After an unsuccssful stint in the UFC, Rhys McKee has finally claimed the Cage Warriors welterweight title he always seemed destined to hold. In the main event of Cage Warriors 140, Rhys McKee faced off against Justin Burlinson for the welterweight title in front of a passionate Belfast crowd. This fight was a pivotal one […]
After an unsuccssful stint in the UFC, Rhys McKee has finally claimed the Cage Warriors welterweight title he always seemed destined to hold.
In the main event of Cage Warriors 140, Rhys McKee faced off against Justin Burlinson for the welterweight title in front of a passionate Belfast crowd. This fight was a pivotal one for McKee, who had stepped up to the UFC on short notice, facing Khamzat Chimaev on Fight Island. Chimaev ran through McKee as he has done to everyone since. McKee was then given another extremely tough test in UFC veteran Alex Morono, whom he also came up short against. The UFC then unceremoniously cut him from the promotion.
However, he would return to Cage Warriors, the promotion where he had first garnered a reputation for being a dangerous welterweight with lethal intent. After knocking out Aleksi Mäntykivi, McKee was granted a shot at the title, against fellow top European prospect, Justin Burlinson.
‘Skeletor’ looked close to being stopped in the first round, as Burlinson took top control and rained down a flurry of brutal strikes. However, McKee was able to last out the round, and entered the second with renewed vigor.
This time it was McKee who came close to finishing the fight, opening up a nasty cut on the face of Burlinson. The fight did enter the third round, though it would last 20 more seconds. Burlinson attempted a spinning back fist, but McKee evaded, and then landed two clean strikes to send his opponent sinking to the canvas.
Check out the full highlights of Rhys McKee’s title-winning performance at Cage Warriors 140 below:
European MMA promotions have for years proved fertile breeding ground for some of MMA’s biggest stars. The likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Jan Blachowicz cut their teeth in the region’s top promotions prior to gaining mainstream success. And now more than ever, we’re seeing an increasing number of European fighters funnel through these…
European MMA promotions have for years proved fertile breeding ground for some of MMA’s biggest stars. The likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Jan Blachowicz cut their teeth in the region’s top promotions prior to gaining mainstream success. And now more than ever, we’re seeing an increasing number of European fighters funnel through these promotions into the UFC, Bellator and the PFL.
Here we rank the top 4 European MMA promotions right now.
1. Cage Warriors
No other European MMA promotion has produced such a star-studded list of fighters than Cage Warriors. The likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping, Joanna J?drzejczyk and Dan Hardy all rose through the promotion’s ranks prior to achieving global success. So too current UFC stars Paddy Pimblett, Ian Garry, Jack Hermansson and Molly McCann, among others. Bellator’s Gegard Mousasi also cut his teeth in Cage Warriors.
Since its founding in 2001, Cage Warriors has hosted over 150 events across the United Kingdom, Ireland and continental Europe. The Irish-owned, London-based promotion has even made its way onto US shores, having staged three events in San Diego, California in the past year.
UFC lightweights Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett are both former Cage Warriors champions. PHOTOS: CAGE WARRIORS
2. KSW
Formally known as Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, which translates from Polish into “Martial Arts Confrontation,” KSW rose from the humblest beginnings to become one of the biggest European MMA promotions.
The Poland based outfit was founded in the early 2000’s by Martin Lewandowski, at the time a manager at the Hotel Marriot in Warsaw, and friend Maciej Kawulski. Back then, MMA was a little-known sport in Poland, and the duo quickly realized that there was an untapped opportunity to bring MMA to the Eastern European country.
“My personal goal was to find new sports which weren’t so well known and try to grow them in the country,” Lewandowski told Bloody Elbow in 2019. “I tried with Formula 1 and American Football, but those efforts didn’t really come to anything. Myself and Maciej thought we saw a gap in the market for MMA so that is when KSW was born.”
Jan Blachowicz was a three-time KSW light heavyweight champion before joining the UFC. (PHOTO: KSW)
In 2004, KSW held its first event in a sports bar within the Warsaw Marriot Hotel, before just 300 fans. Fast forward to 2017, and the promotion broke the then record for the largest live attendance at a European MMA event, and achieved the second largest in history, with over 57,000 attending KSW 39 in Warsaw. KSW has now held over seventy events in Poland, the UK and even in the US.
Like other European promotions, KSW was also the old stomping ground for some of the best talent in the UFC. Former UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz is the most famous KSW alum. Surging lightweight Mateusz Gamrot, middleweight Dricus Du Plessis, and women’s flyweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz also once plied their trade in KSW.
