Undefeated Ilia Topuria silenced the Antwerp crowd when he put Brian Bouland to sleep with an anaconda choke in the first round of their main event clash at Cage Warriors 94 on Saturday night.
The bout was to be contested for the bantamweight title. Yet, promotional newcomer Topuria lost the right to fight for the title when he came in nearly five pounds over championship weight at 139.5.
Early in the opening round, Topuria took Bouland’s back as he looked to escape from the bottom after giving up a takedown. After a scramble, Topuria latched onto an anaconda choke and squeezed until Bouland was rendered unconscious.
Ahead of the fight, it was announced that Jack Shore would fight for the bantamweight title when the promotion touches down in Cardiff in September. With no new champion crowned, it remains to be seen who the undefeated Welsh prospect will face at Cage Warriors 97.
In the co-main event, Jai Herbert got a chance to showcase his grappling prowess as well as his signature striking arsenal in his Cage Warriors debut en route to picking up a one-sided decision win over Erdi Karatas.
After a dynamic striking performance in the first, Herbert fed Karatas a buffet of knees in the second before smoothly taking his back. The Dutch fighter did well to fight off several rear-naked choke attempts over the last 10 minutes of the fight, and landed some big power shots that briefly troubled the debutant, who returned to action for the first time in over a year.
The crushing presence of Krzysztof Klaczek proved too much for surging hometown prospect Samir Alakozai to overcome in their featherweight tilt.
After spending two rounds underneath his Polish opponent, Alakozai landed a thudding knee at the beginning of the third round. However, Klaczek at the blow and landed another takedown to see out the dominant, but somewhat uneventful, victory.
Hubert Geven and Donovon Desmae were embattled in a bloody fire fight for five minutes before a doctor stopped the fight due to a cut the Belgian suffered. Dutch fighter Geven was booed as he celebrated a successful debut in the middle of the cage following the win.
According to commentator Brad Wharton, doctors called a stop to the bout in between the first and second rounds when Desmae informed him that he could not see out of his damaged eye.
One of the stalwarts of SBG Ireland, Phil Mulpeter, continued his resurgence with comeback win over Belgian welterweight Jan Quaeyhaegens. After Quaeyhaegens looked like he had gained momentum from a solid second round, “Honeybadger” put on a stellar grappling display in the third before submitted the crowd favorite with a rear-naked choke.
Full Cage Warriors 94 Results:
Main card
Ilia Topuria def. Brian Bouland via submission (anaconda choke) in R1
Jai Herbert def. Erdi Karatas via unanimous decision
Krzysztof Klaczek def. Samir Alakozai via unanimous decision
Hubert Geven def. Donovan Desmae via TKO (doctor stoppage) in R1
Phil Mulpeter def. Jan Quaeyhaegens via submission (rear-naked choke) in R3
Prelims
Angelo Rubino def. Maarten Wouters via KO (body kick) in R1
Tomek Langowski def. Tonny Van Dijk TKO (strikes) in R2
Cory McKenna def. Eva Dourthe via split decision
Salvatore Liga def. Hasan Gulmez via TKO (punches) in R1
Leah McCourt def. Manon Fiorot via split decision
