Danny Roberts vs Jimmy Wallhead to headline Cage Warriors 68 in Liverpool

Welterweight battle announced as main event for Cage Warriors 68

A huge welterweight match-up has been set for the main event at Cage Warriors 68.

Danny Roberts and Jimmy Wallhead will collide in the headliner when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returns to Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday, May 3, 2014.

Also confirmed for the CWFC 68 bill is a middleweight bout between Che Mills and Leeroy Barnes, in addition to another big welterweight contest between Matt Inman and Mauro Chimento.

But in the evening’s main attraction, Danny Roberts (10-1) will be hoping for his sixth consecutive CWFC victory as he aims to strengthen his claims for a shot at the CWFC welterweight crown, which is up for grabs this weekend at CWFC 66 in Copenhagen.

Roberts, who’ll be fighting in his hometown of Liverpool, has climbed into the top-five in the UK rankings courtesy of impressive wins over Jack Mason, Diego Gonzalez, Henry Fadipe and Juan Manuel Suarez.

With all but two of his wins coming inside the distance, 26-year-old Roberts says fans can expect fireworks when he takes on Wallhead in what will surely be the biggest test of his career to date.

He said:

“Fighting in front of my friends, family and fans in my adopted hometown again for a top organisation is going to be special, and I’m looking forward to welcoming Jimmy Wallhead into one of the toughest welterweight divisions in the world.

“He is a very well-respected fighter and is one of the biggest names in the sport in the UK. This is going to be one that people won’t want to miss.”

Wallhead (25-8), who turned 30 last week, recently signed to fight exclusively for Cage Warriors, having previously competed for the promotion on 15 occasions, more than any other fighter.

A judo black belt and veteran of 25 professional victories, 18 of which have come via stoppage, Wallhead holds notable wins over several fighters with UFC experience, including Igor Araujo, Matt Veach, Che Mills and Frank Trigg.

The Leicester native, who competed for Bellator on three occasions between 2010 and 2012, hasn’t been stopped in his last 20 outings, with his last loss inside the distance coming at the hands of current UFC star Dennis Siver back in 2006.

“I’m really excited to be back on Cage Warriors and I’m especially pleased to be fighting in Liverpool on May 3,” said Wallhead.

“The opponent is irrelevant to me as all fights at this level are tough, but I’m really motivated by the prospect of beating him in his hometown. I expect a war, which is great for the fans and great for me, as I just love fighting.”

Meanwhile, having impressively disposed of Gregor Weibel at CWFC 64 last month, Matt Inman (13-5) will also be keen to stay in the CWFC welterweight title hunt when he goes in search of a fifth straight win, with Brazilian star Mauro Chimento (15-10) providing the opposition as he returns to Cage Warriors after a lengthy lay-off due to illness.

Elsewhere, after both fighters endured a disappointing 2013, Che Mills (15-7-2nc) and Leeroy Barnes (12-13-1nc) will be looking to return to winning ways when they clash in a middleweight bout.

Cage Warriors 68, for which many more bouts are still to be announced, will take place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on Saturday, May 3, 2014.

Che Mills Meets Faycal Hucin at Cage Warriors Fight Night 9

Che Mills Meets Faycal Hucin at Cage Warriors Fight Night 9

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

A MIDDLEWEIGHT bout between Che Mills (pictured) and Faycal Hucin will be contested at CWFC Fight Night 9.

The event, which will be Cage Warriors Fighting Championship’s eleventh of 2013, is set to take place at King Hussein Boxing Arena in Amman, Jordan on Friday, 25 October.

Mills (15-6-0-2) will be fighting at middleweight for the first time since falling short against CWFC welterweight champion Cathal Pendred at Cage Warriors 55 back in June.

Having later announced his intention to switch to the 185lbs division, Mills was then scheduled to face Valentino Petrescu last weekend at Cage Warriors 59 in Cardiff, but the bout was pulled after both fighters took ill.

A native of Gloucester in England, 30-year-old Mills signed exclusively for Cage Warriors earlier this year, following a four-fight stint with the UFC.

