Jack Cartwright vacates, Dominique Wooding and Nathan Fletcher meet for bantamweight title at Cage Warriors 127
Cage Warriors has lost a champion, which has set up a new title fight to headline a show later this month.
Bantamweight champ Jack Cartwright has left the promotion after fighting out his contract, Cage Warriors announced Tuesday. With the 135-pound title now vacant, Dominique Wooding (7-4) and Nathan Fletcher (6-0) will fight to crown a new titleholder in the Cage Warriors 127 main event.
Cage Warriors 127 takes place Sept. 30 at York Hall in London. It is the first of three straight events in the promotion’s latest “trilogy” format. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.
“We wish Jack Cartwright all the best, but now it’s time to crown a new champion,” Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan stated. “Wooding impressed in his Cage Warriors debut with that knockout win over Cameron Hardy. Fletcher wants a belt to go with his unbeaten record and has shown just how deadly he is when the fight hits the mat. “Stylistically, it’s a classic striker vs. grappler matchup and fans are going to love it.”
Wooding has all seven of his pro wins by knockout. Wooding had three straight fights for Bellator, but was coming off back-to-back decision losses to Frans Mlambo and Fabacary Diatta when he signed with Cage Warriors earlier this year. His promotional debut was a 69-second knockout of Hardy, and that was impressive enough to get him this title shot.
Fletcher has a perfect 6-0 record, all by stoppage, with five submissions and a knockout. All of his pro fights have been under the Cage Warriors banner, including rear-naked choke finishes earlier this year of Brian Bouland and Michele Martignoni.
A title win would make Fletcher the latest Next Generation MMA fighter from Liverpool, England, to become a Cage Warriors champ. His teammates Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Chris Fishgold and Matt Bonner all have held Cage Warriors belts. Pimblett, McCann and Fishgold all are in the UFC. Bonner is Cage Warriors’ current middleweight champ.
“My career so far with Cage Warriors has been amazing,” Fletcher stated. “I turned pro with the organization just over two years ago, and since then I’ve run through every opponent I’ve taken on. This one is going to be no different. You can expect another dominant performance, and I’ll be leaving the cage with another finish and a shiny new belt.”