There was barely enough time to get over all the incredible action from April before the next leg of the Cage Warriors 2023 world tour got underway in Rome. The Fiera Roma was once against the destination as CW returned shine its considerable spotlight on Italian MMA, although a certain Irishman had other ideas…
Tickets for CW’s return to Rome are on sale now!
Join CW’s resident Play-by-Play commentator Brad Wharton as he takes a look back at some of the highlights from May’s CW 154!
The Italian Job
Caolan Loughran had one thing on his mind heading into May’s CW 154: Pulling off his very own Italian Job in Rome. Ok, so the Italian Job actually took place in Turin, but that’s just splitting heirs.
Also unlike The Italian Job, there was no cliffhanger ending and no ambiguity; the Tyrone man left with all the gold.
Loughran took a few shots himself en route to the finish but in truth, he never looked phased. It was a fizzing uppercut in the second that signalled the beginning of the end, capping off a sensational, essentially flawless CW title run for ‘The Don’ of the bantamweight division.
Whether Loughran becomes the latest CW champion to be drafted into the UFC, or whether he defends against Nathan Fletcher or Reece McEwan, the future continues to look bright for the 135lbs division.
Raging Bull
From The Italian Job to a Raging Bull; Jasmine ‘The Bull’ Favero once again showed why she’s one of Italy’s most talked about prospects.
Following a glittering amateur career, Favero is now 3-0 as a pro and crucially, they’ve all taken place in the famous yellow gloves.
After besting old amateur foe Stephanie Evans last summer, ‘The Bull’ has racked up back-to-back wins on home soil. Her latest, a first-round stoppage of Poland’s Izabela Walczak, might just be the most impressive yet.
The Silencer
Giannis Bachar knew he had his work cut out for him against a career-best opponent in Carlo Pedersoli Jr, but few could have predicted how deep the waters he’d have to navigate would be.
In a bout that could be pivotal for the CW welterweight division, UFC veteran Pedersoli had a groundswell of support behind him against the highly-touted but unproven Bachar.
The pair knocked lumps out of each other for the best part of three rounds, and despite wearing a crimson mask, it was the away fighter who would silence the crowd with a gutsy third-round stoppage.
Jaws
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the hometown favourites in Rome, although Simone ‘The White Shark’ Patrizi had the Italian contingent worried as he went into the final frame of his main card opener against Albania’s Emil Xhaferi.
Likely two rounds down on the judges’ scorecards, Patrizi needed something special to turn the tide in his favour, and with three and a half minutes left on the clock, he found it.
Taking a bite out of Xhaferi with a monstrous right hook, ‘The White Shark’ finished the fight and dove into a sea of adoring fans to set the tone for the remainder of the evening.
You can catch all the action from CW 154 – and over a decade’s worth of action in the famous yellow gloves – on demand via UFC Fight Pass!
With some standout wins and crushing defeats, the stage has been set for Cage Warriors’ return to Rome on July 29th for CW 158!
Michele Martignoni will look to go two-for-two in CW title fights on Italian soil, as he faces flyweight champ Shaj ‘Superman’ Haque in the evening’s main event.
Want to be part of the action? Tickets for CW 158 are on sale now!