“I can’t wait to get back in the cage and entertain the fans,” Mills said. “My opponent is well-rounded and I expect an explosive match. I’m also looking forward to visiting Bahrain and I thank Cage Warriors for the opportunity.”

Hucin (9-3) will be keen to stake a claim for a shot at the vacant CWFC middleweight title as he goes in search of his fourth Cage Warriors win in five outings.

The 25-year-old missed out on a shot at the belt last year after a unanimous-decision loss to Victor Cheng in the semi-finals of Cage Warriors’ title tournament, which was Hucin’s only defeat in his last eight bouts. He booked his semi-final spot after a first-round KO of recent Bellator ‘Fight Master’ contestant Gareth Joseph.

The Frenchman returned to winning ways by overcoming John Michael Sheil last October, before most recently submitting former KSW champion AntonI Chmielewski at CWFC Fight Night 8 this past May.

The charismatic Parisian said: “I’m in great shape for this fight because I’ve been working hard. I’m looking forward to dancing in the sunshine and putting on a good show.”

CWFC Fight Night 9 Moves to The King Hussein Boxing Arena in Jordan

CWFC Fight Night 9 Moves to Jordan

photo: cagewarriors.com

CWFC Fight Night 9, which is set for Friday, 25 October 2013, will now take place at the King Hussein Boxing Arena in Amman, Jordan.

The event had originally been scheduled for Isa Town in Bahrain on the same date, but several logistical issues have caused CWFC officials to decide on a change of destination for the promotion’s eleventh event of 2013.

“We were extremely excited about bringing Cage Warriors back to Bahrain again but a few logistical problems have unfortunately arisen, which meant that staging the event to Cage Warriors’ usual high standards wasn’t going to be possible,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.

“As a result, rather than cancelling the event entirely and leaving our athletes on the card without fights to prepare for, we’ve been able to organise - despite the short notice - for CWFC Fight Night 9 to take place in Jordan instead.

“We’ve had some fantastic shows there already and this one will be no different. I want to offer my apologies to the Cage Warriors fans in Bahrain but we’ll do everything we can to get back there as early as possible in 2014.”

CWFC Fight Night 9 will be Cage Warriors Fighting Championship’s fifth event in Amman, the first of which was back in June 2011.

The promotion’s most recent event in the Jordanian capital, CWFC Fight Night 7 in September of last year, saw Chris Fields defeat Pavel Kusch in the final of CWFC middleweight title tournament, as well as victories for CWFC featherweight champion Jim Alers and current UFC star Leo Santos.

Next month’s event will feature a host of Cage Warriors’ top names, such as Bruno Carvalho, Gael Grimaud, Che Mills, Faycal Hucin, Paul Redmond and many more.

Cage Warriors 59 adds Mills vs Petrescu and Long vs Maguire

Cage Warriors 59 main card takes shape with two more fights added

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Che Mills and Valentino Petrescu will clash in a middleweight contest when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returns to Cardiff next month.

A lightweight tussle between Tommy Maguire and home favourite Lewis Long will also feature on the Cage Warriors 59 bill, while a further two bouts have been added to the event’s preliminary card.

Cage Warriors 59, which will also see the CWFC bantamweight and featherweight titles up for grabs, is set to take place at the Welsh capital’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, 14 September, 2013.

Mills (15-6-0-2) makes the move to middleweight following a loss to CWFC welterweight champion Cathal Pendred at Cage Warriors 55 in Dublin this past June.

The 30-year-old, who holds notable wins over the likes of Marius Zaromskis, Chris Cope and Jake Hecht, signed exclusively for Cage Warriors earlier this year after a four-fight stint with the UFC. “Cardiff is one of my favourite places so I can’t wait to fight there,” said Mills. “After my last performance, I’ll be looking to prove a point by putting on a show.”

Petrescu (12-3), who also recently signed an exclusive CWFC deal, featured as a welterweight on ‘The Smashes’ series of The Ultimate Fighter last year.

