James Webb is once again a champion.
Six years after his previous title reign came to an end, a gruelling three-round performance from Webb allowed him to get past Andy Clamp and begin his second championship run in Cage Warriors.
Webb closed out a competitive and hard-fought performance late in the third round, earning him the Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Championship. His win headlined a card from Indigo At The O2 in London, England on Friday night.
Constantly focused on damage, Webb was able to pepper away at Clamp with strikes until he found a finish in the third round.
Webb found time to throw punches no matter whether the fight was on the feet or on the mat. In stand-up exchanges, Webb seemingly had the better boxing in the first and second rounds, scoring with hard punches and even connecting with a knockdown at one point.
While wrestling, strikes remained a priority for Webb. He used ground positions or even body lock spots against the cage to throw shots. Wrestling seemed to be a focus of Clamp, who attempted to get Webb to the mat early and found himself shooting many takedowns throughout the fight, although he failed to do much with the positions he earned in the fight.
Webb won the first and second rounds due to his striking, but briefly lost grip of the fight in the third round as cardio became a factor. Clamp started to mount a comeback early in the round, scoring a series of shots and then taking Clamp to the canvas.
However, Webb hadn’t given up. After a series of reversals on the ground, Webb got on the back of Clamp. Webb once again started to unload with punches from that position, and this time it didn’t seem like the champ was able to escape. Clamp shelled up and continued to absorb blows from Webb until the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Webb is now just the third-ever fighter in Cage Warriors history to hold a belt in two divisions. The only two prior names to accomplish such a feat were Paul McVeigh in the early 2000s, and Conor McGregor in 2012.
This weekend’s main event saw Webb pursue his first title shot since moving up to the light heavyweight division earlier this year. The 34-year-old had mainly fought in the middleweight division before, including his brief prior Cage Warriors title reign in 2019.
Clamp was looking to defend his title for the first time on Friday night. He captured the promotion’s vacant 205-pound title back in March, pulling off a third-round finish against Matthew Byfield.
Earlier in the evening, “The Ultimate Fighter” competitor Paddy McCorry returned to the regional scene with an emphatic win, putting away Tye Palmer in just 46 seconds with strikes. Here are the quick results from Cage Warriors 180:
Main Card (3:30PM EST / 8:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 11: James Webb def. Andy Clamp via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:51) (Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 10: Nik Bagley def. Jordy Bakkes via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:16)
Bout 9: Paddy McCorry def. Tye Palmer via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:46)
Bout 8: Weslley Maia def. Alexander Loof via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:19)
Bout 7: Giovanni Fernandez def. Jimmy Quinn via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:44)
Bout 6: Yusuf Nazokatov def. Cameron Stewart via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EST / 6:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Tariq Pell def. Danny Blundell via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:57)
Bout 4: Jawany Scott def. Davide Scarano via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Richard Kallos def. Tommy Brunning via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 1:25)
Bout 2: Joshua Onwordi def. Joe Ambler via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Callum Haughian def. Marko Sarasjarvi via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 0:34)
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