Eight titles were either won or defended on a memorable night at Cage Warriors Academy South East 29 in Colchester, an event which also saw fans witness two knock-out of the year contenders.

At the top of the bill in the Charter Hall, hometown favourite Charlie Falco defended his pro straw-weight belt for the first time, dominating spirited French foe Adil Cherfi with grappling and some big elbows on the ground.

East Anglian Daily Times: Charlie Falco landed some heavy elbows in his title defence at Cage Warriors Academy in ColchesterCharlie Falco landed some heavy elbows in his title defence at Cage Warriors Academy in Colchester (Image: Brett King)

Falco, who fights out of Colchester's famed BKK Fighters Gym, improved to 3-2 in the paid ranks with a wide unanimous decision win - scores of 30-25 twice and a 30-26.

In the co-main, the packed crowd witnessed the pro debut of one of Europe's most hotly-tipped talents and Jon Vetle Furuheim did not disappoint, tapping experienced opponent Rafail Skouras to a rare Peruvian neck-tie submission in the very first round.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jon Vetle Furuheim, right, on his way to victory on his professional debutJon Vetle Furuheim, right, on his way to victory on his professional debut (Image: Brett King)

Featherweight 'Wonderboy' could well be the next big Norwegian star of the sport - aged just 20, and with a very well-rounded skill set, it will be fascinating to watch him attack the professional game.

Knock-out of the night, on an evening which featured two highlight reel contenders for the best stoppage of 2022, saw Jimmy Quinn win back his amateur bantamweight title with a staggering spinning heel kick obliteration of Kashann Khan.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jimmy Quinn celebrates his highlight reel KO win at Cage Warriors AcademyJimmy Quinn celebrates his highlight reel KO win at Cage Warriors Academy (Image: Brett King)

Quinn, now 5-1, sent Khan (now 6-3) slumping to the mat with a breath-takingly swift, accurate and athletic shot to bounce back from suffering his first defeat against Harry Myers last time out.

The other contender for KO of the night - and potentially 2022 - came earlier on the card as Paulius Totoraitis scored the first win of his career by knocking Wilf Kelly out cold with a head-kick after first tenderising his lead leg with powerful punts.

Elsewhere, Shaun Fraser successfully defended his amateur welterweight crown by outpointing Noah Landes in what was probably the fight of the night, GB Top Team talent Fraser (now 5-0) showing some superb striking to pull away from his game and brave foe, who never stopped battling.

Arlind Berisha (now 8-1) became a two-weight amateur champ by adding the heavyweight strap to his light-heavy belt, stopping Nell Ariano in the first with heavy ground and pound.

East Anglian Daily Times: Shaun Fraser, left, on his way to defending his welterweight title against Noah Landes at Cage Warriors AcademyShaun Fraser, left, on his way to defending his welterweight title against Noah Landes at Cage Warriors Academy (Image: Brett King)

Super prospect Connor Hayes, of SX MMA, moved to 8-0 and defended his amateur middleweight title with a first round leg lock of Mindaugas Mikaliak, while the charismatic GB Top Team fighter Vadimas Gaizutis (now 8-2) defended his amateur flyweight belt by tapping Alaa Cheaabi to an armbar in the opening stanza.

There was an upset as Axel Alfandari (now 3-2) produced a stirring third round comeback to stop Cameron Stewart (now 3-2) with a barrage of kicks and punches to win the amateur lightweight crown after being out-grappled in the first two sessions.

East Anglian Daily Times: Connor Hayes moved to 8-0 with a first round title defence on Cage Warriors AcademyConnor Hayes moved to 8-0 with a first round title defence on Cage Warriors Academy (Image: Brett King)

And French grappler Benoit Prigent (now 5-0) used a suffocating wrestling attack to nullify talented striker Alex Andrews, of Wisbech's Avaddon MMA, winning the amateur featherweight title and handing Andrews his first loss in the process.

In the other main card bout, the super popular Molly Lindsay returned from almost four years away from the sport, having had a son, to out-grapple the teak tough Camilla Bergstrom.

The fight was for the flyweight title but Lindsay, who moved to 4-2 with the win, missed weight so couldn't leave with the belt. She did leave, however, with an impressive performance in her back pocket - the move to BST MMA clearly having helped her round out her grappling skills, adding to an already technical and laser accurate striking attack.

East Anglian Daily Times: Molly Lindsay celebrates her win upon her return at Cage Warriors Academy with her sonMolly Lindsay celebrates her win upon her return at Cage Warriors Academy with her son (Image: Brett King)

Elsewhere, on the undercard, Team Underground's David Cooke took a lightweight fight with Billy Fenech on short notice and stopped his man with a brutal body attack in the second to improve to 7-0.

Christian Young, of Colchester's Combat Institute, suffered his first loss in a tight affair with GB Top Team's pressure wrestler Nicolo Bilardo. Flyweight Young had his moments on the feet and on the floor, but was just edged out by his opponent's non-stop grappling.

BKK's Danny Parker also lost out in a close fight, dropping a split decision to Lucas Rene Birkelid in an absorbing, tactical welterweight battle.

East Anglian Daily Times: Vadimas Gaizutis celebrates his flyweight title defence at Cage Warriors AcademyVadimas Gaizutis celebrates his flyweight title defence at Cage Warriors Academy (Image: Brett King)

Avaddon MMA scored three wins earlier on the card, with Jordan Smith (first round armbar), Harvey Moore (second round leg lock) and Ashley Swash (unanimous points win) all having their hands raised.

There was success too, for Tsunami Norfolk as Bianca Borgioli outpointed Ako Murata to claim a win on her debut in the straw-weight division. After a tough first round, Borgioli found her feet, stunning Murata with punches twice to claim a unanimous decision.

Finally, Jan Ricard Joreid likely claimed submission of the night honours with his second round guillotine choke win over Aiden Bailey, putting his opponent to sleep with a standing hold in their lightweight clash.

East Anglian Daily Times: Shaun Fraser moved to 5-0 with his welterweight title defence at Cage Warriors AcademyShaun Fraser moved to 5-0 with his welterweight title defence at Cage Warriors Academy (Image: Brett King)