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Report | Rhys McKee set for Cage Warriors 170lb title unification bout vs. Jimmy Wallhead

Two former UFC fighters will throw down for the CW welterweight title, as current champion Rhys McKee faces off against interim title holder Jimmy Wallhead at Cage Warriors 153 in Dublin. Rhys McKee made his UFC debut in 2020, taking on Khamzat Chimaev of all people, on short notice. After a loss to ‘Borz,’ McKee […]

Two former UFC fighters will throw down for the CW welterweight title, as current champion Rhys McKee faces off against interim title holder Jimmy Wallhead at Cage Warriors 153 in Dublin.

Rhys McKee made his UFC debut in 2020, taking on Khamzat Chimaev of all people, on short notice. After a loss to ‘Borz,’ McKee would also come up short against UFC veteran welterweight Alex Morono. This led to what many believed was an unjustified cutting from the promotion.

However, McKee would not rest on his laurels. ‘Skeletor’ returned to his old stomping ground, taking on Aleksi Mäntykivi at Cage Warriors 129. The former champ put in a spirited performance, finishing Mäntykivi in the final round. It was later announced that McKee would next fight for the title, against surging Englishman Justin Burlinson.

The two elite European fighters faced off at Cage Warriors 140 in Dublin, Ireland. The clash lived up to all that it was billed, producing the Cage Warriors Fight of the Year in a sensational back-and-forth war. However, it was McKee that walked away with the title, finishing Burlinson in the second round after overcoming massive adversity.

Rhys McKee will now defend his belt against a true fan favorite who has burst back onto the scene in 2022. Judo’ Jimmy Wallhead, is a veteran and pioneer of the European MMA scene who has competed for the UFC, Bellator, BAMMA, and more.

In 2022, he returned to Cage Warriors, taking on Daniel Skibi?ski at Cage Warriors 141. Entering the fight a sizeable underdog, Wallhead threw back the years, lighting Skibi?ski up early, finishing the fight via right hook KO in the first round.

At Cage Warriors 146, ‘Judo’ Jimmy once again found himself underestimated by the bookies, priced as a heavy underdog against Matt Figlak in an interim title bout. Once again, he proved everyone wrong. Wallhead’s right hook flattened Figlak, provoking a huge response from the Manchester crowd.

Now, at Cage Warriors 153, Rhys McKee and Jimmy Wallhead will throw down in front of hoards of Irish fans, to determine who the true CW Undisputed welterweight champion really is.

The event takes place on April 29th and is set to feature a host of Irish talent competing against Europe’s premier mixed martial artists. Per a press release from Cage Warriors, the organization’s president, Graham Boylan, had the following to say:

“This is one of the biggest fights in the history of Cage Warriors.”

“Fans have been asking for us to return to Dublin; there’s no better place to do so than the 3Arena, with a massive welterweight title unification bout and a host of incredible Irish talent on the card!”

Who are you predicting to come out on top in the all-European welterweight clash? Rhys McKee or Jimmy Wallhead?

Cage Warriors 125lb champ Shaj Haque calls for rematch with Jake Hadley in the UFC: “I would fight him in a heartbeat.”

Cage Warriors flyweight champion Shaj Haque has called for a rematch with Jake Hadley in the UFC. Whilst not yet a household name, Shaj Haque is on a mission to make the step up to the UFC, and take on the very best the P4P No.1 promotion has to offer. The British/Bangladeshi prospect picked up […]

Cage Warriors flyweight champion Shaj Haque has called for a rematch with Jake Hadley in the UFC.

Whilst not yet a household name, Shaj Haque is on a mission to make the step up to the UFC, and take on the very best the P4P No.1 promotion has to offer. The British/Bangladeshi prospect picked up an enormous win on New Year’s Eve at Cage Warriors 148, earning a third-round knock-out over Sam Creasey en route to becoming their new Flyweight champion.

Now on a five-fight winning streak, Haque is knocking on the door of the UFC and has an opponent set on his mind. In an exclusive interview with Tom Mordue of LowKickMMA, Haque called for a rematch with Jake Hadley, who defeated him back at Cage Warriors 114 in late 220. He stated:

“I would fight him in a heartbeat today. [Jake Hadley] is a great fighter and I’m not going to take anything away from him and funny enough he knocked me out in my last loss. On that day, he was the better fighter, but that was a tough camp for me during lockdown. I was initially supposed to fight him before COVID and it was supposed to happen during the birth of my child.“

“Then COVID happened and I was still trying to adapt to being a father. When we got back into camp I still took the fight, but that camp was very hard. I’m sure Hadley had some troubles as well, but I don’t think he had as many troubles as I had. Also running a gym myself, it was a lot of stress and I felt like my mindset was not there when I fought Jake Hadley.”

Since their 2020 contest, both Shaj Haque and Jake Hadley have taken big leaps in their respective careers. Haque has won five straight fights, capping off 2022 by becoming the Cage Warriors Flyweight champion. Hadley earned a UFC contract in 2021 and is coming off of his first win in the promotion after he defeated Carlos Candelario with a triangle choke in November.

Hadley is currently set to fight Malcolm Gordon at UFC 286 in London in front of his home fans. Haque is also looking to get on that card and represent South Shields should the opportunity arise. While Hadley is booked against Gordon, Haque has made it clear he is one call away from joining the promotion to fight on that card in March should the matchup fall through.

Regardless of whether the rematch comes to fruition, Shaj Haque is an intriguing prospect to watch for in 2023 and a rematch with Hadley could result in fireworks. Check out the full interview right here:

Would you like to see Shaj Haque vs. Jake Hadley 2?

Nathan Fletcher sets his sights on a ‘rematch’ with Caolan Loughran in 2023: “That fights bound to happen.”

At Cage Warriors 148, Next Gen Liverpool prospect Nathan Fletcher secured the 7th pro win of his career, claiming a unanimous decision victory over Italian striker, Alessandro Giordano. The fight with Giordano, which took place on New Year’s Eve, marked Fletcher’s first bout of 2022. Having started the year off nursing an injury, Fletcher was […]

At Cage Warriors 148, Next Gen Liverpool prospect Nathan Fletcher secured the 7th pro win of his career, claiming a unanimous decision victory over Italian striker, Alessandro Giordano.

The fight with Giordano, which took place on New Year’s Eve, marked Fletcher’s first bout of 2022. Having started the year off nursing an injury, Fletcher was hoping to return to action in the summer, and then later in the Fall. However, multiple fights would collapse, including a bout vs. UFC veteran Cameron Else.

Eventually, on the last day of the year, Nathan Fletcher found himself with a matchup. ‘The Southport Strangler’ showed that he had continued to improve in 2022, despite not being able to book a fight. A solid well rounded display, in which he demonstrated prowess in both the grappling and striking realms, saw him enter 2023 with an impressive win under his belt.

In a recent interview with LowKickMMA, Fletcher was asked who he envisions facing in the coming year. Whilst Fletcher does have one eye on the current champ, Michele Martignoni, he does already have a win over the Italian. Instead, there was one name that repeatedly came up, that of Caolan Loughran, about whom Fletcher had the following to say:

“That fights bound to happen. I think it’s building up to it. The divisions very interesting at the minute, because obviously, we’ve got (Michele) Martignoni – there was like a little triangle with me, (Dominque) Wooding and Martignoni. Like, I beat Martignoni, Wooding beat me, then Martignoni beats Wooding. Wooding’s out the picture now, he’s signed with PFL. That’s a fight I would have liked to gotten back, obviously, being a competitor. But that’s not gonna happen now.”

“So my focus has kinda switched. I’ve got the Martignoni rematch, which obviously the enticement there for me is the belt, because I’ve already got a win over him… In terms of the competitor in me, the only reason I want that fight is because he’s got the belt. (Caolan) Loughran, again, I beat him, but that was amateur. That was a long time ago. Obviously, he’s improved a lot since then. I’ve improved a lot since then. And he’s got a bit of hype behind him, he’s got a bit of a name. So that fight does really interest me. And the c*** keeps calling me out. He’s called me out a good few times. So, I reckon that’s the fight that’s going to happen at some point next year, definitely.”

Nathan Fletcher defeated Caolan Loughran at Cage Warriors Academy Ireland 1, whilst both men were still on the amateur circuit. He was able to claim a unanimous decision victory over the Irish prospect.

Check out Nathan Fletcher’s full interview with LowKickMMA right here:

Nathan Fletcher reveals he defeated Michele Martignoni whilst suffering from food poisoning!

Whilst a fight with Caolan Loughran may be at the top of his list, a title shot against Michele Martignoni is surely too good a prospect to turn down for Nathan Fletcher.

However, this is a fight the 25-year-old from Southport would be immensely confident in taking. In the same interview, he revealed that he had been suffering from food poisoning the entire day of his original fight with Martignoni, and was still able to overcome ‘The Italian Thunder.’

“So facing him again, it’s not like I want to prove myself, that I can beat him. I’ve already beat him. And actually, when I fought Martignoni, I had food poisoning going into that fight. I was absolutely f***ed. Ask all me teammates, all my coaches. Matt Bonner was there. I didn’t eat a thing all day. And after the fight I was being sick. I came out in a big anaphylactic shock. The doctor had to give me a load of medicine, stuff like that. I was in a bad way. And I still beat him on my worst day.”

Who would you like to see face-off against Nathan Fletcher next? Caolan Loughran, Michele Martignoni, or someone else!?

Watch: MMA Fighter Shaj Haque Wins Flyweight Title With Massive KO Punch

Cage Warriors has a new Flyweight Champion in Shaj Haque following his impressive KO win over now-former champ Sam Creasey. Haque’s victory extends his current winning streak to five and his overall record to 15-5. ‘Superman’ looked far more impressive here than he did in his grueling split-decision win over Samir Faiddene back in September….

Continue Reading Watch: MMA Fighter Shaj Haque Wins Flyweight Title With Massive KO Punch at MMA News.

MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (12/25–12/31)

Welcome to this week’s edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase. The final week of 2022 featured the highly-anticip…

Continue Reading MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (12/25–12/31) at MMA News.

Watch: Modestas Bukauskas Wins LHW Title With Devastating Punch

MMA fighter Modestas Bukauskas is now a two-time Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Champion. At the recently concluded Cage Warriors 148 on New Year’s Eve, Bukauskas put opponent Chuck Campbell to sleep with a killer right hand in the fourth round….

Continue Reading Watch: Modestas Bukauskas Wins LHW Title With Devastating Punch at MMA News.