Kyle McClurkin Set for Return vs Owain Williams at Cage Warriors Dublin

Image credit: Dolly Clew / Cage Warriors

Fight Academy Ireland’s Kyle McClurkin looks set for a long-awaited return to action.

McClurkin (3-2) is scheduled to face Welshman Owain Williams (0-1) in a middleweight contest at Cage Warriors 153 on Saturday 29th April in Dublin’s 3Arena. Sources confirmed the matchup to SevereMMA.com, with Cage Warriors expected to announce the booking later this evening.

It will be the first time that McClurkin steps into the cage in 31 months. We haven’t seen the FAI middleweight compete since suffering a 2nd-round TKO loss in his Cage Warriors debut to future champion and UFC fighter Christian Leroy Duncan at CW116 in September 2020. Since then, McClurkin has battled through a number of hand surgeries that have kept him sidelined. After being matched against John Redmond for Cage Conflict 8 in October, the fight was cancelled due to Redmond not being medically cleared to fight, so McClurkin’s return was postponed. Despite a mixed 3-2 pro record, the 30-year-old Belfast fighter has looked dangerous when active, especially considering the two losses on his record are to the aforementioned undefeated Christian Leroy Duncan and former UAE Warriors champion Will Fleury. McClurkin boasts a 100% 1st-round finish rate in his wins as a professional.

Owain Williams is a familiar foe for the Fight Academy Ireland coaching staff too. The Shore Martial Arts fighter’s sole pro outing was against McClurkin’s teammate Seán McCormac at CW142 last August. Williams came out the wrong side of a Unanimous Decision to McCormac, but the Welsh middleweight will have an opportunity to get one back against the Belfast fight team versus McClurkin.

McClurkin vs Williams joins a growing number of Irish bouts announced for Cage Warriors return to 3Arena on Saturday April 29th. Full card to date below:

Main event: Welterweight Title Unification: Rhys McKee vs Jimmy Wallhead
Welterweight bout: James Sheehan vs Oban Elliott
Featherweight bout: Ryan Shelley vs Tobias Harila
Featherweight bout: Constantin Blanita vs Dorian Cliucinicov
Middleweight bout: Kyle McClurkin vs Owain Williams

Tickets for Cage Warriors 153 can be purchased on Ticketmaster.