Even UFC heavyweight Alexander Gustafson once graced the KSW ring early in his career, so too all-round combat sports icon and TV personality Butterbean.
3. M-1 Global
If you’re wondering why so much top talent from the former Soviet states has entered the UFC in recent years, part of the reason is M1-Global. Since 2018, the St. Petersburg, Russia based promotion has been in partnership with the UFC, serving as a farm league for the world’s premier MMA outfit to scout fighters.
Most recently, we’ve seen surging welterweight prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov and featherweight Movsar Evloev enter the UFC via M1-Global. Heavyweights Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Alexey Oliynyk also travelled the same path. And MMA greats Khabib Nurmagomedov and Fedor Emelianenko also briefly fought in M1-Global.
M1-Global is one of the oldest European MMA promotions, with a history stretching back to 1997. It’s also one of the more unconventional. In 2015, the promotion debuted M1-Medieval, which features full-contact jousting matches between “knights” dressed in chain mail and wielding swords. Surely there can’t be a more European take on MMA than this.
4. Absolute Championship Akhmat
The talent that has sprung forth from Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACB) over the years surely warrants its inclusion among the top European MMA promotions. However, the Russian based outfit is also notorious for its close ties to one of the region’s most ruthless dictators, the MMA-obsessed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Petr Yan, Askar Askarov and the recently retired Zabit Magomedsharapov were all ACB champions prior to entering the UFC. The promotion also boasts Artem Lobov and UFC light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev as alums.
PHOTO: ACB
Since 2012, ACB has held over 140 MMA, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu events in Russia, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia and the US. But since late 2020, the promotion has been forced to remain within Russia due to US sanctions imposed on Kadyrov. Russia’s pariah status since its invasion of Ukraine also hasn’t helped ACB’s cause.
In years past, the promotion stuck to a regular schedule of monthly events, but it’s now been over a year since its last. It’s likely that difficulties securing visas for foreign fighters, and the reluctance of international partners willing to do business, are key contributors to ACB’s present troubles.
What do you think? Are there any other top European MMA promotions worthy of a mention?
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. Last week was a busy one, as the UFC debuted their series of Road to the UFC cards in the…
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.
Last week was a busy one, as the UFC debuted their series of Road to the UFC cards in the lead-up to UFC 275. Those four events had enough finishes to fill out a separate Top 10, but they ended up only being a warm-up for the weekend’s action. UFC 275 provided a number of impressive finishes and was arguably the best event of the year, but a pair of big knockouts from LFA and Cage Warriors also made the cut for this week’s list.
#10: Muin Gafurov Arrives In LFA
First up this week is the main event from LFA 134, where Muin Gafurov competed in his first bout since a split-decision loss on Contender Series 2021.
The 26-year-old proved he may well get another chance at the UFC after landing a right hand that turned Herbeth Sousa around as he landed on the mat.
#9: Chasen Blair’s Hometown Walk-Off
Cage Warriors 139 was held outdoors under the beautiful San Diego sunshine, and welterweight Chasen Blair made the most of the spotlight against Kona Oliveira.
The San Diego-born fighter sent his hometown crowd into a frenzy with a huge right hand off a clinch break that put Oliveira down and had Blair raising his arms in victory.
#8: Jeong Yeong Lee Grabs An Arm
The Road to the UFC cards provided a number of impressive finishes, including this submission from Jeong Yeong Lee in the featured bout of Road to the UFC 3.
Lee looked like he might put Contender Series veteran Bin Xie out with elbows while defending a takedown, but once he hit the ground the South Korean quickly locked up an armbar just over 30 seconds into the fight.
#7: Jack Della Madellana Goes To The Body
Jack Della Madellana looked in serious danger of being submitted by Ramazan Emeev before showcasing the striking that has made him one of the UFC’s hottest prospects.
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Watch out welterweights – Jack Della Maddalena has ARRIVED!
The Australian caught Emeev swinging wildly and started to pour on volume, eventually landing a body shot that brought the Russian to his knees for Madallana’s second first-round stoppage in as many UFC bouts.
#6: Zhang Mingyang Beats The Odds
The very first bout of Road to the UFC featured some of the most lopsided betting odds of the series, which set the stage for Zhang Mingyang to kick things off with an upset.
The Chinese light heavyweight applied pressure to heavily-favored George Tokkos early, eventually landing a right hand and some vicious follow up shots to get the victory with just over a minute left in the first round.
