Category: Cage Warriors

Video: Warm up for Cage Warriors 113 with 10 classic finishes from the U.K. promotion

Ahead of Cage Warriors 113 this weekend, recap 10 memorable performances from some of the promotion’s biggest stars.

In a world where everything is shutting down and the sporting world is grinding to a halt, U.K.-based MMA promotion Cage Warriors simply refuses to be denied.

With the world in crisis during the COVID-19 outbreak, the promotion has been forced to take its event behind closed doors, move to a different city and shuffle the lineup several times over. Still, while other MMA promotions, including the UFC, have postponed their current schedule, Cage Warriors has been committed to getting this fight card in the books.

It all means Friday night’s Cage Warriors 113 event will be the only major MMA show to take place anywhere in the world this weekend, with UFC Fight Pass likely to pick up a huge audience as fans flock to the streaming platform to get their fix of live MMA action.

Ahead of the event, we’ve dived into Cage Warriors’ archive to dig out this video, which showcases the sort of action you can expect to see from the European promotion. You’ll recognize most of the names here, too, with the likes of [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Marshman[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag], [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] and [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] all going on to join the UFC after fighting for Cage Warriors.

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ONE Championship heavyweight [autotag]Mauro Cerilli[/autotag] is also featured, as is one of the big stars of Friday’s card, [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]. There’s even a cameo from a young Irishman by the name of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag].

The fighters on Friday’s card all harbor dreams of making it to the big stage with the UFC, and will be looking to produce the sort of performance to match those in the video above.

Check out the highlight reel above and relive some of the performances that helped some of Cage Warriors’ alumni earn their shot at the big time.

The latest Cage Warriors 113 card includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 5 p.m. ET )

  • Bartosz Fabinski vs. Darren Stewart
  • Mason Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title
  • David Bear vs. Nathan Jones
  • Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 2:30 p.m. ET)

  • Steve Aimable vs. Perry Goodwin
  • Coner Hignett vs. Darren O’Gorman
  • Adam Amarasinghe vs. Jake Bond
  • Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson
  • Kris Edwards vs. James Hendin
  • Jack Collins vs. Aidan Stephen
  • Kingsley Crawford vs. Lewis Monarch

John Phillips calls for late-notice middleweight rematch with Jack Marshman at Cage Warriors 113

After seeing their respective UFC London bouts fall through, John Phillips proposed a late-notice bout with fellow Welshman Jack Marshman.

[autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] might not have a dance partner, but he still wants to fight on Friday night.

Phillips was originally set to face Dusko Todorovic at UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London on Saturday, but when the UFC was forced to postpone the event due to the escalating coronavirus crisis, it looked like his chance to compete had gone.

Then there was a plot twist, with Cage Warriors stepping in and agreeing to host the matchup as part of Friday night’s Cage Warriors 113 card, also set for London. But the event’s subsequent move to Manchester was followed by news that Todorovic could not travel to fulfill the fight booking.

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It leaves Phillips without a fight once again, but that hasn’t dimmed the desire to fight for “The Welsh Wrecking Machine,” and he has a new matchup in mind, a rematch with fellow countryman – and former Cage Warriors champion – [autotag]Jack Marshman[/autotag].

Marshman (23-9 MMA, 3-4 UFC) edged out a split decision against Phillips (22-9 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in London at UFC on ESPN+ 5 in March 2019, and Phillips says a rematch between the pair would be the perfect solution to both men’s canceled UFC London bouts.

Speaking to WHOA TV’s Mike Morgan, Phillips explained the situation, and his rematch proposal (via Twitter).

“So I’ve been informed that my opponent can’t make my fight and my fight’s off. He couldn’t get on a plane for some reason, I should imagine due to this virus scare and not knowing if he could fly home etc. I don’t really know. I don’t hold it personally against him, but my fight’s off. So I’m looking at the card and to salvage my fight and maybe another fight, the only fight that possibly can make sense on this card is me and Jack Marshman. He’s a middleweight, I’m a middleweight. His opponent hasn’t made it, my opponent hasn’t made it. Me and Jack are both based in Wales and we can drive to Manchester and put this show on.

