Mutual Opponent Joe Orrey Weighs In On Brett Johns vs James Brum

Mutual Opponent Joe Orrey Weighs In On Brett Johns and James Brum
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

On Saturday night at The LC in Swansea, 2 of the best bantamweights in Europe will meet to determine who is next to sit atop of the Cage warriors 135lb division, looking down on would be challengers.

The man holding the belt is 22-year old Brett Johns, a Judo black belt with a perfect 9-0 professional record dating back to 2012 when he made his pro debut after racking up a 5-0 amateur record. A former British champion with Pain Pit, Johns signed for Cage Warriors in 2013 where he took on James MacAlister at Cage Warriors 54 who he defeated via TKO before going on to earn decision victories over David Haggstrom and Jordan Desborough at Cage Warriors 59's 4 man Bantamweight tournament to win the Cage Warriors bantamweight title and earn his place amongst the best in Europe.

His opponent James Brum has been on a tear, rattling off 9 straight victories since 2011 earning a reputation as one of the most dangerous 135lber in Europe. With 8 impressive wins under the Cage Warriors banner Brum has not only earned his shot at the belt, he's earned the right to be considered one of these fighters in Europe.

One man who knows just how good both men are is Welsh Bantamweight Joe Orrey of Tillery Combat who has faced both men inside the cage, and feels both men can expect a tough fight this Saturday:

'I think it's a really tough fight for both guys. There both at the top of the game at the moment and on massive win streaks'

Having fought Brum early in his career at Shock N Awe 5, and Brett Johns at Pain Pit 6 for the British Bantamweight title, it's safe to say Orrey knows better than most what both Brum and Johns do well, and while he knows this is a tough fight for both men, he's confident that one man goes into the bout with the edge:

'For me I got to give the fight to Brett, I just think he's slightly better in all areas.' Said Orrey.

'He's such a hard working lad. Having been lucky enough to train with him after our fight, he's so level headed and grounded for a young lad who's already achieved so much. I'll be be rooting for him on the night to keep the belt in Wales!'

Cage Warriors 67 takes place April 12th at The LC in Swansea, Wales. North American viewer can watch the show live on MMAjunkie beginning at 9 p.m. GMT (4 p.m ET / 1 p.m. PT). Other viewers can catch the event at cagewarriors.tv.

You can follow Joe Orrey on twitter - @joeorrey

Interview: Brett Johns Ahead of CW 67 'This is the Biggest Fight in Cage Warriors History'

Interview: Brett Johns Ahead of CW 67 'This is the Biggest Fight in Cage Warriors History'
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

 2013 was a fantastic year from 22-year old Brett Johns from Swansea, Wales. Begin the year 5-0 in his professional MMA career, Johns submitted Joe Orrey to earn the Pain Pit British Bantamweight title, before joining Cage Warriors where he is now also champion thanks to a TKO victory over James MacAlister at Cage Warriors 54, and decision victories over David Haggstrom and Jordan Desborough at Cage Warriors 59's 4 man Bantamweight tournament. 4-0 in 2013 Kingdom MMA named Johns are Domestic Fighter of the Year 2013, followed closely by fellow Cage Warriors bantamweight James Brum, who Johns will meet at Cage Warriors 67 in Johns hometown of Swansea this weekend.

On Tuesday night I caught up with Brett Johns to discuss his upcoming fight with James Brum, and find out how his preparations have gone for one of the biggest domestic fights of the year. 

Houten: This time last year fighting for Pain Pit and now your holding the Cage Warriors belt, how would you say your life has changed over the last year since winning the belt?
Johns: its been really tough. A year ago now I’d already signed the contract with Cage Warriors but I had fought under that contract. Believe it or not I had fought for Cage Warriors before, I fought Sam Gilbert who’s now on a 3 fight win streak, he’s doing really well at featherweight. [When] we got called for Cage Warriors, I decided to take a big deep [look] at my personal life along with my career as well. I decided to quite work and go full time, and that was probably the biggest thing for me. I had a lot or arguments with my mother, and my family about it because I wanted to do it, I'm still having the effects now. I haven’t got a job, I haven’t got much money but I still tell myself its going to be worth it. To be honest even if I quit MMA tomorrow, I've achieve what I wanted to achieve in this sport already. For me it wasn’t to be in the UFC that wasn’t the aim for this game, it was just the be the best I could be, and the best I could be was World Champion for Cage Warriors in September.

