CAGE WARRIORS FIGHTING Championship will end its 18-month absence from the mixed martial arts scene tonight when Cage Warriors 75 takes place in London.
The promotion, for whom Conor McGregor was once a two-division champion, will be aiming to re-establish itself as one of the leading MMA shows in Europe.
There are plenty of interesting prospects on tonight’s bill. We’ve picked out three who could soon be knocking on the door of the UFC…
Jack Hermansson
The Cage Warriors middleweight champion will put his belt on the line for the second time tonight when he takes on Brazilian veteran Alan Carlos. His experienced opponent can pose questions of Hermansson but it’s a fight the champion will go into as a strong favourite.
Still only 27, Hermansson was signed by Bellator in 2012, just two years after he made his professional debut. But it was too big a move at too early a stage in his career and he was released after back-to-back defeats.
However, a resurgent Hermansson has been on fire ever since. Six consecutive wins — including stoppages of forthcoming TUF contestant Norman Paraisy and six-time UFC fighter Karlos Vemola — have brought the well-rounded Swede’s record to 11-2, with a contract offer from the UFC an imminent possibility.
Chris Fishgold
A dynamic grappler who has taken all but two of his 13 professional wins inside the distance, Fishgold (13-1-1) will be aiming to extend his undefeated run to four fights since suffering a controversial decision defeat in Taiwan last year.
Fishgold, who’s a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, already has plenty of notable wins on his record, none more so than a second-round submission on Marcin Wrzosek, who fought in the UFC in December having been a member of Team McGregor on the 22nd season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The 23-year-old Liverpudlian featherweight was recently in Florida to train at the Blackzilians camp and he’ll be looking for his fourth win under the Cage Warriors banner when he takes on the experienced Jordan Miller this evening.
Paddy Pimblett
Appearances can sometimes be deceiving and that’s certainly the case with Paddy Pimblett. He may look more like a member of a 90s indie band than your typical MMA fighter, but don’t let that fool you into underestimating this 21-year-old’s skills.
Another featherweight from the Next Generation camp in Liverpool, Pimblett has earned a reputation for possessing a varied and audacious submission offence, as evidenced by his spectacular victory against Conrad Hayes in May 2014.
He’ll be looking to take his professional record to 10-1 tonight and fellow Englishman Ashleigh Grimshaw is an opponent who can provide Pimblett with the kind of test he needs if he’s to prove that he’s capable of progressing to the very top.
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