McKee crowned welterweight champion in dramatic Cage Warriors evening in Belfast
Cage Warriors’ long awaited Belfast show at the SSE Arena did not disappoint with Ballymena boy Rhys McKee securing the welterweight title in dramatic fashion in front a 3,000 strong crowd in the highlight of a busy evening of action.
In the preliminary rounds, Dublin fighter Adam Darby kicked off the evening in impressive fashion, recording a his first professional victory by TKO after just thirty seconds against his Romanian opponent Dorian Cliucinicov in a dominant display in the catchweight contest.
In the second bout of the night, a middleweight clash, Michael Tchamou silenced the home crowd with a swift right and left hand combo to knock out Ballymena native Glenn Irvine, again with just thirty seconds gone.
The third fight, a lightweight bout between James Power and Dublin’s Adam Salley, was a much more even affair, lasting two rounds.
Englishman Power eventually slogged his way to victory after a grueling fight, which swung both ways before Salley succumbed to a TKO after 4 minutes.
Italian fighter Michele Maroigoni beat Scotsman Scott Malone by a unanimous verdict in a catchweight bout to complete the preliminary fights. Malone had started brightly in the first round, but faded and Maroigoni capitalised, landing a strong kick at the end of the final round to help him seal victory.
Belfast fighter Matthew Elliot kicked off the main card as he and Dublin’s Ryan Shelley put their undefeated records on the line in an absorbing featherweight fight, which eventually went Shelley’s way, much to the dismay of the home crowd and Elliot himself.
Tyrone’s Caolan Loughran enhanced his growing reputation with a dominant display against Festus Ahorlu
Elliot secured multiple takedowns without making much progress and that would plague him in the second and third rounds as Shelley hung on without sustaining any major damage.
One judge scored it 29-28 in Elliot’s favour, whilst the other two judges scored the fight in favour of Shelley, 29-28 and surprisingly 30-27, allowing the exciting Dublin fighter to extend his unbeaten record to 5 fights.
The first draw of the evening followed in the featherweight fight between England’s Harry Hardwick and Italian Federico Pasquali.
After an even encounter, one judge ruled that Hardwick had won, but with the other two decided it was a draw, and the majority ruled.
Hardwick will now headline the Cage Warriors event in London, taking on Kyle Driscoll for the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight belt.
Another exciting prospect James Sheehan secured victory in his tussle with Martin Causse as he stopped the Frenchman in the second round after a long hold, with both fighters having exchanged punches in a lively first round.
In the co-main event, crowd favourite and Tyrone native Caolan Loughran defeated Festus Ahorlu by TKO in round 2 after controlling the fight, enabling him to move to six fights undefeated in the pro ranks.
The main event for the vacant welterweight title certainly lived up to its billing as it was an equally enthralling and bruising encounter.
For large periods of the first and second rounds it seemed that Justin Burlinson would be the first Englishman since Dan Hardy to get his hands on the 170 pound title, as whilst McKee started well in both rounds, he faded and succumbed to sustained pressure from Burlinson.
The local fighter knew he would need something special in the final round to prevent Burlinson edging it on points, and he produced just that with a left and right hook combo to knock down his opponent and claim the coveted title amidst wild scenes from the Belfast crowd.
All in all, it was a fitting way to end what was a tremendous night for MMA in Northern Ireland, and it surely won’t be the last in the capital.
Lauren McCann is the Scoop’s Sport Editor and an English and Spanish student at Queen’s University Belfast.