As Cage Warriors, one of the top MMA promotions in Europe, returns today after an extended hiatus, they will do so with more eyes than ever on them.
It was announced early Friday morning that Cage Warriors has been picked up by UFC Fight Pass, beginning with an event that begins today at 4 p.m. ET with Jack Hermansson defending his middleweight title against Alan Carlos.
Below is the complete press release:
UFC FIGHT PASS announced today a multi-year agreement with Cage Warriors Fighting Championship (CWFC), further bolstering the digital-streaming service’s live event and on-demand programming.
The UK-based promotion is now the ninth live-event offering on UFC FIGHT PASS, joining promotions BRACE MMA, Eddie Bravo Invitational, GLORY SuperFight Series, Invicta FC, Pancrase, SHOOTO Brazil, Titan FC and Victory FC.
Originally debuting in 2002, CWFC has been home to some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts. Among the athletes to compete under its banner are current UFC® featherweight champion Conor McGregor, UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Michael Bisping, Gegard Mousasi and Dan Hardy.
“We are thrilled to add Cage Warriors to UFC FIGHT PASS’ ever-growing combat sports library,” UFC Senior Vice President and UFC FIGHT PASS General Manager Eric Winter said. “Cage Warriors has long been a staple of European and Middle Eastern MMA and now adds a new layer to UFC FIGHT PASS’ incredible lineup.”
CWFC will stream its first event on UFC FIGHT PASS on Friday, April 15 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. The six-fight card will see Jack Hermansson defend the CWFC middleweight title against Alan Carlos. Sporting an 11-2 record, Hermansson holds a victory over UFC veteran Karlos Vemola. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Carlos is 12-8 as a professional and has won five of his last six outings.
“This is great news for all us European and Middle Eastern MMA fans,” said Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan. “I love this sport and UFC has been the primary driver of the explosion of MMA popularity around the world. By working together on UFC FIGHT PASS we are going to grow this sport together. To date, 70 CWFC fighters entered the UFC, including our two-division CWFC champ Conor McGregor. Who is the next Conor out there? Together, let’s go find out.”
UFC FIGHT PASS will begin the process of uploading Cage Warriors’ fight library later this year. Further details regarding available fights and events will be made in the coming months.
UFC FIGHT PASS is available on personal computers, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV and Roku devices.
