Harry Hardwick put together a commanding performance against Brazilian prospect Keweny Lopes this weekend, earning him a fourth-round finish and maintaining his status as the Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion.
Hardwick’s win headlined Cage Warriors 181, the promotion’s final European card of 2024, from the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England.
While the featherweight title clash opened with a close round that saw both talents score with their striking, it became a significantly lopsided matchup after that point.
Hardwick’s lead in the fight started early in the second round when a short left hook sent Lopes to the canvas. In the first of many moments in the fight which displayed the toughness of Lopes, he was quick to spring back up to his feet after the shot dropped him.
Hardwick kept the pressure on Lopes, who started to bleed from his nose after consuming the aforementioned punch. The champ took his fight to the ground and got on the back of Lopes, landing more punches and coming close to a rear naked choke before the round ran out of time.
The fight continued to go Hardwick’s way in the third, with him finishing the round on the back of Lopes, unloading with more strikes. In what the promotion’s commentary team considered a “saved by the bell” moment, Hardwick’s striking on the ground was only stopped by the round expiring.
Hardwick was able to close the show after out-working Lopes for two rounds of the fight. The defending champ unloaded against a defeated Lopes early in the fourth, scoring with combinations of punches and knees as his opponent shelled up against the cage. The referee eventually saw enough, stepping in and putting an end to the fight.
The win closes out what has been the most successful year in Hardwick’s career thus far. The former Bellator fighter appeared in back-to-back title bookings this year, scoring a stoppage in both outings.
Hardwick was initially given a shot at Cage Warriors gold in May, being booked for a vacant title fight after attaining a run of five wins and one draw since early 2021. He gained the title with a second-round finish, beating short-notice opponent Orlando Wilson Prins.
Lopes entered this weekend with a significant amount of hype from the regional scene. The Nova Uniao gym member had an impressive 11-fight winning streak before this weekend, with his previous outing being a 94-second LFA main event victory over Wellington Prado.
Earlier wins in Lopes’ career included a January title win over Mathias Poiron in France, and a championship victory in Shooto Brasil.
Undefeated Freeman Captures Bantamweight Title
Kennedy Freeman – the daughter of former UFC fighter and MMA pioneer Ian Freeman – continues to make waves in the European MMA scene.
26-year-old Freeman captured the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship in the co-main event of the night, extending her undefeated record to six wins in a row with a stoppage against Mafalda Carmona.
The bantamweight title fight became a favorable matchup for Freeman once she was able to begin letting go of her strikes.
The title fight’s pace was relatively slow for the opening 10 minutes of the bout, with frequent unsuccessful takedown attempts from Carmona leaving little room for Freeman to attack.
However, by the third round, Freeman started to unleash flurries of punches which connected cleanly against Carmona. The English fighter was able to mix elbows and knees into her combinations, damaging her opponent.
While it didn’t seem like Carmona was in trouble of being finished soon, her team decided just before the fifth round that she had taken too much damage in the fight. As the fighters were in their corners, word got out that Carmona had decided to retire from the bout.
The performance was a step up for “The Machine 2.0,” who has suddenly re-emerged on the regional scene over the past year.
Freeman first turned pro in 2018, earning a trio of regional wins in her rookie year. After some time away from MMA, she came back to the sport in November 2023, debuting in Cage Warriors with a first-round stoppage victory.
Freeman was given a title opportunity this weekend after earning another finish win in May earlier this year.
Carmona was slotted into this weekend’s card after Freeman’s original opponent, Polish prospect Emlia Czerwinska, had to withdraw from the card. She had a four-fight winning streak brought to a halt with the defeat, a run which included a KSW victory earlier this year.
Here are the quick results from Cage Warriors 181:
Main Card (3:30PM EST / 8:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 11: Harry Hardwick def. Keweny Lopes via TKO, Strikes (RD 4, 1:01) (Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Bout 10: Kennedy Freeman def. Mafalda Carmona via TKO, Retirement (RD 4, 5:00) (Vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 9: Justin Burlins def. Theodor Berggren via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 3, 2:44)
Bout 8: James Power def. Dumitru Girlean via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:08)
Bout 7: Sean Clancy Jr. def. Andrey Augusto via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:23)
Bout 6: Charles Joyner vs. Yannick Bahati via Draw, Technical Decision
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EST / 6:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Daniel Konrad def. Aiden Lee via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:52)
Bout 4: Bailey Gilbert def. Alberth Dias via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Leon Armes def. Michal Folc via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:41)
Bout 2: Qendrim Pallata def. James Dixon via Submission, Neck Crank (RD 1, 2:12)
Bout 1: Michael Tchamou def. Delmar Silva via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 1:20)
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