The highly anticipated bout between the undefeated Luke Riley and the Cage Warriors debutant Tariel Abbasov headlined Cage Warriors 185 in Manchester.

For Riley, this would be his last fight on his current Cage Warriors contract, and he was hoping a big performance could grant him a passage into the UFC. As for Abbasov, he believed his wrestling credentials could trouble Riley as he travelled over from Azerbaijan to make his Cage Warriors debut.

The fight started as many fans expected with Abbasov attempting a takedown, trying to avoid standing up with the dangerous Riley.

Riley managed to avoid the first takedown attempt but was taken down a few seconds later with a well-timed single-leg takedown. From here, Abbasov went searching for a submission but Riley did well to stuff any attempts and edged close to the side of the cage.

The first round continued in this fashion with Riley unable to create any real momentum due to Abbasov’s constant pressure.

However, the second round began in a very different manner with Riley immediately going on the offensive, and not giving Abbasov the chance to take him down.

Riley began to find his range and rocked his opponent with a big right hand before delivering a big knee that sent Abbasov to the ground. From here he rained down some ground and pound strikes to record his 11th win on the Cage Warriors promotion.

After the fight Riley delivered a message to Dana White, asking if he can finally receive a UFC contract.

Jack Latham