Your defending you Cage Warriors bantamweight title at Cage Warriors 67 where you will be taking on a tough opponent in James Brum. Would you say this is the biggest fight of your career?
definitely, definitely, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt this is the toughest fight of my career. He’s undefeated for Cage Warriors, I think in total he’s on a 9 fight win streak, the same as myself. He is 8-0 with Cage Warriors, and before Cage Warriors signed him he beat a guy from Tillery Combat named Martin McDonough, Mr. Pink. Personal I think this is the biggest fight for Cage Warriors in Cage Warriors history, I genuinely do. I think its bigger than any other fight, that's my personal opinion about it.
How has your camp been for this fight?
I say this to people. People think I train harder every camp, I don’t train harder every camp, I train as hard as I can all of the time, this is why for the Joe Orrey fight in Pain Pit where I won my first British title, I would train full time. I dislocated my shoulder before that fight. It was January the 1st [when I began my training camp], and I dislocated my shoulder on the 5th, so the begin of the camp. I was meant to be fighting on March the first. So I looked at my coach, and I said 'look I think I’m going to have to pull out'. So my coach was 'like no, no, no its ok, we will rehab it properly, we will do it.' Literally a few months later, we had won the belt even with a dislocated shoulder. That was huge for myself, it was real big to win that belt, and I’ve been full time ever since. I’ve been training as hard as I can ever since then. It’s not as if I go ‘shall we train harder for this fight?’ I train hard every fight. You can’t be in the mind set like 'this is an easier fight, I’ll take it easier this time.' You shouldn’t be like that, why should you be like that? Why not try 100% every time?

We are now 3 days away from the weigh-ins, how is your weight looking ahead of stepping on the scales on Friday?
Very good! One of my friends, is a full time athlete, a full time BJJ guy [his name is] Bryn Jenkins. [He's] same age as me, he’s a youngster but he’s done so much in his career on diets, he’s studied different sort of foods to eat. To be honest I’m known for not eating very well, although I’m not a small 61s [61 KG], I’m not a big 61s, I’m kind of in the middle, I eat whatever I want, but for this fight this had to change. I was meant to fight Brum December 7th but I ruptured my MCL so I was out that fight, and I put on a lot of bad weight. I was eating crap food, and I was having crap drinks and stuff. Then we hit January and I went to Bryn, and I said 'look Bryn I need help with my diet,' so my camp hasn’t been a 6 week camp, it been since the first of January. 

I was slowly repairing my knee, so the sessions weren’t as intense as they used to be [when I was 100%], but they were intense enough for them to be classed them as sessions, and Bryn gave me that. Bryn lives about a 2 minute walk away from the gym, so I said 'will it be ok if I stay with you guys?' So I stayed with the boys - we call it the fighters house, and I’ve been hear since the 1st of January. I only go home on the weekends to see my girlfriend, then back here all week. So he’s looked at my diet, all that excess weight I did have, I’ve lost that, plus more. This is the lightest I’ve been [before a fight]. I usually cut from about 71, 72 [KG]. A week out I would normally be about 8 kilos over, well I less than that now and I genuinely feel brilliant, I could fight now, and I would feel fine.

Ive spoke to a few other fighters in the past who come from a Judo background similar to yourself and most of them say they rare train pure Judo anymore. I watched your Cage Warriors count down video though and I was surprise to see you mainly in the GI, working pure judo techniques. Are you still training pure judo, and are you still actively competing in Judo?
My father is a traditionalist, although he love coming to watch MMA, he’s a traditionalist, he loves Judo through and through. That's the only sport he enjoys doing and I always get a phone call if Ronda Rouseys fighting, he wants to watch. He wants to show how Judo is the main sport, and thats him. I like to do my Judo, I like to go their [the Judo academy] and help the kids, I enjoy doing stuff like that. 

