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.

 

Is UFC on FOX 9 the Best Free Card Ever?

Is UFC on FOX 9 the Best Free Card Ever?
by Jack Broadey - @j3cK_b

In all my time watching the UFC this is not only the best free card the UFC and Zuffa have produced it is probably the best single card they have produced full stop. It has everything. Title fights, fights with title implications, comeback fights and just generally very good stylistic match ups.

The main event sees Anthony Pettis defend his lightweight strap for the 1st time. With TJ Grant still unavailable the next viable contender steps up to the plate, that man is Josh Thomson. This is a better stylistic fight and should be all out war in a standup battle. On any other card you would expect this fight to be a solid fight of the night contender, it still is but has some serious competition. I will be bold and predict the fight of the year will come from this card.

The only slight criticism if the co main event you can have is that it's only 3 rounds long. When that's the biggest concern you have of a fight then your onto something. The co main event will see Urijah Faber v Michael McDonald battle it out. With Dominic Cruz status still unknown this could very well find the next bantamweight contender. Both men are stuck in the Vitor Belfort position in that they've suffered recent damaging losses to the champion. Barao has pretty much cleaned out his division now so the winner of this fight will more than deserve there rematch.

The next fight on the card is dairy similar to the above. Carlos Condit V Matt Brown has violence written all over it. It can't fail to deliver. This will win something of the night and possibly year. Condit is in a similar position that Faber and McDonald find themselves in. A win over Brown is serious news now though after the tear he's been on. Brown has serious incentives here. A win almost certainly guarantees a title shot. The only shame here again is that it's not a main event and as such will only be 3 rounds. That's 2 fights i am already kicking myself that this isn't a 5 rounder. That's the consequence for building such a fantastic card.

The next fight might not stand out as much or look as thrilling on paper. Lentz-Mendes is however a fantastic fight and had serious title implications. Lentz has looked amazing since his drop to featherweight and both men have been tearing through the division. Mendes is again in that position of having recently lost to the champion and that's still fresh in the mind. He's done everything in his power to set that right though and knocking Clay Guida out is a serious statement. This is very important fight to figure a lot of things out in the featherweight division.

We won't go as in depth into the rest of the card but if we have a glance through you will realise the top end action doesn't end here. Ian McCall snapped his losing streak winning impressively in Brazil. He has an interesting fight on his hands as he takes on Scott Jorgensen making his flyweight debut. Only 1-3 in his last 4 but those losses coming to some of the very best, the same as McCall in a way. The winner moves into contention at flyweight as the division is still very shallow in its early days. 2 lightweight fights next as we have the perennial 'of the night winner Joe Lauzon back in action against Mac Danzig and Danny Castillo v Edson Barboza. Lauzon tends to always be in very exciting fights with his last outing being the anomaly. Barboza has looked fantastic so far in the UFC and looks to keep gaining experience in his quest to win gold.

The latest announced fight is perhaps the closest to call. Both men winning different seasons of TUF we have Court McGee against the youngest ever 'ultimate fighter' Kelvin Gastelum. Both men have amazing heart and have come through as serious underdogs. Can they be any more than gatekeepers. They have to win this to move up I the division and only one man can do that. It's a great fight so low down on a card and it just adds to what should be a fantastic night. I could quite easily see any one of these fights being spectacular enough to earn fight of the year honours. The top 3 fights on the card are as loaded and stacked as you will ever find. What's your prediction for fight of the night? Will it be good enough to earn fight of the year? I can't wait to find out.

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.”

Cage Warriors 60 Lightweight tournament pairings set; Kelly vs. Stephens also added

Cage Warriors 60 Lightweight tournament pairings set; Kelly vs. Stephens also added

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

A FOUR-MAN tournament will take place at Cage Warriors 60 to determine a new CWFC lightweight champion, and today officials have revealed details of the semi-final pairings.

Cage Warriors 60 will take place at The Forum in Kentish Town, London, on Saturday, 5 October. Tickets, priced from just £25, are currently on sale HERE.

