The promotion returns to Newcastle’s Vertu Arena on Saturday, December 6 for Cage Warriors 199, where reigning Cage Warriors flyweight champion Shaj Haque will put his title on the line against French challenger Nicolas Leblond.
Haque’s last appearance saw him return from a two-year layoff to defeat Jawany Scott in a thrilling title tussle at Cage Warriors 192 in London. The result was a razor-thin one, as Scott pushed the defending champion to the limit for the full five-round duration at the Indigo at The O2. But in the end, Haque did just enough to earn the nod from two of the three cageside judges on the night.
Now he’ll return to home territory in the North East to take on France’s Leblond, who heads into his title challenge riding a six-fight win streak, with the last five coming under the Cage Warriors banner.
Leblond immediately highlighted his championship potential with stoppage victories over Ryan Curtis, Michelangelo Lupoli and Scott Malone. And he then built on that impressive momentum with a pair of decision victories as he defeated Gerasimos Sioutis and Mateus Brauns to put himself in line for a crack at the title.
Haque and Leblond have been matched on two previous occasions, but injury and inclement weather scuppered both bookings. But now they’ve been matched again, and hopes are high that they can bring down the curtain on Cage Warriors 2025 schedule with a thrilling finale.
“We were serious when we said we’re ending the year with a bang,” said Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan.
“So we’ve added another title bout to an already stacked card in Newcastle!
“Shaj Haque proved beyond all doubt that he’s an elite 125-pounder with his performance against Jawany Scott this summer.
“But Nicolas Leblond has been chasing this fight for over a year. He’s got a huge opportunity to knock Shaj off the top of the mountain.
“We’re going to find out who’s the king of the flyweights on December 6!”
Haque vs Leblond joins a fight card that also features an interim welterweight title fight featuring Scotland’s Sean Clancy Jr, whose opponent is set to be announced in due course. Also set for action is former lightweight champion George Hardwick, who faces former welterweight title challenger Daniel Konrad, while local stars Leon Armes and Josh Abrahams will take on Alberth Dias and Nicolas Barna, respectively.
Cage Warriors 199 will stream live on UFC Fight Pass and air via international broadcast channels.
