Cage Warriors is back for another event in London, taking place the night before the UFC. Typically with events like this the UFC matchmakers will be in attendance, so these are good cards to see who could be in the UFC next or be on DWCS this year. The card is broadcast on UFC Fight Pass on Friday at 12:00 PM ET.

OLLIE SARWA (8-0) vs. WESLLEY MAIA (11-6) – Bantamweight Championship

Ollie Sarwa is clearly the A-side here and he has strong UFC potential. Not sure if he could be a star like Paddy is and fighters like Luke Riley and Kurtis Campbell have the potential to be, but he is an entertainer for sure. His fights are always fun to watch as he has big power for the weight class and decent volume out put. He had the Cage Warriors 2025 Fight of the Year against Damiano Scogna which went all three rounds with both guys knocking each other down multiple times. Despite having big power on the feet, Sarwa can be lazy which is how Scogna caught him so often. He is a big guy for bantamweight but he isn't very fast and can get caught off guard while trying to “reset”. He has good boxing technique but as I said earlier he does lack good striking defense. Weslley Maia will be a legit test for Sarwa as he is a tricky veteran who is known for pulling off big upsets now. He wasn't expected to beat Alexander Loof (who is a worse version of Sarwa), is the only fighter to defeat Shirzad Qadrian, and also beat Lewis McGrillen. Maia also is a big banatmweight and fights with a Muay Thai style, regularly kicking the legs and the body. He is very patient on the feet, not really throwing in combination and not chasing a finish if he hurts his opponents. Likely due to his experience as nearly all of his losses come to elite fighters. On top of his solid striking Maia also has a solid ground game. He has good BJJ but he isn't elite at finding submissions. This will certainly play a part in this fight though as we haven't seen Sarwa deal with a good wrestler. He have seen Sarwa beat good strikers before but now he is fighting someone much more well rounded. Maia has been knocked out before so his chin isn't granite and that is Sarwa's path to win in my opinion. Sarwa can get reckless and sloppy but this is when he is most dangerous. When pressured he throws hard hooks and uppercuts and if one lands Maia will go down. But Maia is a lot better than his record suggests and has beaten better strikers than Sarwa before in my opinion. If Maia can work the legs and body from range I can see Sarwa slowing down as he is a boxer and his cardio isn't perfect either. I thought I was going to be picking Maia for an upset but odds actually have him as a -250 favourite. Sarwa isn't a bad underdog this weekend then.

Pick: Weslley Maia by KO/TKO. Low confidence.

JORDAN VUCENIC (14-4) vs. DANIEL KONRAD (8-2) – Lightweight

I will be honest I didn't expect to see Vucenic released from the UFC so quickly. He went 0-2 in the promotion but one of those losses was short notice against Guram Kutateladze and that fight was pretty competitive. Vucenic's problem is that he doesn't really excel anywhere. Yes, he is mostly a  grappler but even then his grappling isn't “world-class” and we saw him have a very competitive fight with Torpal Merjoev last time out. Merjoev is pretty good but we just saw him lose to Shay Ingram (who is very good). Daniel Konrad just pulled off a big upset, submitting George Hardwick in the first round. Hardwick was one of Cage Warriors biggest hype jobs and even I was fully bought in, but it seems like the Hardwick brothers may just not be destined for the UFC. Vucenic is another one of Cage Warriors hyped jobs as after his loss to Paul Hughes, Cage Warriors just let him can crush 4 fights in a row to get into the UFC. Now that he's back they are giving him the star treatment but the opposite way round. They gave him undefeated Merjoev, and if Merjoev won they would have built him up. Now they are giving him Konrad, and if Konrad wins he would have beaten two of Cage Warrior's golden child's in a row. Konrad is a big guy for the weight class and is a very dangerous grappler. In this fight I think he is going to be round 1 sub or bust. I am still convinced that he has good cardio and his big weight cuts combined with his aggressive style are the cause of this. He will be trying to give Vucenic hell in round 1 but if Vucenic survives I think we see him take over late. Vucenic is certainly the better striker of the two, and although his own grappling defense is concerning it should be good enough to out last Konrad's early offense. Picking a round 3 submission or a decision.

