More action from UK-based Cage Warriors takes place on Saturday afternoon (US time.) After Graham Boylan‘s promotion holds an “Unplugged” event on Friday, Manchester’s BEC Arena gets back to full capacity for the second half of this doubleheader weekend. UFC Fight Pass is the streaming designation for the second straight day of competitive violence across the pond.
Cage Warriors 168 serves as the first act of a full afternoon and evening of MMA. Live coverage of Cage Warriors 168 begins at 2:30 pm ET/ 11:30 am PT on Saturday with the undercard, followed at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT with main card action. All told, absent of any postponed contests between now and then, the final version of Cage Warriors 168 features 14 fights. Between Cage Warriors and UFC Vegas 88, you’ll have at least eight hours of fights to watch that day.
A championship doubleheader highlights the day’s activities. Atypical of most MMA cards where two championship fights are held, this doubleheader starts with the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim.
Bantamweight Championship Up For Grabs to Cap Undercard
The Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship will be awarded at the end of Saturday’s undercard. Incumbent titleholder Liam Gittins (12-4 MMA, 9-4 CWFC) makes his first defense of the strap when he battles challenger Roberto Hernandez (9-1 MMA, 7-0 CWFC) in the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim.
End of Thread.
Before #UFCVegas88 this Saturday, it's a 🇬🇧🆚🇺🇸 @UFCFightPass World Title Fight!
Liam Gittins 🆚 Roberto Hernandez
📅 #CW168 | Saturday, March 16th
⏰ 6:30PM GMT | 11:30AM PT pic.twitter.com/FypHGUXOcT— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 12, 2024
As is the case with most MMA championship fights, this featured undercard attraction is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the prelims. In the main event proper, the Vacant Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight Championship will be won. Andy Clamp (12-2, 1 NC MMA, 1-1 CWFC) and Matty Byfield (6-1, 1 NC MMA, 3-0, 1 NC CWFC) bid to become the fourth different man to win the 205-lb. strap in a rescheduling of a canceled fight from last November.
More on that fight later on this week.
Cage Warriors 168 Featured Prelim Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim on Saturday, challenger Roberto Hernandez stands as the taller man at 5-foot-8, with champion Liam Gittins standing 5-foot-6. No reach advantage information exists for this pairing at press time.
According to the oddsmakers, this one is a pick-’em as of Wednesday afternoon. Roberto Hernandez is installed as a -120 favorite on the money line, while Liam Gittins counters with -110 odds. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Liam Gittins Seeks Successful First Defense of Title
Champion Liam Gittins enters the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim on Saturday having posted a perfect 5-0 record over his last five fights. Most recently, he scored a unanimous decision victory over Reece McEwan (7-2 MMA, 4-1 CWFC) on Nov. 25 during the Cage Warriors 164 main event.
After the fight last fall, he mentioned that he felt no pressure in his first bid for the belt.
“I was pretty confident that I was going to beat Reece,” Gittins said. “Fighting for the title was something new to me. I fought for the flyweight title at amateur on the Cage Warriors Academy and that was a pretty stressful time because it was the first time doing it in my amateur career. Fighting Reece wasn’t as stressful. I was confident of a win over Reece if I had a good night.”
Gittins will need another good night on Saturday if he is to retain the championship, but will he run his winning streak to six in a row? Tune in and find out.
Roberto Hernandez Hoping for UFC Call-Up Down the Road
In the other corner, Roberto Hernandez has gone 5-0 in his last five fights. Since joining Cage Warriors, he’s gone 7-0 as part of a larger nine-fight winning streak.
Right before Christmas, he scored a unanimous decision over Trevin Jones (14-11, 1 NC MMA, 1-1 CWFC) in Cage Warriors 165. Recently, Hernandez was interviewed by Attack MMA about various topics, including his UFC aspirations.
“The goal is to see wherever my coach wants me to defend the belt here in the United States, once I win that belt, but we don’t know,” Hernandez said. “At the end of the day, if a good opportunity pops up for the UFC, obviously, I don’t want to be in the Contender Series, either, but if I have to go that route, I’ll do that route. I don’t want to have to take, sign fights with the UFC whenever they need me. I want them to want me.”
In addition to a possible UFC deal, Hernandez is shooting for rarefied air on Saturday. With a victory, he’d become the first American fighter to win a championship in Cage Warriors since Jim Alers won the featherweight belt in 2013. Can he bring a championship back to the states?
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim looks to favor Roberto Hernandez, a black belt in jiu-jitsu and boxer, compared to Liam Gittins’ purple belt in jiu-jitsu. Who takes home the belt?
Gittins Vicious on the Ground
Liam Gittins is adept when the fight goes to the mat. His fight in 2020 against Josh Reed was proof of this. In the second round of a scheduled three, the two fighters traded shots, but it was Gittins who seized the momentum when he scored a single-leg takedown.
From there, Gittins went to work on a triangle choke, forcing Reed to tap out and go to sleep in just over a minute. If Liam Gittins secures the first takedown of the fight, it may be the only takedown you see in the Cage Warriors 168 featured prelim.
Roberto Hernandez Equally Adept on the Ground
In the other corner, Roberto Hernandez has a great ground game of his own. One need look no further than his fight two years ago vs. Ethyn Ewing.
During the opening round, Ewing nearly finished Hernandez with a kneebar before he rolled out of harm’s way. Upon landing a takedown, Hernandez took top mount before Ewing had to fight off a submission attempt. Ewing’s momentum was ill-fated thanks to Hernandez executing an outside heel hook for the victory.
If Roberto Hernandez finds himself on the ground, he can adapt and get the win on Saturday.
Final Thoughts
This is an excellent fight to lead into the main card. Don’t miss it.
Prediction: Roberto Hernandez by Second-Round Submission.
