Jordan Vucenic pulled off an impressive victory on Friday night, submitting James Hendin with a standing rear naked choke to defend his Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship for the first time.
Vucenic’s win headlined Cage Warriors 134, which took place at the Indigo At The O2 in London, England.
Vucenic mounted the back of Hendin a minute into the second round. He attempted the rear naked choke from this position, causing Hendin to eventually tap.
The rare standing submission came after a close round where Vucenic succeeded on the feet and Hendin secured control time.
Vucenic was originally scheduled to face Morgan Charriere this weekend in a rematch. That fight was scrapped earlier this week, with the pairing involving Hendin being made afterward.
“This card fell apart last week,” said Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan.
Vucenic beat Charriere last year via split decision to earn the belt. He has now won five consecutive fights in the promotion.
Hendin was given the short-notice title shot after scoring five wins through six appearances in the promotion.
Currie Stops Vallee Within A Round
Will Currie had a quick win in the co-main event, defeating Patrick Vallee in the first round with strikes.
Currie hurt Vallee only seconds into their fight, dropping him with front kicks to the head. Minutes later, the fight came to a close with ground and pound shots from Currie.
Currie had a quick win in his previous appearance as well, submitting Nikola Zlatev with a triangle choke in December 2021.
Vallee now has an extensive but negative pro record of 12 win sand 13 losses.
Hardwick Keeps Streak Rolling Against Tough Kopera
Former Bellator fighter George Hardwick scored his fifth consecutive win on Friday night, stopping Lukasz Kopera in the second round with strikes after a dominant performance.
An aggressive pace matched with accurate striking allowed Hardwick to control this fight, pouring on shots that did damage. Kopera showcased his toughness, staying in the fight and taking a lot of punishment before the referee decided that he had seen enough.
Hardwick has now scored three consecutive wins in Cage Warriors, with none of them going the distance.
Kopera is now on a three-fight losing streak.
Harila Stops McAleenan Early
Explosive fighter Tobias Harila picked up a quick finish win on Friday night, stopping Decky McAleenan in the first round with shots.
Harila hurt McAleenan in the second minute with a constant flurry of hooks. After landing a knee to the head and keeping with the punches, Harila dropped McAleenan to end the fight.
Harila had a seven-fight winning streak snapped in his previous bout, taking a decision loss to William Gomis in 2021.
McAleenan is now winless through three fights, with the previous results being a loss and a draw.
Ellis Bounces Back With Win Over Bagley
Ben Ellis handed Nick Bagley his first pro loss to open the main card, out-landing him on the feet to take a unanimous decision victory.
The fight started as a back-and-forth striking battle, but began to favor Ellis as it carried into the second and third rounds. Ellis notably scored a knockdown in the second round and also rocked Bagley with other shots.
The victory for Ellis put him back into the win column after suffering a stoppage loss to Manny Akpan in March 2021.
Bagley had two wins as a pro before, including a Cage Warriors win over Scott Pedersen from December 2021.
The Rest of the Card
Following up on a hard knockdown, Kingsley Crawford choked Aidan James out with an anaconda choke.
Lone’er Kavanagh put an end to his dominant striking performance against Ryan Morgan in the third round, knocking him out with right cross to the head.
Quick Results
Main Card (5:00PM EDT / 9:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 7: Jordan Vucenic def. James Hendin via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:36) (Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Bout 6: Will Currie def. Patrick Vallee via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:56)
Bout 5: George Hardwick def. Lukadz Kopera via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:00)
Bout 4: Tobias Harila def. Decky McAleenan via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:55)
Bout 3: Ben Ellis def. Nik Bagley via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (4:15PM EST / 8:15PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 2: Kingsley Crawford def. Aidan James via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 1:28)
Bout 1: Lone’er Kavanagh def. Ryan Morgan via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:13)
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