There have been two late changes made to this Thursday’s (July 25) Cage Warriors 175 card, with both Adam Cullen and Teddy Stringer facing new opponents.
The card, which is set to kick off an exciting week in Manchester, as the UFC return to the UK with UFC 304 on Saturday night at the Co-op Live Arena.
Adam Cullen was set to face Ermil Xhaferi at Cage Warriors 175 but it announced by the promotion today that the Next Generation athlete will face Yan Blasco in a 161lbs catchweight contest.
Cullen pulls on the yellow gloves for the second time this year as he looks to return to the form in which he started his Cage Warriors journey.
After joining the professional ranks in 2020, Cullen went on an absolute tear, picking up 6 first round finishes over the space of two years.
This then led to a contest against promotional newcomer, Dumitru Girlean. Neither man took a step back over the first two rounds but this then came to be Cullen’s downfall in the third round when just four seconds into the round, he was clipped with a huge right hand rendered him unconscious.
He bounced back from his first loss just 5 months later with a first round win against Amaury Junior. In his only bout of 2024 thus far, Cullen picked up his second professional loss when he dropped a split decision against Harel Cohen.
After a four fight skid, Blasco has managed to get his career somewhat back on track, going 2-1 in the last nine months.
Surging prospect Teddy Stringer will also now face a new opponent with Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan withdrawing from their contest. The unbeaten Stringer will now take on Maicon Kobayashi.
After establishing himself as one of the best known amateur in the UK, Stringer turned to the professional game midway through 2023. Since then, he has competed three times and racked up three first round wins, with two rear naked chokes and some brutal elbows.
Stringer is one of a number of professional prospects that has opted to nurture their career through the MMA Fight Academy, a Cage Warriors led program that sees young athletes from all around the world being given the opportunity to train in San Diego and live like full time athletes.
Kobayashi entrees the contest 0-4-1 in his last five but prior to a difficult 2023 and start of 2024, the Brazilian had picked up four consecutive first round wins.
