It was an unsatisfying end to Cage Warriors’ return card in Rome, Italy, this weekend.
In a result eerily reminiscent of UFC’s Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong main event clash from last month, an exciting bantamweight title fight between incumbent champ Liam Gittins and Italy’s own Alessandro Giordano ended in a no-contest at the PalaPellicone on Saturday evening due to an accidental eye poke.
Giordano received a finger in his left eye during an exchange in the third round, an accidental foul from the champ while in a clinch position. Giordano spent numerous minutes attempting to recover from the eye poke, although eventually it was determined that he couldn’t continue.
Unlike the aforementioned UFC fight between Song and Cejudo, Saturday’s Cage Warriors main event didn’t cross past the third round. This meant, under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, the bout would end in a no-contest instead of going to a technical decision.
The bantamweights were in a scrappy and competitive stand-up battle prior to the unceremonious end. Gittins was increasing the pressure on Giordano as the fight neared its halfway mark, backing the Italian up with long strings of punches and knees.
While Gittins didn’t emerge with a win, Saturday night kept his multi-year title run alive. The England-based prospect has held the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship since late 2023, when he went the distance against Reece McEwan for a scorecard win. Last year, he closed out a dominant performance against U.S. prospect Roberto Hernandez with a fifth-round rear naked choke submission to defend his title for the first time.
Giordano was hoping to claim his first regional belt in front of a supportive local crowd. The 27-year-old Italian was given the title opportunity after putting together a trio of wins over the past year, including past stoppages against Sam Kelly and Michele Martignoni.
Bellandi Retains Middleweight Title In Narrow Decision
It wasn’t easy for Dario Bellandi, but he overcame Naglis Kanisauskas and can still call himself Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion.
Bellandi was given an incredibly narrow split decision win after five rounds against Kanisauskas in the co-main event of Cage Warriros 183, winning by the margin of just one round on the two scorecards that went his way.
The win came after a back-and-forth contest which primarily took place on the feet.
While Bellandi consistently landed and overall seemed to be the more active fighter, it was Kanisauskas who had the bigger moments in the contest. The Lithuanian most notably earned the sole knockdown of the fight, dropping Italy’s Bellandi in the second round with a right hook.
But Bellandi kept a high output on the feet throughout and started to lead the bout more as cardio became a significant factor for both fighters in the championship rounds. He frequently threw quick combinations of hooks, charging forward and often landing clean with his hands.
The win continued a multi-year title run for Bellandi in Cage Warriors, now having defended the title twice. He first became champ back in 2023, beating Mick Stanton in a five-round decision result. He has since gone 10 more rounds through other championship fights, beating Robin Roos last summer and Kanisauskas this weekend.
Saturday offered a chance for 24-year-old Kanisauskas to claim his first major MMA gold and avenge a 2023 loss he suffered against Bellandi. He came into this weekend following back-to-back finish wins on Cage Warriors cards.
Here are the full results for Saturday’s card in Rome:
Main Card (2:30PM EST / 8:30PM CET) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: Liam Gittins vs. Alessandro Giordano via No Contest, Eye Poke (RD 3, 2:18) (Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 13: Dario Bellandi def. Naglis Kanisauskas via Decision, Split (Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship)
Bout 12: Simone D’Anna def. Gianluca via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 1:51)
Bout 11: Michelangelo Lupoli def. Dylan Hazan via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Konstantinos Ntelis def. Michael Pagani via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Aiden Lee def. Giuseppe Mastrogiacomo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:22)
Preliminary Card (11:00AM EST / 5:00PM CET) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 8: Marco Doda def. Manuel Del Valle via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Adam Shelley def. Simone Patrizzi via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Giuseppe Ruggeri def. Orlando Wilson Prins via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:10)
Bout 5: Damiano Scogna def. Gerasimos Sioutis via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:29)
Bout 4: Davide Scararno def. Florian Doskja via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Pietro Mochetti def. Yohan Salvador via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Niko Ceraglia def. Mirco Negrisoli via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:55)
Bout 1: Kevin Caperna def. Jordan Molinari via Decision, Split
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