Rhys McKee Wrecks Justin Burlinson, Captures Vacant Welterweight Title at CW 140

UNBELIVEABLE SCENES IN BELFAST!

Rhys McKee KOs his opponent in the third. We have a new welterweight champion at #CW140 pic.twitter.com/Ft8Hmg6zdF

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 25, 2022

The Cage Warriors Fighting Championship welterweight division has a new kingpin after the promotion's event at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Saturday.

In the CW 140 headliner, Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Rhys McKee and Dana White’s Contender Series vet Justin Burlinson fought for the vacant 170-pound championship. Burlinson (7-2, 2-1 CW) put his punches to work early in the opening frame, mixing his shots with some successful takedowns. On the canvas, Burlinson's relentless ground-and-pound opened a deep cut on his opponent’s forehead. The cageside physician took a close look at McKee (12-4-1, 5-0 CW), but the action was allowed to continue into Round 2. McKee had a better second round after taking advantage of some unfortunate choices by Burlinson, who lost his dominant position and fought most of the stanza off his back. McKee landed severe damage on his foe, and this time Burlinson had to overcome the physician's examination to see the third period.

The opening seconds in Round 3 were pure madness. Burlinson waged war on his adversary out of the gate, landing some dirty boxing in close quarters. McKee backed down against the fence before scoring with his jab. Burlinson attempted a nice spinning back elbow that partially landed, followed by a one-two combination from McKee that put his opponent out on his knees. Referee Daniel Movahedi rushed to save Burlinson, as the official time of the stoppage indicated 25 seconds into the third period.

Caolan Loughran dominates his opponent for the TKO finish and the #CW140 crowd goes wild

A huge win for The Don pic.twitter.com/96oqjT12ce

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 25, 2022

The co-main event featured a bantamweight clash between Caolan Loughran and Festus Ahorlu. Loughran (6-0, 2-0 CW) came close to finishing Ahorlu in Round 1 after capturing his opponent’s back. While “The Don” spent most of the time in control of his foe, Ahorlu’s (5-1, 0-1 CW) defense held up to survive until the end of Round 1. In the second frame, Loughran took Ahorlu down again and quickly trapped his opponent in a tight Dagestani handcuff. Ahorlu had no choice but to take his foe’s heavy punches before ultimately conceding his back. Loughran made the most out of the advantageous spot and landed some more bombs until referee Declan Larkin was forced to stop the action at the 3:20 mark.

After a back and forth round one, James Sheehan overcomes his opponent with strikes to get the finish.

What's next for "Jimbo Slice"?

Watch #CW140 live on @UFCFightPass
https://t.co/nFDeCTOXWm
SSE Arena, Belfast pic.twitter.com/IBXydrgmcr

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 25, 2022

Elsewhere, welterweight James Sheehan (5-2, 4-1 CW) crushed Martin Causse (3-2, 1 NC; 0-1 CW) with punches at 1:16 into Round 2; Italian 145-pounder Federico Pasquali (7-0-1, 1-0-1 CW) and Harry Hardwick (8-3-1, 2-0-1 CW) fought to a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-29); Ryan Shelley (5-0, 3-0 CW) edged Matthew Elliott (2-1, 1-1 CW) thanks to a controversial split decision (30-27, 29-28, and 28-29) at featherweight.

Michael “Jaguar” Tchamou silences the crowd with a HUGE KO at the 30sec mark of round one

These prelims are

Watch the #CW140 prelims live on @UFCFightPass
https://t.co/nlA59x8SKK
SSE Arena, Belfast pic.twitter.com/JsLAE3EQ2M

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) June 25, 2022

On the preliminary card, Michele Martignoni (7-1, 2 NC; 2-1, 1 NC CW) dominated Scott Malone (9-6, 4-5 CW) en route to a unanimous decision victory (30-26, 30-27, 29-28) in a 132-pound catchweight bout; at lightweight, James Power (3-0, 1-0 CW) smashed Adam Shelley (2-2, 1-1 CW) with punches and knees 4:23 into Round 2; 185-pounder Michael Tchamou (3-1, 2-1 CW) knocked out Glenn Irvine (3-4, 0-1 CW) with a hefty combination 30 seconds out of the gate; Adam Darby (1-0, 1-0 CW) stopped Dorian Cliucinicov (2-2, 0-1 CW) with punches with only 31 seconds left in the opening frame of their 160-pound catchweight clash.