I haven’t fought in a Judo competition in a good while. The last time I fought in a Judo competition, I won my first 5 fights by arm-bar, just taking guys down to the floor and just arm-baring them. I genuinely thought if I stop doing Judo, my Judo would get bad but it hasn’t. I used to train Judo quiet intensely, I used to train every day of the week with Judo, not as intense as I do with MMA now but I was pretty intense. I train Judo about twice a week [now], but the classes when I’m not doing Judo I’m doing the equivalent of Judo, I’m doing my wrestling class. I’m wrestling with boys who are heavier, who are agile, and I’m getting better like that anyway.

James Brum is pretty good in most areas, where would you say you have the edge over James. Would you say your ground game is where you have the edge?
I think this is gonna be one of where, he will be preparing himself for a stoppage, but I don’t see it going that way for either of us really. He’s a tough guy to finish, I feel I’m a tough guy to finish, and I think this will be a five round fight. I think one of my biggest attributes is my fitness and my wrestling, and I think that will be the biggest factor. I genuinely think as well that my BJJ is stronger than Brum's. That's how I feel right now. I’ve done a lot of BJJ with the guys with me and I feel I have the advantage in the grappling side of things. I do think he will try and shoot and he will try and take me to the floor and try and grind it out. He hasn’t fought a five round fight before, and I have, I've done 5 rounds in my last fight.

I heard Brum say in a recent interview he feels people might be underestimating you in this fight saying how he felt you were one of the most dangerous opponents he's faced. Do you feel you feel people might be underestimating you in this fight?
Kind of. I think on the book he is, I think he will be the favourite to win it but like I said to my coach, I thrive on being the underdog, I absolutely love being the underdog. In a fight, I would be the underdog any time over being the favourite. I love that feel of someone [who is meant to be] better than me having to try and beat me. There is no better feeling in the world when you win. See the tournament stucture, I wasn’t even meant to win my first fight against David Haggstrom, who I still believe is one of the best Bantamweights in Europe. I genuinely believe that, I think Haggstrom is one of the best. Out of all the guys that Brum has fought, I think Haggstrom is better, not a crazy amount better but I think he’s better. You know James Brums last fight he Marat Pekov, but I believe that Haggstrom would stop Marat Pekov.

Brum is an experience opponent but your the champion, do you feel he deserves to be ahead of you in the rankings?
I think I'm ranked 5th. I think there's Vaughn Lee, then it's James Brum, then it's Ronnie Mann, then it's Davey Grant, then it's myself. Believe it of not after the world title fight I was ranked 7th, with Pennington in front of me, I did agree with that. Nothing against Pennington but he pulled out of that fight, he was hurt, he couldn't continue, and I was hurt but I continued. I was 9-0 in my career and he was like 9-1 maybe 10-1 and he was still above me in the rankings. I really didn't agree with that. Brum on the other hand, he's fought tought guys, and I can understand. He's fought Erik Perez from the UFC, that just says itself. He doesn't mind a tough fight but I think he's looking past me a bit in one of his interviews [that he recently did] with Addicted MMA. He was on about Ronnie Mann and Cory Tait. I'm there watching the video, and I'm like 'oh hang on a minute, you've not fought me yet.'

A lot of people have tipped James Brum for the UFC, does it give you extra incentive to win on saturday to stake that claim for yourself?
I've seen a lot of tweets, even before the Marat fight, 'James Brum for UFC, James Brum, James Brum' and I felt like, I'm the champ, maybe they might want to sign me. They want to sign the best in the division and truly the person with the belt is the best in the division, so maybe they wanna sign me. 

