Soren Bak ruined Paddy Pimblett’s opportunity to join Conor McGregor in Cage Warriors lore when he won the vacant lightweight title in today’s Cage Warriors 96 main event.

Pimblett (14-3), who is the organization’s current featherweight champion, was unable to add the lightweight belt to his collection. Bak (11-1) outworked his opponent over the course of five rounds to take a unanimous decision victory in the event headliner, which took place at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, and streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

“The Baddy” came out on fire in the opening round. He got ahold of Bak and advanced to back control, where he jumped on a rear-naked choke. Pimblett sunk in a deep rear-naked choke, and it looked as if it was going to be a short night for Bak. Somehow, though, he survived the choke and lasted the entirety of the round while in a dangerous position.

The second round was an entirely different fight, with almost the entirety of the five-minute period being spent on the feet. Bak gained confidence in that area, landing some solid strikes on Pimblett and pushing the Brit against the fence to do some work from close range.

Bak carried his confidence from the second round into the third. He came out with offensive pressure, landing strikes that forced Pimblett into a sloppy takedown attempt. Bak stuffed it and assumed top control, where he was able to work ground-and-pound for the remainder of the round to deflate Pimblett and his hometown crowd.

Once the fight hit the championship rounds, Bak really hit his stride. He landed punches with confidence and once again managed to find his way on top of Pimblett on the ground. Pimblett went for some submission attempts from bottom, but Bak stayed composed and managed to escape danger each time it arose.

Pimblett knew he needed to get something meaningful done in the final round, but Bak was aware of his opponent’s needs. He stuck to his gameplan and mixed up his kicks and punches as Pimblett tried to turn the tide of the action. Bak wasn’t having any of it, though. He pushed Pimblett against the cage, secured a takedown, avoided submissions and battered Pimblett in the final seconds to seal the deal on the scorecards.

The judges ruled the fight in Bak’s favor by scores of 48-44, 48-45, 48-46.

“First round, there was a couple seconds there I thought Paddy might of had me,” Bak said during his post-fight interview. “I never tap out in a fight. … When I got out, I felt the momentum start to shift in my favor.

“I’m going on a 14-day vacation now, and the only one who is able to call me is (UFC President) Dana White. Dana, you’ve got my number!”

Billstein claims vacant middleweight title in Round 1

Jonas Billstein (20-5-1) had no desire to play games against Mick Stanton (3-3), and his aggression led to him winning the vacant Cage Warriors middleweight championship by first-round submission.

After Billstein’s original opponent missed weight, Stanton, who is typically a welterweight, accepted the fight on 24-hours’ notice. Billstein admitted the switch was a difficult mental hurdle to overcome, but once he was in the cage, he showed no ill effects.

Billstein, 27, wasted no time grounding his opponent, and from there the outcome was inevitable. He took the back and worked toward a rear-naked choke, which Stanton fought off for as long as he could. Billstein got the forearm under the neck, though, and got Stanton to tap out at the 3:23 mark of Round 1.

With the win, Billstein is unbeaten over his past six contests. He said he was thrilled to accomplish his goal of winning the 185-pound belt.

“Reaching his was my biggest goal for like half a year now,” Billstein said during his post-fight interview. “Everything I did to this point, I did right. It’s amazing.”

Dalby snaps skid with thrilling finish

A perfectly timed right head kick from Nicolas Dalby (15-3-1) spelled the beginning of the end in his welterweight fight with Roberto Allegretti (3-1).

After a competitive first round, Dalby came out hunting for the kill in the second frame. It didn’t take long, because just seconds in, he blasted Allegretti with the kick. Allegretti somehow survived, but Dalby was in kill mode. He took the back, sunk in the rear-naked choke and put his opponent out cold for the technical submission finish just 50 seconds in to Round 2.

The victory snapped Dalby’s four-fight winless skid. It was his first triumph since May 2015, and the first time he’s won a contest inside the distance in nearly five years.

Complete Cage Warriors 96 results included:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass)

• Soren Bak def. Paddy Pimblett via unanimous decision (48-44, 48-45, 48-46) – to win vacant lightweight title
• Jonas Billstein def. Mick Stanton via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:23 – to win vacant middleweight title
• Jack Grant vs. Aleksi Mantykivi via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 4:03
• Nicolas Dalby def. Roberto Allegretti via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:50
• Tim Barnett vs. Matthew Bonner ends in a majority draw (28-27, 28-28, 28-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD (SPORTbible Facebook)

• Mahmod Faour def. Elliot Jenkins via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:49
• Sam Creasey def. Coner Hignett via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:02
• Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar def. Anthony O’Connor via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:21
• Liam Gittins def. Kevin Cordero Lopez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:36

For more on Cage Warriors 96, check out the MMA Events section of the site.