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Pedersen
Cage Warriors Academy North West poster. Credit Liverpool Echo Arena.

Scott Pedersen is now set to face Sweden’s No.1 amateur lightweight Tobias Harila, after an injury to Beau Gavin forced Cage Warriors Academy North West to reshuffle their 155-pound title fight.

Pedersen and Gavin were destined for a redux of their instant classic from the inaugural Cage Warriors Academy North West show before a hand injury shelved Gavin as well as the anticipated rematch. 

Defending champion Pedersen – who trains alongside UFC bantamweight Brett Johns at the Chris Rees Academy – will now face a stern test in the extremely experienced Harila.

MyNextMatch.com has Harrilla listed at No.2 in the IMMAF amateur lightweight rankings, further proving his worth as one of Europe’s top prospects. 

Harila (13-3) – who trains under Swedish national coach Jörgen Hamberg – has earned huge acclaim under the IMMAF banner, where he is the current Asia (2017) and Africa (2016) lightweight gold medallist. 

The Swedish athlete looks to make it two for two against the Welsh, having already beaten MAT Academy’s Ben Robson in the Asia Open final, earlier this summer. 

Pedersen (10-3) gave comment to MMA Plus about the change to his first title defense, admitting, however, it now seems unlikely he and Gavin will face-off again. 

“The last fight between me and Beau was a barn burner and I’m not too sure if it’s gonna happen again,” Pedersen told MMA Plus. “We’ll just see what the future brings it might do, it might not, I just take it one fight at a time.”

Discussing Harila, the Welsh prospect swatted off any doubts, in spite of the Swede being a more experienced opponent. 

“No I don’t think he’s a huge step up, he’s a high-level opponent which I’m really happy to get the opportunity to fight but If anyone is doubting me September 2nd they’ll be surprised. I know what I can do and I can’t wait to show it,” said Pedersen. 

Cage Warriors Academy North West 2 is set for the Echo Arena Liverpool on September 2. The event is a product of Liverpool based promotion Shinobi FC, who became a Cage Warriors affiliate earlier this year.