4/21/24: Sam Creasey Defeats Aaron Aby, Earns OKTAGON Flyweight Championship
Also: Dumitru Girlean wins at Cage Warriors 171 and Luke Rockhold returns to win column
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. While there wasn’t the usual UFC fight on Saturday night, many news stories have emerged over the past 24 hours that are worth discussing. We have reports on two high-level European MMA events, a big win for Luke Rockhold, and a notable signing for PFL. Let’s begin.
Sam Creasey Sweeps Scorecards Against Aaron Aby To Earn OKTAGON Flyweight Championship
Sam Creasey had a one-sided performance against Aaron Aby to win on scorecards and become the second-ever OKTAGON Flyweight Champion on Saturday evening.
Creasey’s shut-out victory, which saw him unanimously take all five rounds on scorecards, took place at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
Creasey had the edge in a technical five-round performance, having the advantage over Aby in both striking and grappling exchanges. Aby was often the advancing fighter, although Creasey was able to connect with significant shots on the counter.
Creasey was able to take Aby down many times in the fight and find controlling positions. However, despite the score showing a dominant fight from Creasey, Aby put up with his attacks and made the bout competitive.
Aby was never put in significant trouble during the fight, with Creasey instead accumulating a large number of small successful moments to put together a bigger picture on scorecards. Aby was able to often reverse positions and resist takedowns, stopping Creasey from having even more control over the fight than he did.
The most successful moment of the fight arguably emerged in the closing moments, as Creasey got on the back of Aby and put in a body lock. Creasey wasn’t able to apply a rear naked choke from the position but landed a long series of punches to the head and body before the round expired.
Creasey, a former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion, now has the second major title of his career. He was making the move over to OKTAGON this weekend after an 18-fight run in Cage Warriors, including a prior 2021 win over Aby.
The newly-crowned champ gave credit to Aby after the fight.
“That man still stood in front of me at the end of those five rounds,” said Creasey in his post-fight interview, referring to Aby. “I know what he’s been through in life. And I’ve also been on the wrong end of title decisions like this. So I know how he feels. So that’s rock bottom, but I’ve been there with him. So hats off to that man.”
Aby was getting his second shot at the OKTAGON flyweight title. He previously lost a fight to Elias Garcia last November, getting taken out of the bout after the second round via doctor stoppage. Garcia was stripped of the title this year, with OKTAGON claiming that the U.S. fighter refused matchups that he was offered.
After bouncing back from the 2023 title loss with a decision win against Christopher Daniel in January, Aby was booked for the vacant title fight against Creasey this weekend.
Akonne Wanliss scored a massive knockout win in the co-main event, putting away Sahil Siraj in the first minute with a clean left hook. The win advanced him into the quarter-finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix, which started earlier this year.
The fight between Wanliss and Siraj had a grudge match angle heading into this weekend. The duo was originally scheduled to meet in early March but had their fight delayed after Wanliss suffered an attack by two of Siraj’s coaches. Wanliss, a former Bellator talent, has finished both of his OKTAGON bouts in the first round.
Here are the quick results from OKTAGON 56:
Main Card (12:00PM EDT / 5:00PM BST) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 12: Aaron Aby def. Sam Creasey via Decision, Unanimous (Vacant OKTAGON Flyweight Championship)
Bout 11: Akonne Wanliss def. Sahil Siraj via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:48) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 10: Shem Rock def. Stefano Catacoli via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:43)
Bout 9: Will Fleury def. Daniel Skvor via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 1:14)
Bout 8: Andrej Kalasnik def. Liam Etebar via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:43)
Bout 7: George Staines def. Tomas Ciganik via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: James Hendin def. Jakub Dohnal via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:43)
Bout 5: Denis Frimpong def. Callum Mullen via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Mick Stanton def. Kamil Wojciechowski via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:01)
Bout 3: Ammari Diedrick def. Daniel Hromek via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:55)
Bout 2: Bakhtyaar Oryakhail def. Mbaye Gaye via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 3, 2:04)
Bout 1: Aitana Alvarez def. Megan Morris via Decision, Unanimous
Dumitru Girlean Submits Scotland’s Chris Bungard In Cage Warriors Main Event
Dumitru Girlean spoiled a homecoming for Chris Bungard on Saturday night, submitting him in the second round of the Cage Warriors 171 main event.
Bungard was fighting in front of his Scottish supporters at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow this weekend. The bout was his first fight within his home country since 2021, back before he started his run with Cage Warriors.
Bungard found himself threatened by a submission just minutes after he initiated a grappling exchange.
The Scottish talent earned a takedown in the second round, allowing him to get on the back of Girlean. But Bungard slipped off the back of Girlean eventually, allowing the Italian prospect to sneak onto his back and start landing punches. After doing damage with hard swings from behind, he found a guillotine choke while Bungard was looking to work back up to his feet.
