Christian Leroy Duncan scored a knockout win to become a champion on Saturday night, stopping Djati Melan with a flying knee to be crowned new Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion.
Duncan’s win headlined Cage Warriors 136, which took place at the BEC Arena in Manchester, England.
Duncan knocked Melan out cold with the knee, putting an end to a style matchup that saw the challenger’s striking go up against the champion’s wrestling.
Melan succeeded earlier in the fight with wrestling and ground and pound. He started to struggle in the second round, as one of the contact lenses that he was wearing fell out. Referee Marc Goddard didn’t allow him to put the lens back in, and threatened to take a point away from him if he continued to attempt to put the lens in before the third round started.
Duncan now has a flawless record of six wins since turning pro in 2020. Five of his wins, including Saturday’s victory, have come via stoppage.
Melan was fighting to defend his belt for the first time. He earned the championship late last year, going five rounds against Matthew Bonner for a unanimous decision victory.
Aby Submits Fanny For Second Cage Warriors Win
Aaron Aby closed out a strong showing against Gerardo Fanny with a third-round rear naked choke submission in the co-main event.
Aby was able to get his choke under the chin of Fanny, forcing a tap late in the bout. He was successful in previous rounds as well, taking Fanny down and earning control time from those positions.
Aby has now won two consecutive fights in Cage Warriors. His previous fight was a decision victory late last year against Samir Faiddine.
Fanny entered the weekend on a two-fight winning streak in the promotion.
Cullen Stops Ndiaye In Just Seconds
Adam Cullen had a quick and hectic win against El Hadji Ndiaye, running through him in just 14 seconds.
Cullen came forward at Ndiaye with punches right from the start. A two-punch combination of punches from Cullen dropped Ndiaye shortly after. He went to the ground and finished the fight with ground and pound shots only seconds later to end the fight.
Cullen now has four pro wins in Cage Warriors since turning pro in late 2020.
Ndiaye, who was making his Cage Warriors debut, had four pro wins before Saturday’s bout.
McEwan Submits Spencer Late
Reece McEwan secured a submission win against Sam Spencer, catching him late in the third round with a rear naked choke.
The finish win for McEwan came after a close battle in earlier rounds.
McEwan won the first round, scoring a takedown early and using that position to control Spencer for numerous minutes. Spencer turned things around in the second round, stopping and reversing takedown attempts from McEwan. He came close to a finish late in the round, attempting an arm triangle choke before the horn went.
McEwan regained control in the final round, getting Spencer down early much like the first round.
The fight put McEwan back into the win column after suffering his sole pro loss last year.
Spencer was appearing for the first time since 2019. He was fighting for his first Cage Warriors win, as his 2017 debut for the promotion was a loss.
Undefeated Riley Puts Away Eglin With Strikes
Undefeated Luke Riley showcased his slick striking in the opening fight of the main card, stopping Jack Eglin late in the second round with strikes.
Accurate punches, knees and elbows to the head of Eglin had him rocked hard in the close moments of the second round. He was eventually dropped by a right hook as part of a combination of shots from Riley.
Earlier minutes in the fight saw Riley focus on striking, while Eglin fought to get the fight to the ground. Many takedown attempts from Eglin during the fight were stuffed by Riley.
Both fighters entered the weekend with two wins as a pro from other Cage Warriors cards. The fight on Saturday was the first time Riley went past a round in one fight.
The Rest of the Card
Mick Stanton picked up a finish win on Saturday night’s final prelim, dropping Alexis Fontes with a front kick then finishing him on the ground with punches.
Aleksi Mantykivi scored a sudden win against Jeanderson Castro in the second round, flooring him with a four-punch combination of straight shots.
Liam Molloy returned to the win column with an early stoppage win, dropping Ben Rees in the opening minute with a left cross punch.
Manny Akpan erased the lead of Connor Hitchens, knocking him out in the second round with a highlight-reel spinning back kick to the head.
Ground and pound from Dylan Hazan caused damage to Raymison Bruno’s eye, causing the fight to end in-between the first and second rounds. Hazan now has an undefeated record of eight wins.
Jan Quaeyhaegens pulled off a late finish win against Kieran Lister, taking his back and landing a series of punches to stop the bout.
Chasen Blair won his pro debut on the prelims, using his wrestling to get Rickie Moore to the ground and finish him with strikes.
Michael Tchamou had a quick performance for his first Cage Warriors win, finishing Piotr Chmielecki from full guard with punches in the opening round.
Quick Results
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST)
Bout 13: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Djati Melan via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:48) (Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship)
Bout 12: Aaron Aby def. Gerardo Fanny via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:25)
Bout 11: Adam Cullen def. El Hadji Ndiaye via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:14)
Bout 10: Reece McEwan def. Sam Spencer via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 4:33)
Bout 9: Luke Riley def. Jack Eglin via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:54)
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EDT / 6:30PM BST)
Bout 8: Mick Stanton def. Alexis Fontes via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:28)2
Bout 7: Aleksi Mantykivi def. Jeanderson Castro via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:27)
Bout 6: Liam Molloy def. Ben Rees via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:26)
Bout 5: Manny Akpan def. Connor Hitchens via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:36)
Bout 4: Dylan Hazan def. Raymison Bruno via TKO, Doctor Stoppage (RD 1, 5:00)
Bout 3: Jan Quaeyhaegens def. Kieran Lister via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:08)
Bout 2: Chasen Blair def. Rickie Moore via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
Bout 1: Michael Tchamou def. Piotr Chmielecki via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:35)
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