Hugely popular Liverpudlian star will put his Cage Warriors featherweight world title on the line in the main event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on April 1.
The fighting pride of Liverpool Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will make his eagerly-awaited return to action in the main event at Cage Warriors 82.
Defending CW featherweight world champion Pimblett will take on fellow Brit Nad Narimani as he bids to further cement his position as one of the UK’s fastest-rising MMA stars.
Pimblett captured Cage Warriors gold when he knocked out French veteran Johnny Frachey for the vacant title at CW 78 in Liverpool last September.
He followed up his title win with a successful defence of his belt, edging out The Ultimate Fighter semi-finalist Julian Erosa at Cage Warriors Unplugged at the BT Sport studios last November.
Aged just 22, Pimblett returns to his stomping ground at the Echo Arena looking to continue his remarkable rise as one of the MMA world’s hottest young prospects.
He’ll face a stern test against Narimani, who enters the bout with a 9-2 pro record and took the previous Cage Warriors featherweight champ Alex Enlund all the way to the scorecards in a closely-contested battle at Cage Warriors 73, with just one point separating the two after five hard-fought rounds.
Narimani comes into the bout with Pimblett riding a two-fight win streak, with victories over Jeremy Petley (first-round KO) and Daniel Requeijo (third-round submission) setting up his April 1 clash with ‘The Baddy’.
Speaking ahead of his hometown return, Pimblett said: “I won the title in Liverpool, so there’s absolutely no way I’m going to lose it here.”
“This is my city, my arena and my title. Expect another huge party – and another huge win – when I come back home to defend my belt.”
Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan said: “Paddy’s the hottest prospect in the sport on this side of the pond and the prospect of seeing him defending his featherweight world title in front of his hometown fans is a mouth-watering prospect for MMA fans.
“Nad will take him to the limit, just as he did with our previous featherweight champ Alex Enlund, so expect a tough test and a great matchup.”
Tickets for Cage Warriors 82 are available from the Echo Arena, from just £25: bit.ly/CW82tkts