Pick: Jordan Vucenic by submission. Low confidence.

MANUEL DEL VALLE (6-1) vs. ITALO GOMES (13-6) – Welterweight (175 lbs)

Del Valle will certainly be on DWCS with a win here. The UFC will want to continue signing fighters from Spain with Ilia Topuria's superstardom combined with the fact they don't have many fighters from the country on the roster. Italo Gomes is a respectable win too, he has a win over Melquizael Costa in 2022. Ever since then it has been a bit downhill for Gomes as he has just become a stepping stone for more exciting, better prospects. If his career was managed differently it could have been him in the UFC to be honest. Gomes is a decent enough wrestler but he is more of a lightweight than a welterweight and his striking isn't great. We haven't seen him knocked out yet though and he has fought some very well known up and coming prospects. Del Valle isn't anything special but Gomes momentum is just terrible. He has dropped two in a row by submission which is not a good look as a grappler. Del Valle is a hard hitting striker who doesn't have great technique but makes up for it with power. If his take down defense is good he may become the first guy to knock out Gomes. Maybe I overrate Gomes but he is going to test Del Valle as the best opponent he has fought, plus being a wrestler. I am sure many see this as a lay up but the oddsmakers seem to agree with here as Del Valle is -200. If Del Valle wins they will have to find him a favourable match up on DWCS in my opinion as he is likely a future fade.

Pick: Manuel Del Valle by KO/TKO. Low-medium confidence.

TARIQ PELL (7-1) vs. STEFANO CATACOLI (9-4) – Lightweight

If Pell's take down defense holds up he will win this for sure. He is a powerful kickboxer who can strike at all levels. Catacoli is an aggressive grappler but he gets stuck if he can't get the take down.

Pick: Tariq Pell by KO/TKO. Medium confidence.

STEVEN HILL (7-3) vs. LEON NAUMANN (5-3) – Middleweight

Really bad fall from grace for Steven Hill. Hill is a boring wrestler but he was undefeated at one point with a couple wins in Bellator. He has now lost three in a row, all by finish. His striking isn't good enough to hold up against high level fighters, and to make things worse his wrestling isn't good enough to take down said high level fighters. With that being said this is a massive step down in competition though. Naumann is dangerous but he has never beaten anyone with a winning record and did not impress me in his Cage Warriors fights so far. If Hill can put a run together I do believe we could see him back in a big promotion like PFL but it's hard to know where his motivations lie. Hill literally quit on the stool by refusing to start round 2 against Shipman and he has gone downhill ever since. To be fair he was likely down 10-7 as he had a point deducted and got his ass handed to him but there's probably better ways to get your coaches to stop the fight. Anyways, I think Hill might have some potential but if he loses this he is 100% done.

Pick: Steven Hill by decision. Low confidence.

MARIN VETRILA (6-1) vs. YUSUF ALI-TALEB (6-0) – Lightweight (163 lbs)

Expected to pick Vetrila as a dog but once again we have a -250 favourite. Vetrila isn't technical by any means but he is super fast on the feet. His KO blows come out of nowhere and he is crazy athletic, throwing high kicks and spinning attacks. On top of that I am also convinced his take down defense is good enough to at least get him past the mid-low Cage Warriors ‘level' of opponent. Yusuf is undefeated but I don't see much hype behind him. He has a background in kickboxing but honestly I don't think his striking is that great. He is very flat footed and his offensive technique is also not as good as you would expect from someone with a striking background who transitioned over to MMA. I think Vetrila is going to pressure him and knock him out in the first round and book a ticket to DWCS.

Pick: Marin Vetrila by KO/TKO. Medium confidence.