Cage Warriors 85 headed to the South Coast on Saturday night, where they entertained the crowds of Bournemouth at the O2 Academy.

There were a couple of standouts in the amateur prelims. One being Nathan Johnstone (4-0) son of Phoenix MMA head coach and BJJ black belt Jimmy Johnstone, who showcased his excellent grappling. Nathan intimidated his opponent Bradley Cooke (5-1) in the stare down and his confidence showed with a composed rear-naked choke finish 30-seconds into the opening stanza.

Luiz Finocchio (1-0) won his pro debut, outclassing Shaun Luther (3-3) with his slick BJJ. Luther had his moments in round three when he dropped Finocchio with an uppercut, however the Brazilian was able to for a leg and recover.  Finocchio was also penalised a point for strikes to the back of the head, but the foul made no difference to the scorecards as he went on to win a unanimous decision.

Bantamweight Damien Weeden (9-7) vs Cameron Else (4-4) entertained the crowd in the Fight of the Night. Weeden clipped Else early, to which Else replied with a big overhand right of his own, dropping Weeden. Else remained in top control for the remainder of the round, but Weeden was able to survive. The ever-aggressive Weeden came out for the second like a man possessed and after rocking Else with a flurry of punches, he was able to seal the deal with a knee strike that sent Else tumbling to his back.

Lee Chadwick (23-13) defied the odds once again as he made a huge statement submitting Andrei Manzolo (15-6) with a heel hook. Chadwick took Manzolo down quickly and looked to exploit his size advantage. Manzolo was able to sweep Chadwick onto his back and sat back in search of a heel hook. Chadwick slipped out and successfully applied a heel hook of his own, forcing Manzolo to tap verbally.

The upset of the night came in the form of MMA debutant Rizlen Zouak (1-0), who impressed against IMMAF World Champion Leah McCourt (0-1), finishing the fight via TKO in the second round. Astoundingly, Zouak, the former Judo Olympian, opened up as 6/1 underdog whereas McCourt was a 1/14 favourite.

The main event saw Oskar Piechota (9-0-1) score a TKO win over Jason Radcliffe (11-2) to become the Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion. A mere 30-seconds into the contest, Radcliffe lunged in with a straight right hand, which in turn left himself open to the counter left hand of Piechota, which landed flush. Piechota followed up with a barrage of punches but they were rudimentary at that point, Radcliffe was done.

Comments