The hype has been building, the bad blood flowing and finally the stage is set. This Saturday night, in an exclusive UFC Fight Pass title bout, Liam Gittins and Roberto Hernandez will clash in the first defence of the former’s bantamweight world championship at Cage Warriors 168!
Final tickets for CW 168 are available here!
As fight day rapidly approaches, we take a look back at some of the challenger and champion’s greatest hits in the famous yellow gloves!
The Challenger: Roberto ‘Green Light’ Hernandez
1 – Vs Michael O’Leary at CW 139
After nailing a beautiful heel hook on his debut (more on that in a moment), Hernandez was back in the famous yellow gloves three months later, delivering a very different, but equally destructive performance.
After backing his man onto the fence with a right hand, ‘Green Light’ blitzed and snuck a solid left in through the guard, dropping opponent Michael O’Leary.
A volley of brutal hammer-fists followed, and just like that, Hernandez had announced himself as a threat on the ground, and the feet.
2 – Vs Ethyn Ewing at CW 133
Hernandez burst onto the scene at Cage Warriors 139 in San Diego, quickly showing the crowd at Humphries by the Bay why he’s known as ‘Slick Rob’.
Rolling smoothly into a leg entanglement, ‘Green Light’ displayed another facet of his game, fighting the hands to secure a first round heel hook victory less than two minutes into the first round of his bout with Ethyn Ewing.
3 – Vs Toby Misech at CW 159
We were always going to be guaranteed a brawl when Hernandez met Toby Misech at CW 159 at the Sycuan Casino Resort.
Both have a well-earned reputation for precision punching, but it was ultimately Hernandez that would get the better of an exchange of body-shots early in the second round.
The delayed reaction was a thing of beauty, and Roberto left nothing to chance with a series of quick follow up shots before the referee had seen enough.
The Champion: Liam Gittins
1 – Vs Kevin Cordero at CW 96
A throwback to Gittins’ first professional appearance in the famous yellow gloves, and the Southport man didn’t need a second chance to leave a first impression.
Staggering opponent Kevin Cordero with massive hooks, wading into the clinch with short shots and punishing the body with vicious rib-roasters, Gittins put a sustained beating on his man to earn a first round stoppage.
Treat yourself to the whole thing, below.
2 – Vs Emrah Sonmez at CW 123
When you think of Liam Gittins, you’ll no doubt be conjuring images of one of his many crazy, back-and-forth wars in the famous yellow gloves.
Few fights encapsulate that more than Gittins’ wild clash with Emrah Sonmez at CW 123.
On a night filled to the brim with stand-out performances, Gittins’ heroic effort to regroup after a bad start and put his talented opponent away with a second round rear naked choke.
3 – Vs Rory Evans at CW 152
It’s always a fun time when two fighters known for never taking a backwards step get to mix it up in the Cage Warriors cage, and this battle between Liam Gittins and Rory Evans was no exception.
The pair piled into each other from the opening bell, as if to dare their opposite man to continuously up the ante.
As the second round wore on though, it was the Next Generation man setting a pace that his opponent simply couldn’t maintain, forcing the stoppage with a barrage of strikes as Evens wilted against the fence.