Lightweight champion George Hardwick returns at Cage Warriors 169

Cage Warriors’ return to London on March 30 just got even more stacked with the addition of a lightweight title bout, and the return of 155-pound champion George Hardwick.

Hardwick will put his lightweight title on the line against former LFA title challenger Lucas Clay at the Indigo at The O2 in a bout that could push the winner one step closer to a shot on the big stage with the UFC.

Hardwick is looking to bounce back after suffering his first defeat since 2019. That loss came on Dana White’s Contender Series, against Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady in a bout that could potentially have sent him to the UFC. But a unanimous decision loss sent Hardwick back to the drawing board, and he’ll look to re-establish his dominance with victory over Clay in London.

Prior to his loss at the UFC Apex, Hardwick was on an eight-fight win streak, including six wins in a row under the Cage Warriors banner. His last bout inside the Cage Warriors cage saw him retain his title with a first-round finish of Luxembourg’s Yann Liasse at Cage Warriors 152.

Standing in his way on March 30 is “Cassius” Clay, who has a record of 10-3, including six wins from his last eight bouts. Despite the boxing reference in his nickname, Clay prefers to get the job done using his grappling skills, and has four wins by way of submission, compared to just one by KO/TKO.

“On March 30, we’ve got the Cage Warriors lightweight champion back in action,” said Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan.

“George Hardwick will defend his belt against Lucas Clay. Lucas is 10-3, has eight wins via submission (across amateur and pro), and he’s never been finished.

“George has also never been finished and is coming in on a six fight Cage Warriors win-streak. This one is locked and loaded!”

The lightweight title bout joins a stacked card of fights that will also see former featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic, former middleweight champion James Webb and hot prospects Lone’er Kavanagh, Shawn Da Silva, Will Currie and Tariq Pell all in action.

Cage Warriors 169: Confirmed bouts

• George Hardwick vs. Lucas Clay – for lightweight title
• Jordan Vucenic vs. Simone D’Anna
• Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Shawn Da Silva
• Will Currie vs. Leon Aliu
• Mateusz Figlak vs. Olli Santalahti
• James Webb vs. Yannick Bahati
• Tom Creasey vs. Amir Malekpour
• Thomas Paull vs. Dimitry Solimeis
• Mitchell Goode vs. Angus Hewett
• Tariq Pell vs. Shaun Fraser
• Joe Middleton vs. Sean McCormac
• Jimmy Quinn vs. Yohan Salvador
• Tommy Brunning vs. Kevin Cesari