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Inman vs. Carvalho Tops Cage Warriors 61 in Baghdad, Iraq


Several bouts have today been confirmed for Cage Warriors 61, which is set to take place in Baghdad on Saturday, December 14. The historic event, CWFC's 13th of the year, will see Iraq become the eighth country to host Cage Warriors Fighting Championship in 2013. CWFC 61 is to be headlined by a welterweight contest between Matt Inman (12-5, pictured) and Bruno Carvalho (15-7), two fighters who have had contrasting recent fortunes.

Carvalho was on the end of a first-round KO loss to Gael Grimaud at CWFC Fight Night 9 in October, but the 31-year-old Brazilian says he's keen to rebound by proving that he still figures in CWFC's welterweight picture.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to get another great match-up on a big show," said Carvalho. "Both Matt and I are still in title contention and this fight will bring one of us closer."

Inman, meanwhile, has been in the best form of his career in 2013 having put together a run of three straight Cage Warriors victories, but a win over Carvalho would undoubtedly be his biggest to date.

The 27-year-old Englishman said: "It's great to be part of another Cage Warriors event that will be breaking ground in a new country. My opponent is very skilled and experienced but I'll be stepping my game up to another level in order to bring home the win."

Meanwhile, after his scheduled clash with bantamweight champion Brett Johns in Newcastle on December 7 fell foul of an injury to Johns, the next outing for James Brum (13-2) will now be in Baghdad seven days later against a soon-to-be-announced opponent.

Following his impressive stoppage of Vladimir Opanasenko last time out, Jack Mason (25-12) will be aiming to end the year on a high by picking up his fourth CWFC win of 2013 at the expense of French veteran Seydina Seck (15-9-1), who holds notable victories over the likes of ex-CWFC welterweight champion Gael Grimaud and three-time UFC veteran Simeon Thoresen.

In light-heavyweight action, Egyptian fan-favourite Mohamed Ali (9-5) will also be eager to clinch his third CWFC triumph of the year when he goes up against England's James Hurrell (6-3).

Elsewhere, Vincent del Guerra (20-9) and Jake Bostwick (12-8-0-1nc) will clash in a bout to be contested at a catchweight of 176lbs, and Julien Boussuge (9-3) will take on Damien Brown (10-4) in a lightweight bout.

A featherweight clash involving unbeaten Englishman Arnold Allen (5-0) and French prospect Taylor Lapilus (5-1) is scheduled to begin the Facebook prelims, followed by a flyweight tussle between Paul Marin (6-3) and Spencer Hewitt (10-6).


CAGE WARRIORS 61 (more bouts still to be announced):

Bruno Carvalho vs. Matt Inman
James Brum vs. TBA
Jack Mason vs. Seydina Seck
Mohamed Ali vs. James Hurrell
Jake Bostwick vs. Vincent del Guerra
Julien Boussuge vs. Damien Brown
Spencer Hewitt vs. Paul Marin
Arnold Allen vs. Taylor Lapilus

Cage Warriors 61 Moves from Iraq to Jordan on Dec. 13


Cage Warriors Fighting Championship officials have been forced to opt for a change of date and venue for next month's Cage Warriors 61. The event, which was originally scheduled for the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday, December 14, will now take place at the King Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena in Amman, Jordan, on Friday, December 13. Cage Warriors 61 will be CWFC's thirteenth and penultimate event of the year, and will see the promotion make a swift return to Amman following the enormous success of last month's sold-out CWFC Fight Night 9 at the same venue. Several logistical issues caused CWFC officials to postpone the promotion's historic first ever event in Iraq, which it is now hoped can be scheduled instead for 2014, as Cage Warriors CEO Graham Boylan explains:

"My team and I worked extremely hard to make this event in Baghdad happen, but there were too many logistical barriers in our way that meant we couldn't guarantee that this event would meet CWFC's high standards of organisation and production," said Boylan.

"I'm never willing to compromise on those standards so we've taken the decision to move the event to Amman instead. This will be our sixth event there so we're familiar with the infrastructure and the challenges will subsequently be more familiar and straightforward for us to deal with in this short space of time.

"It's unfortunate that our first event in Iraq will now have to wait until next year, but the important thing is that the athletes on the Cage Warriors 61 card still have an event to prepare for. Cancelling CWFC 61 just wasn't an option."

CWFC has built a huge fanbase in Amman since staging its first event there, CWFC Fight Night 1, back in June 2011. Cage Warriors 61 is one of three CWFC events scheduled for next month, joined by Cage Warriors 62: Newcastle on December 7 and Cage Warriors 63: Dublin on New Year's Eve.