The 32-year-old has picked up seven of his 12 wins via first-round stoppage, with his only losses coming at the hands of highly-regarded opposition in the shape of Jimi Manuwa, Beslan Isaev and Lee Chadwick.
Petrescu said: “This one will make for an exciting fight because myself and Mills are both fighters who bring it. The fans in Cardiff will definitely be getting their money’s worth.”

Meanwhile, with their respective injury troubles out of the way, Lewis Long and Tommy Maguire will square off in a meeting of two of the UK’s most exciting lightweights.

After an impressive win against Mark Glover at Cage Warriors 54 in Cardiff back in May, an injury forced Long (7-2) to withdraw from a scheduled meeting with Saul Rogers at Liverpool’s Cage Warriors 57 last month.

Maguire (14-5), who appeared on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, had to postpone his CWFC debut against Merv Mulholland at Cage Warriors 52 in London last March after he also sustained an injury.

Elsewhere at Cage Warriors 59, Welsh pair Jamie Rogers (9-6) and Owain Parry (3-1) will face off in a lightweight bout, while bantamweights Timur Mercanoglu (3-0) and Jordan Desborough (6-2) will also collide.

Tickets for Cage Warriors 59 are still available and prices start from just £25 (plus booking fee)

Che Mills talks about the UK MMA Expo and his seminar

Che Mills talks to Kingdom MMA about his seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

The first in the series of interviews was with Rob Sinclair, the former BAMMA Lightweight world champion who has recently signed for Bellator. Then we interviewed Jo Jo Calderwood, who won last night at Invicta 6 about being a part of the "women in combat sports" Q&A session and now we have Che Mills the Cage Warriors fighter. I caught up with Che last week to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Che will be hosting a training seminar which takes place on the 20th July at 12:15pm. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Che and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"First and foremost I want the seminar to be a lot of fun. I hope people come away at the end learning something from my seminar and don't worry I'm certainly not going to be a drill Sergeant and scream at anyone. However I am keeping the full details of the seminar close to my chest so it will be a surprise on the day"

 I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"Everyone is invited and as they say the more the merrier."

I also asked Che what it felt to be one of the first fighters to be asked to be a part of the expo including having the logo on his shorts for his previous fights.

"Humbled, no matter what I have achieved in my career being asked to be one of the first fighters if not the first to be a part of the UK MMA Expo was a great feeling. I am happy to promote a brilliant event and hope that people who are not necessarily MMA fans come along and enjoy it too then go away becoming MMA fans themselves"

Finally we spoke about how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"Its brilliant and I hope it becomes a regular event maybe once or twice a year. Its great for the public and gives them all the chance to meet the fighters, buy things from lots of exhibitors and take part in seminars without being intimidated by stepping in to a gym for the first time." 

So there you have it, that's Che Mills giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Che Mills Training Seminar
Date - 20th July 12:15PM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £20
Seminar + Saturday Expo Entry £25
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £30

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Pendred vs Mills now a 3 round non title fight after Mills misses weight

Cage Warriors 55 weigh in results

Cathal Pendred and Che Mills (Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors)

Cathal Pendred’s CWFC welterweight title will no longer be on the line at Cage Warriors 55 after Che Mills failed to make weight this afternoon. The pair were scheduled to do battle for Pendred’s belt in tomorrow evening’s main event at The Helix in Dublin.
However, while the fight will still go ahead over three rounds instead of five, Mills’ failure to make the contracted weight means the strap unfortunately won’t be at stake. Mills will also surrender 25 percent of his purse to Pendred.

Mills later took to twitter to apologise "Firstly I must apologise to @CageWarriors & the fans. Nobody to blame but myself & making no excuses." He then went on to say "I just hope that everyone still tunes in to cagewarriors.tv". Mills finished by saying "It is gunna be a war which I will WIN no doubt about it!"

Elsewhere, there were no problems for Neil Seery and Mikael Silander ahead of their historic CWFC flyweight title fight, with both fighters coming in under the 125lbs limit.

