Cage Warriors 117: Shanks vs. Hadley takes place on Thursday, December 10 at York Hall in London, England. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the event, and MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a look at the opening odds below.
Cage Warriors 117 Odds
Jake Hadley -205
Luke Shanks +165
Sam Creasey -140
Adam Amarasinghe +110
Michele Martignoni -150
Weslley Maia +120
Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar -300
Steve McIntosh +240
Emrah Sonmez -260
Aidan Stephen +200
Michal Figlak -550
Anthony O’Connor +400
Here are my initial thoughts on the Opening Odds for Cage Warriors 117:
- The main event of Cage Warriors 117 is a five-round fight for the Cage Warriors flyweight championship between Jake Hadley (6-0) and Luke Shanks (7-1). The 25-year-old Shanks is actually the champion heading into this bout but he opened as a small underdog here. The British-born Shanks is currently riding a four-fight win streak into this bout and he’s a perfect 3-0 in CWFC during that stretch. A pro since 2016, Shanks has finished four of his seven victories, though he was stopped in his lone career defeat. As for Hadley, the 24-year-old Brit is an undefeated prospect who hasn’t lost since turning pro in 2018. Out of his six wins, five of them came by stoppage and he has fought for CWFC and Bellator during that stretch. This looks like a really even fight to me and based on these odds I’d side with Shanks as the dog.
- The co-main event is also a flyweight bout as Sam Creasey (12-3) takes on Adam Amarasinghe (6-2). Creasey is a 32-year-old Brit who is a veteran of Cage Warriors, having accumulated a 7-3 record in the promotion over 10 fights. He has won three of his last four bouts heading into this matchup. As for Amarsinghe, the Brit is also a CWFC vet, having gone 4-2 overall in the promotion, and he’s own his last two fights. Once again it looks like a close fight on paper and my slight lean is towards the favorite Creasey to get his hand raised.
- At bantamweight, we have Michele Martignoni (5-0) taking on Weslley Maia (6-3). The 24-year-old Martignoni is an Italian fighter who has experience fighting for Bellator, having scored a KO win there in 2018. This will be his CWFC debut after having had a two-year layoff from active competition. As for Maia, the Brazilian is 1-1 in two fights in CWFC and he rides into this matchup on a three-fight win streak. The long layoff for Martignoni throws me off a bit because he should probably win this fight, but the two-year layoff is why the odds are so close here.
- At lightweight, Steve McIntosh (6-1) faces Mehdi Ben Lakhdhar (4-0-1). McIntosh is a Scottish-based fighter who has won his last three fights in a row and who has finished all six of his professional victories, with his lone loss coming by stoppage. As for Lakhdhar, the Frenchman is making his fourth walk into the Cage Warriors cage, having gone 2-0-1 in the promotion thus far. One thing that stands out for Lakhdhar is his layoff of over a year. I have to side with McIntosh based on his ability to finish fights and the fact he has been more active lately.
