With Donovan Desmae out of CW111 due to injury, UFC and ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ veteran Joe Giannetti (8-2) steps in as a late replacement opponent for Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett (14-3) in London.
We have an international showdown signed and sealed for our final event of the year!
American lightweight Joe Giannetti, fighting out of Boston, Massachusetts, signed on the dotted line earlier this week and will soon board a plane to London.
With back-to-back submission wins over John Gunther and Allan Zuñiga on The Ultimate Fighter Season 27, Giannetti believes his ground game will rival that of ‘The Baddy’, and predicts an upset victory on November 22nd.
“This is a fight that international fight fans have wanted for a while,” says Giannetti.
“I’ve got a goal to get back into the UFC, Paddy’s got a goal to get to the UFC, so we’re going to find out who’s the others’ stepping stone.
“I hope he’s not expecting an easy night because I got the call last minute – we bring a different type of energy in Boston!”
Pimblett is known for his spectacular fight style, and pulled off a highlight-reel flying triangle submission at CW90 in February – his 10th finish since his pro debut in 2012. He’s provided Cage Warriors fans with some of the most memorable scenes in the promotion’s history, with the highlight of his career undoubtedly being his knockout win over Johnny Frachey which won him the World Featherweight Title at CW78.
He said: “Stepping in on ten days notice, most people wouldn’t do it.
“Considering everyone says they want to fight me, when the opportunity came up, they all went missing.
“I’m grateful to Joe for stepping up, but it’s a bad decision for him. I don’t think he’s been finished before, so this will be the first time he’s been finished in his career.”
Pimblett’s previous opponent, Donovan Desmae, was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury. In an official statement, he stated his intention to recover quickly and honour the contract in the near future.
The CW111 card is topped by 3 world title fights in the light-heavyweight, middleweight and featherweight divisions, and takes place at the London Indigo at the O2 next Friday night, the 22nd November.
Main Card
James Webb vs Nathias Frederick II – Middleweight Title Fight
Mads Burnell vs Steve Aimable – Featherweight Title Fight
Modestas Bukauskas vs Riccardo Nosiglia – Light-Heavyweight Title Fight
Paddy Pimblett vs Joe Giannetti – Lightweight
Alex Lohoré vs Joilton Santos Lutterbach – Welterweight
Pro Prelims
Cory Tait vs Ayton de Paepe – Bantamweight
Mike Ekundayo vs Luca Iovine – Bantamweight
Josh Onwordi vs Harry Davies – Lightweight
Johan Segas vs Adam Amarasinghe – Flyweight
Matthew Bonner vs Warren Kee – Welterweight
Jordan Barton vs James Hendin – Featherweight
Kingsley Crawford vs Scott Butters – Featherweight
Emrah Sonmez vs Daryl Golding – Featherweight
|