Cage Warriors 144 + Weekly MMA Report

There is no UFC this Saturday, but please, don’t miss the top-notch, high-level Cage Warriors 144 on Friday. There will be many entertaining bouts coming up. But please, slow down a bit! Let’s analyze the last weekend, there were many entertaining UFC and Bellator finishes! That’s why I say never judge the book by its cover, many young guns want to prove themselves!

Dana White was very generous, as six fighters received an extra 50k paychecks! The Fight of the Night happened between John Castaneda and Daniel Santos.

THE SOUND OF THIS KNEE 🔊 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/asHYf7xYWK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Despite Santos being rocked twice in the first, he miraculously recovered in the second and stopped his opponent. Dana awarded both Octagon warriors with extra money.

An absolute 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑, John Castaneda vs Daniel Santos is your #UFCVegas61 Fight of the Night 👏

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/E9RdiOLIAW

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2022

Allen pulled out an upset over Jotko with a submission in the first round.

Brendan Allen got the submission late in Round 1 💪 #UFCVegas61

(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/6sEoSf3UUz

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 1, 2022

Joaquim Silva (Muay Thai flying switch knee), Chelsea Chandler (GNP finish round 1), and Guido Cannetti (no hooks rear-naked choke) also came out victorious, which opened up the door for the new amount of money on their bills.

Chelsea Chandler made a statement in her UFC debut 😤 #UFCVegas61

(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/DziRBUzi1w

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 1, 2022

CANNETTI GETS THE QUICK TAP 😲 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/ARTzFVmE9U

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Joaquim Silva starts the finishing sequence with a NASTY flying knee 😳 #UFCVegas61

(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/iBEBGoEx52

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 1, 2022

Interestingly, Sodiq Yusuff blasted Don Shainis for the second-fastest featherweight finish in the history of the promotion (only 30 seconds were needed), but the UFC head honcho didn’t enjoy that dominant performance.

SHORT NIGHT AT THE OFFICE FOR YUSUFF 💼 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/b6ZnohHrBr

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Well, Bellator kicked off with a gruesome injury, as a calf kick attempt ended up with a bone fracture – Palencia broke the leg due to a wrong angle.

An unfortunate ending to the opening fight of the night 👇

Tune in to the #Bellator286 prelims, brought to you by @MonsterEnergy and fueled by @Mirabito.

🔗 https://t.co/zMdsHRAwvX pic.twitter.com/3YN6B6N5MP

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 1, 2022

In the main event of the evening, Pitbull was anticipating Borics’ moves very well and even countered his signature flying knee with a great takedown or a punch on multiple occasions, which led to a dominant victory.

The co-main event of the evening brought a hard task ahead AJ McKee, who had a hard time against scrappy Spike Carlyle and scored a decision nod. Yet, the greatest upset of the card happened in the bout against Jeremy Kennedy and Aaron Pico, where the Canadian ended the battle victorious. Pico’s shoulder popped during the fight, so the doctor didn’t let him continue, but it was a huge moment of the career for the amazing Canadian!

Image source: @CageWarriors Twitter

The next weekend we are going to enjoy Cage Warriors 144 event, which takes place in Rome, Italy, and it is headlined by an outstanding title bout between always dangerous Michele Martignoni and very technical Dominique Wooding. Wooding is stronger thanks to his gym morning workouts, so he should get the power advantage.

Prediction: Dominique Wooding to win

The co-main event of the evening brings the combat between very unpredictable Morgan Charriere and the Brazilian striker Alberth Dias. One way or another, this one will hardly go to judges’ scorecards, the Brazilian guy is a fast starter.

Prediction: the fight will not go the distance

Here is a look at the whole Cage Warriors 144 fight card:

Bantamweight title fight: Dominique Wooding (9-4-0) vs. Michele Martignoni (7-1-0)

Featherweight: Morgan Charriere (15-9-1) vs. Alberth Dias (5-3-0)

Welterweight: Carlo Pedersoli (13-4-0) vs. Madars Fleminas (10-3-0)

Strawweight: Bryony Tyrell (4-4-1) vs. Micol di Segni (9-4-0)

Welterweight: Emanuele Sabatino (3-1-0) vs. Karol Michalak (3-2-0)

Middleweight: Joan Arastey (2-0-0) vs. Dario Bellandi (2-1-0)

Bantamweight: Jasmine Favero (1-0-0) vs. Awa Sow (1-1-0)

Bantamweight: Emanuele Zaccaria (4-1-0) vs. Bogdan Barbu (17-13-0)

Here’s my picks for the upcoming Cage Warriors 144 fight card:

Turn your UFC on Fight Pass on and enjoy on Friday, there might be many entertaining matchups!