Liverpudlian MMA star Paddy Pimblett will return to the cage for the first time since he lost his Cage Warriors featherweight title earlier this year when he takes on Vlado Sikic at Cage Warriors 88 in October.
Cage Warriors 88 is set to take place on Saturday, October 28 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England and will also feature a host of local favourites including CW Lightweight champion Chris Fishgold, who defends his belt against Alexander Jacobsen, and flyweight prospect Molly McCann.
With the fight officially announced via the Cage Warriors Twitter page earlier today, Pimblett (13-2) will look to get back to winning ways in front of a passionate hometown crowd after losing his featherweight strap to Nad Narimani via unanimous decision at Cage Warriors 82 earlier this year.
The charismatic 22-year-old has become a hit with the fans since making his promotional debut back in 2013, and dispatched of much more established names in the promotion such as Martin Sheriden and Teddy Violet. Pimblett then claimed the vacant 145lb gold, with a first round KO win over Johnny Frachey, at Cage Warriors 78 last September.
Meanwhile, German-born Croatian Sikic (11-0-1), who normally fights at lightweight, will make his promotional debut at CW 88 when he faces “The Baddie” at a 150lb catchweight limit. Having remained undefeated in his professional career to date, Sikic returns to the sport for the first time since his unsuccessful stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 22 in 2015, where he lost in the first round elimination bouts due to suffering an injury mid-fight against Abner Lloveras.