MAIN CARD

Welterweight: Cathal Pendred (champion, 169.5lbs) v Che Mills* (170.7lbs)
Flyweight: Neil Seery (124.8lbs) v Mikael Silander (124.1lbs) – inaugural CWFC flyweight title bout
190lbs catchweight: Chris Fields (188.7lbs) v Norman Paraisy (189.3lbs)
Lightweight: Marc Allen (154.7lbs) v Paul Redmond (155.8lbs)
139lbs catchweight: Steve McCombe (139.2lbs) v Jean N’Doye (140lbs)

FACEBOOK PRELIMS

Welterweight: Piotr Ptasinski (168.8lbs) v John Redmond (170.9lbs)
150lbs catchweight: Stephen Coll (148.9lbs) v Liam James (147.5lbs)

NON-STREAMED PRELIMS

Middleweight: Sam Francis (183.8lbs) v Konrad Iwanowski (184.8lbs)
Bantamweight: Gavin Kelly (135.9lbs) v Ben Rees (135.7lbs)

*Mills initially came in at 171.2lbs but failed to make the contracted weight within the two-hour limit; now a non-title bout to be contested over three rounds and Mills surrenders 25 percent of his purse to Pendred

Pro Picks: UK MMA Cream of the Crop Weigh In on Pendred vs Mills

Pro Picks: UK MMA Finest Weigh In on Pendred vs Mills
By Chris Houten - @kingdomMMAChris 

On Saturday night Cathal Pendred will attempt to defend his Welterweight belt against Che Mills at The Helix, Dublin Ireland in possibly the biggest fight on the European MMA scene this year.

For weeks I have been debating who's going to win the fight, when I convince myself the striking of Mills will prevail, I can't help but remind myself of Pendreds wrestling skills. Over and over, I have decided then changed my mind again, to the point where you could confuse me for the summer weather in Britain.

So I decided to catch up with some of finest fighters in Britain, from Bamma Champions, to a Cage Warriors Champion, to a couple guys in the UFC and more, to see who they think will win on Saturday.

We surveyed 18 of the finest UK fighters..... and our surveys said:

Paul 'Semtex' Daley:
"I thinks it's a very interesting fight between to great UK fighters, both very powerful and athletic. In my opinion Pendred will win this fight with takedowns, dominance in the clinch and ground control."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

John Maguire:
"I Think Che Mills by TKO in the later rounds!"

Pick: Che Mills

Bradley Scott

"I don't think Pendred will be able to get Che down, he's a nightmare. Che will stay by the fence on purpose because he's strong defending takedowns. Pendred's no where near as Good a Riddle at wrestling. Che defo gonna win this."

Pick: Che Mills

Colin 'Freakshow' Fletcher:
"I'm going with Che! It's hard to adjust to the way the UFC do things I do think we saw the best of him in the UFC."

Pick: Che Mills

Jim Alers:
"I have my money in Pendred. I feel that he has what it take to beat anyone in the 170lbs division and have him grinding out a decision."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Rob Sinclair:
"I'm going with Che Mills."

Pick Che Mills

James Brum:
"I will definitely be tuning in to watch this fight. Both Pendred and Mills are very talented and dangerous fighters. I'm a big fan of Pendred so my money is on him. I believe he will be victorious and the Champion will retain his title."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Leeroy Barnes:
"I'm going with Mills."

Pick: Che Mills

Danny Roberts:
"The fight between Mills and Pendred will be a good fight. Mills good stand up and accurate striking where as Pendred  possesses the better grappling, he's more intense and will smother Mills work. Think Mills will start of strong but I can see Pendred capitalising with the pace and grappling taking it to a decision win for Pendred."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Matt Inman
"Pendred all the way for me."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Jack Mason:
"I am a big fan of Che Mills but I honestly think Cathal will just use his constant pressure, takedowns and pushing Che up against the cage to get the decision win and retain his belt."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Martin McDonough:
"My prediction is a decision win for Pendred. Even though I like Mills an he is a good fighter, I have been on the same Card as Pendred twice an he is really good at shutting people's game down and getting the win. I think he is a bit of a cardio machine as well and he is a unit for a welterweight."

