There will be at least one “UFC London” fight on the card at Cage Warriors 113 this Friday.
The middleweight bout between Wales’ John Phillips and Serbia’s Dusko Todorovic, originally set to take place on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN+ 29, will now take place on the Cage Warriors 113 card instead.
The event, which takes place at the Indigo at The O2 in London, will go ahead, but as a behind-closed-doors event, with the U.K. government expected to announce a ban on mass gatherings from Monday.
Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan revealed to MMA Junkie Sunday night that he was in discussions with relevant parties to try to save some of the fights scheduled for London that had effectively been scrapped following the enforced postponement of their Mar. 21 event.
But Monday morning Boylan took to Twitter to share the news that the event would still go ahead, albeit in a behind-closed-doors format, with Phillips vs. Todorovic added to the card.
Update: 1.
@cagewarriors #cw113 WILL be behind closed doors. The ticketing team & office people will be working out how refunds can be claimed that info will follow.Update: 2.
UFC bout 1: John Philips v Dusko Todorovic has been confirmed to take place @CageWarriors #cw113 Friday Night. The event will be broadcasted LIVE on @UFCFightPass as well as TV Networks around the World.
“We’re working non-stop, around the clock to make this event the most iconic in the history of European MMA,” said Boylan via press release.
“The way it’s looking, we could well be the only major sports promotion on the continent broadcasting live this weekend, into millions of homes around the world.
“Since day one, we’ve aimed to provide the most respected platform in Europe for athletes to showcase their skills. Now we’re proud to do our bit to help some of the guys who lost their chance to fight on this week’s UFC card.”
Dublin-based Welshman Phillips (22-9 MMA, 1-3 UFC) picked up his first UFC win in his most recent appearance, as he knocked out Alen Amedovski in just 14 seconds at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He’ll face the debuting Todorovic (9-0, 0-0 UFC), who arrives in the UFC with an undefeated record having earned himself a UFC contract with his decision win over Teddy Ash at Contender Series 26 last August. Prior to that win, Todorovic had scored finishes in all of his previous fights.
Cage Warriors 113 will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass Friday night, with the preliminary card starting at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the main card at 5 p.m. ET.
Updated Cage Warriors 113 card includes:
MAIN CARD
Darko Banovic vs. Morgan Charriere – for vacant interim featherweight title Mason Jones vs. Joe McColgan – for vacant lightweight title Champ Samir Faiddine vs Luke Shanks – for flyweight title Decky Dalton vs. Paddy Pimblett John Phillips vs. Dusko TodorovicPRELIMINARY CARD
Steve Aimable vs. Perry Goodwin David Bear vs. Nathan Jones Emrah Sonmez vs. Aidan Stephen Cory Tait vs TBA Kingsley Crawford vs. Lewis Monarch Kris Edwards vs. James Hendin Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson Coner Hignett vs. Darren O’Gorman Adam Amarasinghe vs. Jake Bond Jack Collins vs. Joshua OnwordiNOTE: Updated to include quotes from Graham Boylan
