A double header in Manchester with back-to-back shows, CW 167 and 168, kicked off Cage Warriors’ stacked European schedule for the next few months.

A night of unplugged action set the tone for a return to the BEC Arena the following night for your more regularly scheduled CW programming. To sound like a broken record, the quality of this promotion once again shone through. 

CW 167: Unplugged

CW 167 offered up the first Unplugged show of the year with a cornered off section of the BEC Arena being open to invite only guests.

Both live and on the broadcast, this felt more like a halfway house between the previous Unplugged shows and your full on event the following night. There was more of a focus on fighters either kicking off their Cage Warriors careers or at least athletes that were early on in this journey, outside of some of the big names that did feature. 

The crowd itself didn’t really have that exclusive fight club feel that these Unplugged or controversial UFC Apex cards can have. The fighters with big travelling followings still seemed to bring a decent amount of supporters with them so it felt more along the lines of a smaller, kick-off show if you will.

On the positive side of Cage Warriors 167, there was still some good fights, great performances and wins to highlight. It was a highly successful night for the MMA Fight Academy stable. Leon Armes kicked things off with arguably the best fight of the night, improving to 2-0 after weathering a tough final round. Segio Gavinelli looked like a monster with his first round finish over Helio Hernandez. Anthony Orozco picked up his first overseas victory with a dominant display of his wrestling and last but not least, Teddy Stringer continued to be a fighter that everyone in the UK MMA scene should be tuning in for.

The top three fights all delivered some great action as well with Shirzad Qadrian making a real statement against Emanuele Zaccaria. Omiel Brown showed that why he is still a kill or be killed style fighter, if you get him in your sights, you best not miss. Brown and Rafael Aronov both came close to finding a finish on the feet but it was the Team Renegade fighter that dug deep, switched up his game plan, secured takedowns and found the choke in the second.

The main event spot welcomed back a former Cage Warriors champion who only looked better than the last time he was here. Stefano Paterno showed levels with his D’arce choke submission against Scottie Stockman. Looking forward, Brown vs Paterno could be a crucial match-up down the line as we move towards the vacant welterweight title fight in Dublin.

Arguably the man that stole the show with his performance was another former world champion in the promotion. Back up at bantamweight after an unsuccessful bid for flyweight supremacy, Michele Martignoni looked back to his best against Raz Bring. He sent a message to the two lads competing for the bantamweight title the following night that the former 135-pound kingpin isn’t going anywhere just yet. That is, unless the UFC is ready to feel “The Italian Thunder”.

CW 168

Cage Warriors 168 was a huge reminder of how much a capacity crowd can make a difference. In particular, the Next Generation MMA fighters on the card received incredible support at this event, even from the second fight of the night where Fran Breen showcased his striking.

This card may not have had the highlight moments that you usually get with a Cage Warriors show with lots of decisions, late finishes and every fight making it out of the opening round. There were some very close fights and plenty that felt like they were going to end any minute, only to continue for another couple of rounds.

Andy Yates vs Christian Tebbett went this way, as did Antonio Sheldon vs Tom Mearns. Arguably the best performance of the prelim action was from Tom Nicholls who secured his first CW win via heel hook. Timing was a bit of an issue on this card and that led to it feeling like a long event and also meant that Liam Gittins’ bantamweight title defence was moved from the final prelim fight to opening the main card.

Change of time slot or not, it clearly didn’t matter to the reigning bantamweight champion.

Hernandez started the fight brilliantly in the first round, looking too fast and sharp for Gittins on the feet but as we have come to expect from “Nightmare”, this one was only just getting started. The pace and pressure of Gittins seemed to really get to Hernandez in the second round and by the third, he looked spent. Every leg kick was drawing a huge reaction, he wasn’t firing back with much offence of his own and it felt like only a matter of time before this one ended. Gittins got the rear naked choke in the fifth round which could put him on the radar of the big show. 

Alessandro Giordano and Sam Kelly in the following bout painted the town red with the kind of bloodbath that Ross Houston and Nicolas Dalby would be proud of. Anyone tuning in after this fight will have taken one look at the canvas and assumed there had been some wars inside the cage that night and whilst there were some back and forth fights, you have Kelly to thank for this piece of abstract art. Giordano found the finish, once again, in the third.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Next Generation MMA on the night as Adam Cullen suffered the second defeat of his career. He and Harel Cohen competed largely in a grappling match for this one and the Israeli fighter made a good impression, winning a close split decision to pull off the upset in enemy territory.

James Power bounced back in the following fight with a performance that summarised the majority of this event. He got the win, rather dominantly too, but was unhappy that he wasn’t able to put his man away.

Co-main event billing fell to Luke Riley who we have affectionately dubbed as the best bout machine in the promotion.

Even without putting on a fight of the year contender, Riley still managed to steal the show with a stunning performance against veteran John De Jesus. For the wars he has been in, Riley has told us in the past that he knows he can beat these guys by playing it safe and not even get touched. He didn’t necessarily play it safe but he did match the experience of his opponent with a mature performance. However, it can’t be a Riley fight at the BEC without a moment of watching through your hands and after taking a knee to the body in the final minute, the undefeated fighter was in survival mode but survive he did. Riley is the starboy of Cage Warriors right now. He is undefeated but boy has he gone through some tests along the way. He is the kind of fighter you can show to a non MMA fan to explain to them why you love the sport and to use another wrestling term, restore the feeling. 

Andy Clamp closed the show by becoming the new Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion by doing what he does best. Both Clamp and Matty Byfield went through the ringer in this fight but the pressure of Clamp eventually broke down the dam and he put his strikes together to get a third round stoppage. 

CW 167 and 168 were very different events due to the size of the audience and the fighters that competed on the two nights.

CW 167 felt more like an event for the hardcore fans, watching some fighters build momentum before getting back to fighting in front of a full crowd.

CW 168 had some very fun fights, an electric crowd and a long run time that just like Andy Clamp, was beginning to wear people down. The simple solution to this? Have Luke Riley on your roster. An instant shot of adrenaline into the arms, by the time the first round had started and all interviews were done, the media room was left empty. No one wants to miss their opportunity to watch this man fight and the night truly did belong to him.