I think a win over Brum or say if he gets the win over me, there's a possibility, a very good possibility, that the winner gets to go to the UFC. So you could take this fight as a world title fight plus a fight for a contract with the UFC. To me though that's not a huge factor, I'm in no rush for the UFC. Maybe Brum is, I'm not sure, but I'm definitely not. I don't mind to if I'm in Cage Warriors for another 3 or 4 years, just to be better again. Why rush to go into the UFC, and be a one fight veteran for the UFC. I don't wanna rush and lose and then get kicked out

The Cage Warriors Bantamweight division is one of the most stack divisions in the promotion, have you put any thought into who could be next with a wins over James? The like of Ronnie Mann and Cory Tait spring to mind.
I think it will be one of them two. I think more Ronnie Mann than Cory Tait. I genuinely believe it will be Ronnie Mann who fight next for he belt and he's a tough fight, but I'm not afraid to fight these guys. I want to fight the best, that's why when Cage Warriors gave me the contract I looked at the list and I said James Brum and that's why I took that fight cause he was the best and I wanted to fight the best. I never duck a fight, if someone wants to fight me, fight me. Sign the contract and we will get it on.

You fighting Brum in your hometown of Swansea, will the crowd be like having an extra man in your corner on Saturday?
I haven't fought in Swansea but I've fought in areas close. I've fought in Newport, I've fought in Cardiff but I haven't fought in Swansea. My last fight in Cardiff, we took a good few guys up there and I really fed off that crowd. It's a big thing for me. My friends and family there supporting me, I know how emotional they get , and I take that emotion in there. I like to scream and release a bit of anger before the fight. I enjoy the support from the guys and they've been there from the start of my career.

Finally if you could give a message to James Brum ahead of your bout on Saturday what would it be?
No message really. I just wanna go in there really and do my fight and I hope he does his fight and may the best man win. Because the winner gets the belt but I can see big things happening after this fight.

Cage Warriors 67 takes place April 12th at The LC in Swansea, Wales. North American viewer can watch the show live on MMAjunkie beginning at 9 p.m. GMT (4 p.m ET / 1 p.m. PT). Other viewers can catch the event at cagewarriors.tv.

Brett Johns Defends Title Against James Brum at CWFC 67 in Swansea

Brett Johns Defends Title Against James Brum at CWFC 67 in Swansea

CWFC bantamweight champion Brett Johns (Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors)

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship bantamweight title-holder Brett Johns is set to put his belt on the line in his native Wales.

Johns (9-0) will take on James Brum on Saturday, April 12, 2014, when the promotion travels to Swansea for the first time for CWFC 67.

The highly-anticipated meeting of Johns and Brum will headline the bill at The LC, having originally been scheduled for CWFC 62 in Newcastle this past December, until an injury forced the champion to withdraw.

Undefeated Johns climbed to the summit of the CWFC bantamweight division at Cage Warriors 59 last September in Cardiff, when he overcame both David Haggstrom and Jordan Desborough in the same evening to win the promotion’s four-man 135lbs title tournament.

A judo black belt, Johns debuted for Cage Warriors in October 2012 as a featherweight, when he impressively overcame Sam Gilbert by unanimous decision. His next CWFC win came via second-round TKO at the expense of James MacAlister at Cage Warriors 54 in May of last year.

“I’m really thankful to Cage Warriors to giving me the chance to defend my belt in my hometown,” said Johns. “I’m training harder than ever and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the gold around my waist.

“Thanks to James Brum for accepting the fight. He’s been one of the best fighters in Britain for years and it will be good to throw down with him.”

Brum (14-2) competes for the CWFC bantamweight title on the back of putting together a 7-0 streak under the Cage Warriors banner since making his debut for the promotion in February 2012.

A 26-year-old native of Portsmouth, England, Brum hasn’t tasted defeat since facing current UFC star Erik Perez back in September 2011.

