Having been lucky enough to attend both a UFC and Cage Warriors event in the past year, I would like to discuss a few key differences between the events.

Pricing

As expected, due to it being the larger organisation, the UFC tickets were much pricier than those of Cage Warriors.

The cheapest tickets for UFC 304 in Manchester were around £170, whereas the most expensive tickets were over £4000 for a VIP experience.

In contrast, Cage Warriors 178 in Manchester had tickets starting at just £40 and finishing at £132 for ringside seats.

I would say both experiences were worth the money, however, with both organisations offering some unforgettable experiences.

Venue

UFC Manchester took place at the Co-op Live Arena, which opened on the 14 May 2024, and was the first sporting event to take place at this 23,500-capacity arena.

Cage Warriors 178 took place at the BEC Arena in Stretford, Manchester, which has a much smaller capacity at just 4,500.

In terms of the event, the smaller arena offers a more personalised experience with a great view of the action no matter what ticket you bought. Also, Cage Warriors allowed you to stand during the fights behind fencing, which was a great addition.

The Co-op Live Arena was a great venue, but I prefer the smaller venues for combat sports as they offer a more personal experience during the fights.

Atmosphere

Due to its smaller capacity, the atmosphere at Cage Warriors was good, with a different song being played in between fights and the crowd engaging with each ring walk.

Despite its early start time, with the main event not starting until 6am, the UFC still offered a great atmosphere that topped that of Cage Warriors.

The atmosphere did die off at certain points during the UFC event, but during the Paddy Pimblett and Tom Aspinall fights, it was excellent, which tipped this category in its favour.

The main event of Cage Warriors involved the exciting talent Luke Riley, and the atmosphere during this fight was electric.

Fights

Obviously the UFC has a much bigger pool of talent than Cage Warriors, and this showed in the technical element of each fight.

However, I witnessed eight finishes in just 11 fights at the Cage Warriors event, including six submission victories. This was much larger than just the five finishes I saw at the UFC event, with a majority of the fights going to a decision.

The standout fight at the UFC was a prelim bout between Modestas Bukauskas and Marcin Prachnio in the Light Heavyweight division. Bukauskas grabbed the victory in the final round of this fight via an arm triangle.

My favourite fight at Cage Warriors was the brawl between former champion Dean Trueman and the explosive Gavin Hughes. The fight ended in the second round after Hughes landed some huge shots before locking in a guillotine for the submission victory.

The fights may have ended quicker at Cage Warriors and were very entertaining, but I preferred to watch the fights unfold at the UFC due to the higher grappling and striking levels.

Overall

I thoroughly enjoyed both of these events, and I would recommend either to any combat sports fan, although Cage Warriors is probably better value for money.

The UFC has a higher quality of fighter and therefore would be more enjoyable for long-term watchers of MMA who want to see high-level grappling and striking. However, a new fan may want to start by attending a Cage Warriors event due to its higher chance of supplying knockouts and submission finishes.