“I think me and Jack, well, obviously we want to get paid, but we can show the public what two Welsh men can do and hopefully try to raise a bit of positiveness around it in this (expletive) situation. That’s the only fight that can make sense, it’s he only fight that can be salvaged. Jack needs paying, I need paying. Let’s re-run it, mate. Let’s get it on.”

 

MMA vs. coronavirus: Staying up to date on developments during the COVID-19 pandemic

We keep you updated on the latest MMA schedule plans amid unprecedented circumstances.

The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe has caused the sporting world to grind to a virtual standstill, with even MMA forced to step down its efforts to plow on in the face of rising health concerns.

The outbreak has changed daily living for people in all walks of life, with terms like “self-isolation,” and “social distancing,” not to mention more hand washing than ever before becoming part of our daily routines.

With their main sources of income now severely curtailed, everyone in the MMA world finds themselves facing a different battle in an effort to stay safe as they, like the rest of us, adapt to a new normal during the global health crisis.

Via this page, we’ll keep you right up to date with the latest developments and stories throughout the coronavirus crisis.

(Editor’s note: This will continue to be updated as events unfold with the latest info in chronological from top to bottom.)

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Wednesday, March 18

Cage Warriors 113 card reshuffled – again!

Travel restrictions in Europe have forced three key fights off Friday night’s Cage Warriors 113 card.

The new main event features the UFC middleweight bout between [autotag]Bartosz Fabinski[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and [autotag]Darren Stewart[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC), with support provided in the co-main slot by the Cage Warriors lightweight title fight between [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag] (8-0) and [autotag]Joe McColgan[/autotag] (6-2-1).

It’s just the latest set of changes in a turbulent week for the Cage Warriors team, who moved the entire event from London to Manchester on Tuesday after arena operator AEG closed down indigo at The O2 in the English capital.

Michael Bisping’s advice to panic buyers: Get a (expletive) grip!

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] has never been one to mince his words, and his latest Instagram post is no different, as he shares an image showing the difference between World War II ration queues and panic-buying shoppers fighting over rolls of toilet paper during the 2020 coronavirus crisis.

Offering some perspective, Bisping took to social media to issue something of a public service announcement to his followers (via Instagram).

Get some self respect please. Respect this virus, of course. Employ social distancing, wash hands and remain 6 feet away from one another. The ladies at the top would of had they’re loved ones at war, cities being destroyed, millions of lives lost and still handled themselves with class. The embarrassments at the bottom are literally fighting over unnecessary toilet rolls and hand sanitizers. Get A (expletive) Grip!

Tuesday, March 17

Cage Warriors swaps London for Manchester

It looks like U.K.-based promotion Cage Warriors could have the only live MMA show in the world this weekend, and they remain determined to ensure Friday’s Cage Warriors 113 event goes ahead.

We’ve already seen fight card changes, with fighter replacements and even the addition of UFC fighters to the card. But news that arena operator AEG had closed the venue for Friday’s event, indigo at The O2, prompted more fears that the event would also be canceled.

But, less than hour after that announcement, Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan had secured the use of Manchester’s BEC Arena as the promotion gets set to move 220 miles north to keep the show alive.

Check out the full story here.

Khabib Nurmagomedov: I’ll fight Tony Ferguson anywhere, so long as we’re healthy

In an Instagram live chat along with manager Ali Abdelaziz, UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] made it clear that he values everyone’s health and safety.

But he made just as clear that if he and Tony Ferguson are both healthy, then he will fight Ferguson wherever the UFC could get cleared to put on UFC 249 on April 18, and put it behind closed doors.

