San Diego played host to Cage Warriors 173 on Friday night, where Brazilian debutant Bruno Souza claimed the victory over Wilson Reis in the battle of former UFC veterans.
The pair faced off in the main event at the Sycuan Casino Resort, with Souza showcasing his calmness and composure to recover from a second-round knockdown to clam the victory on all three scorecards.
WHAT A LEFT HAND BY REIS!!!
📺 Watch #CW173 live on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/gkbhPEh6WG
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 8, 2024
Reis pushed forward in search of a finish, while Souza operated off the back foot, countering smartly as the former UFC flyweight title challenger surged forward looking to land big shots.
In the end, Souza’s more measured work earned him the nod from the judges, with all three scoring the bout 29-28.
DEBUT DUBS 🤩
Bruno Souza picks up the unanimous decision win in our #CW173 Main Event! pic.twitter.com/p2lmr6XVRg
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 8, 2024
The co-main event saw a something of a shock results, as Mexico’s Javier Garcia outpointed Roberto Hernandez.
And there was a big win for Damon Wilson, who claimed a shutout win on the scorcards to defeat Brandon Carrillo.
The top of the fight card saw the last four fights of the night go to the judges, with the first of the four seeing Xavier Vines get the nod after polling 30-27s across the board against Diego Bigelow.
The rest of the night saw finishes all the way, with the first four matchups on the card all producing stoppages of different kinds.
The main card opened with a rear-naked choke submission victory for Russian bantamweight Magomed Bayduev, who finished James Settle in the second round, while the featured preliminary card bout saw Sean Rose stop Chadricc Kindle via first-round TKO in their heavyweight matchup.
Welcome to THE MATRIX 🤯 Anthony Desilva’s right hand delivers a knockout punch!
📺 Watch #CW173 live on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/SNqJADE9v2
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 8, 2024
Earlier in the night, Anthony Desilva knocked out Joseph Perez half-way through the opening round of their lightweight contest, and the first fight of the night ended in unfortunate fashion after a thumping kick to the groin from Chris Owen left Ilias Faquiri unable to continue. With the strike deemed to be accidental, and with insufficient fight time completed to render a decision, the bout was ruled a no contest.
Cage Warriors 173: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Bruno Souza def. Wilson Reis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Javier Garcia def. Roberto Hernandez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Damon Wilson def. Brandon Carrillo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Xavier Vines def. Diego Bigelow via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Magomed Bayduev vs. James Settle via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:52
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Sean Rose def. Chadricc Kindle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:04
- Anthony Desilva def. Joseph Perez via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:43
- Ilias Faquiri vs. Chris Owen ruled a no contest (accidental groin kick) – Round 2, 1:30
