The championship battle between rival knockout artists predictably produced another knockout, as Greek contender Giannis Bachar stunned Omiel Brown to capture the vacant Cage Warriors welterweight title at Cage Warriors 163 in London.
The Indigo at The O2 played host to a packed crowd, who were treated to a night packed with finishes, with nine of the 12 fights ending inside the distance.
Bachar's stunning one-shot finish of Brown in the main event came just 50 seconds into the first round as the Greek fighter responded to Brown's forward pressure with a perfectly-timed counter left hook that sent the Team Renegade man face-first into the canvas for one of the most shocking Cage Warriors finishes of the year.
Currie too hot to handle for Henrique
In the co-main event, middleweight contender Will Currie showcased his dominant ground game as he finished Wallison Henrique in three minutes, 25 seconds of the opening round of their 185-pound matchup.
Henrique took the fight to the young English contender, but with both men attempting to throw a knee at the same time, Currie's strike strayed south of the border and landed hard in the Brazilian's groin, forcing a lengthy pause in the action in order to let Henrique time to recover.
When the action resumed, Henrique went straight back to work as he pressured Currie back against the fence. But Currie rallied and found a route to a finish as he took Henrique's back, got both hooks in and locked up a rear-naked choke to force the tap the 3:25 mark of the opening round.
Da Silva entertains in decision win
Unbeaten German flyweight Shawn Da Silva promised to entertain the London fans in his bout with former bantamweight title challenger Gegardo Fanny, and he did just that in a typically high-energy display that ended with a unanimous decision victory.
Fanny took the center of the cage and stayed compact as he looked to counter the flashy Germany, but Da Silva nullified the Dutchman with a steady flow of leg kicks, and as the bout wore on he mixed in some sharp boxing from unorthodox angles as he kept Fanny guessing throughout.
By the final round, both men looked for the finish, but despite the most entertaining round of the fight, neither man could find the perfect shot to finish the fight and the result went to the judges, who awarded the bout to Da Silva with scores of 29-28 across the board.
Borando continues his progression
Italian featherweight prospect Luca Borando showed his ongoing evolution as a fighter as he showcased his well-rounded skillset in his victory over London-based Brazilian Wesley Machado.
Borando looked much the sharper man in the stand-up, but it was on the ground that his coaches Marc Fiore and Jake Buracker might have taken the most pride, as the Italian handled the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt on the ground as he defended Machado's submission game, and did well in the wrestling exchanges to attain top position on multiple occasions during the bout.
By the time the bout had reached the second round, Borando was well on top, and he found his way to a finish as he stopped his bloodied-up opponent with punches at the 1:44 mark to extend his unbeaten record to 4-0.
Wright shocks hot prospect Quinn
Dagenham's Jimmy Quinn had a large contingent of fans in the Indigo as he made the second appearance of his Cage Warriors career, but the man who scored a record 10-second knockout on his promotional debut found himself on the other end of the stick as he was submitted in the first round by Tom Wright.
Quinn and Wright went toe to toe through the opening exchanges, with Quinn looking to connect with a one-shot finish, while Wright answered in kind with solid shots of his own.
As the round wore on, Wright started to have big success with his strikes as he appeared to hurt Quinn, and closed in looking to earn a TKO finish. Quinn scrambled well to stay alive in the fight, but the difference came when Quinn missed a spinning wheel kick and fell to the floor. Wright connected with a good punch as Quinn tried to get back to his feet, then snatched up an arm-in guillotine to force the tap with 35 seconds left in the round.
Cage Warriors 163: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Giannis Bachar def. Omiel Brown via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:50 – for vacant welterweight title
- Will Currie def. Wallison Henrique via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:25
- Shawn Da Silva def. Gerardo Fanny via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Luca Borando def. Wesley Machado via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:44
- Tom Wright def. Jimmy Quinn via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:25
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Francesco Mazzeo def. Angus Hewett via disqualification (illegal knee to a grounded opponent) – Round 2, 2:00
- Mateusz Figlak def. Denilson Neves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Tariq Pell def. Michael Blair via TKO (punch and ground strikes) – Round 1, 0:22
- Kate Bacik def. Sineadh Ni Nuallain via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Teddy Stringer def. Italo Julio via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 2:14
- Shirzad Qadrian def. Rory Evans via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:04
- Adam Darby def. Thorsten Jakobs via submission (standing guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:06
