Buchinger vacates title, Ray-Warburton meet for belt at Cage Warriors 69

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship will crown a new lightweight champion in June.

The promotion on Tuesday announced it has released titleholder Ivan Buchinger from his contract. That leaves a vacancy that will be filled by either Curt Warburton (13-4) or Stevie Ray (14-5), who will meet in a rematch in England

Cage Warriors 69 is set for June 7 at The Forum in London, headlined by Warburton vs. Ray for the newly vacant 155-pound belt. The main card will stream on MMAjunkie in North America following prelims on Cage Warriors’ Facebook page.

“Despite having competed for us on six occasions, Ivan claimed that he didn’t understand his contract and decided that he no longer wanted to fight for us under the terms that he had agreed,” Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan stated. “But it’s company policy not to be held to ransom by any fighter, so we were happy to let him go.

“We have an incredibly stacked lightweight division, as evidenced by the meeting of Curt Warburton and Stevie Ray for the belt on June 7, so losing one fighter from that division is merely a drop in the ocean. Nevertheless, I thank Ivan for his contribution and wish him the best for his future.”

Warburton and Ray first met at BAMMA 12 a little more than a year ago, when Warburton took home a unanimous decision with his fifth straight win after being released from the UFC with a 1-2 record.

After the win over Ray, he was stopped in the first round by Mansour Barnaoui at BAMMA 13. Then he signed an exclusive deal with Cage Warriors in 2013 and had a successful promotional debut when he submitted Wesley Murch just 49 seconds into their fight at Cage Warriors 62.

“I can’t wait to be stepping back into that cage with the opportunity of walking back out as the new Cage Warriors champion,” Warburton, from Liverpool, stated.

Ray, from Scotland, will have two forms of redemption on his mind. He’ll want to get back his loss to Warburton, but he’ll also be trying to reclaim the lightweight title he surrendered to Buchinger at Cage Warriors 63 on New Year’s Eve.

In that fight, Buchinger submitted him in the fourth round to win the title, which Ray claimed with his tournament victory at Cage Warriors 60 when he beat Jason Ball by decision and submitted Sean Carter in the first round.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in the win column, avenging my loss to Curt and getting my title back in London where I won it last October,” Ray stated.

For the latest on Cage Warriors 69, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Curt Warburton)