The return of Cage Warriors to Liverpool, England, has suffered a blow after it was announced today that Paddy Pimblett (13-2) has been forced to withdraw from his CW 88 clash with Vladko Sikic (10-0-1) on Oct. 28th after suffering a concussion in training.

Pimblett is the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion (note: one of two titles that Conor McGregor held while a member of the CW roster) and arguably the most popular UK-based fighter not currently signed to the UFC.

‘The Baddy’, as he is known, snapped a nine-fight win streak when he lost his featherweight strap to Nad Narimani in April and had targeted the bout with the undefeated Sikic as a manner of re-establishing his title credentials.

However, the official Cage Warriors Twitter account posted the following on Wednesday afternoon.

Paddy Pimblett suffered a concussion in training and will not be competing at CW88 on medical grounds. We wish Paddy a speedy recovery.

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 4, 2017

This comes as blow to Pimblett and Cage Warriors but also to the legions of mixed martial arts fans in Liverpool, to whom the 22-year-old fighter has become an incredibly popular figure. The bout was scheduled to be contested in the Echo Arena in Liverpool, with a large percentage of the 10,000+ capacity tickets likely to have been sold due to Pimblett’s participation on the card.

Fellow Liverpool fighter Chris Fishgold (16-1-1), who holds the promotion’s 155-pound title, will main event the card opposite Alexander Jacobson (8-1).

Cage Warriors 88 takes place on Oct. 28th and will also feature UK MMA veteran Lee Chadwick (23-13-1) taking on the 11-2 Victor Cheng. Martin Stapleton (19-5) will take on Soren Bak (8-1) in a featured bout on the main card.