George Hardwick will be back in action for the first time in over a year when he faces Cristian Iorga at Cage Warriors 176.
The Lightweight bout will see Hardwick attempt to make the first defence of his 155lbs strap since dropping a unanimous decision loss to Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady on last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series.
Although likely an unknown quantity to many Cage Warriors fans, Iorga has the chance to replicate the feat the likes of Stefano Paterno, Giannis Bachar and Samir Faiddine reached in becoming a Cage Warriors champion in his promotional debut.
'King' George's reign over the Cage Warriors Lightweight division has been significant. After clinching the belt against Kyle Driscoll with his signature body shot at Cage Warriors 141, the Middlesborough man defended the strap twice with stoppage wins against Chris Bungard and Yann Liasse.
He then received a call up to Dana White' Contender Series but unfortunately for Hardwick, he came up short and was handed his first loss since 2019.
Iorga enters the bout in the best form of his career, unbeaten in four and with three of those four victories coming by way of stoppage.
Discussing the bout, Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan said:
"It's been a long time coming, but George Hardwick is back in the Famous Yellow Gloves of Cage Warriors.
"He'll be looking to retain his title and along with brother Harry, maintain their status as the only two brothers to simultaneously hold world titles in a major MMA organisation.
"Cristian Iorga will have something to say about that on September 7th, though. He's a dangerous finisher with a huge upset on his mind.
"We've got a card stacked with Scottish favourites, a $50,000 PrizeFighter and a massive world title fight...we're pushing the boat out for the fans in Glasgow!"
Elsewhere on the card, an abundance of Scottish talent is set to appear with Chris Bungard and Reece McEwan both looking to bounce back to winning ways as they square off against Arturs Leisans and Miguel Haro, respectively. Keir Harvie returns to the Cage Warriors cage in a Bantamweight bout against Welshman Rory Evans, in what could certainly turn out to be the fight of the night.
