Cage Warriors has two events on this weekend, but of the two this is the better card. This is actually a 16 fight long card but I have chosen to only break down the main card as I covered OKTAGON 73 as well this week. If I wasn't on holiday this week I would have likely covered more fights but time was restricted as I only got home last night so I spent today looking into this card and OKTAGON. This event will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass on Saturday at 12:00 PM ET.

LIAM GITTINS (13-4) vs. ALESSANDRO GIORDANO (9-3) – Bantamweight Championship

This is a rematch from a fight which ended by eye poke from Gittins in round 3. The first round of that fight was very competitive with Giordano being able to use his boxing effectively, alongside landing some pretty big right hands early. After that though, Giordano gassed out in round 2 and Gittins started to really take over. Gittins was putting a beating on him until Giordano got eye poked on a clinch exit. This time around I think we see a similar result with Gittins winning by KO in round 2 or 3. Gittins is a good grappler but he didn't really mix it up against Giordano in their first fight and I think mixing in take down attempts could open up even more opportunity for him to land big. Gittins doesn't have one punch KO power but he does have a pretty high volume muay thai style that should wear down Giordano again.

Pick: Liam Gittins by KO/TKO. High confidence.

JAMES POWER (8-1) vs. OMAR TUGAREV (7-0) – Lightweight Championship

I am going with the underdog in Tugarev here. There could definitely be an argument made for Power to win but his biggest weakness is his take down defense and that is Tugarev's entire game. Power is a big lightweight who reminds me a lot of Chris Duncan and Charlie Campbell with his build. Not the tallest, but still a big lightweight. He is a solid striker who mostly boxes and I don't consider kicking to be a strong past of his game. His cardio isn't fantastic but since he mostly wins by early knock out this typically doesn't hurt his game too much. As I stated earlier I worry about the wrestling defense. His get up game is solid but the initial take down defense is very bad. He was getting toppled over by bad take down attempts in his last fight against Girlean. If Girlean didn't completely gas out in round 2 I think that fight would have got a lot more interesting. I think Tugarev is a bigger, better wrestler than Girlean and once Tugarev gets a take down his top control is typically quite good. We can definitely point fingers at Tugarev's level of competition as Power has definitely fought the better guys under Cage Warriors, but Tugarev has proven himself against Humphrey Mulenga who is at least a good wrestler himself. Tugarev is also 6'0″ tall which makes him a tricky grappler to deal with. On the feet Tugarev doesn't offer much which is concerning, but if he can get an early take down he will definitely wear on Power's gas tank which will give him a good advantage if the fight gets out of round 2.

Pick: Omar Tugarev by decision or submission. Very low confidence.

MICHAEL PAGANI (7-2) vs. TIM WILDE (17-6) – Lightweight (165 lbs)

Tough fight to call as Pagani is a genuine talent on a losing streak at the moment. He went to war with Mason Jones which was an epic fight, but he got screwed in his last fight when his opponent missed weight by 8 pounds and used that size advantage to wrestle him. I actually think Pagani has a strong case to win that decision too but it is what it is. Pagani is a very fun striker who can get quite reckless. This results in fun fights but also puts him in dangerous spots, especially noticeable against Jones. He is a good striker who has a lot of options including spinning attacks, with decent enough wrestling. Wilde is a former Bellator guy who had a pretty successful career with them. He is now getting pretty old but is still a dangerous veteran and should still provide a good test for Pagani to see where he is at. Wilde is a tall, lengthy striker who uses a lot of straight punches. He has very good take down defense as well which has held up against good wrestlers in the past like Saul Rogers, but wasn't able to stop D1 Diakiese in his most recent fight. I am siding with Pagani as I think he will throw more volume here and can mix up more offensive on the feet by creating different angles and strikes Wilde needs to worry about. I hope Wilde is on a multi-fight contract though as I would like to see him fight for Cage Warriors a few more times, a fight against Chris Bungard would be quite fun.

Pick: Michael Pagani by decision. Low confidence.

ADAM CULLEN (9-2) vs. LUKAS CRUZ (10-3) – Lightweight

I feel indifferent about Cullen because he doesn't fight anyone good. There is no way to say this nicely so to be blunt he has proven to be a guy who can dominate low level competition, but every time he has faced a step up in competition he has fallen short. He was a very arrogant personality in the world of Cage Warriors but since Girlean brutally slept him he has been a lot more humble. That being said eh still has a legitimate skill set and as long as Cage Warriors keeps finding bodies for him, he will eventually can crush his way into the UFC Morgan Charriere style. Cruz' biggest weakness is his take down defense and in my opinion Cullen's best work is done in the grappling. Cullen is a very competent striker and he does often choose to strike. Even though Cruz isn't very good at all this is still a step up in competition from who Cullen has been fighting recently so if he takes this fight seriously he will look to grapple, and if he does he should win very easily.

Pick: Adam Cullen by submission. High confidence.

TEDDY STRINGER (5-0) vs. TORPAL MERJOEV (5-0) – Lightweight

This is a clear as day set up for Stringer and the Cage Warriors match makers have done very well finding such a perfect match up for him against someone with a good undefeated record. Torpal Merjoev is a tiny lightweight who I think could potentially make 135 lbs. He is a fun striker to watch as he throws spinning attacks and stupid stuff like that but it's against absolute cans. He even won a controversial decision recently against Marco Birch who had a 1-2 record at the time. Birch completely exposed the grappling holes he has by taking his back, and even having a guillotine attempt locked in at one point. Stringer is a rear naked choke guy, with four of his five pro wins coming by RNC. Sometimes he gets the take down before getting the choke, and sometimes he knocks his opponents down. Not sure how his striking is so effective as it honestly isn't very good, he just throws down a lot and his striking defense is poor. I don't think he is ready for a step up in competition but for now he is very fun to watch and should be able to get another signature win over Merjoev here by rear naked choke.

Pick: Teddy Stringer by submission. High confidence.

OMIEL BROWN (10-3) vs. EDGAR ESCARREGA (12-3) – Lightweight (165 lbs)

Edgar Escarrega is an anomaly. I cannot believe that someone with striking so hopeless could get a 12-3 professional MMA record. I could not believe my eyes, and it would have been the most shocking thing I saw today but I also happened to watch a Paulo Surian fight for the first time today so it will have to be a close second. He genuinely stands in the pocket and throws nothing, I don't even know how to describe it. I actually think I could beat him in a striking fight it's that bad. Anyways, Omiel Brown is a wrestler but I think he gets a KO here. Once again, Cage Warriors has some great match makers as I think they are setting up Brown to get a big win here which could get him in the eyes of the UFC. I actually think Cage Warriors would be responsible for the death of Escarrega if they put him in there with James Power.

Pick: Omiel Brown by KO/TKO. High confidence.