#CW127 had it ALL!Check out the 60 second highlight before we do it all again for
#CW128.The action keeps coming, live on @UFCFightPass.
pic.twitter.com/zbEsSGyfUS
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
September 30, 2021
Wicked knockouts, wily submissions and wild comebacks treated fans
to kick off this Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
trilogy.
The CW
127 main event saw Bellator MMA vet Dominique
Wooding (8-4, 2-0 CW) facing Nathan
Fletcher (6-1, 6-1 CW) for the vacant bantamweight belt. It
took only a few seconds for Fletcher to implement his gameplan,
taking Wooding down and keeping him down for the remainder of the
round. The Next Generation MMA Liverpool standout punished his
opponent with shots from on top before pursuing a rear-naked choke
that failed to deliver a finish. The second frame followed the same
script as the first, with Liverpool-based fighter grinding his way
and spending ample energy staying on top of Wooding.
The tide changed for “The Black Panther” starting Round 3, as a
rapidly fatiguing Fletcher shot for several slowing takedown
attempts before ultimately landing one. Momentum on his side,
Wooding fought his way back up and thwarted off desperate
single-leg attempt with a perfectly timed flying knee that rocked
his opponent. The Great Britain Top Team stalwart kept landing
hammerfists before connecting with a left knee and a head kick that
knocked Fletcher back against the fence. Wooding sent his rival
crashing to the canvas with a right hook and a blistering uppercut
that forced referee Mark Goddard to step in at four minute and 21
seconds into the third round. The comeback for Wooding kept his
career knockout rate at 100%, all while handing Fletcher his first
career defeat by claiming the bantamweight throne.
How slick was that! Josh Reed displays some
serious submission skills and calls for another shot at the
belt“The Crazy Horse” is always must-watch MMA!#CW127
pic.twitter.com/DMfklJALMB— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
September 30, 2021
In the co-headliner, former Cage Warriors bantamweight title
challenger Josh Reed
(12-6, 8-6 CW) dispatched Kurban
Khizriev (2-2, 0-1 CW) with a first-round rear-naked choke. The
far less experienced Khizriev stepped up on short notice at a
139-pound catchweight after Cameron
Hardy pulled out of the fight due to injury. Coming into his
first fight in six years, the Russian landed some hard shots in the
first seconds before “Crazy Horse” slowed him down with takedown.
After some back-and-forth scrambling exchanges, Reed took his
opponent’s back, sank his hooks in and laced up the rear-naked
choke. The tap came at the 3:23 mark in Round 1. The Welshman has
finished 10 of his 12 wins inside the distance, and his quick
submission may have made a solid argument for another chance at the
135-pound belt.
Earlier on the card, Rory Evans
(5-3, 3-1 CW) fought through a potential knee injury and defeated
Weslley
Maia (6-6, 2-2 CW) via unanimous decision in their 139-pound
catchweight contest. Prior to that, “The Welsh Gangster” Oban
Elliott (4-1, 4-1 CW) knocked George
McManus (2-3, 1-2 CW) out cold with punches at 2:14 of the
first round at welterweight; in a 140-pound catchweight affair,
“The Silent Assassin” Kingsley
Crawford (6-3, 4-3 CW) handed Adam Wilson
(5-2, 3-2 CW) his first career submission defeat with a brabo choke
that concluded the match at 2:43 of the third frame.
On the preliminary card, bantamweight debutants clashed as Bakhtyaar
Oryakhail (1-0, 1-0 CW) tapped Jack
Clarke (0-1, 0-1 CW) with a triangle choke at 2:39 in Round 1;
in the featherweight card opener, Team KF Martial Arts
representative Ryan
Shelley (2-0, 1-0 CW) forced Liam Molloy
(2-2, 0-1 CW) to surrender to a rear-naked choke at the 3:23 mark
in Round 2.