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)