Preview: Cage Warriors 115

Night 2 of Cage Warriors “The Trilogy” comes to us live from the BEC Arena in Manchester, England on Friday night. This bumper card was due to feature 2 title fights but is still awash with some of Europe’s top prospects, despite the cancellations due to Covid-19.

The main event is thankfully unaffected as Manchester’s own Jack Cartwright (8-0) defends his bantamweight crown against Holland’s Gerardo Fanny (9-1). Cartwright came into Cage Warriors like a bull in a china shop. He possesses a fantastic all round skill set. He has dynamite in his hands and has a keen eye for a submission. His opponent is just as exciting. He is wild, he is incredibly strong and he can finish anywhere. There will be fireworks.

Natthias Frederick (8-2-1) was due his first defence of his middleweight title in the co-main event against challenger Jamie Richardson (9-5), but Covid-19 put pay to that.

Former middleweight champion James Webb (7-2-1) though, is fighting his way back into title contention. UFC veteran Craig White (14-11) aims to stop him in his tracks. Team KF’s Webb is a high level submission artist and his stand up has come on leaps and bounds in recent fights. White has been on a bad run of late, losing both his UFC fights and his 2 most recent Cage Warriors bouts, however still possesses all the skills that got him the call to the big show.

Prior to that, Jack Grant (15-5) and Yassine Belhadj (6-2) do battle in the lightweight division. A win for either will elevate them right into the title mix. Grant holds a lot more experience than his foe and has honed a well rounded game. He will be prepared for wherever the fight goes. Belhadj is fond of a heel hook so Grant will need to be careful in the scrambles.

Also, Adam Wilson (5-0) looks to continue his unblemished streak against Brazilian Weslley Maia (5-4). Wilson has seen a huge jump in his game in the last year, finishing his last 2 fights in the second round. The well traveled Maia will need to be on top of his game to avoid becoming the third. A win here will put Wilson in bantamweight title contention.

Now moved further up the card, “The Future” Ian Garry (3-0) is back in the cage against England’s George McManus (2-1). Garry is one of Ireland’s brightest prospects and has his eyes set on the UFC. He has finished his last 2 pro fights and is confident of repeating this time out. McManus wants to derail the hype train, himself having won his last 2 by submission. Garry fights with flair and without fear. His weapons have taken a jump between each fight, so it will be very interesting to see the leap from his last outing.

Ben Ellis (2-0) vs. Kingsley Crawford (5-2), Adam Ventre (8-4) vs. Decky McAleenan (6-3) and Nathan Fletcher (3-0) vs. Leigh Mitchell (3-1) have all also unfortunately failed out due to Covid-19.

Cage Warriors 115 takes place on Friday 25th September. The prelims begins at 19:30 on Fight Pass and cagewarriors.com and the main card begins at 21:00 exclusively on Fight Pass.