They say a win’s a win, but an injury stoppage of Che Mills just eighteen seconds into the first round wasn’t how Welsh welterweight Lewis Long envisaged his headline fight at Cage Warriors 83 turning out.
Fighting tonight (Saturday, May 6) in front of his countrymen in Newport, Long, 28, had hoped to put on a performance and make those in the 170-pound division sit up and take note. Instead, he could only watch as Mills, a 34-year-old veteran with two UFC wins to his name, injured his right knee following the very first takedown of the fight.
Just like that, it was over; tough to determine which of the two fighters walked away more disappointed, Long nevertheless improves his MMA record to 15-4.
Thankfully, the fans in the Newport Arena got their money’s worth elsewhere on the card. Two Welshmen, in particular, stole the show and sent legions of fans home happy.
Bantamweight Josh Reed showcased his limitless potential with a first-round knockout of Gavin Kelly, while featherweight Jack ‘Tank’ Shore repeated the trick with an emphatic first-round finish of Frenchman Konmon Deh.
CAGE WARRIORS 83: RESULTS
MAIN CARD
Lewis Long defeated Che Mills via first-round TKO (injury)
Soren Bak defeated Scott Clist via unanimous decision
Josh Reed defeated Gavin Kelly via first-round KO (punches)
Giovanni Melillo defeated Mohsen Bahari via first-round knockout (punches)
Jack Shore defeated Konmon Deh via first-round submission (armbar)
PRO PRELIMS
Joe McColgan defeated Richard Williams via third-round submission (guillotine)
Aiden Lee defeated Kacper Formela via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Kris Edwards defeated Damo Weeden via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Nicolas Ott defeated Simon Maksimovic via unanimous decision