To be contested on the night, the lightweight tournament will feature Jason Ball (pictured), Ivan Buchinger, Stevie Ray and Mick Sinclair, all of whom will be aiming to pick up the two wins required to clinch a belt that was vacated by Conor McGregor earlier this year.

Buchinger (23-4) will face Sinclair (12-3) in one semi-final, while on the other side of the draw, Ball (20-12) and Ray (12-4) will also clash for a coveted place in the decider.

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 CWFC 60 preliminary card, with the final scheduled to conclude the night’s action as the main event.

In order to facilitate any enforced withdrawals, the previously-announced meeting of Sean Carter and Richard Griffin will act as a reserve bout.

Meanwhile, a women’s bout has also been added to the CWFC 60 card, which will be the promotion’s 10th of 2013.

Former Muay Thai world champion Amanda Kelly (0-0) will make her professional MMA debut in a bantamweight bout against fellow Brit and Muay Thai practicioner Hannah Stephens (2-1).

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.

Craig Turner Meets Phil Flynn at Fight UK 10

Craig Turner Meets Phil Flynn at Fight UK 10

A Welter Weight bout between Craig Turner (6-0-0) and Phil Flynn (7-9-1) is the latest addition to the FIGHT UK 10 card held at the Athena, Leicester, England on November 16th.

Turner makes his return to the ring after recovering from a shoulder injury that has seen him out of action for over 14 months. The Rough House fighter is looking at a winning return to the FIGHT UK promotion where he made is debut amongst the amateur ranks in 2010.

Turner faces the experienced Manchester Predators athlete Flynn who steps up from the lightweight division to challenge Turner at welterweight, with wins on his record over the likes of Leeroy Barnes, Flynn is a dangerous customer for Turner. However coming off the back of 3 consecutive losses, Flynn will be looking at taking the scalp of Turner to get him back amongst the rankings. 

This is an intriguing match up for both fighters with implications surely to affect the FIGHT UK title credentials of both men.

The latest FIGHT UK 10 card now includes:

• Chris Miah (c) vs. Josh Foster - FLYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
• Joe Rice vs. Mike Berry
• Max Cotton vs. Asim Hul-Haq
• Martin Sheridan vs. Gaz Pilot
• Dan Watkins vs. James Burrows

Tickets for FIGHT UK 10 are available from £30 and can be purchased here

Press Release: Samsung Links up with Cage Warriors

Samsung Links up with Cage Warriors 

CAGE WARRIORS Fighting Championship is pleased to announce that it has agreed an exciting new partnership with Samsung.

The deal will see all Cage Warriors video content made available on demand via Samsung’s new SportsFlow application, which is currently available across South-East Asia.

Over 25 million Samsung mobile devices are in operation in the region, which covers Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand.

By downloading the SportsFlow app, Samsung customers in these territories will be able to access a whole host of CWFC video content via their mobile device, including features, interviews, promos and an extensive archive of Cage Warriors bouts.

“This content distribution partnership with a company of Samsung’s stature is further evidence of how rapidly Cage Warriors Fighting Championship continues to progress, and I’m looking forward to seeing this partnership flourish,” said Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.

“I’d like to thank Maurizio Barbieri, Samsung’s Head of Sports, for his help in putting this deal in place, and also for thinking outside the box and embracing mixed martial arts.

“I’m currently in the process of finalising two very significant deals, which will ensure that 2014 will be the biggest year in the history of Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Fighters will no longer need to look to the USA to carve out successful careers.”

According to Samsung, SportsFlow aggregates content from the most respected sports sources in the world, providing users with the chance to stay up to date with what is going on in one single glance.

As a SportsFlow user, you can personalise your experience, arranging content according to your own preferences. Content is easy to share, so friends will know what you’re commenting on or bragging about. Optimised for tablets, SportsFlow is the perfect companion if you want to catch up on the latest news or check the latest scores.

Having just recently launched SportsFlow, the app is currently available exclusively to Samsung mobile device users in the aforementioned South-East Asian territories, but the company aims to eventually launch SportsFlow as its official sports service across the globe.

For more information, check out the Samsung SportsFlow website HERE.