“People who have quarantine and sit home, they have fun, they watch fights,” Nurmagomedov said. “Fighters go to the arena, they have fun, they do their job. I think we just need maximum 100 people to make this fight. One arena and 100 healthy people around and put a couple cameras and show this around the world – the two best lightweights of all time. This is a very important fight.”

Randa Markos wonders if she has coronavirus

UFC strawweight Randa Markos returned home to Canada on Wednesday feeling ill. Markos lost a unanimous decision to Amanda Ribas Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 28, in Brasilia, Brazil. Now she is concerned about whether she has contracted the virus after testers declined to test her upon her return from South America (via Twitter).

The event was closed to fans after the local government put a moratorium on all mass gatherings due to the pandemic. Fighters on the card were not tested for COVID-19.

The Canadian federal government is requiring all who return to the country from international travel to quarantine for 14 days.

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Fabinski, Stewart to headline reshuffled Cage Warriors 113 card as travel ban nixes three bouts

The fight card for Cage Warriors 113 in Manchester has been reshuffled again, with the UFC bout between Bartosz Fabinski and Darren Stewart the new main event.

Friday night’s Cage Warriors 113 card has undergone more late-notice changes.

Travel restrictions in the region have forced three fights to be removed from the event, which has been moved from London’s Indigo at The O2 to Manchester’s BEC Arena. The event will be streamed live worldwide, with the preliminary card shown via Cagewarriors.com and the main card shown live on UFC Fight Pass.

The interim featherweight title fight between Morgan Charriere and Darko Banovic, and the flyweight title fight between Samir Faiddine and Luke Shanks, are both now off, as is the rearranged UFC London bout between John Phillips and Dusko Todorovic.

The reshuffled card will now feature a new main event, with UFC middleweights [autotag]Bartosz Fabinski[/autotag] and [autotag]Darren Stewart[/autotag] set to face off in Manchester in their recently-matched bout, while the co-main event will feature a battle for the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight title as [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Joe McColgan[/autotag].

The midweek fight card changes are the latest in a long line of hurdles the Cage Warriors team, led by Graham Boylan, has had to clear in order to keep their event alive. The promotion’s president said his team remains determined to put on a show for MMA fans around the world on Friday.

“We will continue to adapt to changes as they arise, and continue to strive toward providing the biggest and best platform possible for our fighters and fans this Friday night,” said Boylan.

“As long as the country remains operational, so do we.”

Updated Cage Warriors 113 fight card includes:

MAIN CARD (5:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. GMT, UFC Fight Pass)

  • Bartosz Fabinski vs. Darren Stewart – UFC middleweight bout
  • Mason Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title
  • David Bear vs. Nathan Jones
  • Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett

PRELIMINARY CARD (2:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. GMT, Cagewarriors.com)

  • Steve Aimable vs. Perry Goodwin
  • Coner Hignett vs. Darren O’Gorman
  • Adam Amarasinghe vs. Jake Bond
  • Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson
  • Kris Edwards vs. James Hendin
  • Jack Collins vs. Aidan Stephen
  • Kingsley Crawford vs. Lewis Monarch

Mason Jones hyped for lightweight title shot at Cage Warriors 113: ‘I’m more than ready for it’

Undefeated Welsh contender Mason Jones says he’s ready to grab his opportunity as he prepares to fight for the vacant lightweight title at Cage Warriors 113.

For Welsh lightweight contender [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag], Cage Warriors 113 represents an opportunity to show the world a glimpse of his growing potential.

The 24-year-old out of Blaenavon, Wales is the latest talented prospect to come off the Welsh production line, and “The Dragon” plans on underscoring his growing reputation by capturing the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight title on Friday night.

Jones (8-0) was already booked to be on the card, but after his originally-scheduled opponent was forced off the card, Cage Warriors shuffled the deck and handed Jones a shot at championship gold against Northern Irish contender Joe McColgan (6-2-1). instead.

It was a title opportunity he said he knew would come sooner rather than later, and he said he’s ready to make the most of it now.

