By BRIAN ELLIOTT for UK Daily Mirror newspaper’s TKO Blog
When the news of Cage Warriors’ return to active promotion broke on their own message forum – also the largest UK MMA forum on the internet – the community there rejoiced that the company that helped nurture the skills of Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, and Michael Bisping would be staging a UK event for the first time since July 2008.
“Right To Fight” takes place this coming Saturday, May 22, as the feature attraction of The Martial Arts Show (TMAS) convention at the famous Birmingham NEC. With three titles on the line, and a non-title bout featuring one of the UK’s most popular fighters, “Judo” Jim Wallhead, it is promising to be a tremendous night of mixed martial arts.
“We’re looking to come back to UK MMA with a bang,” said Ian Dean, who is involved hands-on with almost every aspect of Cage Warriors. “We’ve had shows in the United States since we last did something in England, but admittedly it has been more difficult to put a show together here on home soil. We certainly weren’t interested in putting on a show that was below the standards we had previously set for ourselves, and so we focused instead on the fighter management side of our business. That’s something we’ve been very busy with, working with the UFC, M-1, and Bellator.
“So this is an event we’ve been able to put together because it was the right time, the right venue, and the right deal for us. We wanted to put on a show where we could showcase the very best of European MMA, and as part of The Martial Arts Show we are able to do that. It feels great to be back.”
Headlining “Right To Fight” is a contest for the vacant Cage Warriors Welterweight Title – last held by recent UFC Welterweight Title challenger Dan Hardy – as Scotland’s John Quinn brings his 8-0-0 record into the cage against an opponent who, statistically at least, couldn’t possibly be a better match for him: also 8-0, Pascal “Panzer” Krauss.
Both men are true mixed martial artists, with both TKO and submission victories on their records, and especially since Quinn has only been taken out of the first round on two occasions, and Krauss on three occasions, the encounter is shaping up to be the main event in more ways than one.
“With the skill range that we both have, I can see this fight going to every position you can think of,” Quinn told The Daily Mirror. “I expect to have to use all of the skills I have to win, but I have no preference as to how I finish the fight. All I’m interested in is winning as quickly and as efficiently as I possibly can, so that I can avoid injury, keep training, and continue to improve.
“I’m not interested in what his record is,” Quinn added. “Records are for DJs. There are lots of good fighters who don’t have good records, and vice versa. It depends on who he’s fought, and it depends what he brings into the cage on Saturday.”
As noted, also on the card is unquestionably one of the top welterweights not to be contracted to the UFC or Strikeforce, Jim Wallhead. The Team Rough House fighter was beset by ill-fortune last month, when the situation with Iceland’s volcanic ash prevented him from flying to compete for the exciting Bellator promotion. There has been further confusion caused by an injury to his scheduled adversary for Saturday, Mikey Gomez, meaning that at press time, no opponent is confirmed to step into the cage with him.
“It isn’t exactly ideal preparation for a fight,” said the former European Youth Olympics judo competitor. “We’re three days out from the fight, and I may have to go in there with a different strategy than what I’ve been training for the last 18 weeks. But as long as I have a good opponent, someone who can challenge me, it’s all good.
“I’ve been training a lot on my stand-up, because that’s what I expected to use against Jacob McClintock (for Bellator) and Gomez. But it isn’t as if I’ve forgotten how to wrestle if need be. I’ve been training well, and I feel confident about the fight. I can adapt to take advantage of anything that’s thrown at me.”
“Cage Warriors: Right To Fight” takes place at the Birmingham NEC on Saturday, May 22, as part of The Martial Arts Show convention. Some tickets are still available by visiting www.SeeTickets.com, or by calling 0870 264 3333. For more information about the event, please visit www.CageWarriors.com or www.TheMartialArtsShow.com.
