The night’s co-main event featured two 185 pound middleweights as the French Boubacar Balde stepped into the ring to face South Londoner Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick. It was a lively fight in the first round as they both traded blows and tried to take each other to the ground, but it was mostly grappling against the walls of the cage. No fighters dominated the round but Bostwick put in the better performance as they both respected each other’s power.
The second round was no different however as Bostwick slammed Balde to the ground after two minutes and he stabilized the mount and Balde struggled to transition but he finally went on top and cut Bostwick open and blood was pouring out of his head as the round finished. The cut didn’t get any better as Boubacar tried to target it, leaving Bostwick having to cover himself using the cage. The clock ran down, to the fighters’ delight, and Jake Bostwick won 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
It was time for the main event between highly talented bantamweights James Pennington and Corey Tait with both holding good records. The former, is a submission specialist with a background in jiu-jitsu whilst the latter trains tae kwon do and kickboxing. It proved to be an eventful fight in the first round as there was a lot of accurate striking. It was all over after 2 minutes and 35 seconds as Pennington tapped out due to an extremely well applied standing guillotine choke. Although it was out of view of the camera it was a definite stoppage with James looking very stressed and hurt.
It was the first time I had ever watched a Cage Warriors event. I hadn’t even heard of the promotion until a few weeks ago either, but watching this event has hooked me and I will be tuning in to watch their next show. Some of the fighters such as Boubacar Balde and Jake Bostwick seem to be very talented and although not as young as they would like to be, I feel that there could be a place for them in the UFC, but I will make a further judgement when I become a regular viewer of the British promotion.
~ Other main card results ~
Matt Inman defeated Gregor Weibel via unanimous decision (30 – 27, 29-28, 29-28)
Laura Howarth defeated Amanda Kelly via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nad Naramani defeated Benjamin Brander via Submission at 4:53 of the 1st round
Danny Roberts defeated Juan Manuel Suarez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)