“I just can’t explain how excited I am for this,” Jones told MMA Junkie. “In June, I thought I’d get a title fight – one more fight against a high-level contender and it’d definitely be mine. But I’m more than ready for it.”

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Jones was originally booked in a three-round non-title fight, but the bump up to a five-round title bout holds no fears for him. Jones said his plan was to challenge for the title in the summer when Cage Warriors are scheduled to hold an event in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, on June 13, and he explained he had used his recent fight camp to start prepping for five-round fights moving forward.

“My conditioning’s the best it’s ever been,” he said. “I prepared for a five-round fight anyway, just so I knew what worked ahead of my next fight in Cardiff, so I’m ready. This is the best I’ve ever felt, and I can’t wait to go out there and put on a stellar performance in front of the biggest audience of my career so far.”

Jones’ rise through the lightweight ranks has seen him swiftly emerge as a serious threat for the 155-pound title. He revealed he was targeting a matchup with the newly-crowned champion, Jai Herbert, but when the Birmingham man was instantly snapped up by the UFC, Jones has adopted a championship mentality and focused his attention on winning the vacant title.

“I knew I would be fighting someone for the belt in June – that wasn’t in question,” he said. “Everyone knew that was my belt after Jai had gone. I would have loved to have fought Jai, but obviously he moved on. Joe knows he’s challenging for my belt. It isn’t his; he’s the underdog. This is mine. They’re all going to have to be on form to even come close to beating me, and I don’t see how it’s seriously possible that I’ll be losing on Saturday night.”

But the Cage Warriors belt isn’t the only title in Jones’ sights. Ultimately, he wants to prove his worth on the European stage before getting the chance to test his skills against the world’s best in the UFC, where he wants to become the first man from Wales to win a UFC title.

The rise of Welsh MMA has been one of the success stories of British MMA over the last few years, and Jones says he hopes he’ll soon join compatriots Jack Shore, Brett Johns, John Phillips and Jack Marshman in the UFC as part of a Welsh contingent.

“When Conor McGregor came through, he had to literally smash the door down for Irish MMA,” he explained. “He’d won two titles in Cage Warriors and people still didn’t really know who he was. There were people calling Dana White saying, ‘Have you seen this Conor kid?’ and he had no idea who he was. After that happened, they saw exactly how much potential there was for Irish fighters and, after Michael Bisping won the title, that opened the door even more for British fighters. It’s not just an Irish thing, it’s a British thing. They both opened the doors for us.

“Wales is just the next big thing. We’ve always been people who love to fight. Culturally and historically, we’re the toughest people on the planet. I just think we’re going to show that as we go from strength to strength. I’m just hoping to get my name up, and by the end of the year I’ll be in the UFC, and I’ll be in the running with Jack, Brett, Marshman and all the rest, to see who can be the first to get a UFC title. Obviously, the rest of the guys have got a bit of a head-start on me, but I think by the time I get in there and start knocking people out and submitting people, it won’t take me long to catch up.”

Paddy Pimblett can’t wait to return and steal the show at Cage Warriors 113

Former featherweight champion Paddy Pimblett chats to MMA Junkie ahead of his long-awaited return to action at Cage Warriors 113.

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] is keener than most to keep the show rolling at Cage Warriors 113 on Friday.

The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion is coming off a loss and hasn’t fought in 18 months after a sequence of unfortunate events saw four fight bookings fall by the wayside. But now, thanks to the arrival of late-notice opponent Decky Dalton (11-4), Pimblett (14-3) looks to end one of the most frustrating spells of his career with a win.

“Tell me about it!” he told MMA Junkie when asked about the frustration of spending so long away from the cage. “It’s been (expletive) hard work, and it’s been doing my head in. I should have fought in November (against Joe Giannetti) but the (expletive) missed weight, on purpose. Then I’ve had to sit out another four months and wait and just continue the way I was. Then finally, a week out, 10 days or so, everyone’s saying the show’s going to get canceled.”

