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Marshman vs. Mills Set for Cage Warriors 72 on Sept. 13


A meeting of two of the promotion's top middleweight contenders will take place when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship makes its first visit to Newport. Jack Marshman and Che Mills will square off in the first bout to be announced for Cage Warriors 72, which is set to take place in the Welsh city on Saturday, September 13.

Following CWFC 67 in Swansea this past April, the Newport Centre will play host to the promotion's second event in Wales this year, with details of further bouts and ticket sales to be released shortly. The clash of Marshman and Mills could have major implications in the CWFC middleweight title picture, with the winner likely to set his sights on newly-crowned world champion Jack Hermansson. Mills (16-7-0-2nc) , a four-fight veteran of the UFC, looked extremely impressive when disposing of Leeroy Barnes via first-round submission at May's CWFC 68 in Liverpool.

"This is going to be a great fight," said Mills. "I have a lot of respect for my opponent but it's my hand that'll be raised at the end."

With all but two of his 15 professional victories coming inside the distance, Marshman (15-5) is also coming off a first-round submission win, having overcome ex-TUF contestant Bola Omoyele at CWFC 69: Super Saturday in London in June.

Marshman said: "I'm over the moon that Cage Warriors have given me the chance to fight a UFC veteran. Che is one of the best in Europe and this will show everyone what level I'm at."

Tait vs. Tauru Set for Vacant 135 Title at Cage Warriors 72


A new CWFC bantamweight world champion will be crowned when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship makes its inaugural visit to Newport, Wales, on Saturday, September 13, 2014. Cage Warriors 72, which is set to take place at the Newport Centre, will see Cory Tait and Toni Tauru collide for Europe's leading promotion's vacant 135lbs title. The eleventh Cage Warriors event of 2014, Newport will become the third Welsh city to play host to CWFC, following a trio of shows in Cardiff from October 2012 to September 2013, in addition to a debut in Swansea earlier this year.

Following a number of impressive victories on the British domestic circuit, Tait was signed exclusively by Cage Warriors last year and announced his arrival on the international scene with a superb first-round submission of the hotly-favoured James Pennington in the main event at CWFC 64 in London back in February. Despite hailing from a kickboxing background, Tait has as an equal number of (T)KO and submission wins - four each - with five of his victories coming in the very first round.

"I'm truly excited to be fighting for the Cage Warriors title," said Tait, who holds other notable wins over fellow Cage Warriors veterans Spencer Hewitt, Dino Gambatesa and Nathan Beer.

"The fights keep on getting bigger and bigger for me. Winning this belt will prove that I'm the top bantamweight in the UK, and I'm looking forward to being recognised as just that."

A 29-year-old Finn, Tauru (9-1-1) hasn't tasted defeat since losing to former CWFC title challenger Mikael Silander in his second professional bout back in August 2011. Since then, Tauru has embarked on a run of nine successive wins - the last six of which have come via submission - which has seen him climb to second place in the Nordic bantamweight rankings. After submitting TUF 18 contestant Emil Hartsner via first-round gogoplata last November, Tauru was snapped up by Cage Warriors and picked up another first-round submission win over Martin Akhtar in his promotional debut at CWFC 66 in Copenhagen this past March.

Tauru said: "I'm very confident coming into this fight. It's going to be my tenth straight win and I'm going to be the Cage Warriors champion, so I'm excited and grateful for this opportunity.

"But I also believe I have earned this title shot and I'm looking forward to becoming Finland's first MMA world champion."

The CWFC bantamweight belt was last held by Brett Johns until this past April, when his failure to make weight ahead of his CWFC 67 title bout against James Brum saw him relinquish the strap, despite picking up a unanimous-decision win. Officials have also confirmed several other bouts today for September 13's CWFC 72 bill in Newport, including a welterweight clash between Lewis Long and Steve Dinsdale. Check out the updated fight card below, with many more bouts and ticket news to be announced shortly.


Cage Warriors 72 (more bouts to be announced):

Cory Tait vs. Toni Tauru - vacant CWFC bantamweight world title bout
Jack Marshman vs. Che Mills
Steve Dinsdale vs. Lewis Long
Jordan Desborough vs. Kris Edwards
Jamie Rogers vs. Mario Saeed
Nick Nembherd vs. Simas Norkus
Paulina Bonkowska vs. Kate Jackson

Dalby vs. Grimaud Title Bout Set for Cage Warriors 72


CWFC welterweight world champion Nicolas Dalby will put his belt on the line for the first time on Saturday, September 13, 2014. The undefeated Dane is set to take on Gael Grimaud when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship heads to the Welsh city of Newport for CWFC 72. Tickets for Europe's leading promotion's eleventh event of 2014, which is to be staged at the Newport Centre, will go on sale shortly. CWFC 72 will also feature a bantamweight world title tussle, as Cory Tait and Toni Tauru clash for the vacant 135lbs strap, as well as a host of other exciting bouts.

Following his spectacular fourth-round KO of Sergei Churilov at CWFC 66 in Copenhagen this past March, Dalby (12-0) will be making his inaugural title defence in Newport on September 13. His thirteenth professional outing will provide a new challenge for Dalby, as he competes outside of his native Denmark for the first time in his career. The 29-year-old, who succeeded Cathal Pendred as the CWFC champion, holds other notable wins over Ivica Truscek, Morten Djursaa and Glenn Sparv.

"I'm very much looking forward to squaring off against Gael Grimaud as he was the latest fighter currently on the CWFC roster to hold the welterweight title," said Dalby.

"He has a very dynamic style that I find quite interesting, so I'm looking forward to showing off how I will dismantle him and get the win."

Grimaud (19-6) will be aiming to regain the CWFC welterweight world title, which he relinquished in March of last year following a unanimous-decision loss to Cathal Pendred at CWFC 52 in London. A 34-year-old Frenchman who has dropped just one loss in his last 11 fights, Grimaud has taken fifteen of his nineteen professional wins by stoppage, including 12 submissions. However, Grimaud's most recent CWFC outing saw him score a KO win against Bruno Carvalho after just 45 seconds of their main-event clash at CWFC Fight Night 9 in Amman last October. Grimaud clinched the CWFC welterweight world title back in September 2011 when he overcame Arni Isaksson, before going on to make a successful defence against Jesse Taylor.

"To have the opportunity to get the Cage Warriors belt back is very exciting for me and I am determined to succeed," said Grimaud, who has been stopped just once in 25 professional bouts.

"My opponent brings a strong challenge but I believe I am a better fighter than him. I will be ready on September 13 to take that belt back home again."

Dalby and Grimaud were originally scheduled to meet for Cage Warriors' 170lbs strap at CWFC 66 but an injury to Grimaud resulted in the title shot passing to Sergei Churilov. Meanwhile, a lightweight bout between Tim Newman (10-4) and Tim Wilde (5-0) has also been added to the CWFC 72 bill, as well as a featherweight contest involving Nad Narimani (7-1) and Daniel Thomas (20-9-1).


Cage Warriors 72 (more bouts to be announced):

Nicolas Dalby (c) vs. Gael Grimaud - CWFC welterweight world title bout
Cory Tait vs. Toni Tauru - vacant CWFC bantamweight world title bout
Jack Marshman vs. Che Mills
Tim Newman vs. Tim Wilde
Nad Narimani vs. Daniel Thomas
Steve Dinsdale vs. Lewis Long
Jordan Desborough vs. Kris Edwards
Jamie Rogers vs. Mario Saeed
Nick Nembhard vs. Simas Norkus
Paulina Bonkowska vs. Kate Jackson