Just two weeks after a very successful Cage Warriors 73, the promotion bounce into London to showcase their eleventh offering of the year. Cage Warriors 74 is set for the Copper Box in the Olympic Park which is the fitting for the scale of the card we are being treated to. The card is headlined by a Welterweight Title showdown between Champion Nicolas Dalby and contender Mohsen Bahari. This fight alone sells the whole of the card for me but if you are looking for any other reason to tune in then here is the five reasons why you need to watch Cage Warriors 74.
MMA at the Copper Box
I truly believe that hosting events at venues such as the Copper Box really will do a lot of good for the UKMMA community and help spread the good word of MMA across the masses. Its often said that all press is good press and I think that by embedding the sport across the country in some of the better known venues will only increase the popularity of the sport. It will be the second MMA event I attend at the Copper Box with BAMMA being the first to tackle the arena and for me the atmosphere within this historic venue really spurs on the fans, staff and fighters.
Dalby’s first defence
Current Welterweight champion Nicolas Dalby was geared up to defend his crown in Newport, however, opponent Gael Grimaud was forced to withdraw following a last minute injury which meant Dalby spent most of the evening snapping pictures of the event instead of competing. But given the depth of the Welterweight roster it wasn’t long until Cage Warriors signed up Dalby for his first title defence at Cage Warriors 74 against number one contender Mohsen Bahari. A fight which for me is more intriguing than the original proposed fight with Grimaud. Bahari is 4-1 under Cage Warriors with three wins including victories over Bruno Carvalho and Benny Alloway putting him next in line for a title shot. Champion Dalby will be looking to keep hold of his belt whilst also maintaining his undefeated record which currently sits with twelve victories, eight by stoppage. Two of the best Welterweights in Europe will certainly be a fitting way to end a superb fight card!
Re-jigging the Lightweight puzzle
Current Lightweight Champion Stevie Ray will undoubtedly be paying close attention to this event as there is a number of key Lightweight fights taking place which could provide the champion with his next opponent. Saul Rogers Vs Mick Sinclair, Brad Wheeler Vs John Maguire, Joseph Duffy Vs Julien Boussuge and Tim Wilde Vs Sean Carter are fights which all hold big title implications in the 155lb division. For me it will be those fighters who make the most impact in these fights who will stand the best chance at getting their shot and making it especially difficult for Graham Boylan and Ian Dean as to what to do next.
The crowning of a Queen
Although there may have been a last minute withdrawal from the women’s Bantamweight title fight, fear not as the MMA gods have worked their magic and we will still see a Queen crowned on Saturday night. The fight now features Finland’s Eeva Siiskonen and Pannie Kianszad in an all Nordic bout to crown the first ever Cage Warriors Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Although Siiskonen has been with the promotion since 2013, the native of Finland has yet to make her Cage Warriors debut due to injury, so will be thrown straight into the fire in a sink or swim title battle. So a small piece of history will be made on Saturday night and that’s just one of the many reasons why you need to be watching!
Duffy’s second fight of 2014
After a three year layoff Joseph Duffy returned to the Cage Warriors cage at CWFC 70 and picked up a submission win over Damien Lapilus. Now just three months later Duffy is looking to end the year on a strong as he gets set to fight Julien Boussuge in a Lightweight battle. A dominant win in this fight certainly puts Duffy up there in respect of future title talks and his high profile may lead to him getting the nod ahead of some of the other sharks in the division. But Boussuge will be looking to stake his own claim atop of the Lightweight divison and a win over Duffy would get the Frenchman’s name in lights and well placed in the 155lb division.
Well that is my five main reason why you should be tuning in to Cage Warriors 74 this weekend and for many more reasons be sure to head over to cagewarriors.com and follow the promotion on twitter @CageWarriors
Any feedback always welcome at facebook.com/whoatv or on twitter @mmanarchy