Pimblett was originally slated to face Donovan Desmae at Cage Warriors 113. Then, after the Belgian contender was forced to withdraw, Italian Davide Martinez slotted in before the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent travel bans in Italy meant he was unable to make it to England. Now Pimblett has his third opponent as he takes on Ireland’s Decky Dalton, who agreed to step in on just a week’s notice after competing – and winning – at a regional event last weekend.

“Last Monday I got told I didn’t have an opponent, so I’m thinking, ‘(Expletive), I haven’t got a fight again,'” Pimblett said. “Then I got one. Decky Dalton, give him his due, said ‘yes.’ I had high hopes thinking, ‘Yeah! It’s finally going to happen,’ then I started getting phone calls off people saying the show’s getting canceled!”

Despite those rumors, the event will indeed go ahead, with Cage Warriors announcing Monday night that it was moving its behind-closed-doors card to Manchester’s BEC Arena following the closure of indigo at The O2 in London. The event will be the only major MMA event to take place this weekend, meaning Pimblett and his fellow fighters are likely to get a huge audience, even though they will be fighting in an empty arena on the night.

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“Everyone’s going to be watching it, and that does fire me up,” he said. “It’s going to get great exposure, everyone’s going to be looking at it. It’s the only MMA show that’s going to be on; it’s the only one.”

Pimblett always brings a party atmosphere to his fights, as he bounces his way to the cage to his walkout song, Basement Jaxx’s “Where’s Your Head At?” Even though there will be no fans in the building on Friday night, Pimblett says he’ll be bringing the energy to the BEC Arena, as usual.

“Yeah, of course!” he said. “When my song comes on, it just takes over. The crowd always picks me up and electrifies me, but the song does, as well. That’s why I’ve never changed my song. It always gets me going.

“It’s been 18 months since I last fought, so I just want to get in the cage and fight, you know what I mean? I can’t be having this corona (expletive) putting me back even more, because it looks like after this there’s not going to be many shows for a while.”

The fact that Pimblett is going to be one of the biggest names on a card that is sure to receive huge exposure means there could be a good number of fight fans watching one of his fights for the first time. When asked about that, the always-confident Liverpudlian fired straight back.

“Where’ve they been hiding if they’ve never seen me fight before? Where the (expletive) have they been hiding! What rock have they been under?” he asked. “Everyone in the MMA world knows who I am, it’s that simple. Everyone knows, and they’re going to continue to know because on Friday night I’m going to steal the show.”

Friday night is more than just another fight for Pimblett. It’s a chance to earn some money, a chance to bounce back into the win column and a chance to end 18 months of frustration on the sidelines. That’s a lot of motivation, and the former 145-pound champion says Friday night can’t come too soon.

“No one can stop me,” he said. “The only thing that can stop me is myself, and I’ve done that in the past and gone in there with injuries and different stuff. But I’m a different person now. I’ve grown up, I’m a different person, and I can’t wait to (expletive) fight.”

Coronavirus shutdown sees Cage Warriors 113 move from London to Manchester

After indigo at The O2 was closed due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Cage Warriors 113 is moving to Manchester’s BEC Arena.

While the sporting world is being forced to shut down amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, one event simply will not be denied.

Cage Warriors 113, set for Friday, was due to take place at indigo at The O2 in London in front of a sold-out crowd. Then, after government advice telling people to avoid mass gatherings, the promotion changed the event to a behind-closed-doors show.

However, the promotion suffered a further blow when AEG, the owners of indigo at The O2, announced all of their venues would close until further notice. It prompted Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan to act swiftly and, just one hour after that announcement, he secured a new venue for the event, with Cage Warriors set to swap cities and move 221 miles north to Manchester’s BEC Arena for the relocated event. The arena served as the venue for Cage Warriors’ most recent event, Cage Warriors 112, on March 7.

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As before, the event will be held behind closed doors, with only fighters and event staff permitted inside the building. The event’s main card will stream live worldwide on UFC Fight Pass, with the preliminary card streamed live via Cagewarriors.com.

