Cage Warriors 176 Preview; 170lb Prize Fighter Tournament; Hardwick vs Iorga

Another magical Cage Warriors night awaits us on Saturday, with a title fight, a one-night tournament and lots of regular bouts we’ve grown to love. Glasgow’s Braehead Arena will host Cage Warriors, with fourteen bouts going down on the night. There’s people who’ll be walking away with a big pocketful of cash and gold. As usual, the most stringent medical examinations in European MMA have been conducted ahead of the spectacle.

Sitting pride of place atop the card is the $50,000 one-night Welterweight Prizefighter tournament finale. A draw was done at random to allocate the semi-finals and reserve bout. Omiel Brown (7-3) has recently turned 30-years-old and might be the most devastating competitor in the bracket. The Team Renegade standout has the ability to change your night in an instant and have you looking up at the lights, unaware of what’s happened. Explosive power exudes from his fists, and he only has to clip you. Trying to take him down comes with his risks, with the Englishman having a wicked guillotine choke in his arsenal. Henri Lintula (8-1) got drawn opposite Brown, and he may be one of the few crazy enough to go head to head with him. The Finn is more of a submission expert, winning seven by tap out. The 33-year-old loves a choke, and has a knack for taking the back for the rear naked. Other techniques like guillotines and triangles have gotten him the win in the past. His one victory with his fists was ground and pound. The floor is lava and I expect Brown to advance.

Bourama Camara (7-3) is a Bellator and Hexagone veteran coming in from the Free Fight Academy in Paris. At the beginning of his career, the Frenchman showed his BJJ chops with a couple of submission wins, following that up with a ground and pound knockout. The 26-year-old earned his first standing knockout with a big right hand at Bellator 280 in the Accor Arena. Finishes have dried up since then, however he’s won his last two by decision. He’ll need to show urgency to finish as quickly as possible here. Marko Kisič (10-4) is a veteran of Oktagon and FNC. The Austrian is of Balkan heritage, and has a lovely grappling game of his own. The 31-year-old loves leg locks and arm locks, he doesn’t care what limb you give him, he’ll take it. It’s his striking defence that might get him into trouble here. I’m picking Camara to advance and fall short against Brown in the final.

As we all know, not everything in MMA goes to plan. We have some glass to break in case of emergency in the form of a reserve bout. Local fans were disappointed to see Sean Clancy Jr. (4-0) draw the short straw. The Scot is the most athletic fighter involved with the tournament, and he’s looked great early in his pro career. “The One” has shown great power on the feet, winning his first two by knockout. His grappling also looks on point, securing a rear naked choke win in his third contest, and a ground and pound win last April. The Higher Level MMA man is legit and is a stone cold finisher. Rafael Aranov (6-5) suffered defeat to Brown in his second Cage Warriors bout, but showed he’s got BJJ of his own, winning the other two by rear naked choke and arm triangle. The 30-year-old is 6-2 in his last eight, so don’t sleep on his chances. Having said that, Clancy Jr. could well go all the way should he get the chance to step into the main tournament.

As if the tournament wasn’t enough, we will also see the return of George Hardwick (12-2). The Middlesbrough man unfortunately came up short on the Contender Series. The Bellator veteran now defends his CW Lightweight Title for the third time, and his first since beating Yann Liasse in April 2023. The 27-year-old is a body snatcher, some of the most glorious body shots exist solely on his highlight reel. The Englishman is an exquisite striker who knows how to hurt you, and also causes menace in submission exchanges. He’s got a love of a guillotine like a peasant in the French Revolution. Cristian Iorga (7-1) is one of those men that carries a blue, yellow and red tricolour and you know is going to be a lot of fun to watch. The Romanian is a Brave CF veteran and also plied his trade in Heroes in his homeland. The IMMAF alumnus has that classic Carpathian heavy kickboxing style that can upend you real fast. This is up several levels though and Hardwick is one of the best practitioners on the continent.

Speaking of entertainment, Chris Bungard (19-9) will once again perform in front of his adoring hometown fans. The Bad Guy talks a good game and always puts it on his opponents. The 35-year-old has a great wrestling game that makes it miserable for anyone signing up to fight him, and if he’s allowed to get going fully, he’ll have you tapping out before the end of the third. Andrey Augusto (15-7-1) is the brave soul who’s taken this fight on short notice. The Brazilian is an LFA and Shooto veteran and is a well rounded martial artist. On the local scene, he showed power in his kickboxing, with some threat in submission exchanges. He’ll have to fight Bungard and the audience though and I can see him fading quickly due to the constant pressure he’ll be under.

