Cage Warriors 200: New Champions Crowned as Paddy McCorry and Nik Bagley Dominate
Two champions fell at Cage Warriors 200 as Paddy McCorry and Nik Bagley delivered dominant performances to claim middleweight and featherweight gold in Dublin.
Cage Warriors 200 saw two reigning champions dethroned in Dublin, Ireland.
Nik Bagley took home the featherweight title via decision, and Paddy McCorry TKO’d his opponent to claim the middleweight crown.
Dario Bellandi vs Paddy McCorry
Paddy McCorry challenged Dario Bellandi for the middleweight title in the co-main event.
Bellandi had held the belt since defeating Mick Stanton back in 2023, whilst McCorry was returning to the organisation after failing to secure a UFC contract.
With the force of an entire stadium behind him, McCorry secured a first-round stoppage over the Italian. A perfectly timed right hook dropped Bellandi, allowing the Irishman to unleash relentless ground strikes to secure the TKO victory.
After three years of Bellandi’s dominance in the middleweight division, a new champion was crowned — Paddy McCorry.
Nik Bagley vs Solomon Simon
The main event of Cage Warriors 200 was contested between champion Solomon Simon and Nik Bagley.
Irishman Simon was the newly crowned featherweight champion, having won the belt in late 2025.
A prolific finisher, Simon entered Cage Warriors 200 undefeated with a 7–0 record, every one of those wins coming by way of stoppage.
He was challenged by Great Britain Top Team product Nik Bagley.
9–1 as a professional, Bagley had not lost a fight since 2022, showing a versatile and well-rounded game in the years since.
Bagley put Dublin on notice with a grappling masterclass over the champion. From the opening horn, he used his wrestling ability to take Simon down and pressure him against the cage with exhausting clinch work in Round 1.
This approach continued to define the fight, with Bagley taking the champion down again in Round 2 and backpacking him for the majority of Round 3.
Simon’s attempts to disengage from Bagley’s grappling proved unsuccessful.
The championship rounds followed a similar pattern. Bagley used his superior grappling to smother the champion against the cage in Round 4 and took his back again in Round 5 in pursuit of a finish.
With mere moments remaining, Simon managed to reverse position and end up on top, unloading a hail of strikes onto Bagley, who shelled up until the final horn.
The dominant grappling display earned Bagley a unanimous decision victory — and the Cage Warriors featherweight belt wrapped around his waist.
Ben Matthews is a journalist who specialises in combat sports. An avid MMA fan on both the global and regional level, he has 5 years worth of reporting experience for digital news outlets. His experience is backed by a NCTJ training alongside a bachelors degree in Journalism & Publishing. Engaging, knowledgeable and contextualised coverage is what he aims to provide in his writing.
You May Also Like
George Hardwick returns to headline Cage Warriors 209 in Newcastle
George Hardwick headlines Cage Warriors 209 in Newcastle as the former lightweight champion faces late replacement Nicolas Sávio. Here's everything you need to know ahead of Saturday night's action, including the key fights across the main card.
Cage Warriors 208 Results: Nik Bagley Retains Title as Favourites Dominate Card
Cage Warriors 208 saw the promotion return to London in style, with reigning champion Nik Bagley successfully defending his title and Jordan Vucenic inching closer to a UFC return.
Nik Bagley previews first Cage Warriors title defence against Aiden Lee at Cage Warriors 208
Nik Bagley discusses his first Cage Warriors featherweight title defence against Aiden Lee, his championship mindset and why his focus remains firmly on Cage Warriors 208.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to post a comment.