Brum was named CWFC Fighter of the Year for 2012, courtesy of victories over Leandro Gontijo, Thomas Back, James Saville and Moktar Benkaci, before continuing his winning streak in 2013 against Olivier Pastor, Ruslan Abiltarov and - most recently, at December’s Cage Warriors 61 in Amman - Marat Pekov.

Brum said: “I’ve been training with the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world at Team Alpha Male in preparation for this fight, and I’ve told the boys that I’ll be bringing my new shiny gold belt with me when I return to California.

“In Swansea on April 12 I’ll be delivering a first taste of defeat to Brett Johns in his own backyard, before walking out as the new Cage Warriors Fighting Championship bantamweight champion.”

Cory Tait forces Pennington to tap in the first round

Cory Tait vs James Pennington: Cage Warriors 64 Main Event Fight Review

by Ben Heather @benheather

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

James Pennington came in to the fight having spent some time on the sidelines due to injury which was incurred the night of the Cage Warriors bantamweight title tournament and prevented him fighting for the title after winning his semi final fight against Kris Edwards. A win on Saturday night would have surely put Pennington next in line for a fight with Cage Warriors champ Brett Johns.

Cory Tait came in to the main event a 2-1 underdog with the bookies but was determined to prove them wrong by winning on Saturday night in the main event of Cage Warriors 64. It wasn’t just the win that made this fight special it was the way he did it. I can’t imagine many fans in the audience expected Cory Tait, the man famous for his highlight reel knockouts to win via first round submission but that’s exactly what happened.

James Pennington came out and began the better of the two fighters getting the better of the early exchanges before taking down Tait twice. Tait didn’t stay down for long though and after getting back up for the second time Pennington looked to shoot in again as he aimed to keep the renowned striker on the mat.

Tait this time managed to not only defend the takedown but got a hold of the head and neck of Pennington locking in a standing guillotine choke. Once Tait knew he had it locked in he cranked on it and it didn’t take long before Pennington tapped.

I am sure that Pennington will be back soon and try to go on another run which will push him back in to contention. The loss for James Pennington drops his record to 9-2 while Cory Tait improves his record to 8-2 keeping up his 100% finish percentage when he wins, with 4 wins by TKO and 4 by submission.

The win for Tait makes the title picture a bit clearer as I imagine now that Pennington’s team mate James Brum will be next in line for the title fight with Brett Johns while Cory Tait should be part of a number one contenders fight next time out.

Kingdom MMA 2013 Awards: Domestic Fighter of the Year

Kingdom MMA Domestic Fighter of the Year Award 2013: Brett Johns

by Ben Heather @benheather

The main reason we set up this website was to help promote the amazing talent which the UK and Ireland has and so this award is one of my personal favourites.

2013 has been a great year for MMA throughout the world and domestic MMA has been no different. Cage Warriors has been on fire this year, this week Cage Warriors 63 will be their fourteenth event of 2013 and the quality of the fighters and the fights that have taken place has been incredible. Also, BAMMA have chipped in with a couple of events this year and although they have not put on the quantity of cards that Cage Warriors have the events they have staged have been just as good again showcasing the talent we have in the UK and Ireland. All you have to do is look at the current roster of British and Irish UFC fighters who have signed in the last couple of years and chances are they have fought for one of these two organisations.

There is nothing I love more than seeing our athletes in this case fighters showcasing their skills to the world and we have picked what we feel are the cream of the crop in 2013.

At the start of the year not many casual fans knew the name Luke Barnatt let alone had seen him fight. That being said, they do now. Luke has had a good year by starting the year in the TUF house and being picked first overall by Chael Sonnen before making his full UFC debut and winning twice this year including a very impressive submission win against Andrew Craig at UFC Manchester. Next up for Luke is a fight on the UFC's return to London in March '14 where he will square off and try to keep his record undefeated against Mats Nilsson.

