This coming weekend Cage Warriors return to the Newport Centre for Cage Warriors 79.
The show will top off a very good time for Welsh MMA with former Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion Jack Marshman becoming the first ever Welsh fighter to sign for the UFC.
And with Marshman breaking the seal you can sense that there will be a number of guys on this card hoping to put their best foot forward. So we have taken a look at a few Welsh fighters we feel you should keep your eyes on;
Josh Reed (5-0 MMA)
Tillery Combat’s Josh Reed is certainly one to keep an eye on this coming weekend as he looks to keep his undefeated record in tack against Martin Sheridan. This is the first real test for Reed who up to this time has been fighting guys with lesser records than himself and in Sheridan he gets the chance to test himself against someone who has had over twice the amount of pro bouts than him. During his amateur and professional record he has not gone the distance and therefore it would be a good test of his ability to go 15 minutes if Sheridan is able to drag him into the muddy waters but if not I suspect Reed will be able to make light work of the Irishman and move onto a six fight winning streak.
Jack Shore
Shore is definitely a hot prospect and I like what Cage Warriors are doing with him in terms of not putting too much on his shoulders so early on. Both of his professional bouts have ended in submission in the first frame and his opponent Eddie Pobivanez is definitely no slouch on the ground which could make for an entertaining fight. I was very impressed in how Shore handle the pressure in his last bout as he was draped all over fight pass which for a young lad can definitely add an element of pressure, albeit he seemed to relish in it. Justifiably he is on the main card and I see him making a big statement in front of his hometown crowd this weekend.
Scott Pedersen
Scott Pedersen really caught my eye at Warrior Fight Series 6 in which he really shone in a bout against Charlie Howard, a fight he took on just a few days notice. His calmness and ability not to get sucked in Howard’s mind games were the major things that stuck out to me and I think that he is a special talent who is continuing to evolve. Under the tutelage of Chris Rees and with his teammate Brett Johns always close by, Pedersen has a great platform to make a statement on Saturday night and whilst his opponents name won’t do anything for him, there is no denying that if he continues to rack up wins then big things will happen for him.
Lew Long
Lew Long is a huge fan favourite and if you haven’t seen one of his fights yet I strongly recommend you do. He is coming off of a loss in his last bout in which he never really seemed to get going and faces a huge task against Che Mills. Mils himself is looking to pick up his first win of 2016 and this makes it a particularly intriguing bout. You can certainly argue that both of these guys are only ever one or two fights away from Title contention and in a stripped down roster a big win in this one could certainly propel the winner to the top of the Welterweight division.