All 24 athletes successfully made weight ahead of the first of two huge Cage Warriors shows descending on Manchester this weekend.
Cage Warriors 167: Unplugged will see the return of several former champions, many surging prospects and a host of familiar names.
In the main event, former Cage Warriors Welterweight champion Stefano Paterno will pull on the yellow gloves for the first time in five years.
After an 18 month hiatus, the Italian returned to the sport in 2022 and has been in fine form of late, entering the bout riding a three fight win streak. After an impressive win, and claiming the Venator FC Welterweight title, against Michelangelo Colangelo, Paterno then defended the belt 5 months later against Kevin Hangs. It was 14 months before the 28-year-old made the walk to the cage again, at OKTAGON 51, against Ion Surdo – where he tied up a second armbar.
In his return to Cage Warriors, Paterno will face the fast-starting American Scottie Stockman. Although coming into the contest on the back of a loss, Stockman was flying through his competition, having picked up seven first round finishes in just 15 months! Activity is clearly key for the 30-year-old, having fought just 5 weeks prior to his Cage Warriors debut.
Omiel Brown will look to bounce back to winning ways following his loss against Giannis Bachar for the vacant Welterweight title. Rafael Arnonv silenced the BEC Arena last time out, with a first-round submission win against the previously unbeaten Ben Petches-Kelly. The bout could see a classic striker vs grappler showdown, with 4 of Brown’s 6 wins coming by way of KO/TKO and 4 of 5 of Arnonv’s victories coming by way of submission.
Elsewhere on the card, former Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion Michele Martignoni moves back to 135lbs and welcomes Raz ‘New Level’ Bring to the division, Connor Wilson will face Davide Scarano and Shirzad Qadrian will take on Emanuele Zaccaria.
On the preliminary card, former WWE star Jack Claffey will make his promotional debut. ‘Captain’ first entered the cage, as an amateur, in 2015 and amassed a 2-0 amateur record before the WWE came calling. After a spell with the world’s leading professional wrestling company, Claffey then explored the word of bare knuckle before returning to the cage, this time in a professional capacity, in 2022. Claffey picked up his first win at Hexagone MMA 8, with a first round submission. He will take on Marko Sarasjarvi in a Featherweight contest.
The MMA Fight Academy alumni Leon Armes and Teddy Stringer have seriously impressed since joining the professional ranks. They will be looking to keep their unbeaten records intact against, Christian Tosco and Diego Dickson, respectively.
Full Cage Warriors 167 weigh-in results:
Cage Warriors 167: Unplugged | LIVE on UFC Fight Pass
Main Card – 14:00 (PT) | 17:00 (ET) | 21:00 (GMT) | 22:00 (CET)
Welterweight Title: Scottie Stockman (169.8lbs) vs Stefano Paterno (170.2lbs)
Welterweight: Rafael Aronov (169.1lbs) vs Omiel Brown (170.4lbs)
Bantamweight: Shirzad Qadrian (135.8lbs) vs Emanuele Zaccaria (136lbs)
Flyweight: Davide Scarano (125.7lbs) vs Connor Wilson (124.9lbs)
Bantamweight: Raz Bring (134.6lbs) vs Michele Martignoni (135.9lbs)
Prelims – 11:30 (PT) | 14:30 (ET) | 18:30 (GMT) | 19:30 (CET)
Lightweight: Diego Dickson (154.5lbs) vs Teddy Stringer (155.6lbs)
Lightweight: Amaury Junior (154.5lbs) vs Giuseppe Ruggeri (lbs)
Welterweight: Lucas Rodrigues (168.5lbs) vs Anthony Orozco (170.9lbs)
Featherweight: Marko Sarasjärvi (145.7lbs) vs Jack Claffey (141.9lbs)
Welterweight: Hélio Hernandez (170.1lbs) vs Serigo Gavinelli (170.7lbs)
Lightweight: Nicolò Solinas (155.4lbs) vs Matthew Camilleri (154.3lbs)
Featherweight: Christian Tosco (145.9lbs) vs Leon Armes (145.7lbs)