Confirming the move, Boylan said, “The Cage Warriors team is working around-the-clock to get this done.

“After everything they’ve been through, the fighters deserve to compete. After all the support they’ve shown us, the fans deserve some calm amongst the chaos. We’re determined to provide the world with a seriously exciting night of MMA this Friday.”

The event will feature three Cage Warriors title fights, with the vacant interim featherweight, vacant lightweight and flyweight titles up for grabs, plus the addition of two fights featuring athletes originally set to compete at the now-canceled UFC on ESPN+ 29 event in London.

The UFC middleweight bout between John Phillips and Dusko Todorovic has joined the card, along with a second bout at 185 pounds, with UFC London competitors Darren Stewart and Bartosz Fabinski agreeing to a new matchup between fighters whose respective opponents were unable to compete following the cancellation of their bouts earlier in the week.

Also set for action on the card is Liverpudlian fan-favorite Paddy Pimblett, who makes his long-awaited return to the cage after an 18-month hiatus.

The latest Cage Warriors 113 card includes:

  • Morgan Charriere vs. Darko Banovic – for vacant interim featherweight title
  • Mason Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title
  • Champ Samir Faiddine vs. Luke Shanks – for flyweight title
  • John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Bartosz Fabinski vs. Darren Stewart
  • Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • David Bear vs. Nathan Jones
  • Jack Collins vs. Aidan Stephen
  • Adam Amarasinghe vs. Jake Bond
  • Steve Aimable vs. Perry Goodwin
  • Coner Hignett vs. Darren O’Gorman
  • Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson
  • Kris Edwards vs. James Hendin
  • Cory Tait vs. opponent TBA
  • Kingsley Crawford vs. Lewis Monarch

UFC London’s John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic added to Cage Warriors 113

The UFC London bout between John Phillips and Dusko Todorovic will now take place as part of the Cage Warriors 113 card.

There will be at least one “UFC London” fight on the card at Cage Warriors 113 this Friday.

The middleweight bout between Wales’ [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] and Serbia’s [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag], originally set to take place on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN+ 29, will now take place on the Cage Warriors 113 card instead.

The event, which takes place at the Indigo at The O2 in London, will go ahead, but as a behind-closed-doors event, with the U.K. government expected to announce a ban on mass gatherings from Monday.

Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan revealed to MMA Junkie Sunday night that he was in discussions with relevant parties to try to save some of the fights scheduled for London that had effectively been scrapped following the enforced postponement of their Mar. 21 event.

But Monday morning Boylan took to Twitter to share the news that the event would still go ahead, albeit in a behind-closed-doors format, with Phillips vs. Todorovic added to the card.

Update: 1.
@cagewarriors #cw113 WILL be behind closed doors. The ticketing team & office people will be working out how refunds can be claimed that info will follow.

Update: 2.
UFC bout 1: John Philips v Dusko Todorovic has been confirmed to take place @CageWarriors #cw113 Friday Night. The event will be broadcasted LIVE on @UFCFightPass as well as TV Networks around the World.

Dublin-based Welshman Phillips (22-9 MMA, 1-3 UFC) picked up his first UFC win in his most recent appearance, as he knocked out Alen Amedovski in just 14 seconds at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He’ll face the debuting Todorovic (9-0, 0-0 UFC), who arrives in the UFC with an undefeated record having earned himself a UFC contract with his decision win over Teddy Ash at Contender Series 26 last August. Prior to that win, Todorovic had scored finishes in all of his previous fights.

Cage Warriors 113 will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass Friday night, with the preliminary card starting at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the main card at 5 p.m. ET.

