Cory Tait forces Pennington to tap in the first round

Cory Tait vs James Pennington: Cage Warriors 64 Main Event Fight Review

by Ben Heather @benheather

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

James Pennington came in to the fight having spent some time on the sidelines due to injury which was incurred the night of the Cage Warriors bantamweight title tournament and prevented him fighting for the title after winning his semi final fight against Kris Edwards. A win on Saturday night would have surely put Pennington next in line for a fight with Cage Warriors champ Brett Johns.

Cory Tait came in to the main event a 2-1 underdog with the bookies but was determined to prove them wrong by winning on Saturday night in the main event of Cage Warriors 64. It wasn’t just the win that made this fight special it was the way he did it. I can’t imagine many fans in the audience expected Cory Tait, the man famous for his highlight reel knockouts to win via first round submission but that’s exactly what happened.

James Pennington came out and began the better of the two fighters getting the better of the early exchanges before taking down Tait twice. Tait didn’t stay down for long though and after getting back up for the second time Pennington looked to shoot in again as he aimed to keep the renowned striker on the mat.

Tait this time managed to not only defend the takedown but got a hold of the head and neck of Pennington locking in a standing guillotine choke. Once Tait knew he had it locked in he cranked on it and it didn’t take long before Pennington tapped.

I am sure that Pennington will be back soon and try to go on another run which will push him back in to contention. The loss for James Pennington drops his record to 9-2 while Cory Tait improves his record to 8-2 keeping up his 100% finish percentage when he wins, with 4 wins by TKO and 4 by submission.

The win for Tait makes the title picture a bit clearer as I imagine now that Pennington’s team mate James Brum will be next in line for the title fight with Brett Johns while Cory Tait should be part of a number one contenders fight next time out.