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Cage Warriors Flyweight Tournament Kicks Off on June 1


CAGE Warriors Fighting Championship will host a four-man tournament to determine a new flyweight champion when the organisation returns to Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, June 1, for Cage Warriors 55.

As recently announced by Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan, one-night tournaments will be staged in 2013 to crown new title-holders in as many as three divisions.

The Facebook prelims at Cage Warriors 55 will commence with two semi-final bouts in the CWFC flyweight title tournament, consisting of two five-minute rounds. A third five-minute round will be contested in the event of a draw.

The final, made up of five five-minute rounds, will be one of the featured bouts on the main card, with the winner becoming the first ever CWFC flyweight champion.

"I'm a huge fan of the lighter weight classes and interest in the 125lbs division has skyrocketed since the UFC started theirs last year. I'm really excited about this," said Cage Warriors matchmaker Ian Dean.

"The fights in this division are fast, skilful and exciting. Recently at Cage Warriors we've seen some impressive performances from the likes of Neil Seery, Kris Edwards and Phil Harris, who defeated two very skilled North American opponents before being signed by the UFC.

"With the number of promising flyweights in the UK and Europe increasing, it's time these guys had a worthy title to aim for and I think this tournament will provide that opportunity. The winner of this tournament will be a worthy and legitimate title-holder in an up-and-coming and competitive division."

Participants in the tournament will be revealed in due course. Cage Warriors 55 will take place at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

Pendred Defends vs. Mills at Cage Warriors 55 on June 1


CATHAL PENDRED will make his first defence of the CWFC welterweight title on home turf this summer. The recently-crowned champion will put his belt on the line when he takes on Che Mills at Cage Warriors 55 on Saturday, June 1. Cage Warriors 55, which will also feature a four-man flyweight title tournament, is set to take place at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland.

Pendred (12-2-1) has remained unbeaten in his six bouts under the Cage Warriors banner since making his debut for the organisation back in November 2010. The 25-year-old Irishman earned his title shot courtesy of wins over David Bielkheden and Bruno Carvalho last year, before dethroning previous CWFC welterweight champion Gael Grimaud with a unanimous decision victory earlier this month at Cage Warriors 52.

"Fighting in my own backyard in a venue full of crazy Irish fans against a guy who was in the UFC until very recently, I couldn't have asked for a better way to defend my title for the first time," said Pendred,

"I can guarantee that the calibre of my opponent and the atmosphere the Irish fans will create is going to bring out the best in me."

Mills (15-5-0-2nc) has spent the last two years of his career with the UFC, where he clocked up a 2-1-0-1 record which included wins against Chris Cope and Duane Ludwig. At UFC on Fuel TV 7 at London's Wembley Arena last month, the 30-year-old Gloucester native was beaten by Matt Riddle by split decision, but the result was later overturned as a 'no contest' after Riddle failed a drug test.

Mills, who'll be returning to CWFC action for the first time since defeating Jake Hecht at Cage Warriors 38, said: "I'm really excited about this opportunity. This fight will be a war, but I'm not leaving without the belt."

Seery versus Silander Flyweight Title Bout Set for Cage Warriors 55


AN inaugural CWFC flyweight title bout has been set for Cage Warriors 55 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, June 1.

Dublin’s own Neil Seery and Finnish star Mikael Silander will clash in a bid to become Cage Warriors’ first ever 125lbs champion.

Officials had scheduled to determine the new title-holder via a four-man tournament to be contested on the night, but with several potential participants being ruled out in recent weeks, a bout for the vacant belt has been fixed instead.

“I’m disappointed that we haven’t been able to keep the tournament on the card, but a few of the fighters at the top of our list had become unavailable due to injuries or having fights scheduled on other shows,” explained Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan.

“Neil Seery has been the top performer in our flyweight division over the last year or so, while Mikael Silander is one of the best in Europe and was already contracted to take part in the tournament.

“It will definitely make for a fitting fight to crown the first ever Cage Warriors flyweight champion. We also still have our bantamweight and lightweight tournaments to look forward to later in the year.”

Seery (12-9), ranked third in Europe, has put together a 4-1 record since making his debut under the Cage Warriors banner with a KO win against Niko Gjoka in October 2011.

Since dropping a loss to Artemij Sitenkov at Cage Warriors 46, the 33-year-old Irishman has embarked on a run of three consecutive wins, the most recent of which saw him dispose of Paul Marin with a stunning liver-kick KO at Cage Warriors 53 in Glasgow last weekend.

