Cory Tait “He’s standing in the way of my goal to becoming Champion!”

“Capcom” Cory Tait will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce for Cage Warriors when the promotion swings into Newport, Wales on 13th September, but in only his second appearance for the promotion the stakes are have been raised. For Tait will get the chance to become the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Champion with a win over Finland’s Toni “Dynamite” Tauru. But for the chilled out Tait, having a title on the line doesn’t make any difference to how he approaches this fight. “There is never pressure from anyone else. Its more the weight you put on yourself leading up to fights like these. So with that in mind I just try to keep calm.”

While Tait has made his name as one of the top Bantamweights prospects in the UK with some spectacular knock out finishes, his opponent Tauru heads into the title fight having flown relatively under the radar in the UK. But Tauru is definitely no push over and his 9 fight win streak (6 by submission) is a testament to his ability to fight for the title in his second Cage Warriors fight. But does Tait feel more pressure fighting a name who is not as well known on the UK scene? “I had never heard of him before this fight but he seems to be a legit opponent for me. The fact that he isn’t as well-known don’t matter to me in the slightest. If anything that just means my fans are loyal and know that I match up well with anyone. To me he’s my opponent standing in the way of my goal to becoming champion. FULL STOP!”

Tait made a seamless transition from UCMMA superstar to Cage Warriors Bantamweight contender in his first outing against a very tough James Pennington. The way in which Tait was able to dominate Pennington shocked many but for Tait it was no surprise whatsoever and the perfectionist in him wasn’t fully satisfied with the way he performed. “The only thing shocking about that fight was that he didn’t stay on the floor crying after I choked him out. I wouldn’t say that was my best performance I was just warming up really. But it was a good win for me against a guy that was doing well before I came along.”

A win for Tait over Tauru will see him be crowned champion for the third time in his career, having previously won the UCMMA Featherweight and Bantamweight crown and Tait has fond memories of fighting for the London promotion which saw him spend his early MMA career. “The UCMMA meant a lot to me and a lot of the champions they had there (Vitor Belfort, Brad Pickett and Anderson Silva) all went on to the UFC, so I am very happy to have been a part of that.”

But what does Tait make of the difference between fighting for UCMMA and Cage Warriors? “I just feel I am where I belong right now. The guys here will prepare me for bigger fights down the road. I am just happy to take in the experience. Cage Warriors are what’s popping right now and I’m trying to be part of that.”

Londoner Tait splits his training camp between the well known Lions Pride MMA, home to UFC Light Heavyweight Jimi Manuwa and Nova Force Jiu Jitsu under the tutelage of Ricardo Da Silva. Being able to train with an athlete the calibre of Manuwa’s has been a real help to Tait who has continued to evolve his overall game and prove that he is much more than just a Tae Kwon Do fighter. “This training camp has been very good. Getting to work with Jimi and the team he has around him has really helped all parts of my game. You will just have to wait and see on fight night.”

The Cage Warriors 135lb division was left wide open at following Cage Warriors 67 back in April when former champion Brett Johns missed weight for his title fight against James Brum and subsequently relinquished the strap. It may be a bitter pill for Johns to swallow having the new champion crowned in his home country but you can guarantee that the undefeated former champion will be knocking on the door of Ian Dean and Graham Boylan following this fight. And Tait has no problem in fighting Johns should he be victorious on September 13th. “Brett is a great fighter. He was last champ so his relevancy is still very solid in my opinion. So if that means he is the next one in line then you know I’m on it.”

Cory would like to thank “Fight Agents, Lions Pride MMA, Nova Force Jiu Jitsu, Nick Wilson, John Satt of Deco Lounge and Bad Boy. All of my friends, family and fans!

Be sure to follow Cory Tait on twitter @CapcomCory

Keep up to date with the Cage Warriors 72 fight card at http://www.cagewarriors.com/events-and-tickets

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