Cage Warriors 120 live results (3:15 p.m. ET)

Cage Warriors returns to action with the opening leg of the U.K. promotion’s first “Trilogy” of 2021.

Cage Warriors 120 kicks off the promotion’s three-night residency at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, with a battle between two middleweight contenders headlining the card.

Former Bellator fighter Kent Kauppinen (12-6) will make his promotional debut after his release by the U.S. promotion earlier this year. The hard-hitting 29-year-old, who has a knockout win over Alessio Sakara on his record, will look to blast his way into immediate title contention against the last man to challenge for the belt.

Meanwhile, Jamie Richardson (9-6) looked good early against reigning 185-pound champion Nathias Frederick, but eventually succumbed to a third-round knockout in his title challenge at Cage Warriors 118. Now “Young Gun” is looking to regroup and reposition himself for another shot at the gold.

The night’s co-main event features a pivotal bout in the Cage Warriors featherweight division. “The Honey Badger,” James Hendin (5-0), has registered four wins in a row under the Cage Warriors banner, and now the undefeated prospect will look to push himself to the front of the featherweight queue.

He’ll face a tough test, however, as he faces an opponent who returns to the cage looking to bounce back from his first career defeat.

Ireland’s Paul Hughes was touted as a potential champion in waiting, but lost a split decision to England’s Jordan Vucenic in their featherweight title eliminator at Cage Warriors 119. Now Hughes (6-1) is looking to return to form by handing Hendin his first career loss and putting himself next in line to face the winner of the title fight between champion Morgan Charriere and Vucenic at Cage Warriors 122 on Saturday.

Cage Warriors 120 takes place Thursday at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. The card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

Full Cage Warriors 120 results include:

MAIN CARD (5 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass)