Cage Warriors 117 results: Jake Hadley dominates Luke Shanks to capture flyweight title

Undefeated English flyweight Jake Hadley pitched a shutout to dominate, then dethrone, Luke Shanks and capture the Cage Warriors 125-pound title at Cage Warriors 117 in London.

After a build-up full of simmering bad blood that included an angry fight-week exchange in a hotel elevator, Hadley (7-0) held the upper hand for almost the entirety of the 25-minute encounter at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.

Shanks (7-2) came out looking to get in Hadley’s face from the very start and, after a few range-finding strikes from each man, briefly stunned the challenger with a perfectly-timed uppercut. However, Hadley recovered instantly and landed a takedown as Shanks looked to close in.

The champion stayed active off his back, while Hadley attempted to connect with damaging strikes from inside Shanks’ guard. Shanks threatened with a heel hook, which forced Hadley to transition to his opponent’s back and, with the final seconds of the round counting down, Hadley locked up a rear-naked choke. Shanks managed to get one of the challenger’s arms free, but still had to hang tough to see out the round under intense pressure from Hadley’s one-armed attempt.

Shanks managed to lock up an omoplata early at the start of Round 2, but Hadley stayed patient and, after a brief stalemate, worked his way free and ended up in side control. The challenger was clearly on top in the grappling exchanges and went back to his corner at the end of the round looking fresh and confident as a result.

Clearly feeling he held the advantage on the mat, Hadley took the action to the ground almost immediately at the start of Round 3 as he landed a takedown and instantly moved to Shanks’ back. The challenger then calmly and coolly connected with strikes to the head and opened up a cut in the process as he held the dominant position and patiently attempted to create an opening for a rear-naked choke. But, despite being second-best on the mat, Shanks ensured he didn’t leave himself exposed as he avoided any serious danger and regrouped for the championship rounds.

Perhaps knowing he was down on the scorecards after the first three rounds, Shanks bullrushed Hadley at the start of Round 4, but the challenger was wise to it and, after some brief resistance, took him down to the mat once again. The challenger continued his dominance on the canvas as he took Shanks’ back and attempted to lock up a choke. But, despite coming close to a face crank, Hadley opted not to burn his arms out and instead rode out the round in a dominant position.

After waving off Hadley’s gesture for a final-round glove touch, Shanks came charging across the cage to attempt a Jorge Masvidal-esque flying knee, but Hadley evaded it easily and took the champion straight back down to the canvas.

This time, rather than moving to Shanks’ back, Hadley instead opted to work from top position and fended off a hail-Mary heel-hook attempt from the champion before settling into half-guard. Hadley then remained on top for the remainder of the round before the pair finally squashed their pre-fight beef with a handshake and an embrace after the final buzzer.

Shanks’ reaction after the fight told the story as he stomped his feet in frustration on his way back to his corner at the end of the fight. Hadley, meanwhile, looked as calm and composed as we’d seen throughout the fight as he earned scores of 50-42, 50-45, 50-44 from the cageside judges to pick up a shutout win on the cards and in the process capture the Cage Warriors flyweight title.

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Jake Hadley dominates his opponent at #CW117 to become the new CW Flyweight Champion. pic.twitter.com/RcjpbzVfYn

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) December 10, 2020