Cage Warriors 128 Preview

We move onto the second night of the latest Cage Warriors Trilogy this Friday. The action will go down in front of a sold out crowd at London’s infamous York Hall. There is a stacked card ahead of us for another Fun Fight Friday.

Ireland’s Paul Hughes (7-1) is aiming to win the interim Cage Warriors Featherweight belt in the main event. He takes on the extremely popular Frenchman Morgan Charriere (16-8-1). This matchup was made following an injury to champion Jordan Vucenic. Fight Academy Ireland’s Hughes is an allrounder who isn’t afraid to fight his opponents at their own game. His biggest strength is in his striking. Charriere has been one of the most electric fighters on the roster in recent years. “The Last Pirate” is a slick striker with fantastic timing and distance control. He does have a grappling game, however he prefers to keep it standing. This is the fight of the trilogy for me and there’s a lot at stake.

Will Currie (5-2) comes in search of a win having lost two on the bounce to Christian Leroy Duncan. He is a Jiu Jitsu wizard with tonnes of fancy submissions in his back pocket. He’s up against “Mutant” Jonathan Bosuku (7-6-1). He’s an eight year veteran of the sport and is a very tough guy. The Frenchman will be looking to keep this one standing. He can grapple, however you’re not going to want to dabble on the ground with Currie. It will be important to use his superior experience to stay out of danger.

Finland’s Jesse Urholin (7-0) is one of the most interesting characters on show over the three nights. He’s been dominant in his career to date. He’s a shutout grappler with nasty ground and pound. On the feet he loves a war, a proper blood and thunder warrior. He faces his most experienced opponent to date, Ioannis Paleologus (18-9-1). The Greek is a frontrunner with most of his wins coming within two rounds. He has heavy, heavy hands. Standing toe to toe with him will be a risk. Good test for Urholin.

Adam Amarasinghe (6-3) takes on Michele Martignoni (6-1) at flyweight. “Apex” Amarasinghe is a quick striker who has the power and explosiveness to end it quickly. Italy’s Martignoni is another product of the IMMAF system and is a good kickboxer. Both men come in after a loss last time out. Whoever wins will be right in the mix at the top of the division.

Gerardo Fanny (10-2) makes his return following a spectacular flying knee knockout back at CW 125. He’s looking to put a win streak together to get back towards another Flyweight title shot. It’s a tough match up for him in Liam Gittins (7-2). He’s one of many Next Gen Liverpool fighters across the trilogy. He started out in the pros as a striker who starched his opponents early on. Since then he’s shown some of the weapons that he displayed at amateur level, including some slick submissions. Fanny is an exciting aggressive striker. The action should be fast and ferocious in this one.

New CW signing Aidan James (4-2) makes his first appearance against “Le Terrible” Philippe Rouch (7-4). James has competed in Brave CF for the majority of his time as a pro. He had an extensive amateur career, including a few IMMAF tournaments. He has great timing on his punches and usually retains his power over the three rounds. He also possesses a nice submission game. France’s Rouch is a submission expert with a lovely triangle choke. He has been plying his trade in EFC Worldwide in Africa with his only loss in the last 7 coming to the UFC’s JP Buys.

Ireland’s James Sheehan (2-2) makes his long awaited return on this card. This is the first we’ll have seen of him since March 2020. The Team Ryano man had a very solid amateur career. He has two losses on his record, however they came to current CW Middleweight Champion Matthew Bonner and former CW Welterweight Champion Ian Garry. He’s a fine grappler who is fantastic at taking the back. His kickboxing is functional as well, although he hasn’t needed to use it much in his wins. Opponent Omiel Brown (2-0) has started his pro career like a house on fire. His biggest threat is the guillotine choke so Sheehan has to watch his neck at all times, particularly shooting in for takedowns. All his finishes have been in round one so far. It’s easier to finish with a guillotine when fighters are dry, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts when it’s slippier.

Poland’s Kamil Wincenciak (debut) is another Irish based fighter competing across the trilogy. He trains out of Team KF and like his teammates, he comes in with a solid striking game backed up with good functional Jiu Jitsu. His opponent is Next Gen Liverpool’s Luke Riley (debut). He’s not too dissimilar to Wincenciak in that he has a good striking base with strong MMA Jiu Jitsu to go with it. Let’s see how they take to moving up to pros.

Cage Warriors 128 is live from 20:00 this Friday on UFC Fight Pass.