Chris Fields set to face Jesse Taylor on New Year’s Eve in Dublin

Chris Fields will make his first defence of the CWFC middleweight title in his hometown of Dublin on New Year’s Eve.

Fields, who captured the vacant title courtesy of his win over Pavel Kusch in the final of this year’s middleweight tournament, will put the belt on the line against Jesse Taylor at Cage Warriors 51 on December 31, as the organisation brings the curtain down on a hugely successful year with a 12th event.

Taylor (23-9), who fights out of Team Quest in California, is a UFC, Strikeforce and Dream veteran who holds notable victories over the likes of Tom Watson and Chris Camozzi.

The 28-year-old has returned to 185lbs since his welterweight loss to Gael Grimaud at CWFC Fight Night 6: Bahrain in May, embarking on a three-fight win streak to catapult himself into middleweight title contention.

Fields (10-4), dominated Kusch in September at CWFC Fight Night 7: Jordan, forcing a third-round referee stoppage to secure the title.

The 29-year-old Irishman also impressed back in February with a first-round TKO of Jack Mason at Cage Warriors 45 in London.

“Our middleweight tournament has made it a very busy year for the division and we’ve had to deal with a lot of injuries to our top contenders, but Jesse Taylor has put together some very impressive wins recently and will be a worthy challenger for the belt on New Year’s Eve,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.

Conor McGregor, a team-mate of Chris Fields at SBG Ireland and the reigning CWFC featherweight champion, will aim to make history in the co-main event at Cage Warriors 51 by also clinching the lightweight title at the expense of Ivan Buchinger.

Tickets for Cage Warriors 51 are on sale HERE. With more bouts still to be announced, keep track of Cage Warriors on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and updates.

MAIN CARD

McGregor v Buchinger

Fields v Taylor

Daly v Kankaanpaa

Sheil v Mason

James v Philpott

PRELIMINARY CARD

Redmond v Roddy

Mulpeter v Quinn

Watts v Fadipe

Photo: Tommy Lakes/Cage Warriors