Cage Warriors 146 produced a pair of stunning title fight finishes as two fighters at very different stages in their respective careers walked away from Manchester’s BEC Arena with championship belts around their waists.
The main event saw Christian Leroy Duncan register the first defence of his middleweight title, with another highlight-reel finish as he defeated Marian Dimitrov via first-round TKO.
Dimitrov pushed forward against the always-tricky Duncan, and managed to find a home for some of his looping punches. But the champion wasn’t unduly ruffled by the challenger’s attacks, and deep in the opening round, he struck to spectacular effect.
A spinning elbow, followed by a big right hand, put Dimitrov on wobbly legs, then Duncan followed up with more pinpoint shots to eventually force the final with just eight seconds of the round remaining.
The co-main event saw another crowd-pleasing finish, as UK MMA veteran Jim Wallhead scored a stunning first-round knockout of Mateusz Figlak to claim the interim welterweight title.
Figlak started the better of the pair and looked to be settling into his rhythm, but Wallhead started to bob and weave to make the Pole miss. Then, after closing the distance to put himself inside striking range, he unloaded a combination of his own to drop Figlak and knock him out clean for a huge win.
It was an emotional moment for the 18-year veteran of the sport, as the 38-year-old finally got his hands on Cage Warriors gold in his 44th professional fight.
The main card also saw a first-round knockout for American heavyweight Chuck Campbell, who finished England’s Andy Clamp, while former flyweight title challenger Stipe Brcic claimed an impressive decision victory over fellow contender Aaron Aby to put himself back in title contention at 125 pounds.
The main card opened with another big performance from undefeated lightweight Adam Cullen, who stepped up a weight class to welterweight and defeated France’s Martin Causse with 55 seconds remaining in the opening round.
Cage Warriors 146: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Christian Leroy Duncan def. Marian Dimitrov via TKO (spinning elbow and punches) – Round 1, 4:52 – for middleweight title
- Jimmy Wallhead def. Mateusz Figlak via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:20 – for interim welterweight title
- Chuck Campbell def. Andy Clamp via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35
- Stipe Brcic def. Aaron Aby via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Adam Cullen def. Martin Causse via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 4:05
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Luke Riley def. Karol Kutyla via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:00
- Antonio Sheldon vs. Jordy Bakkes scored a split draw (27-29, 29-28, 28-28)
- Sam Kelly def. Jack Eglinvia technical submission (mounted guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:40
- James Hendin def. Araik Margarian via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:11
- Lukasz Kopera def. Aaron Johnson via submission (heel hook) – Round 3, 3:46
- Reece McEwan def. Teodoro Scolieri via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:05
- Samuel Bark def. Manny Akpan via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 2, 2:53
- Milad Ahady def. Tom Mearns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Liam Gittins def. Faisal Malik via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:08
