Mick Stanton Hammers James Webb, Defends Middleweight Title at CW 157

After weathering an early storm, a comeback late in the round secured the TKO win for Mick Stanton. He retains the CW Middleweight Title 🏆 what an incredible fight by both competitors 👏#CW157 pic.twitter.com/xIqxgm55It

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) July 21, 2023

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship mainstay Mick Stanton now knows the sweet taste of revenge.

For as long as it lasted, the CW 157 headliner was a slugfest starring Stanton (12-7, 9-5 CW) and James Webb (9-5-1, 8-5-1 CW) with the middleweight championship on the line. In their first clash, Webb defeated Stanton by unanimous decision. This time, the match was far, but much was more intense. Webb rocked his adversary right out of the gate with powerful strikes, keeping Stanton guessing until dropping him with a powerful body shot. Stanton recovered quickly enough and fired back with a vengeance. Thanks to a series of quick fists and a well-timed uppercut, Stanton rebounded and dropped Webb, and he immediately followed up with ground-and-pound. With Webb no longer intelligently defending himself, “The Huyton Hammer” lived up to his nickname and hammered the nail, procuring the stoppage at 4:21 of Round 1.

The comeback is on for Jordan Vucenic. Another RNC win for the Epidemic. 2-0 in 2023 👀
📺 Watch #CW157 live on UFC Fight Pass. pic.twitter.com/y1hgSqlBZv

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) July 21, 2023

In the co-main event, former featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic made promotional newcomer Brice Picaud feel quite unwelcome as he tapped him with a rear-naked choke. Vucenic (11-2, 7-1 CW) dictated the pace of the fight, landing effectively on the feet and chaining together successful takedowns to move the action to the floor when he needed. On the mat, Vucenic displayed an edge over Picaud (10-8, 1 NC; 0-1 CW), as the Frenchman held on to defend himself from the oncoming offense. After a dominant first round, Vucenic took Picaud down early in the second period and quickly secured his opponent’s back. Once in the favorable position, Vucenic wrapped up a tight rear-naked choke. Picaud resisted for as long as he could, but ultimately surrendered at 1:38. Vucenic has won nine of his latest 10 outings.

Smooth as silk!#CW157 pic.twitter.com/IlMSozN6lo

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 21, 2023

Elsewhere, former 145-pound champ Morgan Charriere (18-9-1, 6-3 CW) overcame Diego Silva (15-9, 0-1 CW) with punches at 4:13 of Round 3; Madars Bertholds-Fleminas (12-4, 7-4 CW) overpowered Daniel Skibinski (19-9, 1-3 CW) with a flurry of punches 44 seconds into the second frame in their welterweight clash; up-and-coming 145-pounder Luke Riley (7-0, 7-0 CW) outpointed Matheus Malta (10-4, 0-1 CW) on all scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 30-26); featherweight Harry Hardwick (10-3-1, 4-0-1 CW) choked out Vitor Estevam de Mello Souza (6-1, 0-1 CW) with a remarkable rear-naked choke 33 seconds into Round 2.

Just another day in the office for Will Currie 👏

📺 Watch #CW157 LIVE on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/ZBisvRAvUk

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) July 21, 2023

On the jam-packed preliminary card, 185-pounder Will Currie (10-3, 6-3 CW) put Jorge Luiz Bueno Jr. (6-3, 1 NC; 0-1 CW) away with elbows at 2:59 of Round 2; Angus Hewett (1-1, 1-1 CW) clobbered Connor Hayes (0-1, 0-1 CW) at 3:52 of Round 2 in a 185-pound affair; welterweight Omiel Brown (6-2, 6-2 CW) smashed Jesse Urholin (8-2, 2-2 CW) with a perfectly-timed uppercut at 3:47 of the opening stanza; 145-pounder Taka Mhandu (3-2, 1-1 CW) crushed Grant Ogborne (2-1, 0-1 CW) with punches 45 seconds into the third period; Weslley Maia (8-6, 3-3 CW) outclassed Shirzad Qadrian (3-1, 0-1 CW) en route to a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in their 135-pound contest; Liam Gittins (11-4, 9-4 CW) pounded out Janne Elonen-Kulmala (16-12-1, 1 NC; 0-1 CW) at 3:17 of Round 1 at featherweight; a heavy Tom Mearns (10-8, 5-6 CW) took home a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over Bailey Gilbert (7-5, 0-1 CW) in their 150-pound catchweight matchup after missing weight by 4.4 pounds; 145-pound upstart George Tanasa (3-2-1, 1-0-1 CW) handled Wesley Machado (3-4, 0-2 CW) to pick up to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-26, 29-28); in the card opener, Tom Creasey (5-1, 1-0 CW) upended Ander Sanchez (2-2, 2-2 CW) on all scorecards (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) at flyweight.