The Ultimate Fighting Championship is back on Saturday night with a stacked Pay-Per-View card featuring some of the sport’s biggest names and best fighters.
With over 20 years spent developing athletes from Europe and beyond into elite level mixed martial artists, it should come as little surprise that Cage Warriors will once again be well represented when the world famous Octagon hits Anaheim, California’s Honda Centre on Saturday night.
One of the most popular Cage Warrior stars in recent years, Wales’ Oban Elliot, will make his long awaited UFC debut on the evening’s undercard.
A high level talent with a magnetic personality and an incredible team behind him, Elliott is a long-term product of the CW system.
Already a Cage Warriors Academy amateur champion, the Welshman captured the CWA Grand Prix trophy in 2019 before making the leap to the pro ranks.
Training under Richard Shore at Shore MMA alongside the likes of Brett Johns and Jack Shore, Elliott racked up impressive victories during his CW run, besting the likes of James Sheehan, then undefeated Herkus Lukošiūnas and former middleweight champion Matt Bonner.
Truly earning his ‘Welsh Gangster’ moniker, Elliott even fought as high as middleweight, a move that cemented his status as a fan favourite.
Expected to compete for a CW title in the Summer of 2023, the 26 year old instead received a call up to Dana White’s Contender Series, where he earned a UFC contract with the world leader following a dramatic victory over OKTAGON champ Kaik Brito.
Featuring on the Pay-Per-View main card, former CW welterweight champion Ian ‘The Future’ Machado-Garry returns to action for the first time since his August 2023 points victory over Neil Magny.
Like Elliott, Machado-Garry competed on CW as an amateur, before putting together a seven fight unbeaten run in the promotion as a professional.
The Irishman’s CW journey culminated in a tournament for the welterweight strap, and saw him earn a memorable head kick victory over IMMAF champ Rostem Akman, before outpointing Jack Grant to capture the gold.
While his stay in CW was brief, its fair to say that Ilia Topuria made quite the impression, rocking up to Brian Bouland’s backyard and submitting him in short order in the main event of CW 94.
Only a weight-miss the previous day prevented the Spanish-Georgian fighter from claiming the bantamweight title with the win, although his would be signed to the UFC soon after.
Now, he’s just one win away from completing the mission in the UFC.
With some big UFC wins already on the board for Cage Warriors alumni in 2024, the momentum continues to build for Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation.
As 2024’s world tour kicks off in San Diego next week, one thing is for certain: The Draft of MMA is showing no signs of slowing down!