Cage Warriors 173: UFC veterans set to collide in San Diego

Two former UFC veterans top the fight card as Cage Warriors returns to its home from home in the United States for Cage Warriors 173.

The now-familiar venue of the Sycuan Casino and Resort will play host to a nine-fight lineup that features two faces longtime UFC fans will be very familiar with.

The main event will see former UFC flyweight title challenger Wilson Reis look to claim back-to-back victories as a featherweight as he takes on fellow UFC vet Bruno Souza.

Thirty-nine-year-old Reis is showing no signs of slowing down as he continues his career in the famous yellow gloves of Cage Warriors, and he’s gone 4-1 in his five bouts with the promotion so far. Most recently, he finished Bellator veteran Toby Misech via first-round arm-triangle choke at Cage Warriors 166 to claim his second win in the promotion’s featherweight division.

Reis’ first win in Cage Warriors 145-pound class came on his promotional debut back in 2022 when he edged Bellator vet Jeremiah Labiano via split decision at Cage Warriors 133. He then dropped down to bantamweight and picked up back-to-back victories over Tuomas Gronvall and Johnny Campbell, but then lost a split-decision verdict to Trevin Jones at Cage Warriors 159 last September.

That prompted Reis to move back up to 145, where his first-round finish of Misech has put him back in the win column, and back on track as he looks to edge himself closer to a shot at championship gold.

Standing in his way is compatriot Souza, a former LFA featherweight champion who had a tough two-fight run in the UFC before switching his attention to striking-only matchups in Karate Combat.

During his six-fight run in Karate Combat, Souza also managed to squeeze in an MMA outing, and picked up a unanimous decision victory over former UFC vet Teruto Ishihara at Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat 14 last September.

Now, coming off a decision victory under striking rules at Karate Combat 45 in April, Souza is returning to the cage once more, and will face Reis in Friday night’s headliner in San Diego.

The co-main event will see Roberto “Green Light” Hernandez return to featherweight to take on promotional newcomer Javier Garcia, while fan favourite Damon Wilson returns to action against Brandon Carrillo.