Former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Stefano Paterno returned to the promotion and delivered a swift statement to the rest of the division as he immediately returned to title contention at 170 pounds.
Italy’s Paterno captured the promotion’s welterweight title back in 2018, but lost the belt in his first title defence in a tight split-decision verdict against Scotland’s Ross Houston.
Appearances for Bellator, Venator and Oktagon all followed as he went 4-1 since dropping the belt. Then, following an impressive win over Ion Surdu at Oktagon 51 last December, Paterno re-signed with Cage Warriors and was immediately thrust into the main event of Cage Warriors 167: Unplugged in Manchester.
Matched against American Scottie Stockman, who was making his promotional debut, Paterno wasted no time as he locked up a D’Arce choke to force the finish at the 2:59 mark of the opening round at the BEC Arena.
That win should ensure Paterno is right back in the thick of the Cage Warriors welterweight title picture as the promotion’s matchmaker Ian Dean looks to decide on the first test for newly-crowned welterweight champion, Greece’s Giannis Bachar.
Brown bounces back, subs Aronov
The co-main event also saw a welterweight contender claim a big win as former title challenger Omiel Brown submitted Rafael Aronov with a second-round guillotine choke to keep his name very much in the mix.
Brown was stunned by Bachar in their battle for the vacant title at Cage Warriors 163 last November, and he was rocked by Aronov, who fought fire with fire in a wild first-round exchange that saw both men hurt. But the Team Renegade contender, who claimed one of the knockouts of the year last year, showcased his submission skills as the took Aronov’s back and came close to finishing him with a rear-naked choke.
Aronov somehow survived the predicament, and the round, to take the action into a second frame. This time Brown, perhaps inspired by Dustin Poirier’s repeated attempts at UFC 299 last weekend, transitioned from Aronov’s back and locked up a guillotine choke to claim the tap, bounce back into the win column, and potentially put himself in with a chance of a rematch with Bachar later this year.
Also on the main card, there were eye-catching stoppage wins for bantamweight Shirzad Qadrian and former bantamweight champ Michele Martignoni, who both made big statements in the 135-pound division.
Martignoni’s last outing saw him unsuccessfully challenge Shaj Haque for the Cage Warriors flyweight title, but he returned to his natural weight class with a bang, as he knocked out Raz Bring with a huge overhand right in the first round of his Cage Warriors.
Qadrian, meanwhile, continued his impressive rise up the bantamweight ranks with a first-round ground-and-pound finish of Italy’s Emanuele Zaccaria, who had previously won his last four, including three in a row – all by stoppage – in the Cage Warriors cage.
It was also a big night for English flyweight prospect Connor Wilson, who claimed his first pro win under the Cage Warriors banner with a unanimous decision victory over Italy’s Davide Scarano.
There were also wins for two other rising English prospects on the preliminary card, as lightweight Teddy Stringer picked up a first-round rear-naked choke submission over Brazil’s Diego Dickson while, in the opening bout of the night, featherweight Leon Armes claimed a unanimous decision victory over Italy’s Christian Tosco to move his pro career to 2-0.
There was also a solid decision win for American welterweight prospect Anthony Orozco, who outpointed Brazil’s Lucas Rodrigues to go 3-0 as a pro, with all three wins coming under the Cage Warriors banner.
Cage Warriors 167: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Stefano Paterno def. Scottie Stockman via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 2:59
- Omiel Brown def. Rafael Aronov via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:48
- Shirzad Qadrian def. Emanuele Zaccaria via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:49
- Connor Wilson def. Davide Scarano via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michele Martignoni def. Raz Bring via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:59
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Teddy Stringer def. Diego Dickson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:32
- Amaury Junior def. Giuseppe Ruggeri via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:39
- Anthony Orozco def. Lucas Rodrigues via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jack Claffey def. Marko Sarasjarvi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Sergio Gavinelli def. Helio Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:36
- Matthew Camilleri def. Nicolo Solinas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:14
- Leon Armes def. Christian Tosco via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
