On Saturday, July 4, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship hosted Cage Warriors 209, live from Vertu Arena in Newcastle, England. In the main event former Cage Warriors lightweight champion George Hardwick, from nearby Middlesbrough, took on Brazilian Nicolas Sávio. Sávio came in on a few weeks notice after Hardwick’s original opponent, Gavin Hughes, pulled out.
The main event was a close fight and it ended in a split decision for Hardwick. However, Sávio clearly felt like he’d done enough to win. It also looked like Hardwick felt like Sávio did enough to win, too. He looked almost sheepish while getting his hand raised and speaking with Sávio afterwards.
Sávio lost despite spending a lot of time controlling the clinch against Hardwick and landing the best shots of the fight, some of which caused a little bit of damage. This was Sávio’s debut with the yellow gloves. It will be interesting to see if he comes back.
The win gets Hardwick to 15-4 as a pro. The win also sees him rebound from a submission loss he took to Daniel Konrad, by flying armbar, the last time he fought in Newcastle.
In the co-main France’s Nell Ariano took a unanimous decision over Poland’s Norbert Pietrzak. Pietrzak took the first round with his striking, but Ariano took over in the second and third with his takedowns and ground and pound. Ariano, a former high level judo player, is now 6-0 in MMA.
Also on this card Brits Oscar Ownsworth and Fraser Paterson impressed with first round submission wins. Brazilian veteran Rony Henrique also got a win, taking a decision over Italy’s Damiano Scogna.
The event aired live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Check below for full results.
George Hardwick def. Nicolas Sávio by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Nell Ariano def. Norbert Pietrzak by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Oscar Ownsworth def. Gabriele Galluccio by submission (ninja choke). Round 1, 4:27
Fraser Paterson def. Dmitirii Ceacusta by submission (guillotine). Round 1, 2:46
Rony Henrique def. Damiano Scogna by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Stevie Lee def. Vladimir Stanca by TKO (punches). Round 2, 4:27
Geoff Pavey def. David Allen by TKO (retirement). Round 1, 5:00
Randy Mboyo def. Anas Nfaou by TKO (punches). Round 1, 3:44
Luca Borando def. Leandro Camargo by KO (elbow). Round 1, 2:17
Zanyar Kamaran def. Lincoln Strong by TKO (knee and punches). Round 1, 3:20
Chris Morris def. Joshua Onwordi by submission (rear naked choke). Round 3, 2:40