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.