Seery said: “I’m very grateful to Cage Warriors for giving me this title shot. I feel at home fighting for Cage Warriors and the opportunity to become their first flyweight champion is a great privilege, especially in my hometown. I can’t wait for June 1. “

Silander (8-1) has put together an impressive record since making his professional debut in September 2010, with his only defeat to date coming via a close decision against European number two Ali Bagautinov.

Holding notable wins over highly-ranked opponents such as Michal Hamrsmid and Toni Tauru, 27-year-old Silander is currently seventh in the European rankings.

“I’m truly honoured to be given the opportunity to win the first ever Cage Warriors flyweight title,” said Silander. “This fight comes at a perfect time in my career. I’ve been training really hard and it will be an awesome chance to showcase my skills to a wider audience.”

Meanwhile, Neil Seery’s Team Ryano colleague Paul Redmond will be searching for a fifth straight CWFC win at Cage Warriors 55 when he faces Marc Allen.

Redmond (7-3) has risen rapidly up the rankings following wins over Yuri Malko, Lew Long, Ryan Roddy and Alexei Roberts - all by second-round stoppage - since making his Cage Warriors debut last June.

The 26-year-old Dubliner said: “I can’t wait to be back in there again, especially on another stacked card in Dublin. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the winning run going.”

Allen (7-2), who’ll be fighting for CWFC for the first time in his career, has been victorious in each of his last three outings and will join team-mate Che Mills on the Cage Warriors 55 bill.

“This is going to be a fast and exciting fight,” said Allen, a 30-year-old Englishman. “I plan to take Redmond into deep waters with my wrestling.”

Cage Warriors 55 will also feature a CWFC welterweight title bout between defending champion Cathal Pendred and Che Mills, with many more fights also still to be announced.

Fields versus Paraisy, Preliminary Bouts Added to Cage Warriors 55


Former CWFC middleweight champion Chris Fields will return to action for a clash with French star Norman Paraisy at Cage Warriors 55. Cage Warriors 55 will be broadcast live on Fight Network in Canada, Portugal, Turkey, Angola and Mozambique. Fields, who relinquished his title with a loss to Jesse Taylor at Cage Warriors 51 on New Year’s Eve, will tackle Paraisy in his hometown of Dublin on Saturday, June 1. The 29-year-old SBG Ireland fighter had been crowned champion in Jordan last September courtesy of a third-round TKO victory over Pavel Kusch in the final of the CWFC middleweight title tournament.

"I'm really happy to be fighting on this show and I feel like I owe the Irish fans a performance. It's coming on June 1," said Fields.

"I'm in a great place in my training and I'm looking forward to showing off some new skills, as well as some old ones. There will be a shin hitting a chin by the time this one is done."

Paraisy (11-3-1-1), a three-time Bellator veteran and contestant on the 11th instalment of The Ultimate Fighter, will be appearing on a CWFC card for the first time since defeating Jack Mason at Cage Warriors 43.

The 27-year-old said: "I'm very happy to be back at Cage Warriors, fighting against such a good opponent and former champion in front of an amazing crowd that is world famous for its passion and enthusiasm."

Another middleweight contest has also been added to the Cage Warriors 55 main card, with Dublin-based Nigerian fighter Henry Fadipe set to take on Mike Ling. On the preliminary card, SBG Ireland's Philip Mulpeter will face Englishman Avi Jack in a welterweight bout, Liam James returns to featherweight to clash with Ireland's Stephen Coll, while Piotr Ptasinski will face Dublin's own John Redmond in a welterweight clash. Cage Warriors 55 will be co-headlined by a CWFC welterweight title bout between champion Cathal Pendred and challenger Che Mills, and a flyweight bout between Neil Seery and Mikael Silander for the vacant title.

Injury Rules Avi Jack Out of Cage Warriors 55 this Saturday


An injury to Avi Jack has forced a late change to the bill for Cage Warriors 55 this Saturday at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. Jack has had to withdraw from his welterweight bout against Philip Mulpeter, but it hasn't been possible to secure a suitable replacement for Mulpeter at such late notice so the fight has been removed from the card. Subsequently, the meeting of Jean N'Doye and Steve McCombe has been promoted from the Facebook prelims and will now open the main card.