This Saturday, Europe’s premier MMA promotion, Cage Warriors, takes over the ancient city of Rome for a spectacular night of fights. Boasting a 19 bout card packed to the brim with talent from around the world, Cage Warriors 179 will be headlined by former welterweight champion Stefano Paternò and Brazil’s own Jorge Bueno.
Taking place at a special catchweight of 175 lbs., the pairing of these fighters is bound to produce a contest worthy of taking place in the battleground of antiquity. With 24 finishes between them, a win for either man could propel them forward with much momentum in their respective divisions.
Now, let’s break down this main event.
Examining Bueno’s Resume
Jorge Bueno
10-5-0, 1 NC
Age: 35
Height: 5’9″
Reach: 68.9″
Division: Middleweight
Starting off his professional career with a resounding bang on July 15, 2017, Bueno utterly demolished his opponent, Onã Santana, with punches in just a single round.
Although he recorded an empathic stoppage in his first fight as a pro, we wouldn’t see Bueno compete for another three years. Making his return to activity in 2020, “Jorginho” picked up a unanimous decision win for what would be his sole bout that year.
2021 proved to be a different story, however, as the Brazilian made the walk to the cage a total of five times, going 4-0 with one no contest. He even managed to attain his first championship belt when he won the Peregrino Fight Academy Light Heavyweight Championship 59 seconds via ground and pound.
For the next two years, Bueno saw more appearances on the European regional scene, accumulating a record of 10-5 heading into his trip to Rome this weekend.
Looking at Stefano Paterno’s Career
Stefano Paternò
18-4-1
Age: 29
Height: 5’11”
Division: Welterweight
Fighting in Rome ✅ One ticked off the bucket list for Stefano Paternò 😍
📺 Watch #CW179 Unlocked now on YouTube! pic.twitter.com/wazfe79cff
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 1, 2024
Skipping the amateur scene and jumping straight into the professional ranks on July 21, 2012, Stefano Paternò enjoyed a solid year of positive results, winning his first four fights.
This solid streak would end up being snapped, however, when he went up against Raffaele Spallitta, who handed the Milan native his first loss. Fortunately, Paternò ended up getting his revenge over his fellow countryman five months later with a superb second round knockout.
This pattern of losing and then avenging said defeat followed Paternò in his next two fights when he dropped a unanimous decision to Andrea Fusi and then immediately took the runback with third round submission. The Fusi victory became the catalyst for Paternò’s best run of his career, as he would embark on a eight fight unbeaten streak, where he captured the Italian Fighting Championship and Cage Warriors welterweight titles.
While he did lose his strap in his first title defense, this has not stopped Paternò from putting together another streak, for since his last defeat to Ion Pascu in 2020, the Italian has rattled off five more consecutive wins, with two of those coming in his past two appearances in Cage Warriors.
Don’t Blink for This Main Event 👀
Stefano Paterno 🆚 Jorge Bueno
📺 Watch live at #CW179 Rome on @UFCFightPass tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/2rUfqxzfYR
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) November 1, 2024
Prediction: Stefano Paternò by second round knockout
Final Analysis
Throughout his career, Stefano Paternò has cemented his reputation as a finisher. Out of his 18 victories as a professional, 15 have come by way of stoppage. This includes ten knockouts, nine of which happened within the first two rounds.
This presents a clear problem for Jorge Bueno, who has been on the receiving end of some vicious knockouts himself over the past year. Since July of 2023, the Brazilian has fought in six contests and has lost three of them by second- round KO/TKO. Factoring in his age as well (he turned 35 this past May), father time isn’t going to be doing Bueno any favors in this upcoming fight compared to the 29-year old Paternò.
Also a big edge in the Italian’s corner is the fact that he was already a champion under the Cage Warriors banner. This means he has already beaten some of the top competitors in his weight class in the promotion unlike Bueno who folded in his first time competing there after he succumbed to elbows against Will Currie.
