THERE were mixed emotions for the capacity crowd who battled the snow to savour Cage Warriors 91 at the Newport Centre, writes Jason Batty.

Those attending witnessed another jaw-dropping spectacle from some of Europe’s finest talent.

Headlining the event was Blaenavon’s Josh Reed, the Tillery Combat fighter looking to bounce back from his world title defeat last year, who faced Belgium’s Brian Bouland in a bantamweight contest.

It was not to be for the Welshman again on this occasion, as Bouland silenced the home fans when he shut the lights off Reed towards the end of the first round.

Reed was close to making quick work of Bouland, latching on to the neck of his opponent while looking to secure a guillotine from his back, but Bouland was able to evade Reed’s attempts.

From his guard, Reed was able to land several elbows to the head before the Belgian retaliated with a huge right hand that caught Reed.

The former followed up with some ground and pound that earned him the knockout victory.

There were better fortunes for Reed’s teammate Kris Edwards, who took on Gavin Kelly, notching his third straight victory by knockout in the second round.

The Tillery Combat fighter looked the more aggressive and had the Irishman out on his feet when he startled him with a solid right.

Edwards, from Abertillery, sensed blood and threw everything at Kelly before the referee jumped in to rescue the Irishman.

It was a thoroughly deserved victory for the well-rounded Edwards, who can expect to be elevated up the rankings back to where he once established himself several years ago.

The bumper crowd also saw the return of Mason ‘The Dragon’ Jones, with the Pontypool ace facing off against Lawrence Tracey in a bloody battle at lightweight.

Towards the end of the first, after some wild exchanges, it was target practice for Celtic Pride's Jones as he unloaded on Tracey before the Englishman was saved by the bell.

South Wales Argus:

Jones (pictured above) started the second like he ended the first, constantly on the front foot, smothering his rival with his high tempo stand up game.

It didn’t take long for the relentless pressure to pay off, with Jones getting a knockout victory to maintain his perfect MMA record (3-0).

Arguably stealing the show was Tillery Combat ace Cory McKenna, who was making her professional debut at the age of 18 in a strawweight contest.

Unbeaten as an amateur, McKenna put in a mature display as she brushed aside the more experienced Italian Maria Vittoria Colonna in a complete and one-sided performance.

McKenna (pictured below), who spent time training in America at the famous Team Alpha Male last summer, scored a huge takedown after one minute of the first round.

Her 36-year-old opponent then spent the next four minutes on her back, getting mauled by the teenager who relentlessly rained down vicious elbows and punches.

South Wales Argus:

Rome was a long way to come to take such a hammering from a fighter half her age and it was enough for the Italian’s corner to withdraw her, preventing her coming out for the second round and taking further punishment.

A great deal of hype and excitement surrounds the grounded McKenna, who appears to have the world at her feet.