Mads Burnell replaces Soren Bak, faces Dean Trueman for title at Cage Warriors 106

Former UFC fighter Mads Burnell will take on Cage Warriors featherweight champion Dean Trueman at Cage Warriors 106 on Jun. 29 at the London Apollo following Soren Bak’s withdrawal from the undisputed title showdown.

Cage Warriors announced that Burnell had stepped up to the plate on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Cage Warriors announced via press release that interim featherweight champion Bak had withdrawn from the title contest, claiming that the Dane is “no longer willing to cut the weight necessary to make the 145lbs featherweight limit”.

Trueman was due to defend his title against Bak in Copenhagen at Cage Warriors 103. Bak had vacated his lightweight title to compete at the lighter weight class, but the Englishman was forced out of the date due to injury. Bak went on to fight French replacement Morgan Charriere for the interim title on the night claiming a decision win after a grueling five rounds.

Trueman reacted to the news of Bak’s withdrawal yesterday:

Burnell (11-3-0) has been in fine fettle since returning to Cage Warriors, scoring first-round submission wins over Lukasz Rajewski and Ahmed Vila to establish himself as a top contender in the division. He banked a 1-2 record with UFC. He lost to Michel Prazeres in his 2017 debut at UFC Rotterdam. After getting back to winning ways with a decision win against Mike Santiago, he was submitted by Arnold Allen in the third round at UFC Liverpool after winning the majority of the fight.

Trueman (10-4-0) won the featherweight title after beating Team Renegade prospect Aiden Lee in the final of the divisional tournament at Cage Warriors 100. Before his third-round finish of Lee, Trueman booked his place in the final of the tournament with a one-sided decision win over Lewis Monarch.