Darren Stewart (left) v Bartosz Fabinski (right) | Cage Warriors
The European promotion held three separate weigh-ins to minimize the amount of people in contact at any one time and will test everyone for COVID-19 symptoms.
Cage Warriors are insistent that the show must go on during the current global pandemic. Their CWFC 113 event has been through a massive number of changes, largely due to travel restrictions and concerns for the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, in a press release on Thursday afternoon, the promotion hoped to sooth any fears about pushing ahead with their event, with an announcement of the measures they’ve put in place to try and ensure the safety of fighters, staff and other officials who will be in attendance at the closed-doors fight card.
The additional safety precautions in place due to the COVID-19 outbreak are as followed:
- Three separate weigh-ins were held throughout the day before the fights, minimizing the amount of people in contact at any one time.
- Only 1 team member was permitted with the fighter into their allocated weigh-in time slot to reduce numbers further.
- All athletes were checked for symptoms of COVID-19 by an on-site medic at the weigh-ins.
- All staff and crew members will be checked for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the BEC Arena on fight day.
- Fighters will also be tested for symptoms a second time before competing.
It should be noted, of course, that testing for symptoms of the coronavirus and testing for the actual presence of the virus itself are two different things. Asymptomatic carriers could easily pass any checks for symptoms, while still transmitting the virus to others.
All athletes did successfully make weight for the show, which will be headlined by a UFC middleweight bout between Darren Stewart and Bartosz Fabinski. Elsewhere on the card, Mason Jones and Joe McColgan will battle it out for the vacant lightweight title and European star, Paddy Pimblett, returns to action for the first time in eighteen months.
Cage Warriors 113 takes place on Friday night from Manchester, England and viewers from UK/Ireland can tune in on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. GMT for the main card. Fans in the US can watch from 5 p.m. ET.
Complete Cage Warriors 113 card:
Main Card
UFC Middleweight Bout – Darren Stewart vs Bartosz Fabinski
Vacant Lightweight Title – Mason Jones vs Joe McColgan
Welterweight – Nathan Jones vs David Bear
Lightweight – Paddy Pimblett vs Decky Dalton
Pro Prelims
Featherweight – Perry Goodwin vs Steve Aimable
Flyweight – Darren O’Gorman vs Coner Hignett
Flyweight – Adam Amarasinghe vs Jake Bond
Middleweight – Matthew Bonner vs. Jamie Richardson
Featherweight – Kris Edwards vs James Hendin
Lightweight – Aidan Stephen vs. Jack Collins
Catchweight (148lbs) – Lewis Monarch vs Kingsley Crawford