Leeroy Barnes is ready to put a dent in the Cage Warriors Middleweight Division

Kingdom MMA Caught up with Leeroy Barnes before his Cage Warriors 57 fight

by Tom Rooney @oldmanrooney

Tom Rooney talks to Leeroy Barnes ahead of his clash with Frenchman Norman Paraisy at Cage Warriors 57 in Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday night, his first fight for the promotion in almost six years.

The landscape of the European MMA scene is now almost unrecognisable in comparison to when Leeroy Barnes (12-10-0-1) last fought in a Cage Warriors show at CWFC-Enter the Rough House 4 in Nottingham back in October 2007, where he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision loss to Peter McGurk.

Since then he has had mixed fortunes fighting for numerous promotions across the UK and Europe, but now that he’s back fighting under the Cage Warriors banner, he couldn’t be happier, particularly being on the main card, and is impressed with the changes in the promotion under the stewardship of Graham Boylan.

“The promotion has undergone a huge change since 2007 and has become the top promotion in Europe under the new guidance of Graham Boylan. It's an honour to be on such a stacked fight card on such a big promotion full stop. I honestly didn't think I would make the main card but I have and I'm going to put a performance on that deserves its place.”

Barnes, 28, inked a five-fight, 18-month exclusive deal with Cage Warriors back in May, and is on a two-fight win streak, the last of which was a submission victory over Steve Watson via guillotine less than a minute into the first round at BAMMA 12, this past March. He has been matched with Paraisy, whose last fight ended in a majority draw against ex-champion Chris Fields at Cage Warriors 55 in Dublin. Barnes has been working harder than ever and is confident he’ll have too much for the Frenchman.

“My camp has been excellent; I've been sparring with the Next Gen lads Danny Roberts, Ste Dinsdale and Chris Fishgold as we are all on the same card and there has been a really good vibe. I've not worked on anything different just the same stuff, trying to improve every day. I've just made sure that my cardio is unbelievable as I'm going to set a pace he has never seen before."

“I don't think it’s any specific areas I'm better than him at. My striking is definitely better than his but I think I'm just the better athlete. I'm faster, more explosive, more flexible and fitter and I'll be far more relaxed on the night.... ultimately that’s what will win me this fight.”

Many pundits and fans alike felt that Paraisy was very lucky to come away with a draw against Fields, having gassed in the latter stages of the fight, particularly in the final round. Barnes says that training in the MMA Academy, Liverpool, he is in the best shape of his life and plans to overwhelm his opponent with sheer intensity.

“I completely have the edge in cardio, my fitness and cardio is the best it's ever been. I will be starting fast and I will be pushing a pace he will not cope with.”

For all intents and purposes this is a hometown fight for Barnes and he is excited about putting on a show for the Liverpool fans, as well as being eager to repay the faith Cage Warriors have placed in him. He has given little thought to what ramifications a win will have on his place in the rankings.

“I've fought in nearly every major Arena in the UK from the Manchester M.E.N. to London Wembley but no I've never fought at the Echo in fact this is the first major MMA show at the Echo and it's going to be great to be part of that. I've trained my whole career in Liverpool, so it's going to be special to fight there. Of course the support helps me, I have amazing support and it drives me to repay their belief with great performances."

“Cage Warriors have already told me they see me as being in the top end of their middle weight division and the fact they are promoting a fight with Paraisy as my first fight in a five fight deal shows that. I really appreciate their belief and I'm turning up to prove them nothing but right."

“I don't even want to think about where the win will place me; I'm just focused on the fight and the process of winning. I would like to thank my sponsors, coaches and training partners, I would also like to say a special thank you to my manager Chris from Elite MMA Agency for always having my back.”