Cage Warriors currently has two champions at featherweight, but that won’t be the case by the end of Friday night. Regular titleholder Jordan Vucenic and interim champion Paul Hughes are scheduled to square off in the main event of Cage Warriors 145 from the Indigo at the O2 in London, England this evening, giving the weight class a sole champion once the show has concluded.
Here’s a preview of that bout, plus the nine other matchups scheduled.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (2:30PM EDT / 6:30PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: El Hadji Ndiaye (4-1) vs. Adam Shelley (2-2) (Lightweight)
The evening will kick off at lightweight, where El Hadji Ndiaye and Adam Shelley will face off.
Ndiaye is looking to come back after a brutal Cage Warriors debut. He lost his first fight for the promotion in just 14 seconds earlier this year, getting stopped by Adam Cullen. He had an undefeated record of four wins before then.
Shelley also suffered a finish loss this year, getting put away by James Power. He had previously attained two consecutive victories, including a win over Steven Hooper in his Cage Warriors debut.
Bout 2: Oban Elliott (6-2) vs. Sean McCormac (2-1) (Middleweight)
Cage Warriors veteran Oban Elliott will meet Sean McCormac as part of Friday’s card.
Elliott has spent his entire eight-fight pro career in Cage Warriors. He has strung together a pair of wins this year, submitting Herkus Lukosiunas and defeating veteran Matthew Bonner.
McCormac bounced back from his sole pro loss in his Cage Warriors debut just three months back, beating Owain Williams on scorecards.
Bout 3: Harry Hardwick (8-3-1) vs. Steve Aimable (18-8) (Featherweight)
Featherweights Harry Hardwick and Steve Aimable will collide in the next fight.
Hardwick has yet to lose since joining Cage Warriors. He started his run with the promotion in 2021, overcoming Jean N’Doye and Konmon Deh on scorecards. His last fight delivered an unsatisfying result, settling with a draw against undefeated Federico Pasquali.
Aimable is on a strong run currently, having put together four consecutive wins since 2020. A victory this weekend would officially make Aimable’s current string of wins his best since joining the promotion in 2018.
Bout 4: Ryan Shelley (5-0) vs. Josh Reed (12-7) (Featherweight)
Undefeated featherweight prospect Ryan Shelley will face Josh Reed in the next fight.
Shelley has scored five wins since debuting in 2021, with three of those victories taking place in Cage Warriors. His last fight was against fellow undefeated Matthew Elliott, who he beat via split decision.
Reed, a pro since 2013, enters this fight with the experience edge over Shelley. He is fighting to come back from a recent defeat, as he was submitted in May by Luke Shanks.
Bout 5: James Webb (8-4-1) vs. Paddy McCorry (2-0) (Middleweight)
Paddy McCorry will make his Cage Warriors debut this weekend against James Webb.
McCorry debuted last year for Cage Conflict. He picked up two wins for them, stopping one opponent with punches and submitting the other.
He will now face Webb, who is scheduled to make his 12th Cage Warriors appearance. He is aiming to snap a two-fight skid in this bout, with his two past fights both seeing him get finished due to punches.
Main Card (5:00PM EDT / 9:00PM GMT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 6: Caolan Loughran (6-0) vs. Luke Shanks (10-3) (Bantamweight)
The main card will kick off with a fight between Caolan Loughran and Luke Shanks.
Loughran has attained six wins since his 2019 debut. Early victories in his career came against incredibly low-level talent, including fighters that were winless for more than 30 pro bouts. But he has prevailed as his tests have become better since joining Cage Warriors this year, scoring finish wins over two undefeated fighters in the promotion already.
Shanks, a veteran of Cage Warriors, is riding some momentum going into this fight. He has scored two first-round wins over the past year, including a late-2021 victory over Sam Creasey.
Bout 7: Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar (5-0-1) vs. Zavier Sedras (8-2-1) (Lightweight)
Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar will make his return this weekend against Zavier Sedras.
Lakhdhar has been out of competition since late 2020, as numerous canceled fights kept him sidelined for all of 2021. He comes back with a strong record of five wins and one draw, including a trio of first-round finishes in Cage Warriors.
Sedras will be making his promotional debut. He enters Cage Warriors with a four-fight winning streak, although most victories came from 2016 or earlier. His return of sorts was in late 2021 when he beat Shaun Luther.
Bout 8: Modestas Bukauskas (11-5) vs. Lee Chadwick (28-16-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Appearing for the first time since his UFC run, Modestas Bukauskas will face veteran Lee Chadwick.
Bukauskas was a UFC fighter for two years, joining the promotion after a prior successful Cage Warriors run. He started his UFC campaign with a win, beating Andreas Michailidis in 2020. However, after suffering three consecutive losses, including a gruesome knee injury in his last fight, he departed the promotion’s roster. He’ll aim to get back on track this weekend.
Chadwick will be returning to Cage Warriors for the first time since 2017. He has mainly spent recent years fighting in Bellator. His last fight was on a PFL card, where he beat Przemyslaw Mysiala on scorecards.
Bout 9: James Sheehan (5-2) vs. Jamie Richardson (11-7) (Welterweight)
Welterweights James Sheehan and Jamie Richardson are expected to go on before the main event.
Sheehan is currently on a four-fight winning streak, with three of those victories coming via finish. His last victory was in June, finishing Martin Causse in the second round of a fight with punches.
Richardson scored a pair of wins in 2021, submitting Alessandro Botti and beating Leonardo Damiani on scorecards.
Bout 10: Jordan Vucenic (9-1) vs. Paul Hughes (8-1) (Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship)
Cage Warriors will unify their 145-pound belts in Friday’s main event when Jordan Vucenic and Paul Hughes meet for the second time.
Vucenic has yet to lose in his Cage Warriors run. He earned gold in his fourth appearance for the promotion, overcoming Mordan Charriere in a split decision result in early 2021. He has defended that belt once, submitting James Hendin earlier this year.
Hughes’ sole pro loss came against Vucenic in late 2020, losing a close split decision to him. He has since picked up two wins, beating James Hendin and Morgan Charriere. The latter of those two victories made him an interim titleholder.
Hughes was originally scheduled to face Vucenic in March, but an injury stopped him from challenging at that time.
A Cage Warriors rivalry will continue this weekend, and a singular champion at featherweight will be determined in the process.
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