Cage Warriors’ return to Rome is rapidly approaching, as Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation gets ready to kick-off its 2025 calendar in style with an incredible night of action at the Palapellicone!
Tickets for CW 183: Rome are availible here!
No classic fight night is complete without its cast of characters, and CW is pulling out all the stops when it comes to the athletes competing on March 8th. With two title bouts, a raft of up-and-coming prospects, former title challengers and international standouts galore gracing the card, fans are set to witness perhaps one of the most talent-heavy European MMA cards of all time!
As the countdown continues, Cage Warriors resident Play-by-Play man Brad Wharton takes a look at some of the biggest moments from the stars of CW 183 in the Famous Yellow Gloves!
Alessandro Giordano (vs Michele Martignoni: CW 174)
From losing out on the scorecards in a couple of agonisingly close bouts to kick off his CW career, to a run that has people talking about him as one of Italy’s best MMA prospects: Alessandro Giordano is that guy.
The Italian bantamweight standout has looked sublime in his last three outings, but perhaps nowhere more than when he took the crown from the man who came before him, Michele Martignoni. The pair clashed in London at CW 174, and produced an instant classic.
Liam Gittins (vs Rory Evans: CW 142)
Everything has come up Milhouse for Liam Gittins of late. After a couple of inconsistent years, all the pieces of the jigsaw
The Southport man showed that he really meant business with this scintillating stoppage of the teak-tough Rory Evans at CW 152 in Manchester; the bantamweight title would be around his waist just two fights later.
Dario Bellandi (vs Justin Barry: CW 148)
Although he fell short on his promotional debut, The Neanderthal has been on a tear through the Cage Warriors middleweight division over the last four years, pitching a shutout in his last six bouts.
The defending champion has looked dominant in outpointing his last three opponents, but we shouldn’t forget that the Rendoki Dojo man is something of a finishing machine as well. Take this shellacking of Justin Barry for example, where Bellandi put points on the board for Team Europe with a first round finish.
Naglis Kanišauskas (vs Leon Naumann: CW 175)
He may go by the moniker ‘The Smiling Boy’, but CW 168 was no laughing matter for Naglis Kanišauskas. The Lithuanian prospect came up short against Dario Bellandi in what would effectively be a title elimination, but on March 8th, he’ll get a chance to even the score…
He’s earned that opportunity with a couple of sizzling finishes, most recently this second round buzzer beater against fellow rising star Leon Naumann in Manchester last year. When the pair meet for the gold, will it be revenge, or repeat?
Konstantinos Ntelis (vs Simone Patrizi: CW 183)
In a sport like MMA, they say one shot can change everything. Tell that to Konstantinos Ntelis and he’ll surely agree; the one-hitter-quitter he folded Simone Patrizi with last year might just have changed the entire trajectory of his MMA career.
It was a crushing right hook just 90 seconds in to his scrap with the local favourite that put the 23 year old on the map; an instant viral moment. Should he repeat the feat against the next man on our list on March 8th…well, that would be something.
Michael Pagani (vs Mason Jones: CW 175)
Sometimes a loss can do just as much for you as a win, in the grand scheme of things. That’s certainly the case with Michael Pagani following his ‘Fight of the Year’ nominated performance against CW legend and UFC veteran Mason ‘The Dragon’ Jones.
The pair knocked lumps out of each other at CW 175 in Manchester last year, with the Italian upstart pushing the former double-champ to the limit.
Dylan Hazan: As a fighter, when you have your back to the wall there are only two options: Go big or go home. That’s the position Bari’s Dylan Hazan was in following his shock defeat to Amir Malekpour at CW 164.
At CW 175 the hard-hitting amateur wrestling standout decided to go big, really big, in fact. Usually known for taking things to the ground, Hazan decided to move in the opposite direction, launching himself skyward with an absolute rocket of a flying knee.
Michelangelo Lupoli: Talk about a baptism by fire. Michelangelo Lupoli ran into Arron Aby, Sam Creasey and Nicolas Leblond in his first three Cage Warriors outings.
After a rocky start though, the Naples man has found his form. Winner of two on the bounce, including a career best performance against Gerasimos Sioutis last time out, he heads into an all Italian derby on March 8th with momentum on his side!
Cage Warriors 183: Rome takes place on Saturday, March 8th at the Palapellecone. Tickets are availible here, and the event streams live on UFC Fight Pass and international broadcast partners.