London Has a New MMA Champion
London’s own James Webb submitted the Norwegian Thomas Robertson in the third round of their Cage Warriors Middleweight title fight at the O2 Arena.
Webb made good on the promise he made to his coaching team in claiming the title that was previously held by his head coach Chris Fields, adding a fourth straight win under the Cage Warriors promotion and bringing his professional career record to 6 wins and 1 loss.
Tough Start
In the opening round it was the Norwegian Robertson who made the better start, connecting with some sharp combinations that appeared to stun the hometown favourite. This patterned continued throughout the first round with Robertson appearing to be more comfortable in the striking exchanges and clearly out-landing Webb in the first round.
In the break between rounds Webb’s corner implored their fighter to take the fight to the ground, where they felt they had the clear edge in skill. That’s exactly what the Londoner did in the second round, taking Robertson to the mat and almost submitting him with a kneebar late in the round. Although Robertson survived this submission attempt by Webb it clearly seem to impact Robertson’s movement as the Norwegian limped back to his corner at the conclusion of that stanza.
Webb used that momentum seized in the second round to instantly jump on Robertson and secure an early takedown in the throw round, Webb start landing some heavy shots from top position and the pressure began to be tell with the end looking in sight. After some beautiful grappling transitions from Webb he secured a tight arm triangle choke that forced Robertson to tap, with referee Rich Mitchell stepping in at 3:22 in the third round to crown Webb the new Cage Warriors Middleweight champion, to the delight of the partisan crowd.
Legitimise
Webb spoke after the contest about how he was incredibly proud to have achieved his life long mixed martial arts dream, although stated he felt to be considered a true champion ‘you have to defend your title’, telling MMA Fighting “This is the most prestigious belt in Europe, I feel like you have to defend it to legitimise it,”. Most people in the MMA community agree with Webb that before he can be recognised as a true Cage Warriors Middleweight champion and one of the best fighters outside of the UFC, he has to defend his belt as the title was vacant when he won it Saturday night in front of his adoring fans.
More Success for London MMA
In the chief support, London’s Jai Herbert (8-1) destroyed Steve O’Keeffe (9-4) in the opening round of their lightweight contest. Herbert started the fight fast connecting with some vicious combinations and eventually stormed to a first round stoppage with a barrage of knees and pushes, that brought the fight to a close after just four minutes of the first round. Herbert’s highly impressive victory may have earned him a shot at the Cage Warriors Lightweight title that could potentially result in London having another MMA champion.
In other action, Rhys Mckee (9-2) submitted veteran Perry Goodwin (8-7) with a perfectly executed guillotine choke in the third round of their lightweight bout.