Pick: Cathal Pendred 

Jason Cooledge:
"Pendred win decision."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Matt Ewin:
"I can see Pendred trying to close the distance ASAP and try to bully Che up against the cage and work for the takedown from there, he won't be able to shoot in on Che with Che's reach and great foot work. But saying that Che's far to strong for Pendred and with his excellent striking the only way I can see the fight going is Che stopping Pendred in the first or very early in The second."

Pick: Che Mills

Mike Neun:
"I think Che Mills will win. My gut tells me TKO."

Pick: Che Mills

Jim Wallhead
"I have never watched Pendred fight but I hear good things, but I gotta back Che he is my mate I'm excited to see how it goes."

Pick: Mills

Curt Warburton:
"Pendred on points."

Pick: Pendred

Andrew Punshon:
"Mills to win by decision."

Pick: Che Mills

So there you have you have it 18 asked - 9 picked Pendred, 9 picked Mills... and I'm still none the wiser. All I know is we the fans can expect a hell of a fight on Saturday.
 

Mills on Pendred "He is determined to be in the UFC, I think when I punch him he'll have second thoughts"

Kingdom MMA interview Che Mills ahead of his Cage Warriors 55 Welterweight title fight

by Ben Heather @benheather

Today Kingdom MMA caught up with Che Mills and spoke about a range talking points including the UFC, signing with Cage Warriors, his fight this weekend and the UK MMA Expo to name a few subjects including an exclusive announcement about the UK MMA Expo.

On Saturday night Che makes his return to the cage at Cage Warriors 55 after being released by the UFC and he goes straight in to fighting Cathal Pendred in Cathal's hometown of Dublin, Ireland for the Cage Warriors Welterweight title. This fight is one of the most anticipated fights in UK MMA of 2013 and it has a really big buzz around the whole event.

Ben: This will be your first fight since being cut from the UFC. How did you find out you had been cut as some people found out on twitter?
Mills: I was also one of those that found out on twitter, then my manager rang saying he’d just seen it and it was then confirmed about an hour after that officially from Joe Silva via my manager.

Ben: Dana White criticised you for not trying to finish Matt Riddle at the end of your last fight and jumping on him. Did that bother you?
Mills: At the time yes, but not anymore. He is entitled to his opinion, and I respect that.

Ben: Did you feel harshly treated by the UFC? After all you went 2-1-1 in your time and then got cut. That's far from being the worst record in the UFC.
Mills: To be honest I don’t even think about it. It is what it is at the end of the day, and there is nothing I can do about it regardless of how I feel about it. I now look back at the whole thing as a learning experience.

Ben: Once you had been released did you get any offers from other organisations?
Mills: Yeah, my manager said that a few things had been offered, and not just in MMA! lol

Ben: What made you sign with Cage Warriors?
Mills: They have the most professionally run show in Europe. They consistently put on events and have a proven track record for doing so. They have a great distribution through all their media partners and have already shown that they provide their fighters with great exposure, such as the MTV documentary that I did. 

Ben: Do you feel your last performance against Matt Riddle was effected by it being shortly after your father passed away?
Mills: When I look back now, I think so, plus a few others things, such as injury and so on, but at the time I was focused and was ready to fight, so I did. I have no excuses, I got beat and that’s that. There is no shoulda woulda coulda!

Ben: In your last fight you were out wrestled by Matt Riddle. Have you changed anything in your training since that fight especially as Pendred has a decent wrestling game?
Mills: I am always working on my wrestling, as well as everything else. We have a great set up at Trojan Free Fighters and cover everything throughout the week and consistently work hard to improve in all areas.

Ben: How has the camp gone for this fight? How long ago did you start your camp for this fight?
Mills: Training camp has gone really well. It started beginning of April officially, but I am always training and stay in shape.

Ben: Do you expect Pendred to focus on using his wrestling as part of his game plan come Saturday night?
Mills: I would think so, that is what he tends to do, but I’m ready for everything. It’s about what I am going to do, that’s my focus.

