Cage Warriors has a new unified featherweight champion.
Friday at Cage Warriors 145, interim champion Paul Hughes stepped into the cage to face champion Jordan Vucenic in a title unification bout. After five bloody rounds, Hughes (9-1) would be the man holding the gold, avenging a prior loss to Vucenic (9-2) in an impressive performance.
The fight took place in front of a rowdy crowd at the Indigo at the O2 in London, serving as the main event of the evening.
When the fight began, neither man rushed the action, knowing they had 25 minutes to settle the outcome. Each fighter picked their shots well, early and remained calculated. Vucenic pushed ahead with strikes as Hughes remained calm and attempted to slow things down.
Early in the second round, Hughes quickly found the back of Vucenic while standing and locked in a body triangle. Vucenic did well to prevent any submission attempts when they went to the ground, but spent the majority of the round defending with Hughes on his back.
Vucenic turned up the pressure in the third, going first with combinations, keeping Hughes on his back foot. However, late in the round, Hughes put together a flurry that opened a cut on the right eye of Vucenic.
UH OH!!#CW145 pic.twitter.com/surhqvceJd
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 4, 2022
The fourth was huge for Hughes, as he put together a vicious combination that dropped Vucenic, causing him to scramble for a takedown to stop the onslaught. With blood flowing from the face of Vucenic, Hughes took his back and continued landing punches while looking for a rear-naked choke.
We are heading into the 5th and final round!
Watch #CW145 now on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/0rwHj8mC50— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 4, 2022
The final round saw more damage dished out by Hughes. The entering interim champion hurt Vucenic again with strikes, leading to more ground damage and control on the blood-soaked canvas until the conclusion of the bout.
The judges turned in scores of 49-46, 50-43, and 49-43 in favor of Huges, crowning him the new unified featherweight champion.
“UFC, I’m coming!” Hughes screamed into the camera as he celebrated his victory.
🇮🇪 The Champ is just getting started pic.twitter.com/rFGAvDG3iF
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 4, 2022
The win extended Hughes’ win streak to three. The only loss of his pro career came against Vucenic, where he ended up on the wrong end of a split decision at Cage Warriors 119 in 2020.
For Vucenic, the result snapped a seven-fight win streak stretching back to April 2019.
Full results of Cage Warriors 145 include:
- Paul Hughes def. Jordan Vucenic via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-43, 49-43)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Lee Chadwick via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar def. Xavier Sedras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Caolan Loughran def. Luke Shanks via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:46
- James Webb def. Paddy McCorry via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ryan Shelley def. Josh Reed via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:00
- Harry Hardwick def. Steve Aimable via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Oban Elliott def. Sean McCormac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Adam Shelley def. El Hadji Ndiaye via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