Updated Cage Warriors 113 card includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Darko Banovic vs. Morgan Charriere – for vacant interim featherweight title
  • Mason Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title
  • Champ Samir Faiddine vs Luke Shanks – for flyweight title
  • Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic

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

Graham Boylan hopes to save some UFC on ESPN+ 29 fights in London with Cage Warriors 113

Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan says he is working to try to save some of the canceled UFC London bouts as part of Cage Warriors 113.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London may have been postponed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any “UFC London” fights in the English capital Saturday night.

Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan on Sunday reiterated his plan to MMA Junkie to run his promotion’s event, Cage Warriors 113, at the Indigo at The O2 as planned Friday. The card is scheduled to stream on UFC Fight Pass.

But intriguingly, he also hinted his fight card, which already boasts three title fights, could be bolstered with even more bouts if his behind-the-scenes talks come to fruition.

“We have been trying to save a couple of the UFC London fights and have them compete at the show as contracted UFC fights on Cage Warriors,” Boylan said. “I’m just trying to help the fighters not miss out on competing. It may or may not happen, as it’s a fast-moving situation and trying to pull all the moving parts together is super tricky.”

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Boylan said earlier Sunday he was determined to keep his show alive for the Cage Warriors fighters contracted to fight, tweeting, “The fighters confirmed they want it, they worked hard for it. I won’t be letting them down. The government will have to step in & stop @CageWarriors.”

Government intervention is a real possibility, however, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to announce a ban on mass gatherings in the U.K. on Monday or Tuesday.

That would force Boylan to place his event behind closed doors, but he remains committed to keeping the show alive to offer fans the chance to watch live MMA Friday night.

“Cage Warriors is happening,” he said. “Behind closed doors, if need be.”

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

 

UFC London, Cage Warriors 113 at risk with U.K. set to announce ban on public gatherings

UFC London and Cage Warriors 113 could be forced behind closed doors or postponed with the U.K. set to announce a ban on public gatherings.

Following today’s UFC on ESPN+ 28, the next two major events on the MMA calendar may both be forced into changes, with the U.K. government set to introduce new laws banning mass gatherings in a bid to curb the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 is scheduled to take place at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, March 21, with Cage Warriors 113 due to take place at the arena’s smaller venue, indigo at The O2, the day before.

Both UFC president Dana White and Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan previously stated that their promotions’ respective events would go ahead as planned, but news emerging from the U.K. Saturday may force both organizations to change their plans.

So far the U.K. government, headed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been an outlier in its approach to the coronavirus crisis. While other nations have issued bans on public gatherings, closed schools and – in the case of Italy – issued curfews, Johnson’s government has instead looked to minimize change, as they have moved their response level out of the “Contain” phase to the “Delay” phase, with citizens exhibiting symptoms told to self-isolate for seven days, regardless of whether they have traveled to affected areas.

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However, the government’s stance on the issue has attracted widespread criticism from opposition parties and members of the public, who have questioned the country’s response as insufficient.

But that could soon be about to change, with a government source telling news agency Reuters that plans were being formulated to curb mass gatherings beginning next week.

“Ministers are working with the chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer on our plan to stop various types of public events, including mass gatherings, beginning next week,” the source said.

The English Premier League, the U.K.’s largest and most financially significant sports league, has suspended all matches until April 4, while the London Marathon, originally set for April 26, has been pushed back to Oct. 4.

The introduction of an official ban on mass gatherings could potentially impact a host of major U.K.-based events in the summer, including the Wimbledon tennis championships, the Grand National horse race, English soccer’s FA Cup final and the Glastonbury music festival. If introduced this week, the Cage Warriors and UFC events set for March 20 and 21 could potentially be among the first events affected.

With the fighters for both events likely to either already be in London, or en route from overseas, the promotions may decide to hold their events as behind-closed-doors shows. White had already hinted at that possibility during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter, saying that, as things stood Friday, fans will still be admitted to the event, but if local authorities determined between now and fight time to close the event to fans, the company would comply.

Cage Warriors president Boylan, meanwhile, told MMA Junkie Thursday that the organization would be guided by the venue, saying, their approach would be “business as usual until we hear otherwise from the venue.”