Also making big waves in the UFC and picking up a pair of victories in the octagon was Ireland's Conor McGregor. He started the year (OK it was last year but only a by a few hours) by becoming a two weight Cage Warriors champion as he captured the lightweight title in his home town of Dublin on New Years Eve 2012. Then signed for the UFC making a very impressive debut by Knocking out Marcus Brimmage and securing the KO of the night bonus. He then followed that up in August by getting a unanimous decision win over Max Holloway. Unfortunately for McGregor he got injured in that fight and it ruled him out for the rest of the year but I am sure we will see big things from him in 2014.

Conor's team mate Cathal Pendred has also had a very impressive year and deserves a lot of respect. He started the year as challenger for the Cage Warriors welterweight title at Cage Warriors 52 where he faced then champion Gael Grimaud, he won that fight via unanimous decision to become the new champion. Next up Cage Warriors set him the challenge former UFC fighter Che Mills at Cage Warriors 55. Cathal controlled the fight from start to finish and it was only Che's corner throwing in the towell that prevented the one sided beating from continuing. Like Conor the second half of the year Cathal has not been back in the cage but I am sure you will all see a lot more from him on your Tv's in 2014 alongside BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar....

Brett Johns has also had a perfect year going 4-0 in 2013. He started the year with a submission victory in February before following that up with a TKO victory at Cage Warriors 54 then in September came the highlight of his short career so far. Brett was included in the Cage Warriors tournament for the bantamweight title and fought twice in one night in his home nation of Wales to become the new champion.

Another young fighter who has really made his mark this year is Arnold Allen. Arnold like Brett only became a professional fighter last year and has taken his record to 6-0 with four impressive wins this year. In his last three fights he has also stopped each of his opponents and in the process increasing his reputation as one to watch for the future. At just 19 years old Arnold certainly deserves a lot of credit for the year he has had and always backs up his reputation as an explosive fighter who will fight anyone, anywhere.

Although each of the above fighters certainly deserve the award there can only be one Winner and that is: Brett Johns.

As I have already said 2013 has been a great year for Brett Johns. He has shown he can finish fights this year by finishing his first two opponents of 2013. He showcased his submission skills by finishing Joe Orrey via armbar in his first fight of the year. Then at Cage Warriors 54 went on to finish James Macalister by TKO. Brett won that fight with great ground control before finishing the fight with some brutal ground and pound. Although he won that fight by TKO my personal highlight was when Brett locked in a standing d'arce choke in the first round but couldn't quite get the finish.

Then on September 14th at Cage Warriors 59 Brett was included in the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship tournament, a two fight four man tournament to crown the new Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion. The format was a semi final fight which consisted of 2x 5 minute rounds and if required a third overtime round. Then in the final the two winners of the semi finals would meet in a 5x 5 minute round fight to crown the new champion.

Brett went in to the night as a massive underdog and as part of the prelims for the night was first matched up with David Haggstrom in his semi final. That fight ended up going in to the third round but Brett was announced the winner via unanimous decision. In the other semi final James Pennington defeated Kris Edwards but was unable to proceed to the final due to an injury which meant that Jordan Desborough who had also already fought beating Timur Mercanoglu via second round TKO was promoted to fight for the title. Now Brett was going in to a 5 round title fight for the first time in his career against a guy he had not even prepared for. After fighting for all five rounds meaning Brett had fought 8 five minute rounds on the same night. When the decision was announced Brett was crowned the Cage Warriors bantamweight champion.

For any fighter to go a full calendar year undefeated having fought 4 times is impressive enough but to do so the way Brett Johns has deserves a lot of respect for this reason we have named him our domestic fighter of the year 2013.

Congratulations Brett you have been crowned Kingdom MMA’s 2013 Domestic Fighter of the Year – Brett Johns Kingdom MMA we salute you.

James Brum Challenges Brett Johns for Bantamweight Title at Cage Warriors 62

James Brum Challenges Brett Johns for Bantamweight Title at Cage Warriors 62
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Newly crowned Cage Warriors Bantamweight champion Brett Johns will defend with bantamweight title at Cage Warriors 62 on December 7th at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, against James Brum.

