A huge weekend of MMA for UK fans will kick off with a rematch for the Cage Warriors middleweight title on Friday, July 21.
Cage Warriors 157 will take place on that date from the Indigo at The O2, with a UFC Fight Night takes place at The O2 Arena the following night.
And the Cage Warriors card, which already has a host of confirmed names booked for the event, now has a championship bout locked and loaded for the show.
The bout will see newly-crowned middleweight champion Mick Stanton take on former champion James Webb in a rematch for the promotion’s 185-pound title.
Stanton has won his last four fights under the Cage Warriors banner, with TKO finishes of George Smith and Alexis Fontes followed by a unanimous decision over former UFC veteran Darren Stewart. That saw him earn a shot at the vacant middleweight title and, after a TKO win for the Full Contact Contender promotion in December 2022, Stanton was booked to face Will Currie in a title tussle at Cage Warriors 151 at the BT Sport Studios in March 2023.
After a grueling back-and-forth battle spent mostly on the mat, Stanton took the unanimous decision to capture the vacant title .
Now the 36-year-old, known as “The Huyton Hammer,” will face familiar opposition in his first title defense as he takes on former champion Webb.
The pair met back at Cage Warriors 112 in March 2020 in a non-title bout that Webb won via unanimous decision as he bounced back from losing his title to Nathias Frederick four months earlier. Now the pair are set to face off for a again, but with championship gold on the line.
Webb returned to form in November with victory over Paddy McCorry and put himself right back in title contention, and the Dublin-trained Englishman is ready to challenge for his old title once again.
“Mick Stanton showed the world that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division with an incredible performance against Will Currie, but he’s got unfinished business with James Webb,” said Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan.
“Webb knows what it takes to become a Cage Warriors champion, and he’s had some of his most impressive performances in the Indigo at The O2.
“We’re going to find out who’s the top dog at 185 pounds on July 21!”
The fight card will also feature former featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic, and rising prospects Lone’er Kavanagh and Nik Bagley. Their opponents, plus other additional matchups, are set to be announced in the coming days and weeks.