LEE Wieczorek enjoyed an emphatic return to action at UWC 25, demolishing his opponent Danny Joel inside the first round.

Wieczorek had spent two and a half years away from the sport before Saturday’s clash.

And the Wickford based 31-year-old looked like he had never been away after producing a strong performance which resulted in Joel leaving the cage on a stretcher.

“It was good to get back out there again and I just went back into auto pilot again when I got in to the cage which was good,” said Wieczorek.

“It still felt normal to be in there which was pleasing and although I was probably a little bit rusty in one or two areas I was pleased with how it went, especially in front of a home crowd in Southend.”

Wieczorek now plans to build on his comeback win and is keen to rediscover the form he had found before he took a break from action.

Wieczorek fought for one of Europe’s biggest promotions BAMMA at Wembley Arena.

And he has his sights firmly set on getting back to that kind of level.

“If you’re going to do something then you need to do it properly and that’s the way I view this,” said Wieczorek.

“I don’t necessarily want to be known as a cage fighter and I’m certainly not in it for any kind of fame. “I just happen to quite enjoy doing it and I’m ready to commit again after having the time off.

“I had things I had to do in my private life but now I have the time to focus on fighting again and this was certainly a good start.”

Wieczorek dominated right from the start and did not take long to be named the victor.

His opponent, Joel, had lengthy medical treatment inside the cage following his defeat.

But Wieczorek revealed he had since messaged him to confirm he had suffered no injuries.

“Danny messaged me on Facebook to thank me for the fight and to let me know he was OK which was great to hear,” added Wieczorek.