#5: Silvana Gómez Juárez Gets Her First UFC Win
Silvana Gómez Juárez lost her first two UFC bouts via armbar, and a loss to Na Liang at UFC 275 could very well have ended her run with the promotion.
The 37-year-old strawweight rose to the occasion, rocking Liang with a right hand before landing a follow-up combination that had her opponent slumping to the canvas.
#4: Hayishaer Maheshate’s Explosive Debut
Of all the notable performances at UFC 275, the debut of 22-year-old Hayishaer Maheshate against Steve Garcia may have been the most impressive.
Maheshate landed a perfectly-timed counter shot that floored Garcia and gave Maheshate a moment to admire his work before jumping onto the cage to celebrate his first UFC win.
#3: Jeka Saragih Makes His Case To The UFC
Road to the UFC showcased a number of fighters hoping to make a lasting impression, and arguably no one did that more successfully than Jeka Saragih.
Not satisfied with what looked to be an impending decision win, the Indonesian lightweight dropped Pawan Maan Singh with a spinning back fist in the third round to make sure everyone remembered his performance.
#2: Ji?í Procházka Claims The Title
Are there more violent and technically impressive finishes ranked lower on this list? Absolutely. Did any of those fights carry the same stakes and end as dramatically as this one? Absolutely not.
After possibly the greatest fight in the history of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, challenger Ji?í Procházka handed Glover Teixiera the first submission loss of his career and won the light heavyweight title with less than 30 seconds left in the final round.
#1: Weili Zhang Sends Joanna Into Retirement
Even with two title fight headlining the card, the rematch between former strawweight champions Weili Zhang and Joanna J?drzejczyk was arguably the most anticipated fight at UFC 275.
After a whirlwind first round where both women seemed determined to top the action from their original fight, Zhang ended their rivalry with a spinning back fist that left J?drzejczyk facedown on the canvas.
What do you think of this week’s list? Are there any finishes you think should have made the cut that didn’t? What about ones you think should have been ranked higher or lower?
Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Matthew Bonner has plans to eventually make the proven transition from the Graham Boylan-led promotion to the UFC in the future – and if he could pick a debut opponent, a matchup against former Cage Warriors titleholder, Ian Garry certainly piques his interest. Matthew Bonner, who plys his trade at […]
Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Matthew Bonner has plans to eventually make the proven transition from the Graham Boylan-led promotion to the UFC in the future – and if he could pick a debut opponent, a matchup against former Cage Warriors titleholder, Ian Garry certainly piques his interest.
Matthew Bonner, who plys his trade at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool, boasts a 12-7-1 professional record, and managed to land his second consecutive victory back at Cage Warriors 137 earlier this month, submitting Joel Kouadja with a stunning one-armed rear-naked choke win.
Clinching the middleweight title back in June of last year, Bonner submitted Nathias Frederick with a fourth round stoppage, however, would drop his title in his next outing against Djati Melan.
Prior to his win against Kouadja, Bonner had returned to the winner’s enclosure with another career submission win – rebounding with a rear-naked choke triumph against Hugo Pereira.
Matthew Bonner welcomes a UFC bow against Cage Warriors alum Ian Garry
Discussing a potential move to the UFC in the future, Bonner told LowKick MMA reporter, Frank Bonada during an interview how a debut Octagon outing against Dublin upstart, Garry is something that interests him.
“I would love to fight Ian Garry, I would love to fight Ian Garry,” Matthew Bonner said. “I just think he brings a lot of attention to the fight, and you’ll bring a lot of fans, because of that. He drills up a lot of attention, you know. People know who he is, he’s an undefeated prospect.”
“I do think he’s very beatable as well,” Matthew Bonner said. “I still think he’s quite – he looks quite young in the game, he’s quite naive I think in some respect. His mouth is on point, but I don’t think his skills are just, quite there yet. I do think my style, in terms of being tough, being durable and just walking somebody down, would just cause him an awful lot of problems. I’ve only spoken to him very briefly once, and that was when I beat his teammate, James Webb at the time. … I don’t dislike the guy, but I’d love to fight Ian Garry. I think that would tick a lot of boxes for me fighting him.”
Cage Warriors fighter Aaron Aby wants his journey of ups and downs to eventually lead to a shot in the UFC—and he wants to inspire onlookers every step of the way.
Aby, a survivor of stage-three testicular cancer and a fighter living with cystic fi…
Cage Warriors fighter Aaron Aby wants his journey of ups and downs to eventually lead to a shot in the UFC—and he wants to inspire onlookers every step of the way.