Ben: What is your game plan for the fight on Saturday night?
Mills: Punch him in the face HARD, and win the title

Ben: We saw in your UFC debut that you have knockout power and with over half of your wins being by knockouts. Do you think you will be able to stop Cathal Pendred on Saturday night?
Mills: Yes

Ben: Would you say you feel more or less pressure heading in to this fight than you did during your spell in the UFC?
Mills: Now I feel less pressure all round, I spent a lot of time think about what I should say or do, rather than what I actually felt. This has all been part of the learn experience. I talk about this in the MTV documentary quite a bit so go check it out…. http://www.mtv.co.uk/sports/mma/video/the-che-mills-story

Ben: When will you be travelling over to Ireland?
Mills: We all travel on Thursday morning

Ben: Will you be taking a big group of friends and family with you as you will be going to fight in a hostile environment fighting Pendred in his home town of Dublin?
Mills: There is a few of the family and friend coming over, I know a few of the guys from the gym are coming over too. However I know that they’ll all be watching from home on cagewarriors.tv so I’ll certainly have the support with me.

Ben: Pendred seems to be talking about fighting in the UFC a lot ahead of this fight. Even going as far as discussing which UFC event he wants to make his debut on. Do you think he is looking past you and in his head already has the fight won?
Mills: Haha… I don’t know, he is determined to be in the UFC…. I think when I punch him he’ll have second thoughts.

Ben: what you think about Paul Daley saying you are not on his level?
Mills: I don’t think anything about it…. 

Ben: Without looking past Pendred but if you win on Saturday and become champion, would a fight against Daley be something that interested you? That's if it was possible for Cage Warriors to make the fight happen.
Mills: I would happily fight him, and if it’s on Cage Warriors then great.

Ben: Do you still have aspirations of getting a few wins under your belt and back in to the UFC?
Mills: At the moment all my focus is with Cage Warriors and becoming the champ, then defending the belt and continuing to fight the best in world

Ben: We recently broke the news on our site that in July you will be doing a signing/ meet and greet at the UK MMA Expo in Manchester. Do you have anything to say to the fans that will be coming to meet you at the expo?
Mills: I’m looking forward to it, it’s not often you get the chance to meet the fans all in one go like this so I’m excited. I will also be doing a seminar so come along to that too.

Ben: If you win at Cage Warriors 55 can we expect you to bring your belt along to the UK MMA Expo so the fans can get a picture with you and your title?
Mills: There is no if about it…. 100%

Ben: Would you like to say thanks to anyone or any sponsors?
Mills: Yes thanks a lot. Want to say thanks to Dan my manager (UI Management) and Paul Sutherland my head coach at Trojan Free Fighters, he puts everything together to ensure that I am ready. All my sponsors, Sci-MX Nutrition, Pride or Die, MMA Apparel, Vita Coco UK, Sport Kitchen, Smuggling Duds, Glos Pain Relief Clinic, NutriFit, UK MMA Expo. Of course all the guys at Trojan Free Fighters and Paul Middlewood for all the beasty conditioning sessions.

Thank you very much to Che Mills for taking the time to answer our questions so close to his title fight.

As Che mentioned the exclusive announcement regarding the UK MMA Expo is that he will not only be there to meet fans for photos and autographs but he will also be at the UK MMA Expo to run a seminar too. Full details of the seminar will be released on the UK MMA Expo website in the next few days and tickets for the Che Mills seminar will be on sale very soon.

For all the details about the UK MMA Expo check out their website http://www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk/.

Che Mills first fight for Cage Warriors since UFC release announced

Che Mills gets a welterweight title shot at Cage Warriors 55

By Ben Heather @benheather

Cathal Pendred (12-2-1 MMA) will put his Cage Warriors welterweight title on the line against Che Mills (15-5 MMA). This will be Pendred's first title defence and will be against Mills who has recently been cut from the UFC. Mills will fight for his first time since signing for Cage Warriors.

