Cage Warriors Fight Night 7 results: Fields stops Kusch, claims middleweight belt

Chris "The Killing" Fields is the new Cage Warriors Fighting Championship middleweight kingpin.

The Irishman survived an early barrage of submission attempts from Combat Dobro grappling ace Pavel Kusch to notch a third-round TKO win and claim the previously vacant title.

The contest served as the main event of Saturday's Cage Warriors Fight Night 7 event, which took place at New Boxing Arena in Amman, Jordan, and aired on MMAjunkie.com.

The rangy Fields looked to strike from distance early, but Kusch closed the range and went to work on his trademark leglock routines, moving from heel hook to kneebar to toe hold. But Fields survived the rapid-fire attempts, and Kusch looked fatigued as they returned to the feet. Fields took advantage of his opponent's condition and flurried with punches, kicks and a flying knee at the bell.

In the second, Fields continued the damage on the feet with powerful low kicks and straight punches from range. After a flurry dropped him, Kusch looked for potential submissions, but Fields slammed out of the holds and went back to work on the feet. A few brutal knees found the chin, but Kusch continued to push forward and look for submissions. Kusch nearly secured an ankle, but Fields pulled free and moved to mount, landing punches and looking for referee Marc Goddard to call the fight. Kusch bucked and rolled just enough to survive and the round ended with Fields walking nonchalantly to his corner.

Kusch was exhausted and did not look like he would answer the bell for the third. He did, but he may have been better served just quitting on the stool. Kicks, punches and even a spinning backfist found their mark for Fields, and Kusch was simply in survival mode, often putting his hands on his hips. Goddard deducted a point as Kusch grabbed on to the fence, and he halted the fight shortly after with the Ukrainian fighter unable to really mount any meaningful attacks.

With the impressive win, Fields claimed the vacant middleweight title and is now 8-1 in his past nine fights. Kusch (13-3) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Jim Alers taps Marcio Cesar, challenges champ Conor McGregor

In the night's co-feature, once-beaten prospect Jim Alers turned in another impressive performance with a submission win over Brazilian veteran Marcio Cesar.

Alers wasted little time in moving forward and launching strikes, taking control of the fight with a strength advantage. The initial flurry was followed by a well-executed lateral drop, and Alers looked for the choke. However, Cesar was able to turn away and settle into his opponent's guard. From there, Cesar kept the action close and avoided more damage for the remainder of the round.

In the second, Cesar opened with snapping kicks, but Alers countered by catching one and shoving him to the floor. Cesar answered by looking for a kneebar, but Alers sat down on the attempt and moved in with a D'arce choke, tapping out his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt opponent in the second round.

Following the impressive win, Alers (9-1) called out current Cage Warriors Fighting Championship featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who was originally scheduled to defend his belt against the Allaince Jiu-Jitsu Orlando product. Cesar (16-7) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Leonardo Santos puts Mark Holst to sleep

In a lightweight contest, Brazilian Leonardo Santos earned his fifth-straight win as he needed just 75 seconds to put two-time UFC veteran Mark Holst to sleep.

After a brief standup exchange, Santos shot in for a takedown, moved immediately into mount and then set up the arm-triangle choke. As he dismounted to finish the move, Holst turned and tried to counter, but he was stuck in the hold and fell quickly unconscious.

Santos (11-3) improves to 10-1 in his past 11 outings. Holst (10-4) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Mohsen Bahari tops gutsy Piotr Ptasinski

In a "Fight of the Night"-worthy welterweight matchup, Mohsen Bahari earned an entertaining decision to win over an impossible-to-finish Piotr Ptasinski.

Bahari was the aggressor in the opening round, coming forward with powerful kicks to the head and body. But as the round carried on, it was his hands that did the damage, dropping Ptasinski once with a right hand and later with a straight left. Ptasinski somehow powered through the barrage and, other than a cut over the left ye, actually looked the fresher of the two fighters as they went surprisingly into the second round.

The pace was understandably slower in the second round, but both fighters remained willing to trade in the pocket in the early going. The pair finally looked to grapple in the closing moments, and each fighter had a few moments of control. Ptasinski looked dangerous underneath, but it was Bahari who enjoyed top position until his opponent scrambled up. At that point, Bahari landed several illegal knees with Ptasisnki on his feet but leaving a hand on the mat. Bahari received a warning for the blows, but the fight carried on.

In the third, both fighters were visibly winded from the high-energy action of the previous rounds. Ptasinski was bloodied, as well, but he continued to move forward with impressive effort. Bahari was clearly exhausted but did enough to hang on for an entertaining unanimous-decision win, 29-28 on all three cards.

Bahari (5-0) remains undefeated five fights into his professional career. Ptasinski (4-2) falls to 1-2 in his past three fights but impressed with his gutsy performance.

Olivier Pastor, James Brum earn wins in rousing early action

In a catchweight contest necessitated by Olivier Pastor's inability to make the bantamweight limit, the Frenchman survived an early onslaught from opponent Liam James to secure a second-round tap.

James controlled much of the opening round, taking his opponent to the floor and punching from the top. Pastor stayed relatively busy underneath as he looked to change the course of the fight, but he was docked a point for hooking the inside of his opponent's gloves.

James continued his wrestling-based strategy in the second and looked to be in control of the fight, but a referee's stand-up allowed Pastor the opening he needed, as he latched hold of a guillotine choke as his opponent shot in for another takedown and earned a come-from-behind submission win at the 3:21 mark of the second round.

Pastor (16-10) improves to 2-1 in his past three appearances. James (6-4) falls to 3-2 in his past five fights.

In the night's first main-card contest, bantamweight James Saville survived the early strength of opponent James Brum to seize control of their bout in the second round. But just when it looked as of Saville would cruise to a decision win, it was Brum who used a third-round rally to claim victory.

It was Brum who simply overpowered his opponent in the opening round, taking him to the floor and keeping him on his back. In the second, Saville was the one enjoying top position and appeared to be controlling a tiring opponent. The third started out in similar fashion, but Brum reversed the positioning and finished the frame with ground and pound to claim a decision win, 29-28 on all three judges' cards.

Brum (10-2) now boasts a four-fight win streak. Saville (10-5) has now dropped consecutive fights after previously winning six in a row.

MAIN CARD RESULTS

•Chris Fields def. Pavel Kusch via TKO (referee stoppage) - Round 3, 2:05
•Jim Alers def. Marcio Cesar via submission (D'arce choke) - Round 2, 2:27
•Leonardo Santos def. Mark Holst via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 1:15
•Mohsen Bahari def. Piotr Ptasinski by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
•Olivier Pastor def. Liam James via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 3:21
•James Brum def. James Saville by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS

•Robert Krecicki def. Mohamed Ali via majority decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-29)
•Brett Bassett def. Mike Ling knockout (punch) - Round 1, 0:38
•Jay Furness def. Artem Lobov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)


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