Cage Warriors 109: Jai Herbert scores stunning knee KO to defend lightweight title

Jai Herbert strengthened his grip on the Cage Warriors lightweight title with a stunning first-round finish of Cain Carrizosa in front of a hometown crowd in Birmingham, England.

Herbert was dazzling en route to his first successful title defense, which took place Saturday in the main event of Cage Warriors 109. Just thirty seconds into the bout, the Team Renegade product had knocked Carrizosa, a former UFC fighter, off his feet and stalked him around the cage.

On several occasions, Herbert rocked Carrizosa with his straight right. As Carrizosa struggled to stay in the fray, “The Black County Badger” landed a stunning knee that put the American to sleep on contact at the 3:26 mark of the opening frame.

Afterward, Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan underlined his belief that Herbert is ready for the UFC.

In the co-headliner, Morgan Charriere exploded into action in the final round of his showdown with former featherweight champion Dean Trueman, stunning the U.K. MMA veteran with a devastating overhand right and five-shot combination that prompted referee Marc Goddard to stop the action.

Speaking after the contest, Charriere expressed his interest in fighting for the Cage Warriors featherweight title; champ Mads Burnell already is booked for action against Steve Aimable in November.

Chris Miah returned to action with a unanimous decision win over bantamweight frontrunner Brian Bouland, only to make a surprise announcement. The bout had been considered a number one contender bout for Jack Cartwright’s bantamweight title, but Miah announced afterward that he’d retired. The champ didn’t look too happy with Miah’s announcement when he appeared on the broadcast shortly after.

Perry Goodwin introduced himself to the featherweight division with a dynamic display against Samir Alakozai. Goodwin’s signature power seemed to translate to the lighter weight category as he consistently landed heavy punches throughout the contest. He brought pause to Alakozai’s wrestling advances on a number of occasions with opportunistic submission attempts.

Opening the main card, Mick Stanton continued his resurgent run at middleweight and overcame adversity before a second-round submission of Michael Younis. After his knee appeared to buckle, Stanton forced Younis to the canvas before taking his back and finishing him with a rear-naked choke.

Full results:

• Jai Herbert def. Cain Carrizosa via KO (knee) at 3:26 of R1
• Morgan Charriere def. Dean Trueman via TKO (strikes) at 1:08 of R3
• Chris Miah def. Brian Bouland via unanimous decision
• Perry Goodwin def. Samir Alakozai via unanimous decision
• Mick Stanton def. Michael Younis via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:54 of R2
• Jordan Vucenic def. Konmon Deh via unanimous decision
• Madars Fleminas def. George Hardwick via unanimous decision
• George Smith def. Jenaid Ebanks via unanimous decision