Europe’s leading MMA promotion, Cage Warriors, held instalment number 181 in Newcastle, England, on Saturday evening (23rd November). Kennedy Freeman has been crowned the first women’s champion in the promotion since Liverpool’s Molly McCann in 2018; Harry Hardwick successfully defended his featherweight title, and a new Braveheart is emerging in Sean Clancy Jr.
A night of title fights and emerging prospects delivered for a bumper crowd at the Vertu Motors Arena in the northeast of England. Kennedy Freeman, now 6-0, was in the first of two championship fights of the evening, where she proved too strong for Mafalda Carmona, now 7-3, to become the first women’s champion in the promotion since Next Gen Liverpool’s Molly McCann.
The Machine 2-0.
Dubbed ‘the machine 2.0,’ she is following in her father’s footsteps and competed under the CW banner, but more significantly, he was the first Brit to compete in the UFC way back in March 2010. Ian ‘the machine’ Freeman finished his career with an excellent record of 20-7-1, going 3-1 under the ultimate fighting championship. A fan favourite fondly remembered within the UK MMA scene and a long-time fan of the sport, he now hopes his daughter can go on to better what he achieved by reaching the premier promotion and challenging for titles.
The Machine 2.0 has been living up to her name thus far in her career. She stopped both of the opponents she faced in Cage Warriors. On Saturday, she added to that when Portuguese Carmona retired on her stool at the end of the fourth round after relentless work from Freeman, who dominated all aspects of the fight.
Becoming just the fourth women’s champion in Cage Warriors history and still undefeated at 6-0, Kennedy is on a clear pathway towards the UFC. The motivation is stronger than ever for the newly crowned bantamweight belt holder. She will now likely defend the belt and aim to create a big opportunity for herself towards the back end of 2025.
The Machine 2.0 – One for the future!
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Hardwick retains his Featherweight title.
Harry ‘Houdini’ Hardwick moved to 12-3-1 after stopping Brazilian Keweny Lopes(11-2-1) in the fourth round. One half of two sibling champions, Harry is 6-0-1 under cage warriors and went 1-1 in Bellator. He hasn’t yet had the opportunity for a shot at the UFC but is now banging on the door to get in.
His brother, George, who is the lightweight champion under the same banner, previously had an opportunity on Dana White’s contender series but didn’t make it past the first contest. He has also fought in Bellator, going 2-0 there, and is on a 7-fight unbeaten streak with his current outfit after losing his debut back in October 2019.
‘Houdini’ has one stoppage, three decisions and two TKO victories under the European promotion, he has now successfully defended his title once in a largely dominant performance against a training partner of UFC future hall of famer Jose Aldo. The little success Lopes did have came in the third round when he was in top position and had Hardwick in a guillotine choke which was sublimely defended by the Middleborough man.
By the end of the round, the Englishman was in the ascendancy, with a ground and pound filled with clean shots that caused the referee to warn Lopes, who was then saved by the hooter. Both walking into the centre cage at the start of the fourth, it was clear as day that Hardwick smelt blood, pouncing on the challenger to his crown, forcing the stoppage 1 minute 20 seconds into the round.
ONE TO WATCH: Sean ‘The One’ Clancy Junior shines after a late call-up to card!
Moving to 6-0 and getting revenge for countryman Chris Bungard over Andrey Augusto(16-8-1) ‘The One’ Sean Clancy Junior is a stand out UK amateur and making huge waves in the professional ranks. A late addition to the card, he produced a stellar performance over a seasoned fighter with a massive size advantage, obliterating him in the final round with a vicious attack and a sickening body shot in the penultimate one that finished Augusto.
The Scotsman is now on a four-fight win streak in cage warriors and has a huge army of Bravehearts behind him. He aims to reach the heights of current UFC stars Paul Craig and Chris Duncan.
FULL UNDERCARD RESULTS:
Featherweight: Harry Hardwick (c) def. Keweny Lopes by TKO, Round 4, 1:02 – for the Cage Warriors featherweight championship
Woman’s Bantamweight: Kennedy Freeman def. Mafalda Carmona by TKO (retirement) Round 4, 5:00 – for the vacant Cage Warriors women’s bantamweight championship
Welterweight: Justin Burlinson def. Theodor Berggren by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 2:44
Lightweight: James Power def. Dumitru Girlean by knockout, Round 2, 2:08
Welterweight: Sean Clancy Jr. def. Andrey Augusto by TKO, Round 3, 1:23
Light Heavyweight: Yannick Bahati vs Charles Joyner ends in a technical split draw (30-28, 28-29, 29-29)
Preliminary Card
Lightweight: Daniel Konrad def. Aiden Lee by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:52
Lightweight: Bailey Gilbert def. Alberth Dias by unanimous decision (28-27, 28-27, 28-27)
Featherweight: Leon Armes def. Michał Folc by knockout, Round 1, 3:41
Middleweight: Qendrim Pallata def. James Dixon by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:12
Middleweight: Michael Tchamou def. Delmar Silva by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1 1:20
Cage Warriors final event of the year is being held in San Diego, California on 13th December and as usual LIVE a part of the UFC FIGHT PASS subscription.
The promotion that dons the famous yellow gloves is due to announce its 2025 schedule, which is set to be the busiest yet. They continue to play a huge part in the careers of fighters who can reach unthinkable heights in mixed martial arts, most notably Michael Bisping, Conor McGregor, Paddy Pimblett, and current interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
