikes in the
process.#CW134
pic.twitter.com/utnFI6WY4M— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
March 18, 2022
In the co-headliner, up-and-coming London-based prospect Will Currie
took on seasoned Frenchman Patrick
Vallee. Currie (7-2, 3-2 CW) opened with a kick to the face, a
punch, and subsequently dropped his opponent with another high
kick. Vallee (12-13-1, 2 NC; 0-2 CW) tried to defend with a kimura,
only to find it easily countered by Currie to take full mount. Once
on top, Carrie pounded on his foe with elbows and punches as Vallee
twisted and turned between giving up his back and staying mounted.
After a particularly vicious series of elbows, referee Rich
Mitchell stepped in and halted the fight at the 2:56 mark in
Round 1.
Earlier on the card, George
Hardwick (9-1, 3-1 CW) smashed Lukasz
Kopera (10-7, 0-1 CW) with a barrage of punches four minutes
into the second round of their 161-pound catchweight battle; in a
lightweight affair, Tobias
Harila (10-2, 2-1 CW) smashed Declan
McAleenan (7-5-1, 3-4-1 CW) with punches at 1:55 in the opening
stanza, 145-pounder Ben Ellis
(4-1, 4-1 CW) made the most out of a crisp jab to outpoint Nik Bagley
(3-1, 1-1 CW) by unanimous decision from a trio of matching 29-28
scores; a nasty anaconda choke by Kingsley
Crawford (7-4, 5-4 CW) put Aidan James
(5-3, 1-1 CW) away before he could tap just 88 seconds into their
bantamweight clash; after missing weight by 1.3 pounds the day
before, Lone’er
Kavanagh (3-0, 1-0 CW) rendered Ryan Morgan
(1-1, 0-1 CW) unconscious with a bombardment of punches at the 1:13
of Round 2 in their 128-pound catchweight bout.