Cage Warriors – Europe’s Leading MMA Organisation – has officially confirmed the brackets for its inaugural PrizeFighter following Wednesday’s live draw, which took place with actor Blake Harrison and Stu Whiffen of The MMA Fan Podcast.
The event will take place as part of CW 174 at London’s indigo at The O2, on Saturday, July 20th.
PrizeFighter is a one-night, single elimination tournament, with a $50,000 cash prize for the winner.
In order to bag the big bucks, entrants must win two fights in one night.
In addition to the $50,000 prize, the winner will be named #1 contender in their division.
With six fighters in the draw, the first four names drawn would make up the semi-final bracket, with the final two participants meeting in a reserve bout.
First out of the hat was 23-year-old Shirzad Qadrian, the youngest participant in the competition.
In a shocking twist, he was drawn against previous opponent Weslley Maia, in a rematch of their July 2023 meeting that saw the London-based Brazilian emerge victorious after three hard rounds.
In the opposing bracket, Scotland’s Aidan Stephen was first to be drawn, before the line-up was completed by Sweden’s Alexander Loof.
Stephen too will be out for a measure of revenge, with his last defeat coming at the hands of Loof’s teammate Tobias Harila.
Remaining fighters Michele Martignoni and Alessandro Giordano will compete in a reserve bout.
Should one of the winning semi-finalists be unable to continue in the tournament on medical grounds, the winner of the alternate bout will advance in their place.
“Come fight night, tensions are going to be really high…” said CW Matchmaker Ian Dean.
“…this is huge stakes for their careers. They’re looking to make that push to the next level, two wins can do that.”
“Number 1 contender, title status, $50,000…what they can do with this to progress their careers is huge!”
The card also features a flyweight title bout, as Shaj Haque makes the second defence of his title against French knockout artist Nicolas Leblond, plus the returns of fan favourites James Webb, Nik Bagley, Ryan Shelley, Jawany Scott and Ger Harris.
Tickets for Cage Warriors 174 X PrizeFighter are available here. The event will air live on UFC Fight Pass and international broadcast partners.
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