Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion Shaj Haque will face Nicolas Leblond at Cage Warriors 174.
The championship bout will feature on the main card portion of the fight night, which will also see the first of four Cage Warriors PrizeFighter tournaments set for 2024.
The fight will see Haque return to the Cage Warriors cage for the first time in just shy of a year. ‘Superman’ claimed the 125lbs strap back in 2022 when he defeated Sam Creasey at Cage Warriors 148 with a third round TKO stoppage. Since then the 33-year-old has defended the belt once, against former Bantamweight world Champion Michele Martignoni at Cage Warriors 158.
Leblond enters the bout in the best form of his career, riding a four fight win streak. After one bout back in his native France, in which he beat Sylvain Sommereisen, he then returned to the Cage Warriors fold. At Cage Warriors 153, he headed into his opponent’s back yard when he faced Ryan Curtis but managed to silence the crowd when he stopped ‘Chaos’ in the first round with a Bulldog choke. Since then, Leblond has went on to pick up two more notable stoppage wins against Michelangelo Lupoli and Scott Malone at Cage Warriors 162 and Cage Warriors 171, respectively.
Previewing the contest, Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan said:
"July 20th marks the start of the biggest week of MMA in the UK, with two Cage Warriors events and UFC 304…
“We’re kicking things off with a bang in London, with a $50k PrizeFighter tournament and one of the most intriguing title fights of the year.
“Shaj Haque is a master of his craft; patient and technical with a wealth of big-fight experience on his side.
“Leblond has been on a tear through the division; a devastating finisher with ruthless killer instinct…this fight answers the question of who’s the best flyweight in Europe!”
