LONDON -- Italian MMA sensation Stefano Paterno is the new Cage Warriors welterweight champion.
Paterno [12-2] defeated Mehrdad Janzemini [9-2] via first round knockout to become the new welterweight champion in the main event bout Saturday night at the Indigo at the O2, which was promoted by the Cage Warriors.
It was an action-packed round with Paterno getting the finish three minutes and 43 seconds into the contest and the 22-year-old from Milan, Italy was beaming.
"I am really proud of this because today I am representing Italian MMA, representing my school, and this is a great day for me," Paterno told ESPN. "When I fought, I wasn't thinking about the belt, I was only thinking about my opponent. Then when they reminded me I won the belt, I was surprised. It felt really good."
To his credit, Janzemini made Paterno work for the vacant 170lbs title and almost secured a heel hook in the opening minutes of the round. The Italian however remained cool, calm and collected as he detailed his transition from a precarious position to the eventual knockout.
"When I fought I was thinking to manage my energies because I knew I had to do 5 rounds so I didn't want to start like a rocket," Paterno said. "When I found the opportunity, I hit because that's what I trained for. I was pretty quiet in that situation because I know he is really good at this kind of submission. I was controlling my foot and when I turned, I found the space to get out. That's something that I trained for a lot to hit in the open guard situation and that's what I did."
For Paterno, he blocked out all thoughts of the belt to focus on the task at hand. He was so zeroed in, in fact, that he had to be reminded of the championship post-fight.
"I remember exactly after 3, 4 or 5 punches, I saw his face and he was knocked out and, in that situation, I stopped," Paterno explained. "A second later the referee stopped the fight and I saw him wake up. After I saw he was OK, I immediately started to celebrate this victory. When I fought, I wasn't thinking about the belt, I was only thinking about my opponent. Then when they reminded me I won the belt, I was surprised. It felt really good."
While Italian MMA hasn't exactly produced a plethora of top tier talent over the years, things appear to be slowly but surely changing with Paterno leading the charge. History tells us a UFC call tends to come for Cage Warriors champions, but the Milan native is happy to take things slowly as he continues to develop his game.
"I don't know where my destiny will take me," Paterno said. "I know that I'm ready to fight and improve myself every day. I know that I can and will improve a lot. I can fight anyone. I am here to work hard and that is what I'm going to do."
"I think I can be one of the new generation fighters. I am young. I am twenty-two and I have a lot of work to do and I can improve a lot. Thinking this way, I know I can always do better. So that's a really good goal. It's a fantastic goal for me. My purpose is to be one of the new generation fighters and to represent Italy at the highest levels."
Full results
Main Card
Stefano Paternó def. Mehrdad Janzemini via knockout - Round 1, 3:43 to become the new Cage Warriors welterweight champion.
Mike Ekundayo def. Ed Arthur via unanimous decision (30-26 x 3)
Brad Wheeler def. Orlando D'Ambrosio via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 2:44
Ross Houston def. Nathan Jones via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:59
Mason Jones def. Konmon Deh via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Pro Prelims
James Webb def. Pelu Adetola via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 0:29
Adam Amarasinghe def. Aaron Laleye via TKO - Round 1, 2:08
Paull McBain def. Steve Aimable via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Phil Wells def. Konrad Iwanowski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Kris Edwards def. Luca Iovine via unanimous decision (28-26, 29-25, 28-26)
Gurd Shergill def. Joshua Onwordi via DQ (strikes to the back of the head) - Round 2, 4:00