A Saturday without the UFC in action is still a great Saturday when you have a subscription to UFC Fight Pass. Even with no edition of UFC Fight Night to look forward to this coming weekend, your subscription to Fight Pass will come in handy as you get ready for a Memorial Day cookout (inside the United States.)
This Saturday, UK-based MMA promotion Cage Warriors returns to the subscription-based streaming service for its only card this month, Cage Warriors 172. The event originates from Newcastle, England inside Vertu Motors Arena.
As always, live coverage begins with the prelims at 12:30 pm ET/ 9:30 am PT on the streamer, continuing at 3:30 pm ET/ 12:30 pm PT with the main card. All told, absent of any late postponements between now and the weekend, the final version of Cage Warriors 172 will feature a packed 15-fight slate.
Vacant Featherweight Title Up For Grabs in Cage Warriors 172 Main Event Saturday
One such postponement that’s already taken place has affected the Cage Warriors 172 main event. When the card was initially scheduled for May 25, Harry Hardwick (10-3-1 MMA, 4-0-1 CWFC) was to have squared off against Zafar Mohsen (13-4 MMA) in what would have been the latter’s Cage Warriors promotional debut.
Last week, however, this change. Mohsen is unable to make the date due to being unable to secure a visa to travel to England, as the promotion announced, with Orlando Prins (5-2 MMA, 2-2 CWFC) taking the main event on a week’s notice. As with all Cage Warriors championship fights, the Cage Warriors 172 main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
Houdini Fight Week!!!
Featherweight standout Harry Hardwick looks to add more Cage Warriors gold to the Hardwick collection this Saturday when he takes on Orlando Wilson Prins for the vacant Cage Warriors Featherweight title in Newcastle. pic.twitter.com/lDkDmGWtdx
— Violent Money TV (@ViolentMoneyTV) May 21, 2024
Cage Warriors 172 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the Cage Warriors 172 main event on Saturday afternoon, Harry Hardwick is the taller contender at 5-foot-10, compared to the 5-foot-9 frame of Orlando Prins. No reach advantage information was accessible at press time.
Currently, the oddsmakers have Harry Hardwick installed as a -400 betting favorite on the money line, with Orlando Prins countering as a +275 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Hardwick Ready for Championship Bid on Saturday
Harry Hardwick enters the Cage Warriors 172 main event this weekend having gone 4-0-1 in his last five MMA fights. All told, he’s gone unbeaten in his last six appearances.
Most recently, he scored a second-round submission (rear-naked choke) victory over Vitor Estevam (6-1 MMA, 0-1 CWFC) during Cage Warriors 157 in London on July 21 last year.
Recently, before Zafar Mohsen was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s card, Harry Hardwick was a guest on Violent Money TV, where he discussed a variety of topics, including the 10-month layoff between fights.
“I was kind of training to fight in November, but they just couldn’t get me an opponent in time”, Hardwick began, while sipping a drink. “I had just fight after fight turn me down. It was, like, [a] ridiculous number of fighters ended up turning me down for that one. And then, it was a disastrous training camp, really.”
Luckily, Hardwick didn’t have to fight in November, because had he been booked to appear then, he would have been unable to make the walk amid a staph infection. Even prior to the change in adversary, Hardwick mentioned that the training camp had gone according to plan.
How has Hardwick been able to adjust to a new opponent with a week’s lead time? Only time will tell.
Higher Stakes for Orlando Prins in Cage Warriors 172 Main Event
In the other corner, Orlando Prins comes into this card having gone 3-2 in his last five fights. Currently, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.
Back in November of last year, he stopped Bailey Gilbert (8-6 MMA, 0-2 CWFC) by first-round knockout (punches) during Cage Warriors 164 also in Newcastle at the selfsame Vertu Motors Arena. It was his first career victory by way of knockout in his professional MMA career.
Prins was always going to be featured on Cage Warriors 172 regardless of opponent this Saturday. Prior to the main event slot becoming available, he was originally booked to fight Milad Ahady (7-1 MMA, 4-0 CWFC) in a standard three-round affair on the main card.
Ahady withdrew from the show, leaving Prins without an opponent for Cage Warriors 172 this weekend until Zafar Mohsen’s visa problems cropped up a week ago. Orlando Prins entered his preparation for this card thinking he’d be fighting a three-round contest.
Now, thanks to Zafar Mohsen withdrawing from the originally-scheduled headliner, Prins finds himself competing for a belt.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the Cage Warriors 172 main event is a toss-up. Both of these men are adept at grappling, but Prins has shown that he can fight off takedown efforts from adversaries in the past.
Look For Hardwick to Pounce on a Submission
Harry Hardwick’s footwork could be a key factor in the Cage Warriors 172 main event this weekend. If he’s quick on his feet, he’ll quickly put his opponent in the clinch and take him down for a submission attempt, like he did against Vitor Estevam last July.
Once he dumped Estevan, Hardwick was quick to apply the torque to lock in a rear-naked choke in just 33 seconds. All it takes is a single takedown.
Should Hardwick drop Orlando Prins this weekend, it’s a wrap.
Prins Can Get Defensive
In the other corner, if he has to, Orlando Prins will use his defense to secure control of the fight. His contest vs. Antonio Sheldon is a great example of this. Late in the first round, Sheldon tried to take Prins down, but the latter managed to stay in the clinch.
Even when Sheldon eventually secured a takedown, Prins popped right back up and returned to the clinch, attempting a takedown of his own in the round’s final seconds. This effort was quickly jettisoned in favor of a knee strike in the clinch due to the clock ticking down in the period.
Orlando Prins doesn’t necessarily need to get flashy in this one. He might win the title by pacifying Hardwick’s effort to land a takedown.
Final Thoughts
Even though there won’t be a UFC fight this weekend, the Cage Warriors 172 main event looks as though it’ll be very entertaining stuff. Get a bowl of popcorn and pull up the recliner on Saturday. You don’t want to miss this one.
Prediction: Orlando Prins by Unanimous Decision.
