Another successful championship outing from Harry Hardwick was cut short on Friday night.
While Hardwick prevailed in his main event fight against Javier Garcia at Cage Warriors 186, his performance ended unceremoniously in the fourth round due to an accidental clash of heads.
The inadvertent strike, which left Hardwick wobbly and citing a concerning issue with “double vision,” caused the fight to end in a technical decision.
Due to the 15 minutes of impressive fighting that Hardwick showcased prior to the finish, he walked away with an easy scorecard win to regain his Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship at The Indigo At The O2 in London, England.
A potential fight-ending issue due to accidental head clashes between the featherweights could have been seen coming from a mile away. The prospects struggled to keep their heads away from each other earlier in the bout, even before the fight-ending sequence.
The fight was paused on two different instances in early rounds due to head clashes, both emerging after one fighter charged into the other during a stand-up exchange. A doctor checked on Hardwick following a collision in the fourth round, causing the call for the fight to be stopped.
Under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, a five-round fight that ends due to an unintentional foul before the fourth round is given a no-contest ruling. However, if a bout crosses into the fourth or beyond, it instead ends in a technical decision, where judges are asked to score the fight based on the rounds that they saw.
Since Friday’s main event was less than a minute into the fourth, a technical decision was utilized.
The sudden ending to Friday’s fight produced a result that felt inevitable, whether or not head clashes occurred. Hardwick was cruising toward a win against Garcia, out-working him both on the feet and on the mat through three rounds.
Hardwick started the fight with a solid opening round on the feet, connecting with crisp punches. He spent a large portion of the round defending takedowns from Garcia, who made it clear early that he was interested in wrestling against the champ.
Instead of avoiding ground exchanges, Hardwick engaged Garcia in wrestling by the second round. The champ connected with a takedown 90 seconds into the second frame, using the position to remain in control for minutes on end.
A takedown attempt from Garcia was reversed by Hardwick early in the third, giving him yet another dominant position. Much like the second, he spent a fair amount of time in control before the round ran out of time.
Judges ruled that Hardwick had yet to lose a round on scorecards once the bout was called off in the fourth.
The win on Friday night puts a third impressive title win under Hardwick’s belt within a year’s time. The Middlesborough-based fighter started his reign less than 12 months ago, stopping short-notice opponent Orlando Wilson Prins in the second round of a fight with strikes.
Hardwick defended his belt for the first time in November, finishing Brazilian up-and-comer Keweny Lopes in the fourth round of a title clash.
Garcia was another solid challenge for Hardwick as he looks to further up his stock as a prospect. Garcia has fought at a high level on the American regional scene, previously challenging for an LFA title and picking up wins over respected names like AJ Cunningham and Roberto Hernandez.
Hardwick was unsurprisingly dejected on Friday due to the nature of how his win emerged. However, he nonetheless continues his fast rise as an up-and-comer to watch on the European scene.
Main Card (4:30PM EDT / 8:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: Harry Hardwick def. Javier Garcia via Technical Decision, Unanimous (Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Bout 13: Nik Bagley def. Keweny Lopes via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Will Currie def. Eli Aronov via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Yannick Bahati def. Charles Joyner via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:04)
Bout 10: Tariq Pell def. Ermil Xhaferi via TKO, Doctor Stoppage (RD 1, 5:00)
Bout 9: Ollie Sarwa def. Yadwinder Singh via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:29)
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EDT / 5:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 8: Samuel Silva def. George Hardwick via Decision, Unanimous (Cage Warriors Lightweight Championship)
Bout 7: Jawany Scott def. Jonny Touma via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:56)
Bout 6: Daniel Crooks-May def. Cameron Stewart via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Mim Grubb def. Rhi Rhi Hudson via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:13)
Bout 4: Rafael Aronov def. Danny Blundell via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:02)
Bout 3: Kadeem Perkins def. Tommy Brunning via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Joe Middleton def. Craig Rawlins via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 3, 3:00)
Bout 1: Jan Masek def. Harry Shaw via Decision, Unanimous
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