Undefeated, judo black belt Johns (9-0) climbed to the summit of the CWFC 135lb division at Cage Warriors 59 in Cardiff, when he overcame both David Haggstrom and Jordan Desborough over 8 grueling rounds the same evening to win the promotion’s four-man 135lbs title tournament.

Speaking on his upcoming bout with Brum, the 21 year old Welshman said:

“James Brum has been at the top of this division for a while, he’s someone I’ve watched over and over again,” said Johns. “He’s a sound guy too and a win over him would be huge for me. That’s exactly why I wanted to fight Brum. I can’t wait already.”

His opponent, CWFC Fighter of the Year for 2012 James Brum (13-2) who is the highest ranked European bantamweight not under contract with the UFC, enters the bout undefeated under the Cage Warriors banner with wins over Leandro Gontijo, Thomas Back, James Saville and Moktar Benkaci, Olivier Pastor, and most recently Ruslan Abiltarov, earning the 26 year old GYM01 talent at shot at the 135lb title.

Fighting for Cage Warriors in The UK for the first time, Brum said:

“Brett Johns deserved to win the title at Cage Warriors 59, but now he’s in with the sharks and I’m the biggest shark in the division. After six fights abroad for Cage Warriors, I’m excited by the prospect of returning to the UK to fight for what I believe is my title.

“For me, this has ‘Fight of the Year’ written all over it. I guarantee that on December 7 in Newcastle, I’ll be walking into that cage the challenger and walking out the new Cage Warriors bantamweight champion of the world.”

Stay tuned to Kingdom MMA for all the latest on Cage Warriors 62.

 

Martin McDonough out of Cage Warriors 59 injured, Kris Edwards now part of Bantamweight tournament

McDonough forced out of title tilt

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Martin McDonough’s hopes of being crowned CWFC bantamweight champion in Wales on Saturday have unfortunately been dashed, after the Welshman sustained a hand injury during a sparring session last week.

An initial medical examination has revealed that McDonough (11-4) suffered a fracture which will rule him out of Cage Warriors 59‘s four-man bantamweight grand prix, which is now just nine days away. The 24-year-old, who has clocked up a 3-0 Cage Warriors record since making his promotional debut last year, is due to undergo an MRI scan shortly, so an accurate time-frame for his return to action has yet to be given.

McDonough’s place in the CWFC bantamweight tournament, which is set for Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, September 14, will now be taken by his Tillery Combat team-mate Kris Edwards (pictured).
Edwards (8-5) was scheduled to face Aaron Blackwell in a tournament alternate bout at Cage Warriors 59, but the 23-year-old has now been promoted to fill the void and face James Pennington in the semi-finals, with Brett Johns and David Haggstrom still set to clash on the other side of the draw.

Cage Warriors officials hope to re-match Blackwell on an upcoming card, while the winner of the Cage Warriors 59 prelim between Timur Mercanoglu and Jordan Desborough will be placed on standby should a vacancy arise in the tournament on the night.

Edwards recently made the decision to return to the bantamweight division following a disappointing stint at flyweight, during which he suffered back-to-back losses in his two most recent bouts.

After signing an exclusive contract with the promotion, the Abertillery native made his CWFC debut with an impressive win over Janne Elonen-Kulmala at CWFC Fight Night 5 in Jordan in April of last year, after which he opted to make the move to 125lbs.

Life in his new weight class began well for Edwards, as he submitted Brian Hyslop in the second round of their meeting at Cage Warriors 48 in London in July 2012, a win that saw him jump straight into the top-three in the UK’s flyweight rankings, having previously occupied fifth spot at bantamweight.

Next up for Edwards was Cage Warriors 49 in Cardiff last October, but an injury picked up by opponent Mark Platts just a week out from the fight saw Alan Philpott called in as a replacement, with the bout being contested at 135lbs due to the late notice. But it was Philpott who emerged victorious, as Edwards dropped a loss for the first time since July 2011.