Reece McEwan (7-3) needs to right the ship after losing two-on-the-bounce. The Griphouse man fights out of Greenock and has a splendid grappling talent. When he’s not choking you out, he’s crushing you with ground and pound. The Scot will be eager to get back into the win column on his own soil. Miguel Heuro (11-10), or Holy Death to his opponents, fights out of the Nice Boxing Squad with the likes of UFC contender Manon Fiorot. The Frenchman is on his best run of form since the early days of his career. The 32-year-old usually tries to wrestle, take the back and look for the choke. He also possesses some power on the feet. McEwan should find the holes in his grappling defence and exploit them for the win.

Michael Blair (3-2) is a talent from the Hit Squad and a teammate of Bungard. The 26-year-old picked up his first win in yellow gloves against Dec Dean in this arena back in April. The Scot can punch you in the face and you won’t like it one bit, and he can wrestle you into frustration. He had a great amateur career and is keen to go on a run as a pro. Kyle Stevens (4-3) was born all the way down in Portsmouth, way south on the island. Now training out of London, the Bellator veteran makes his first appearance on the main CW show. By far his biggest strength is his striking, proving his power as an amateur and a pro with several knockout wins. Blair is unlikely to allow someone to come over Hadrian’s Wall and return to England with the victory.

Keir Harvie (7-3-2) is another one from Higher Level MMA in nearby Whitburn. The 26-year-old is a Bellator and EFC veteran and is a bundle of aggression. The Scot mixes a lethal clinch strike game with effective kickboxing and a submission threat. He’s an action packed bantamweight. Rory Evans (7-6) is a man who fights every top talent in Europe and it’s left him with a shaky record, but a fantastic reputation amongst those in the know. The Welshman has talent for days and will take on anyone, anytime, at home or most likely an away day. The Shore MMA man has great grappling chops that he uses to go for chokes or ground and pound from. He can compete on the feet but is more comfortable on the mat. I can see him frustrating Harvie.

Damon Donald (2-0) is Aberdeen’s representative on the night. The Scot’s CW debut went very well against Matteo Martignoni, with the fight being stopped between the second and third round last July. Both as an amateur and a pro, he’s shown to be a threat in the stand-up realm and has the power to end it with one shot or with volume. Kallum Parker (3-4) might be the most talented fighter with a losing record in the world. The Manchester Top Team man got back into the win column in his CW sophomore bout, a first round knockout victory. The Englishman also has a good ground game and is hopeful that this is the start of a long winning run. I’m picking Parker.

Jordan Stronge (2-1) is another Hit Squad talent on the card. The Airdrie man lost a close split on his CW debut and will be keen to show his slick grappling chops here and get a submission win. Wesley Machado (3-5) came to CW with a winning record but has seen that chopped away with three defeats in-a-row. The Brazilian has a good submissions, however struggles on the receiving end, which is where I see Stronge taking over here.

Ryan Campbell (1-0) is also amongst the Hit Squad crew involved here. This is his first time strapping on the yellow gloves and he’s shown some striking nous at amateur level. The 26-year-old has one decision win on his pro record and will have had his grappling tested daily in that gym. Shahram Hotak (debut) hails from Afghanistan and had an amateur win in the Golden Ticket promotion with a first round rear naked choke win. Little is known about him apart from that, however he’ll be keen to show that famous fighting spirit that his countrymen are known for in MMA. I’d edge Campbell.

Charles Joyner (3-1) is an Australian who calls Team Fish Tank his home nowadays, a top gym in nearby northern England. The 29-year-old is a Muay Thai specialist who’s shown a flair for the finish on the feet in MMA competition. He works his levels well, cracks to the body with kicks and knees, and generally uses every pointy bit of his body to cut you up. Brandon Guest (debut) turns pro after a promising amateur run. The Englishman predominately kept things standing and has a big knockout threat. His record resets to zero and I expect Joyner to give him a very hard time.

Redgie Hingston (1-0) is the Inverness representative on Saturday. The SBG man makes his promotional debut and he’s known for his striking. The Scot won his pro debut by first round knockout and wants to let his fists do the talking here. Ryan Hewitt (1-2) makes the journey up north from Fearless in Birmingham. The Englishman kicked off life as a pro with a second round knockout win, however ran into good prospects Ander Sanchez and Team Ryano’s Ger Harris to put him into the negative win:loss ratio. He’s not an easy out though. I’m taking Hingston purely on home advantage, however don’t count out Hewitt.

Cage Warriors 176 is live and exclusive this Saturday on UFC Fight Pass. The action kicks off at 17:30.