Manny is about to be on the map once again, as Cage Warriors – Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation – returns to the UK’s second city for another delectable double-header of dream fights. With Unplugged set to go down on November 21st for a specially invited guest audience before the doors are flung open to the general public the following night, the promotion is serving up a wild weekender that won’t leave anyone looking back in anger.
Tickets for CW 198: Manchester are available here!
CW 197: Unplugged
The Half the World Away of the Cage Warriors calendar, CW: Unplugged is a stripped back, acoustic experience witnessed live by just a lucky handful of specially invited guests.
There’s nothing stripped back about the fight cards though; over the years Unplugged has played host to title fights, best-in-class wars, one-night tournaments and a whole host of sizzling scraps.
CW 197 will be no different, and chief among the highlights is the evening’s main event.
Since returning to Cage Warriors in 2024, Aiden Lee has been in nothing but tough fights. His first bout back in the Famous Yellow Gloves came against Josh Abraham, walking into the proverbial lion’s den to face the teak-tough North Easterner in Newcastle, and thinking nothing of the subsequent heart-breaker of a first round submission victory. It was a feat he repeated earlier this year against Italian fan favourite Giuseppe Mastrogiacomo.
It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the young veteran though; a submission to Daniel Konrad stung, but not nearly as much as his recent split decision loss against Alexander Loof at the last Unplugged. At 2-2 in his most recent stint with the promotion and with his title ambitions still burning bright, Lee returns to the scene of that crime in an attempt to put things right.
To do so though, he’ll have to get past another man looking for redemption, Benton, Illinois’ Damon Wilson.
‘The Nomad’ is looking to bounce back from an unsuccessful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series this summer, and will be hoping to recapture the blistering run of form that took him there. Wilson’s last two outings in the Famous Yellow Gloves – against Ryan Lilley and Leandro Camargo – both ended in the same sickening bone-on-bone fashion.
In Aiden Lee he’ll certainly find an opponent who won’t shy away from the action; but it’s the contrast in styles between slickster and smash mouth that will make this one really worth watching.
Fans will also want to keep their eyes on the underrated banger between Marc-Phillipe Ngatchou and Yusuf Nazokatov. A pair of hard-nosed sluggers whose records belie their experience, both came out on the wrong end of their last CW appearances and will be looking to right the ship in what promises to be a high level scrap.
Fans of the big lads are in for a treat as well, when sluggers Branden Guest and Suren Jaf thrown down early doors, before undefeated light heavyweight prospect Nell Ariano returns to tangle with the debuting grappling specialist Riku Urholin in the evening’s main event.
CW 198: Manchester
With the doors open and the BEC Arena rolling with a few thousand MMA mad Mancunians, Saturday night will very much be alright for fighting. With a scintillating main event for the interim lightweight world title already setting tongues wagging (you can read more about it here), we can turn our eyes to the undercard for a bunch of additional treats.
Bad blood will be the order of the day when ‘The Bad Guy’ Chris Bungard takes on ‘The White Shark’ Simone Patrizi. The crowd-pleasing pair were originally set to meet in Newcastle earlier this year, but issues on the scales nixed the bout. If you thought they were gunning for each other before, you’d best believe they’re out for satisfaction now.
Bungard, for his part, is also in search of an incredible 30th in-cage victory. A hard-nosed scrapper with an overwhelming submission game, he won’t much mind where that thirtieth win comes from as long as it comes. With his stall set out, expectations will be high.
The same could be said for Simone Patrizi though; the Italian fan favourite never fails to entertain in the cage, but with just a single victory in his last four, ‘The White Shark’ simply cannot afford to lose if he’s to have any hope of making noise in Cage Warriors stacked lightweight division.
To give credit where it’s due, Patrizi’s losses have come against upper echelon opposition. But that’s exactly what Bungard represents, especially when the Scotsman has his eyes on the prize for that big three zero. Will it be one more for The Bad Guy, or has The White Shark bitten off more than he can chew?
The bangers keep on coming with a recent addition to the card that promises nothing but tempo. Ger Harris, representing Dublin’s Team Ryano, has been a mainstay in the 125lb division for the last two years. A huge personality and an obvious natural talent, should he string a few more wins together then a conversation will have to be had about his place in the title picture.
‘The GTA Selector’ may have been there already were it not for losing a coin-flip decision to future title challenger Jawany Scott, but a subsequent loss to Marcus Ferreira pumped the brakes on his championship aspirations. Harris erased all memories of those frustrating outings last time out though, running through the very capable Jonny Touma in under three minutes to recapture his form.
Pagliariccio is a man who knows all about frustration; after making an impressive start to his second stint in the Famous Yellow Gloves against Benoit Blanc, he endured an illegal knee from Dutch powerhouse Gerardo Fanny, opting to continue the bout before being pulled by his corner prior to the final round. Another defeat – this time to resurgent former champion Sam Creasey – followed, with the Italian opting to compete outside of the promotion since.
He’s only had three run outs since, but having picked up a nice win (and a regional title) in June, he may feel like the momentum is on his side.
With CW favourites Leon Hill, Teddy Stringer and Shay Ingram also set to appear, CW 198 promises to leave fans feeling supersonic.
With close to thirty bouts over two nights, whether you’re there in person or watching live on UFC Fight Pass, there will be something for everyone when Cage Warriors’ weekend of Manchester Madness gets underway!
Click here for a full, up to date fight card for CW 197: Unplugged and here for CW 198: Manchester!