American lightweight prospect Chasen Blair announced himself as a potential championship contender at 155 pounds with a first-round finish of Florin Pirtea at Cage Warriors 177: Unplugged in Manchester.
The event, which forms the first leg of a Manchester double-header at the BEC Arena, was headlined by a lightweight clash between Blair and Pirtea, with the American former collegiate wrestler showcasing his grappling skills as “Mestizo” finished Pirtea with a triangle choke inside the opening round.
That Transition to the Submission 😮💨
Chasen Blair locks in the triangle choke win in our #CW177 Unplugged main event! pic.twitter.com/D4dSs9jheO
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 20, 2024
Blair’s victory capped off a quickfire night of fights that called the judges into action just once across the nine-fight card. Of the eight fight finishes, six came inside the opening round.
That included Blair’s submission finish in the main event, while English bantamweight Ollie Sarwa registered the fastest finish of the night in the co-main event, with his TKO finish of Percy Herrera coming in just 55 seconds.
Moldovan lightweight prospect Marin Vetrila also claimed a first-round finish, with a huge right hand bringing him a knockout victory over Adam Shelley in his main card matchup to move to 5-1 as a pro.
The SOUND of that Right Hand KO 😨
Marin Vetrila with a huge knockout on our main card!
📺 Watch #CW177 Unplugged live on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/VhH6yIKRuB
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 20, 2024
Also on the main card, Alish Smith stunned Rhi Rhi Hudson in the second round of their strawweight matchup, while undefeated American Anthony Orozco earned a first-round TKO victory over Brazil’s Thiago Habib. The main card kicked off with another first-round finish, as Joe Middleton submitted Spain’s Joan Arastey with a D’Arce choke in their middleweight matchup.
Cage Warriors 177: Unplugged – Official results
MAIN CARD
- Chasen Blair def. Florin Pirtea via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:55
- Ollie Sarwa def. Percy Herrera via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:55
- Marin Vetrila def. Adam Shelley via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:07
- Alish Smith def. Rhi Rhi Hudson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:28
- Anthony Orozco def. Thiago Habib via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:58
- Joe Middleton def. Joan Arastey via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 1:27
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Michael Tchamou def. Angus Hewett via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:21
- Nell Ariano def. Farshad Nazarnia via split decision
- Connor Patterson def. Jan Masek via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:39
