Cage Warriors lightweight contenders [autotag]Nathan Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe McColgan[/autotag] had hoped to emerge victorious from their respective fights at Cage Warriors 113 and earn themselves a shot at the lightweight title. Now the pair will face off with the vacant title up for grabs.
Wales’ Jones (8-0) was set to face Danilo Belluardo, while Northern Ireland’s McColgan (6-2-1) was scheduled to take on Rafael Macedo, but after both opponents withdrew from the event through injury, Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan matched the two contenders head to head, with the promotion’s vacant 155-pound title on the line.
McColgan has lost just once in his last six fights for the promotion – to new UFC signing and former 155-pound champ Jai Herbert – with two first-round submission finishes sandwiching a draw with Mehdi Ben Lakhdar that was awarded Cage Warriors’ 2019 Fight of the Year.
Jones, meanwhile, is undefeated and heads into the event after picking up notable wins against Belgian contender Donovan Desmae and Finnish veteran Aleksi Mantykivi.
The pair now will face off for the coveted title, which has been held by the likes of Conor McGregor, Stevie Ray, Chris Fishgold and Herbert, who all subsequently went on to sign for the UFC.
The event is all set to continue in its original form, with paying fans set to be admitted to the Indigo at The O2 on fight night. MMA Junkie reached out to Boylan for an official update, with the Cage Warriors president saying their promotion’s approach is “business as usual until we hear otherwise from the venue.”
Confirmed fights for Cage Warriors 113 include:
MAIN CARD
- Darko Banovic vs. Morgan Charriere – for vacant interim featherweight title
- Nathan Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title
- Champ Samir Faiddine vs Luke Shanks – for flyweight title
- Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Steve Aimable vs. Perry Goodwin
- David Bear vs. Nathan Jones
- Emrah Sonmez vs. Aidan Stephen
- Cory Tait vs TBA
- Kingsley Crawford vs. Lewis Monarch
- Kris Edwards vs. James Hendin
- Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson
- Coner Hignett vs. Darren O’Gorman
- Adam Amarasinghe vs. Jake Bond
- Jack Collins vs. Joshua Onwordi