Edwards, who holds wins over CWFC’s James Brum and Spencer Hewitt, returned to action back in May at Cage Warriors 54 in Cardiff, but again he was forced to deal with a late change of opponent, with Shaj Haque drafted in at the eleventh hour to replace the injured Karl Harrison.

After enduring a difficult weight-cut which saw him miss the mark by 0.7lb, an uncharacteristically languid Edwards was edged out by Haque via split decision, leaving him with consecutive defeats for the first time in his career.

As Edwards returns to the bantamweight division a week on Saturday, the Welshman says he’s keen to return to top-form by putting in the type of performance which saw him regarded as one of the top young prospects in Europe last year.

“I’m absolutely gutted for Martin,” said Edwards. “I’ve seen first-hand how hard he’s prepared for this tournament and he’s devastated to have picked up an injury. But I’m thrilled with the chance to replace him and I’ll do my best to bring that title back to Tillery Combat.”

Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan added: “Everyone involved with Cage Warriors is extremely disappointed for Martin McDonough. He deserves his place in the tournament but I’m sure he’ll come back stronger and earn another title shot in the near future. I wish him well in his recovery.

“I want to say best of luck to Kris Edwards in the tournament. I know he’s been disappointed with his last couple of performances, but were it not for a difficult cut to flyweight, he probably would have been in contention for this anyway. It’s all set up for a very exciting tournament in Cardiff next week.”

Meanwhile, Owain Parry has also sustained an injury which has ruled him out of his CWFC 59 lightweight prelim against Jamie Rogers, so 21-year-old Englishman Sam Gilbert has been called in as a replacement.
Tickets for Cage Warriors 59 at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, September 14, are still available, priced from just £25.

MAIN CARD
Edwards/Pennington vs. Haggstrom/Johns (Bantamweight tournament final)
Jim Alers (champion) vs. Martin Svensson (Featherweight title bout)
Mats Nilsson vs. Denniston Sutherland
Lew Long vs. Tommy Maguire
Dave Hill vs. Brian Moore
Lee Caers vs. Aaron Thomas

FACEBOOK PRELIMS
Sam Gilbert vs. Jamie Rogers
David Haggstrom vs. Brett Johns (Bantamweight tournament semi-final)
Kris Edwards vs. James Pennington (Bantamweight tournament semi-final)

NON-STREAMED PRELIMS
Jordan Desborough vs. Timur Mercanoglu
Brett Caswell vs. Paul Rogers

Cage Warriors 59 Bantamweight tournament pairings set

Bantamweight tournament pairings set

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

A four man tournament will take place at Cage Warriors 59 to determine a new CWFC bantamweight champion, and officials have today revealed details of the semi-final pairings.

Cage Warriors 59, which will also see Jim Alers defend his featherweight title against Martin Svensson, is set for Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, 14 September, 2013.

To be contested on the night, the bantamweight tournament will feature David Haggstrom, Brett Johns, Martin McDonough and James Pennington (pictured), all of whom will be aiming to pick up the two wins required to clinch the vacant title.

Fighting in their native Wales, Johns and McDonough will feature in separate semi-finals, meaning an all-Welsh final is a distinct possibility. However, Sweden’s Haggstrom and Englishman Pennington will have other ideas.

Johns (7-0) will face Haggstrom (7-1-1) in one semi-final, an intriguing bout given that Haggstrom’s only professional loss came at the hands of Johns’ team-mate Dino Gambatesa back in July 2011.

In the other semi-final, two of the UK’s top-10 bantamweights will collide when McDonough (11-4) takes on Pennington (8-1), a meeting which will also carry added interest in the context that McDonough last tasted defeat in October 2011 against James Brum, a team-mate of Pennington’s.

Each semi-final bout will consist of two five-minute rounds and an additional overtime round will be contested in the event of a draw. Five five-minute rounds will be scheduled for the final.

The semi-finals will feature on the night’s preliminary card, with the final forming part of the co-main event. A reserve bout will also be added to the card in order to facilitate any enforced withdrawals.

Many more fights are still to be announced for Cage Warriors 59.