A handful of top Welsh names were in search of victory at Cage Warriors 87 in Newport, but for MAT Academy trio Lewis Long, Aaron Khalid and Josh Ellis, it proved to be a wretched night.
Ellis was up first against Englishman Lawrence Tracey on the preliminary side of the card. Tracey dominated large parts of the fight with ruthless striking whilst Ellis looked to take the fight to the floor wherever possible.
Despite a couple of successful takedown attempts, the 25-year old never seized opportunities and failed to land any significant blows to his opponent. Tracey cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
On the main card, in-form prospect Aaron Khalid faced his toughest test against unbeaten Scotsman Ross Houston.
Houston enjoyed success in the opening two rounds, putting himself in a commanding position for victory. Khalid however, almost secured a choke and landed numerous elbows from mount in the final round, almost snatching the win from the jaws of defeat. However, Houston went on to claim a unanimous decision from the judges.
Roberto Soldic emulates Cro Cop with Lewis Long finish at Cage Warriors 87
All hopes for The MAT Academy rested on the broad shoulders of Lewis Long when he faced Roberto Soldic in the main event of the night.
The fight didn’t even get a chance to settle before Croatian Soldic landed a brutal kick to the head of Long which sent him crashing to the canvas, forcing referee Rich Mitchell to call a halt to proceedings. Controversy loomed with a punch over the top of the referee on Long from Soldic but the result stood.
https://twitter.com/CageWarriors/status/919495569378119680
Craig White and Jack Shore impress on the Cage Warriors 87 main card
In the co-main event of the night, “The Thundercat” Craig White continued a truly remarkable 2017 with yet another first-round stoppage, this time over UK veteran Matt Inman.
White stopped his opponent with a ferocious volley of punches and thus made it three wins from three this calendar year. This helps further his call for a welterweight title shot after three consecutive victories as the betting underdog under the Cage Warriors banner.
Craig White dropping BOMBS on Matt Inman to secure the victory in our co-main event.
Did you see that coming??#CW87 pic.twitter.com/pw8JHbD6Rp
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 14, 2017
Arguably the biggest prospect on the night in the form of Jack Shore continued to impress with an impressive third-round stoppage of Mattia Galbiati.
After dominating the whole fight, Shore worked an opening in the third and final round when he unleashed a powerful knee, connecting flush on the Italian’s chin.
https://twitter.com/CageWarriors/status/919480485704695808
Cage Warriors 87 Results
Roberto Soldic def. Lewis Long via KO (Head kick) – Round 1 (0:40)
Craig White def/ Matt Inman via TKO (Punches) – Round 1 (2:40)
Jack Shore def. Mattia Galbiati via KO (Knee) – Round 3 (4:14)
Aiden Lee def. Ludovit Klein via submission (Rear-naked choke) – Round 1 (2:34)
Ross Houston def. Aaron Khalid via decision (Unanimous) – (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Williams def. Cosmin Tutu via submission (Armbar) – Round 1 (2:12)
Kris Edwards def. Bryan Creighton via submission (Rear-naked choke) – Round 2 (1:44)
Cornelia Holm def. Diana Felipe via decision (Unanimous)
Mason Jones def. Shaun Luther via submission (Rear-naked choke) – Round 3 (4:48)
Lawrence Tracey def. Josh Ellis via decision (Unanimous) – (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
