April has been and gone and with it, another month of memorable mayhem is in the books. With long-awaited returns to the great fighting cities of Dublin and Glasgow in the calendar, all the ingredients were in for a healthy helping of Cage Warriors highlights.
As CW 172 in Newcastle edges ever closer, resident Play-by-Play man Brad Wharton takes a look back at some of the biggest moments from the month of April!
CW 170: Dublin
First up was a trip across the Irish sea to Dublin town, as Cage Warriors once again took up residency in the RDS for a what would be one of the promotion’s most critically acclaimed nights of action in recent years.
On a night full of stand-out moments it’s tough to pick out just a few, but that’s not a bad problem to have…
Sheehan Wins the Big One
Fairy tale endings don’t come much better than the hometown hero winning a world title in the main event.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dublin’s Sheehan though; Switzerland’s Daniel Konrad wasn’t there to make up the numbers, and the pair engaged in a bloody, back-and-forth battle of wills.
Ultimately though the home crowd got what they wanted, with ‘Jimbo Slice’ securing the submission, and the title, with a fourth round head and arm choke to become the latest in a long line of Irish Cage Warriors champions.
If only he could catch Paul Redmond with it in the gym…
McAleenan Continues the Comeback Trail
Speaking of Irish greats, elsewhere on the card we saw Decky McAleenan cement his status as one of the island’s most underrated scrappers.
The Newry man was looking to make it two on the bounce against Finland’s Ville Mankinen, with designs on a CW title run very much at the forefront of his mind.
The Team Torres rep looked sharper than ever, marshalling the cage before unloading a blazing combination of kicks, knees, elbows and punches to close the show in the second round.
King Simon Remains Undefeated
From a long-time fixture of the Irish scene to a man just beginning his journey (in the professional ranks at least).
Dublin’s Solomon Simon invested heavily in his time on the amateur circuit, and it’s paying dividends for him as a pro.
In a mouth-watering clash of 3-0 prospects against Ieuan Mackenzie, Simon proved himself to have the edge on the night.
After putting a thrilling exclamation mark on his performance with a buzzer-beater rear-naked choke with just a second left in the second round, the Team Ryano man’s stock has never been higher.
CW 171: Glasgow
From Dublin we headed to Scotland, and the long overdue end of a 12 year hiatus.
A capacity crowd was on hand at the Braehead Arena, providing one of the most intense atmospheres in recent memory and boy, were they in for a rollercoaster ride.
Sean Clancy Jr: The Golden Child Continues to Shine
It’s equal parts impressive and terrifying to see a prospect like Sean Clancy Jr consistently evolve at the rate he is.
Like a locomotive gathering pace, SCJ is steaming through the welterweight division. He’s finished all four professional opponents (including two in the famous yellow gloves) and hasn’t shown a hint of slowing down.
Following his brutal stoppage of Lucas Rodrigues, Scottish MMA fans have good reason to board the hype train.
Nicolas Leblond: All of the Violence, All of the Time
He’s done it again.
Every time we think that France’s Leblond couldn’t possibly add to his string of frankly ludicrous displays of Ultra Violence, he proves us wrong.
This time, against a resurgent Scott Malone, he did it off the back foot. The heavy hitter was two rounds down on all three judges’ scorecards going into the final frame.
It had been a thoroughly entertaining fare throughout; two heavy-handed Judokas, happy to bang it out usually is.
Leblond was able to pull something out of the fire in the third though, a clubbing shot that spelled the beginning of the end for Malone.
Could a title shot be on the horizon?
Dumitru Girlean: The Spoiler
It was a bout dubbed ‘The Spoiler vs The Square Go’er’…unfortunately for the home time, the CW 172 main event belonged to the former.
Scotland’s Chris Bungard looked to be on fine form early on, but by the time he and Dumitru Girlean came out for the second, the tables had turned.
Girlean was a man on a mission, dominating the ground exchanges before locking up a fight ending guillotine choke with just over a minute left to play with in the round.
Slowly but surely, the Fight House Verona project has inched his way from being one to watch, into the realms of legitimate contender.
With $50k Prize Fighters, title bouts and more coming your way as the 2024 World Tour rolls on, its time to strap in for the Cage Warriors Summer of Fun.