Burlinson dethroned Irish champion James Sheehan via fourth-round guillotine choke after a back-and-forth matchup that saw Sheehan nearly finish the challenger in the second round, only for Burlinson to fight back through the middle rounds to eventually claim a title-winning fourth-round submission.
Sheehan looked the slicker of the two on the feet, and a beautiful shot dropped Burlinson hard in the second round as the Irishman threatened to get the job done early at the RDS.
But Burlinson recovered well and managed to fend off Sheehan on the mat, before eventually turning the tables on the defending champion in the fourth round as he locked up a guillotine choke for the win.
Irish MMA legend Paul Redmond was on the call for the fight alongside Brad Wharton, and revealed that one of Sheehan’s coaches had told him that he had broken his jaw in the third round. And, given the relatively quick nature of Sheehan’s tap, that injury may have played into the eventual finish.
Burlinson’s victory marked the culmination of a remarkable journey through adversity that saw him overcome injury and a testicular cancer diagnosis to eventually return to Cage Warriors and capture the 170-pound title.
In the co-main event, light heavyweight champion James Webb produced a typically dominant display to finish Brazilian challenger John Allan via second-round ground and pound TKO.
Webb has looked outstanding since making the move up to 205 pounds, and he secured his third straight victory in his new weight class as he hammered Allan with ground strikes to secure a second-round finish.
It gave Webb his first title defence at 205 pounds, as he underscored his championship status after capturing the belt from Andy Clamp last November.
Cage Warriors 188: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Justin Burlinson def. James Sheehan via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 4, 1:49 – for welterweight title
- James Webb def. John Allan via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 2, 3:22 – for light heavyweight title
- Marcus Vinicius Ferreira def. Ger Harris via unanimous decision ()
- Max Lally def. Alex Tsarmantidis via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
- Solomon Simon def. Cristian Iorga via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:43
- Adam Darby def. Tomasz Langowski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Keith Keogh def. Joe Doyle via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:37
- Chasen Blair def. Diego Visanzay via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:00
- Conor McCarthy def. Josh Onwordi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Daniela Sanches def. Eimear Darcy via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 1:49
- Alexander O’Sullivan def. Daire Toman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Scott Harvey def. Leon Armes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ciaran Brady def. Giovanni Fernandez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Matthew Elliott def. Kenny Mokhonoana via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jamie Abbott-Bissett def. Charlie Falco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
