The coronavirus has disrupted essentially all of professional sports, and the combat world is no exception. The last man standing, in terms of MMA promotions, appears to be the U.K.’s Cage Warriors. With a show Friday — Cage Warriors 113 — airing on UFC Fight Pass, the company seems to be the only game in town. Having picked up a couple of fights from UFC London, there will no doubt be added interest in the event.
However, things nearly hit a snag when AEG pulled the plug on all events at their venues, including the O2 Arena, where the show was to be held.
That has resulted in a last minute change of venue, and city. Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan announced on social media that just days out from the card, the entire production would move from London to Manchester, England. It will now take place in the BEC Arena — behind closed doors, without fans.
I & team have spent the past 45 mins moving the entire event to Manchester. The event is ON, just relocated and still behind closed doors. #cw113 @CageWarriors pic.twitter.com/bsyGLpqRvd
— Graham Boylan 🇮🇪 ☘️ (@GrahamBoylan) March 16, 2020
The event includes three title fights — at flyweight, lightweight, and featherweight (interim), plus the return of star Paddy Pimblett. Pimblett’s gone through a handful of opponent changes ahead of the fight, but it currently set to take on Decky Dalton. John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic, a fight originally scheduled for UFC London, is also on the card. So is a bout between Bartosz Fabinski and Darren Stewart, both of whom were scheduled for the UFC event, against different opponents.
Cage Warriors 113 airs Friday, March 20 on UFC Fight Pass, with prelims kicking off at 1PM ET.
