Time flies when you’re having fun! With the first six months of 2024 and an incredible eight events in four different countries under our belts, Cage Warriors are gearing up for the second half of the calendar with more incredible action in the Famous Yellow Gloves heading your way.
Tickets for upcoming Cage Warriors events are available now!
Before we do that though, it’d be remiss of us not to take a look back at some of the highlights on 2024 so far; the bone-jarring knockouts, slick submissions, back-and-forth wars and standout performances that have made Cage Warriors events so special.
So without further ado, join resident Play-by-Play man Brad Wharton as he takes a walk down memory lane and gathers up the best of Cage Warriors’ 2024 campaign…so far!
KO of the Year (so far): Kennedy Freeman
It’s been quite the year for knockouts so far, but fewer have been more dramatic than Kennedy Freeman’s third round stoppage of Gisele Libânio at CW 172 in Newcastle.
The Brazilian was proving to be quite the frustrating customer for local hero Freeman, seeming more content to stifle the action rather than actually engage.
Further frustration piled up in the second round, when it appeared that Libânio didn’t want to continue following a low blow, but when replays showed the knee to be clean, she was summoned to he feet.
That’s when Freeman turned up the temperature; her punches still had the same snap they’d had in the first round, and midway through the third they proved to be just too much.
A combination left Libânio reeling, before a crisp left hook put her out, sending the partisan crowd into raptures.
Honourable mentions: Early contenders for KO of the Year have been coming in thick and fast. Former bantamweight champion Michele Martignoni announced his return to the division with a clinical finish of Raz Bring. Elsewhere, fellow PrizeFighter entrant Alessandro Giorgano got back to winning ways with a third round finish of Sam Kelly, Charles Joyner debuted in style with a vicious knee to the body of Albert Serpeti and Mariusz Mikołajewski showed his one-shot stopping power against Josh Onwardi.
Submission of the Year (so far): Mitchell Goode
It’s probably a little unfair to write this one off so early, but if there’s a submission that tops Mitch Goode’s Hail Mary Buggy Choke against Angus Hewett at CW 169, it’s going to have to be very, very special.
The Buggy Choke has enjoyed a surge in popularity in grappling circles of late, but it’s not often we see one pulled off within the confines of the MMA cage.
Enter grappling prodigy Mitchell Goode.
Making his professional debut after a glittering amateur career that included multiple IMMAF and Cage Warriors Academy appearances, Goode had his work cut out for him in the shape of fellow CWA vet Angus Hewett.
Hewett started strong, dominating vast swathes of their encounter with relentless barrages of ground ‘n’ pound.
With just a minute left to play with, Goode went back to the well with one last attempt at a Buggy Choke, eventually sealing it up at 4:24 of the final round.
Scenes.
Honourable Mentions: Ger Harris pulled off quite the come-from-behind submission after a touch-and-go first few minutes against notoriously tricky grappler Gregory Wamytan in Dublin. CW favourite Jordan Vucenic snatched a rarely-seen Kimura finish in Dublin, while Chasen Blair picked up the first submission victory of his career with a lightening fast armbar against Artūrs Leisāns at CW 172.
Performance of the Year (so far): Harry Hardwick
It felt like a moment he’d been waiting a lifetime for, but when Middlesborough’s Harry Hardwick finally got the chance to contest Cage Warriors gold, he wasn’t about to let the anticipation get to him.
It wasn’t just the wait adding pressure; Hardwick was looking to follow in the footsteps of coach Abdul Mohamed and younger brother George as Cage Warriors champions representing the Middlesborough Fight Academy.
From the moment he walked out into the Vertu Motors Arena though, one thing was abundantly clear: This was the Harry Hardwick Show.
‘Houdini’ didn’t miss a trick; persistently walking his man down while dishing out relentless punishment.
Orlando Wilson Pris gave it his level best, but the gulf in class was simply too wide on the night.
Honourable Mentions: Fran Breen put on an absolute masterclass at CW 168 in Manchester, the same card that saw teammate Liam Gittins defeat rival Roberto Hernandez to defend his title. Andy Clamp put on a herculean effort to capture CW gold later that night, while in Dublin, Decky McAleenan scored an epic KO on his return to action.
Fight of the Year (so far): James Sheehan vs Daniel Konrad
Mixed Martial Arts performances can run the whole spectrum from the sublime to the ridiculous; phenomenal feats of skill to meme-worthy Hail Marys, we’ve seen them all.
Sometimes what you need though, is a good, old fashioned punch up.
That’s exactly what we got when James Sheehan and Daniel Konrad threw down in Dublin at CW 170; buckets of blood, a tonne of guts and a healthy dollop of heart on the side.
The pair punched, kicked, elbowed and knee’s seven shades of you-know-what out of each other for the duration of a seesaw battle that turned on a sixpence multiple times.
I’ll save you the play-by-play, this is one that has to be seen to be appreciated.
Honourable Mentions: After more organised chaos? We’ve certainly had you covered so far in 2024. Tom Creasey and Amir Malekpour tore lumps out of each other in an instant classic in London that went right down to the wire. Shawn Da Silva and Lone’er Kavanagh’s three round technical masterpiece lived up to billing, while Omiel Brown and Raphael Aronov kept fans on the edge of their seats at Unplugged in Manchester.
Did we hit all your highlights of 2024 (so far)? Let us know how right – or wrong – we were @CageWarriors on all our social channels!
You can rewatch all your favourite CW moments from 2024 and beyond on UFC Fight Pass. Why no go one better and be a part of the action yourself with tickets to an upcoming Cage Warriors event?
We’ll see you cageside!