Caolan Loughran Upsets Dylan Hazan, Captures Vacant Bantamweight Title at CW 154

LOUGHRAN SILENCES THE CROWD!!!#CW154 pic.twitter.com/2CE7r8eJz3

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 6, 2023

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship crowned a new 135-pound kingpin in its second event in Rome, Italy, but it wasn’t the one for which Italian fans had hoped.

In the Cage Warriors 154 headliner, Italy’s own Dylan Hazan took on Caolan Loughran for the vacant bantamweight championship. Hazan (9-1, 4-1 CW) looked faster with his punches while demonstrating intelligent in-and-out movement in the openzing stanza. Still, Loughran (8-0, 4-0 CW) kept his composure and retaliated with heavier shots. By the end of Round 1, “The Don” had already marked Hazan’s face with his haymakers. Things took an ugly turn for Hazan in the second frame, when Loughran pushed the pace and tested his adversary’s chin. A right hook-left uppercut combination shook Hazan before Loughran followed up with a couple more hooks and uppercuts that dropped his foe on the canvas. Loughran continued to land hard shots until Hazan couldn’t defend himself intelligently anymore. Referee Rich Mitchell stepped in to stop the action at the 1:44 mark of Round 2. Loughran spent the rest of the evening celebrating with the loud Irish fan delegation attending in Rome.

Well timed takedown by The Dentist#CW154 pic.twitter.com/wxiphKsvXH

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 6, 2023

The co-main event saw Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight alum Darren Stewart face Dana White’s Contender Series vet Leon Aliu. The experienced Stewart (14-9, 2 NC, 6-2 CW) relied on well-timed takedowns and patient striking to cruise past Aliu (10-3, 1-1 CW), who looked eager to finish his foe early in the fight but never channeled his energy to a substantial advantage. “The Dentist” was on the watch for most of the time, hitting his opponent with jabs and landing a couple of heavy elbows in the second stanza. Round 3 was particularly successful for Stewart, who nullified Aliu’s offense with heavy hands and his solid wrestling. When the dust settled, the cage announcer read 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27 scorecards in favor of Stewart, who picked up his second consecutive victory.

After a gruelling back and forth content, Giannis Bachar silences the crowd in Rome, Italy. Finish the UFC vet via TKO in the 3rd round 😮‍💨🤫

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📍 Rome, Italy 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/GnWD6xzZDC

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) May 6, 2023

Elsewhere, Giannis Bachar (8-2, 1-0 CW) upset hometown favorite and former 170-pound titleholder Carlo Pedersoli Jr. (14-5, 2-1 CW) at 2:12 of the third stanza in a hard-fought contest; Gerardo Fanny (12-3, 3-2 CW) scored a victory over Tanio Pagliariccio (8-3, 1-2 CW) after “O’ Scugnizz” retired at the end of the second frame in their 125-pound tilt and Simone Patrizi (6-1, 1-0 CW) wobbled Ermil Xhaferi (4-1-1, 0-1 CW) with punches at 1:22 of Round 3 at lightweight.

In the featured preliminary clash, surging welterweight prospect Khadim Dia (3-0, 1-0 CW) outclassed Milton Afonso Cabral (2-3, 1-2 CW) en route to a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27, 30-27); Enrico Di Gangi (4-1, 1-0 CW) defeated Alessandro Giordano (6-3, 0-2 CW) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at bantamweight; Francesco Mazzeo (2-0, 1-0 CW) overcame Joan Arastey (2-2, 0-2 CW) after snapping his opponent’s elbow during a throw 59 seconds out of the gate in their middleweight clash; former 125-pound titleholder Sam Creasey (17-5, 12-5 CW) outpointed Michelangelo Lupoli (6-3, 1-1 CW) on all scorecards en route to a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-28); Marko Sarasjarvi (3-0, 1-0 CW) forced Edoardo Caiazza (3-1, 0-1 CW) to tap to a rear-naked choke at the 1:36 mark of Round 1 in a 145-pound matchup; middleweight prospect Dario Bellandi (5-1, 3-1 CW) submitted Daniel Karlsson (2-1, 0-1 CW) via rear-naked choke at 3:28 into the opening stanza; Andrey Tyshchenko (5-2, 1-0 CW) took home a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) from Yoga Prabowo at bantamweight; Jasmine Favero (3-0, 3-0 CW) kept her record unblemished after smashing Izabela Walczak (1-1, 0-1 CW) with punches 4:14 into Round 1 in their women’s bantamweight tilt; 145-pounder Luca Borando (3-0, 1-0 CW) crushed Baris Adiguzel (2-1, 0-1 CW) with punches 50 seconds into the third period; and up-and-coming Indonesian fighter Cornellius Aritonang (2-0, 1-0 CW) upended Gianluca Ancora (0-2, 0-1 CW) on all scorecards (30-26, 30-26, 29-27) at featherweight.