Promotion Officials announced the bout on Friday. The fight will headline the Cage Warriors 55 show which will take place on June 1st at The Helix in Dublin.

Pendred is 5-0-1 fighting for Cage Warriors and will look to defend the title for the first time in front of his hometown crowd. He won the title at Cage Warriors 52 where he won a unanimous decision over Gale Grimaud.

Pendred spoke about the announced fight "Fighting in my own backyard in a venue full of crazy Irish fans against a guy who was in the UFC until very recently, I couldn't have asked for a better way to defend my title for the first time, I can guarantee that the calibre of my opponent and the atmosphere the Irish fans will create is going to bring out the best in me."

Mills this past month was cut from the UFC following a loss to Matt Riddle at UFC on Fuel TV 7, although this fight was later changed to a no contest when Matt Riddle tested positive for Marijuana after the fight. Now Mills will return to Cage Warriors to fight for the first time in more than two and a half years, having last fought for Cage Warriors at Cage Warriors 38 in October 2010.

Mills stated "I'm really excited about the opportunity, this fight will be a war but I'm not leaving without the belt."

Along with the welterweight title fight as the main event, the co main event is likely to be the final of the recently announced four man one night flyweight tournament which will also be a title fight. The winner of this tournament will be the inaugural 125lb champion. The format of the tournament is likely to see two fights take place in the prelims with the winner of each fighting each other in the final.

Keep checking KingdomMMA for more news on Cage Warriors as well as all the latest news from the world of MMA.

UK Welterweight Che Mills Signs with Cage Warriors

Che Mills Signs Exclusive 5 Fight Deal with Cage Warriors

Following his release from the UFC after his loss to Matt Riddle at UFC on Fuel 7 in London, UK Welterweight star Che Mills has signed an exclusive 5 fight deal with leading European promotion Cage Warriors.

30 year old Mills who holds a record of 15-5 including notable wins against Marius Zamorskis, Duane Ludwig, and Chris Cope - the later 2 coming in the UFC, is a massive coup for the Cage Warrior promotion who release the following press statement:

CAGE Warriors Fighting Championship has secured the signature of top English welterweight Che Mills.

The UFC veteran has put pen to paper on an exclusive five-fight contract, committing his immediate future to the organisation.

Mills (15-5-0-2nc) has spent the last two years of his career with the UFC, where he clocked up a 2-1-0-1 record.

The 30-year-old Gloucester native made a winning start to his UFC career in November 2011, picking up a KO of the Night bonus after taking just 40 seconds to dispose of Chris Cope.

In his only official UFC defeat, Mills suffered a second-round TKO loss to fourth-ranked welterweight Rory McDonald last April but rebounded with a win over Duane Ludwig in Nottingham in September.

At UFC on Fuel TV 7 at London’s Wembley Arena last month, Mills was beaten by Matt Riddle by split decision, but the result was later overturned as a ‘no contest’ after Riddle failed a drug test.

“Che Mills is the best UK welterweight outside of the UFC at the moment so I’m extremely happy that he has decided to come on board,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.

“A fighter of his calibre wouldn’t have been short of offers but the fact that Che has opted to sign for Cage Warriors is proof that the guy is determined to return to the top. I have no doubt that he’ll get there too.

“I’m a big fan of Che Mills. When the UFC recently released a bunch of guys, Che was the one I really wanted to bring in. He comes from a great camp and is always exciting to watch.

“As is the case with all fighters, I believe Cage Warriors is the perfect platform to help Che to achieve his goals and show the world that they still haven’t seen the best of him.”
A contestant on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, Mills previously fought for CWFC in October 2010, when he scored a unanimous decision win over fellow UFC veteran Jake Hecht at Cage Warriors 38. He also holds two notable wins over Bellator star Marius Zaromskis.

Che Mills will make his return to Cage Warriors action in the coming months. Details of his next bout will be released shortly.

Cage Warriors next event - Cage Warriors 58 takes place at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town, North London, England. Tickets are still available through cagewarriors.com