Aby, a survivor of stage-three testicular cancer and a fighter living with cystic fibrosis, wants his story to show that people can overcome big obstacles in life.
Growing up, Aby was warned that his cystic fibrosis diagnosis could shorten his lifespan. In an act of defiance to this, he started in athletics, first as a cross-country runner, then as a serious footballer. He played for the Shrewsbury Town youth squad and the Wrexham pro team before pursuing MMA.
“MMA was an individual sport after what happened at Shrewsbury and having to have to have someone to pick you in football,” Aby told WalesOnline.
Aaron Aby
“One of the funny things was that MMA used to make me feel more tired than football, which I liked. I used to love the techniques and the philosophy of fighting and the principles behind it. It just started off once a week, then became twice a week, then I was doing it every day.”
Aby made his professional MMA debut in 2013. Four years later, he had to undergo surgery after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He had two surgeries, including one that had to remove a tumor the size of 15 centimeters.
“I was on a three-fight win streak,” Aby said. “The [cancer] symptoms actually started during the last fight camp. I was doing well, on a big show. There’s never good timing for these things.
Aby described the mindset he had to keep when going into a surgery he thought he might not survive.
“Negative thoughts come into your head, but I always used to say to myself that I was never going to quit. I will accept whatever happens but I will always fight until the last chance. I think that’s what I did.”
Aby: ‘UFC’s Always Got To Be A Goal’
Aby currently holds a pro record of 12 wins, four losses, and one draw. He has spent his last two fights with notable European promotion Cage Warriors, where he has earned a win and a loss.
Like most prospects, Aby is aiming to land in the UFC one day.
“The UFC’s always got to be a goal,” Aby continued. “If not, I’ve just got to keep winning, keep making my name relevant and keep working towards that Cage Warriors title.”
Aby picked up a victory in his last appearance, going three rounds against Samir Faiddine for a unanimous decision victory in December.
Cage Warriors light-heavyweight Justin Barry made the impossible seem ordinary during a recent fight at CW 130 in San Diego, CA. Barry was making his professional debut against Alan Benson at CW 130 when he landed one of the cleanest reverse crescent kicks you’ll ever see. He earned a second-round knockout that sent the crowd, […]
Cage Warriors light-heavyweight Justin Barry made the impossible seem ordinary during a recent fight at CW 130 in San Diego, CA.
Barry was making his professional debut against Alan Benson at CW 130 when he landed one of the cleanest reverse crescent kicks you’ll ever see. He earned a second-round knockout that sent the crowd, and viewing audience at home, into a complete frenzy.
Check out the incredible knockout below.
Justin Barry scores one of the most violent and perplexing knockouts in recent MMA history
The fight began with the two light heavyweights trading big blows, and Barry was in trouble in the early minutes of the fight. But, he opened up the second round more comfortably in his professional debut and landed an inside crescent kick to Benson’s face that slept him instantly.
Barry trains out of Alliance Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego and was making his debut in front of his hometown fanbase. He is just one of two professional MMA fighters who train at the gym.
Barry’s knockout kick looked oddly similar to UFC welterweight star Stephen Thompson, who has landed a series of incredible knockouts during his own career. But, it’s extremely rare that an inside crescent kick lands as clean as it did for Barry during his CW 130 fight.
Barry’s knockout wasn’t the only memorable moment at CW 130. Former UFC fighter Spike Carlyle earned a spectacular second-round right hook knockout in the main event, getting his career back on track.
But, Barry’s knockout clearly stole the show at CW 130, and this could be the beginning of something really special for the 33-year-old fighter. He’ll look to keep up his momentum heading into his second professional fight. Barry’s future opponents might want to watch out for a potential repeat knockout.
What is your reaction to this incredible knockout by Justin Barry?
UNBELIVEABLE SCENES IN BELFAST!
UNBELIVEABLE SCENES IN BELFAST! 
AND NEW!
"Skeletor" Rhys McKee 
Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Matthew Bonner has plans to eventually make the proven transition from the Graham Boylan-led promotion to the UFC in the future – and if he could pick a debut opponent, a matchup against former Cage Warriors titleholder, Ian Garry certainly piques his interest. Matthew Bonner, who plys his trade at […]
Cage Warriors light-heavyweight Justin Barry made the impossible seem ordinary during a recent fight at CW 130 in San Diego, CA. Barry was making his professional debut against Alan Benson at CW 130 when he landed one of the cleanest reverse crescent kicks you’ll ever see. He earned a second-round knockout that sent the crowd, […]