Cage Warriors 163: Welterweight title bout tops 12-fight card for London

Cage Warriors returns to its London home of the Indigo at The O2, with a new welterweight champion set to be crowned in the main event.

The promotion’s 170-pound title, previously held by the likes of Rhys McKee and Mason Jones, is up for grabs in the night’s headliner, as Team Renegade’s Omiel Brown takes on Greek contender Giannis Bachar for the vacant strap.

Wolverhampton’s Brown has competed in his entire pro career to date under the Cage Warriors banner. He picked up guillotine choke submission victories in his first two bouts as a pro , but his four victories since have all come via knockout, with his most recent victory, a first-round uppercut KO of Jesse Urholin at Cage Warriors 157, producing one of the knockouts of 2023 so far.

Meanwhile, Bachar made an instant impact on his promotional debut at Cage Warriors 154 in May to earn a title shot in only his second appearance for the organization.

Bachar stopped experienced former UFC vet Carlo Pedersoli Jr. via third-round TKO in Rome and instantly put himself in line for a shot at the vacant crown. Now he’ll face Brown in a mouth-watering battle of heavy-handed strikers in the English capital.

Both men head into the matchup with 6-2 records, both have a penchant for knockouts, and both have their sights set on Cage Warriors gold. It should make for a spectacular main event matchup.

The co-main event features middleweight contender Will “Drago” Currie, who faces Brazilian veteran Wallison Henrique, while German crowd-pleaser Shawn Da Silva will look to entertain the London fans as he makes his second Cage Warriors appearance.

The 5-0 flyweight danced his way to the cage, put on a blistering show to claim a second-round knockout of Kiru Singh Sahota, then danced some more as he won a host of fans on his promotional debut at Cage Warriors 151: Unplugged.

Now he’s set to fight in front of a raucous London crowd, where he’ll take on Dutch former bantamweight title challenger Gerardo Fanny, who heads into the bout having won four of his last five, with all four wins coming inside the distance.

The fight card will also feature a number of the athletes Fighters Only met with in San Diego at the MMA Fight Academy, with up-and-coming prospects Luca Borando, Jimmy Quinn, Teddy Stringer, and Francesco Mazzeo all set for action.