Girlean continued to apply pressure with the choke, keeping on the hold while Bungard was seated on the canvas. The submission eventually caused a tap from Bungard, ending the fight in the second round.
The performance earned Girlean his third win since joining Cage Warriors last year. The fight also continued his career-long streak of never going the distance, having finished his opponent in all eight of the wins he has picked up since debuting in 2018.
Bungard entered this weekend after a pair of Cage Warriors victories last year, beating Gavin Hughes on scorecards and submitting Perry Andre Goodwin with a triangle armbar. His previous loss was a 2022 title fight against George Hardwick.
Former UFC talent Cameron Else prevailed in Saturday’s co-main event spot, using his damaging striking skills to earn a split decision win over Reece McEwan. Else, who was competing for the first time since his two-fight UFC run, dropped McEwan a couple of times and out-landed the former title challenger.
McEwan’s ability to earn control on the ground made the fight close on scorecards, causing the split decision outcome. The fight had a dramatic ending, as McEwan came close with a few submissions and nearly finished Else on the ground just before the clock ran out of time.
Here are the quick results from Cage Warriors 171:
Main Card (3:30PM EDT / 8:30PM BST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 16: Dumitru Girlean def. Chris Bungard via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 3:47)
Bout 15: Cameron Else def. Reece McEwan via Decision, Split
Bout 14: Sean Clancy Jr. def. Lucas Rodrigues via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:04)
Bout 13: Aidan Stephen def. Gianluca Scottoli via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 12: Nicolas Leblond def. Scott Malone via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:27)
Bout 11: Keir Harvie def. Kaique Modesto via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (12:00PM EDT / 5:00PM BST (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 10: Jan Quaeyhaegens def. Konstantinos Ntelis via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:11)
Bout 9: Paull McBain def. Alberth Dias via TKO, Corner Stoppage (RD 2, 5:00)
Bout 8: Daan Duijs def. Jack Eglin via Decision, Split
Bout 7: Jordan Little def. Jordan Stronge via Decision, Split
Bout 6: Nell Ariano def. Jamie MacDonald via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:45)
Bout 5: Michael Blair def. Dec Dean via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Igor Wojtas def. Ronal Siahaan via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Iain Postlethwaite def. Pav Sahota via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Khadim Dia def. Mush Aslani via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Cornellius Aritonang def. Thomas Hepburn via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:05)
Luke Rockhold Stops Joe Schilling At Karate Combat 45, Earns First Win In Years
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold picked up his first combat sports victory in years on Saturday night, scoring a knockout win against Joe Schilling on a Karate Combat card.
Rockhold floored Schilling with a right hook in the third round, then followed up with ground and pound shots until the referee stopped the fight. The 39-year-old was competing in a special Karate Combat ruleset, which allows striking mainly on the feet along with allowance for moments on the ground. The fight headlined Karate Combat 45 from Dubai.
Rockhold had gone winless in combat sports since 2017. This included three losses at the end of his UFC run, plus a bare-knuckle boxing defeat to Mike Perry last year. He was facing Schilling, a former GLORY Kickboxer who had also competed in MMA before. Schilling was appearing for the first time since suffering a stoppage loss on a 2019 Bellator card.
Following his victory, Rockhold called for a fight against Lyoto Machida. He previously fought Machida nearly a decade ago, submitting him in the second round of a UFC “Fight Night” main event in 2015.
“Lyoto, I know you need a payday m***********, come get it,” he said during his post-fight interview.
A pair of former UFC fighters—Bruno Souza and Saidyokub Kakhramonov—walked away with wins earlier in the evening as well.
PFL Signs Former Cage Warriors Champion Paul Hughes
PFL has picked up yet another quality European talent.
Former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Paul Hughes has inked a deal with the PFL, per an announcement made Saturday.
Hughes is coming over to PFL after attaining an impressive record of 11 wins and just one loss. He had a brief run with the Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship from 2021 to 2022, defeating Morgan Charriere to earn an interim belt and then avenging a loss to Jordan Vucenic in a title unification fight.
He dropped the belt months later to move up to higher weight classes, where he has earned a pair of first-round finish wins over the past year.
It’s unclear how Hughes will fit into PFL’s plans. He could compete on their European brand, fighting in the 2025 season or appearing in showcase matchups, or make the move over to PFL’s main U.S.-based roster. Not only is his destination in the promotion not confirmed, but it’s also unknown which weight class he will fight in.
PFL has signed many notable European names in recent years as they continue to expand into the region. Their biggest star, former kickboxer turned MMA fighter Cedric Doumbe, has been the main focus of their two most recent trips to France over the past year.