A packed night of fights in Glasgow saw a new PrizeFighter crowned, while a returning champion cemented his place at the top of the lightweight division.
The main event saw the conclusion of the night’s welterweight PrizeFighter tournament as Omiel Brown faced off against Bourama Camara.
Brown had blasted his way into the final with a first-round TKO of Henri Lintula earlier in the night, while Camara battled to a unanimous decision win over Marko Kisic to book his place in the tournament finale.
And when the pair faced off for the $50,000 prize, they battled all the way to the scorecards in a matchup that tested both men to the limit.
Brown looked the more accomplished mixed martial artist early as he mixed up his striking with his takedowns to keep the rangier Camara out of harm’s way. But, after two competitive rounds, Camara poured on the pressure in the final frame, and had Brown in big trouble as he connected with a relentless salvo of strikes. But Brown hung tough and turned to his wrestling to survive the onslaught and put Camara on his back heading into the final moments.
The bout was a very close encounter, and the judges were split on the verdict, with Brown taking the win with scores of 27-30 29-28, 29-28 to earn the $50,000 prize and a shot at the Cage Warriors welterweight title.
Omiel Brown has done it. A high level back and forth fight, Brown now finds himself $50k richer and next in line for a title shot 👏#CW176 💰 👏 pic.twitter.com/BEZ7HsVbW5
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 7, 2024
Hardwick banks the rounds to earn shutout win
The co-main event saw the return of Cage Warriors lightweight champion George Hardwick, who was pushed all the way to the final bell by Romanian contender Cristian Iorga.
Hardwick was the taller, longer fighter in the matchup, and he used those attributes to his advantage as he scored consistently with leg kicks and worked his familiar boxing to comfortably outscore Iorga through all five rounds to earn a shutout victory on the scorecards.
It gave Hardwick a confidence-returning victory after his decision loss to Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady on Dana White’s Contender Series last August, though his win saw him go to the scorecards for the first time in his Cage Warriors career.
George Hardwick retains his Cage Warriors Lightweight Title in a unanimous decision victory at #CW176 pic.twitter.com/PpL6g4pqxR
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 7, 2024
There were mixed fortunes for the Scottish stars on the main card in Glasgow, with victory for bantamweight contender Reece McEwan, who submitted France’s Miguel Haro with a third-round rear-naked choke, as well as for Michael Blair and Keir Harvie, who both claimed unanimous decision victories.
But it wasn’t to be for veteran lightweight Chris Bungard, who lost a unanimous decision to Brazilian Andrey Augusto.
Cage Warriors 176: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Omiel Brown def. Bourama Camara via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) – Welterweight PrizeFighter Final
- George Hardwick def. Cristian Iorga via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – for lightweight title
- Andrey Augusto def. Chris Bungard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Reece McEwan def. Miguel Haro via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:13
- Michael Blair def. Kye Stevens via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Keir Harvie def. Rory Evans via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Damon Donald def. Kallum Parker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Sean Clancy Jr. def. Rafael Aronov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:08 – PrizeFighter reserve bout
- Bourama Camara def. Marko Kisic via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) – PrizeFighter semi-final
- Omiel Brown def. Henri Lintula via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:43
- Jordan Stronge def. Wesley Machado via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:12
- Ryan Campbell def. Shahram Hotak via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Charles Joyner def. Branden Guest via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ryan Hewitt def. Redgie Hingston via TKO (body kick) – Round 1, 3:47
