With Jai Herbert set to make UFC debut, what’s next for Cage Warriors lightweight title?
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Cage Warriors lightweight champion Jai Herbert has moved onto the UFC and vacated his belt. By doing so, he has left the London-based promotion’s 155lb division in an interesting spot.
It is a weight class stacked with real talent, who you’d expect to eventually follow Herbert to the big show. However, before all of that, we need to decide who is next Cage Warriors champion at lightweight. With some big fights already lined up, we could see the belt attached to one of those in the near future. But which one will it be?
Paddy Pimblett (14-3) vs. Donovan Desmae (14-6)
Former featherweight champion Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett could get the chance to claim a second belt with the promotion. The 24-year-old scouser is undeniably the biggest star on the Cage Warriors roster, which may give him the edge over other contenders. He’ll return to the cage for the first time since losing in a 155lb title shot against Soren Bak in September 2018. As far as returns go, they don’t get much tougher than Donovan Desmae who is a title contender in his own right. Back-to-back wins over Alexander Jacobson and Tim Barnett have the Belgian on the cusp of big things. If Cage Warriors chose to put the title on the line when these two meets at CW113, almost no-one would complain. However, there is other options that must be considered.
Mason Jones (8-0) vs. Danilo Belluardo (12-5)
One man who’d certainly be unhappy to be overlooked for the title shot is Mason Jones. The undefeated Welsh fighter has been perfect throughout his career. He continues to get better fight by fight. Over his last two, he has picked up big wins over Desmae and Aleksi Mantykivi. The 24-year-old has been active, headlining and beating top guys. He’ll believe his case for the 155lb shot is much better than both Pimblett and previous opponent Desmae. Now he’ll again take another step up to face UFC veteran Danilo Bellurado. The Italian lost consecutive fights in the UFC before being cut. However, he may have landed on his feet in Cage Warriors, as the lightweight title could well be on the line for him at CW113. Alternatively, the winners in the both these fights could meet each other in mid-2020.
Lightweight Tournament
Everyone loves a tournament and lucky for fight fans Cage Warriors does too. Don’t be surprised to see the promotion put together a bunch of top fighters and let the best man emerge victorious from a Grand Prix. They certainly have the talent to put this together in 2020. Oban Elliott, Jack Grant, Alexander Jacobsen, Dean Trueman and Joe McColgan are just some of the fighters who’ll be hopeful of being involved. Only time will tell if they’ll get the chance.
It’ll be interesting to see how Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan resolves the uncertain title picture at 155lbs. Whatever happens, lightweight is certainly the division to watch this year.
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