Cage Wars 36 Results – Xi Lau Captures Bantamweight Title

On Saturday night, Cage Wars delivered their 36th show in front of a sold-out crowd at the Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady, New York. 14 bouts took place among the 1000 plus fans in attendance, including the six title fights. Inside the Event Center at the Rivers Casino, a K1 Middleweight title fight, a heavyweight title, Women’s flyweight title, Middleweight title, a featherweight title, and a Bantamweight title fight all lived up to everyone’s expectations as wars took place inside the cage.

The fans flooded in at 6:30 PM when the doors opened and at 8 PM Rielly Williams delivered an exceptional performance of the national anthem moments before the first fight of the evening started. Special guest in attendance, King Mo, of Bellator MMA sat ringside to watch Cage Wars 36.

Cage Wars 36 streamed live on Fite TV pay per view while being commentated by My MMA News’ Kyle Carroll, and Will Barry. In between bouts, Kyle Carroll interviewed King Mo about his upcoming fight in the Bellator MMA heavyweight tournament and New York State Assemblyman, Angelo Santabarbara.

Cage Wars 36 Results Main Event:

Xi Lau vs. Adam Barrett

In the main event, Xi Lau of AST MMA in Toronto, Canada battled Adam Barrett for the Cage Wars Bantamweight championship. Barrett was defending his 135-pound crown from Xi Lau, who moved up in weight class to challenge Barrett. Lau is also the current Cage Wars flyweight (125) champion.

Barrett and Lau, both come from a strong striking background, which is why it was a surprise to many when the fight ended up becoming a clinch match against the cage in round one. The back-and-forth clinch with strikes was a difficult round for the judges to score. Barrett ended the round with a solid takedown.

In round two, it appeared Lau was being overpowered by the larger fighter in Barrett. Barrett remained in control throughout the entire second round and attempted several submission attacks, in addition to the already abundant strikes Barrett threw.

Round three was dominated by Lau, as he was able to score a takedown and hold Barrett down on the canvas throughout most of the third round. Lau earned a unanimous decision victory over the champion, Adam Barrett.

Co-Main Event

Brandon Bartle vs. Cody Zappone

The co-main event was a battle between two warriors that showed a strong skill set as amateur fighters. They fought for the Cage Wars featherweight title. Bartle and Zappone’s fight went the distance to a judges decision. Zappone demonstrated excellent striking as he stood in the pocket, avoiding and delivering strikes consistently.

Zappone explained in the post-fight interview that he had been working on his grappling skills and it was clear as he scored a couple of strong takedowns against a tough grappler. Bartle managed to steal a round against Zappone when he managed to control Zappone and land numerous strikes from the top. Zappone won the Cage Wars featherweight championship via a 29-28 decision on all three judges scorecards.

Cage Wars 36 Results Below:

1. Xi Lau def. Adam Barrett via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Bantamweight Title Fight – Main Event

2. Cody Zappone def. Brandon Bartle via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Featherweight Title Fight

3. Jake Davis def. Josh Jones via Submission in Round 2, at 1:48 (Rear Naked Choke) – Middleweight Title Fight

4. Alexandria Ballou def. Amanda Kramny via Submission in Round 1, at 1:24 (Guillotine Choke) – Flyweight Title Fight

5. Al Marro def. Marc Worthington via TKO in Round 2, at 1:30 (Referee Stoppage due to Strikes) – Heavyweight Title Fight

6. Jose Carrasquero def. Shane Willette via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – K1 Middleweight Title Fight

7. Miguel Cuevas def. Cody Dickershaid via TKO in Round 3, at 1:35 (Liver Shot) – Featherweight Fight

8. David Tutuska def. Chad Laplante via TKO in Round 1, at 1:22. – Bantamweight Fight

9. Benjamin Horton def. Mike Taylor via TKO in Round 1. – Welterweight Fight

10. Nyein Maung def. Michael Pinckney via TKO in Round 1, at 1:00 – Bantamweight Fight

11. Caleb Sebast def. Connor Dooley via TKO in Round 2, at 1:54 (Tapout to Strikes)- Featherweight Fight

12. Brendan Kennedy def. Jacob Carrigan via Submission in Round 1, at 1:40 (Rear Naked Choke) – Catchweight 150 Fight

13. Mike Doolen def. Brandon Neiford via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Flyweight Fight

14. Corey Butts def. Greg O’Brien via Split Decision, (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) – Lightweight Fight

Kyle Carroll

Kyle Carroll is a Long Island, N.Y. native and avid MMA and amateur wrestling fan. He has been a part of the wrestling community for nearly 20 years. Carroll has six years of experience coaching high school wrestling. His father coached high school wrestling over 35 years, passing on his strong knowledge. Carroll has been reporting MMA news since January 2011. The former wrestler’s coverage includes the 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, 2013 & 2016 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championship, and numerous MMA events (Bellator MMA, King of the Cage, North American Fighting Championship, and Glory).

See Full Bio