Cage Warriors middleweight champion Nathias Frederick struggled with his footing in his first title defense at Cage Warriors 118, but eventually planted his feet and scored a huge knockout to retain his title in London on Friday night.

The event, which took place at the York Hall in the English capital, saw Frederick (9-2-1) take on Jamie Richardson in the main event, and the Birmingham native known as “Notorious” endured two frustrating rounds before finally connecting with a sledgehammer left hook that knocked Richardson (9-6) out cold seconds into Round 3.

Things looked positive for the champion in the opening seconds of the fight, as Frederick dropped Richardson with his very first punch of the fight, a huge overhand right. But after Frederick let the challenger back to his feet, Richardson composed himself well and started to enjoy some success of his own. A solid right hand found its mark and, with Frederick continuing to slip on the canvas, “Young Gun” took advantage and picked up the champion before slamming him powerfully to the mat.

Frederick came out aggressively at the start of Round 2 and slammed a series of chopping leg kicks into Richardson’s lead leg. But Richardson stayed calm on the outside and looked to score with clean shots as the champion moved into striking range. Frederick continued to target Richardson’s legs throughout the round, but also continued to have problems with his feet slipping on the canvas as he fought slightly off-balance throughout the round.

After a frustrating start to the fight, Frederick came flying out of his corner for Round 3. He closed the distance on Richardson and, after a high kick forced the challenger back against the cage, a huge left hook sent Richardson face-planting to the canvas for a huge knockout.

It gave Frederick his first title defense and his third knockout win from his last four outings as the 37-year-old cemented himself as the man to beat in the U.K. promotion’s 185-pound division.