After three consecutive Cage Warriors wins in succession, the most recent of which came against Dmitry Poberezhets at CWFC 46 in Kiev last Thursday, Kraniotakes (13-5-0) has been granted a title shot against former Strikeforce and Bellator fighter Hayes (16-4-1).
Kraniotakes, a 30-year-old from Koblenz in Germany, defeated Jay Mortimore and Dave Keeley on Cage Warriors last year before losing to former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in November.
“I’m overwhelmed by the opportunity Cage Warriors has given me,” Kraniotakes said. “It’s a dream come true to finally be fighting for a world title at this stage of my career and I’m fully determined to bring that belt home.”
31-year-old Hayes, who hails from Washington in the USA, last fought back in October when he defeated Neil Grove at Bellator 52. Hayes has also beaten the likes of ex-UFC competitor Fabiano Scherner in his five-year professional career.
The winner of this battle will succeed Jeff Monson as the Cage Warriors heavyweight champion. Monson won the title by submitting Tengiz Teodoradze in April 2005 and defended it once against Marc Emmanuel later that year. The belt was vacated when Monson signed with the UFC.
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