It is fight week in Dublin, and Cage Warriors is bringing another loaded lineup of Irish talent to the Emerald Isle.
On Saturday, Sep. 26, Cage Warriors 210 takes over Shelbourne Hall at The RDS in Dublin, Ireland. In the main event, Cage Warriors middleweight champion Paddy McCorry will put his title on the line for the first time when he faces Brazilian challenger Gustavo Sousa.
The main card begins at 3 p.m. ET and streams live on UFC Fight Pass, while the preliminary card gets underway at 12:30 p.m. ET. The event will also air through Cage Warriors’ international broadcast partners.
McCorry Returns to the Site of His Championship Win
McCorry returns to the same venue where he captured the middleweight belt at Cage Warriors 200 in February. On that historic night, the West Belfast fighter overwhelmed former champion Dario Bellandi with punches and ground-and-pound to score a first-round TKO.
Now carrying an 8-1 professional record and a five-fight winning streak, McCorry will try to turn his championship victory into the beginning of a meaningful title reign. The 28-year-old has finished six of his eight professional wins, splitting those stoppages evenly between knockouts and submissions.
Standing across from him will be Sousa, an aggressive Brazilian finisher who has yet to see the judges’ scorecards in a victory. Sousa enters the championship bout with a 7-2 record, including four knockouts and three submissions. He last competed in August, when he stopped Everton Freitas with punches in the opening round.
McCorry has the hometown crowd, the championship experience and momentum on his side. Sousa, however, brings the kind of finishing ability that can change the direction of a fight in an instant. With 13 combined stoppage wins between them, the Cage Warriors 210 headliner does not look like a matchup built to last 25 minutes.
Maximus Lally Looks to Remain Unbeaten
Undefeated Irish featherweight Maximus Lally occupies the co-main event slot against João Pedro Saldanha.
Lally was one of the standout performers at Cage Warriors 200, where he submitted Alexandre Junior with a rear-naked choke in the first round. The victory continued his rise through the promotion and earned him a trip to the UFC Performance Institute.
Another strong showing in Dublin would move Lally closer to the upper end of a competitive Cage Warriors featherweight division. Saldanha, meanwhile, has the opportunity to silence the Dublin crowd and hand the highly regarded prospect his first professional defeat.
Irish Talent Fills the Main Card
The rest of the main card offers a showcase for some of Ireland’s most promising and recognizable fighters.
Ger Harris meets Anderson Soares in a 132-pound catchweight contest. Harris returns after a narrow split-decision loss to Tanio Pagliariccio at Cage Warriors 200 in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.
Conor McCarthy faces Dumitru Girlean at lightweight, while Keith Keogh takes on Jhonatan Cordeiro in a 150-pound catchweight bout. Both McCarthy and Keogh earned stoppage victories at Cage Warriors 200 and will look to repeat those performances in front of another home crowd.
Former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Solomon Simon continues his move to lightweight against Kenny Mokhonoana. Simon challenged Nikita Bagley for the vacant featherweight title at Cage Warriors 200, but came up short by unanimous decision after five rounds. His move to 155 pounds gives him a fresh path through the promotion, beginning with a difficult assignment against Mokhonoana.
The seven-fight preliminary card features another collection of Irish prospects and Cage Warriors veterans. Tom Creasey faces Gary Rooney in a flyweight bout, and Oliver Tero meets Lewis Byrne at featherweight. Billy Sutherland battles Ronan Deegan at flyweight, while Louis Bricusse takes on Senan Coakley at welterweight.
Three featherweight and catchweight contests close out the early lineup, including Damien McKenna against Miguel Haro, Corey McLaughlin against Jordan Walters and Alex Keogh against Cristiano Oliveira.
Three previously announced matchups have been removed from the event following late-notice withdrawals. Lee Hammond vs. Christian Soda, Stephen Costello vs. Jordan O’Neill and Trevor Makengo vs. Bartek Stefański will no longer take place.
Cage Warriors 210 is another chance for the promotion’s Irish contingent to defend home turf. At the top of the card, McCorry will try to show that winning the title at The RDS was only the beginning.
Cage Warriors 210 Bout Card
Main Card — 3 p.m. ET (UFC Fight Pass)
Middleweight championship: Paddy McCorry (c) vs. Gustavo Sousa
Featherweight: Maximus Lally vs. João Pedro Saldanha
132-pound catchweight: Ger Harris vs. Anderson Soares
Lightweight: Conor McCarthy vs. Dumitru Girlean
150-pound catchweight: Keith Keogh vs. Jhonatan Cordeiro
Lightweight: Solomon Simon vs. Kenny Mokhonoana
Preliminary Card — 12:30 p.m. ET
Flyweight: Gary Rooney vs. Tom Creasey
Featherweight: Lewis Byrne vs. Oliver Tero
Flyweight: Ronan Deegan vs. Billy Sutherland
Welterweight: Senan Coakley vs. Louis Bricusse
Featherweight: Damien McKenna vs. Miguel Haro
Featherweight: Corey McLaughlin vs. Jordan Walters
150-pound catchweight: Alex Keogh vs. Cristiano Oliveira