Italian Prospect Danilo Belluardo Earns Quick TKO Triumph in Golden Cage 2 Headliner

This past Saturday, Italian promotion The Golden Cage held its second event, a mix of MMA fights and live hip hop exhibition. Some of the finest up-and-coming MMA talents from across Italy showed up at the event, which took place at PalaSesto in Milan, Italy, the organization’s home base.

In the main event, lightweight Danilo Belluardo needed a little more than a minute to pass his latest test, as he blasted Dragoljub Stanojevic by technical knockout at the 1:27 mark of the first round. Stanojevic, who came in as a short notice replacement after Dominic Schober got injured, was 6-1 in his last 7 fights, but his plans to defeat the local hero didn’t materialize.

The Italian prospect showcased all his striking skills on the feet before closing the distance and securing a takedown. On the ground, some nasty elbows and ferocious hammerfists landed by "Caterpillar" forced the referee to stop the action. Belluardo has reiterated once again that he is a force to be reckoned with on the European scene, as he landed his fourth win in four 2018 appearances thus far.

In the co-feature of the event, SBGi representative Daniele Scatizzi displayed both technical and mental improvements and put on a “Fight of the Night” show against Norwegian Kim Tinghaugen. Scatizzi, cornered by his teammate Peter Queally, showed all the development of his ground game, nearly ending the fight in the second round with a tight triangle choke.

Tinghaugen was saved by the bell, and he made Scatizzi work a little longer to achieve the win via unanimous decision. Next up for the 25-year-old is a bout under the Brave Combat Federation banner against an as-yet-to-be-determined opponent.

In other main card action, Extreme Fighting Championship strawweight queen – and Livorno, Italy, native -- Chiara Penco was given a chance by the South African promotion to fight in her home country. Penco took advantage of the opportunity and improved to 4-0 with a first-round rear-naked choke submission of Elena Andrushenko (1-1) at the 4:02 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, middleweight Leon Aliu (8-0) submitted former UFC fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Amilcar Alves (15-13) via guillotine choke 4:34 into the first round. In a featured 145-pound bout, Danyel Pilo (10-1) defeated Dragan Pesic (15-13) by TKO 2:15 into the opening stanza. Manolo Zecchini (6-1) won via unanimous decision against Francesco Moricca (5-2) in their 155-pound bout. In the opening main card bout, Manolo Scianna (8-3) defeated Gregorio Davide La Torre (4-2) via split decision.