by Ben Heather
@benheather
On Saturday night Cage Warriors returns for it's first of two events in November, with Cage Warriors 73 taking place at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena.
Following the success of Super Saturday back in June it was recently announced that both Cage Warriors 73 and 74 will both be have two main cards.
Not only will two world titles be on the line but so will some of the best fighters in Europe. Its not everyday you will see an event which has guys like Ronnie Mann, Jimmy Wallhead, Brett Casswell and Matt Inman on the same card and none of them headline it. So now I will give you all a little preview and talk you through some of the great match ups that will be competed on Saturday night
Main Card Two
Stevie Ray 15-5 vs Curt Warburton 13-5
A five round battle for the Cage Warriors Lightweight title. This will be the third time that Curt Warburton and Stevie Ray have squared off and the previous two fights have both gone the distance, showing just how closely matched these world class fighters are.
The last time was in the main event of Cage Warriors 69 back in June where Stevie Ray won the title in a very close decision, so close in fact that for his first defence they will do it all over again. This fight will be very interesting as Curt has the home field advantage however, they both know that they can and have beat the other fighter.
Warburton has a number of notable wins in his career such as a win over Ross Pearson and three fights in the UFC. That being said Warburton really needs to get the win in this fight otherwise it might be a while before he gets another shot at the title as long as Stevie Ray is the champion.
Jimmy Wallhead 25-9 vs Juan Manuel Suarez 15-6
This is a fight between the two men that Danny Roberts, the current number one contender in the Cage Warriors 170lb division has defeated in his last two fights.
Wallhead returns to action after being knocked out back in May by Roberts while Suarez comes in to this fight on a two fight win streak since he last fought for Cage Warriors. If Wallhead is still serious about working his way back towards the Cage Warriors title then he really needs a win now as the Welterweight division is stacked and back to back losses could leave him a long journey to return to contention
Brett Casswell vs Marcin Lasota
This fight should decide who will go on to fight for the flyweight title next year, it is expected that the winner of this fight and the winner of the Haque vs Rooney fight will meet for the vacant Flyweight title. Casswell has a world class Judo game which he will be looking to use in this fight to control where he wants the fight to go.
Although he may not have it all his way as Lasota is a very good wrestler so may be able to prevent the take downs. I am expecting a very technical affair but one which will certainly entertain the crowd.
Matt Inman vs Lewis Long
This is by far the fight I am looking forward to the most, you have two of the best welterweights in the UK competing against each other.
On on side of the cage you have Matt Inman who not too long ago defeated Mohsen Bahari, who competes for the title in two weeks. Not only did he beat him he finished him in under a minute but last time out Inman was defeated to end a run of four straight victories.
The man standing the other side of the cage is Lew Long, possibly the most entertaining character in UK MMA who is the happiest man in the world when he is in the cage competing. Long recently jumped up a weight class where he feels healthier and in his first fight at welterweight finished Steve Dinsdale in Newport after being rocked badly in the first round but will now take a jump up in competition.
Shaj Haque vs Damien Rooney
Like the Casswell vs Lasota fight I expect the winner of this fight to go on and fight for the vacant title in the new year. Both men come in to this fight having won their last two fights each and will be looking to make it three on Saturday.
Haque will be wanting to come in to this fight and make a statement, his record of 5-1 is quite unique as every fight in his career has gone the distance but I am sure on Saturday night he will be wanting to get that finish. Rooney however comes in to the fight with eight finishes in his 10 professional fights and has proven he can finish the fight anywhere with various submission victories on his record as well as the ability to finish guys standing.
Stephen Martin vs Paddy Pimblett
Martin will be making his Cage Warriors debut on Saturday night and will be coming up against the young but very experienced Pimblett. Pimblett always looks to put on a show for the fans and is one of the most exciting young prospects in UK MMA. This is not a fight to miss.
Main Card One
Alex Enlund 10-2 vs Nad Narimani 7-1
In the main event of the first main card you have a fight which will finally see the first English Cage Warriors champion crowned in three years. It will also see a new champion crowned in the featherweight division since Jim Alers vacated the title when he left to join the UFC.
Alex Enlund comes in to the fight having never gone the distance picking up nine wins by submission and a TKO victory in his 10 wins.
Enlund who was last in action at Cage Warriors 65, comes in to this fight off the back of three wins in a row, all of which he has finished by rear naked choke. Nad Narimani also has had quite a break last fighting in February this year.
The Iron Mann fighters comes into the bout with back-to-back wins which like Enlund he has won both of these fights by Rear Naked Choke. Narimani last lost to former title contender Graham Turner in July last year. I am expecting a very close affair and it could come down to one mistake which will be snapped upon.
Moktar Benkaci vs Ronnie Mann
The return of Ronnie Mann, who has been out of action since May when he was submitted by Marcelo Costa in a fight I believe had he won he would have gone on to fight for the title.
Maktar Benkaci, who comes in to the fight riding a three fight win streak which ended a run of three straight losses, though he did fight guys such as James Brum and has never been finished. Mann has the opportunity here to put himself back in title contention and if he was to stop Benkaci he would really make a statement in Newcastle.
Leeroy Barnes vs Kyle Redfearn
Leeroy Barnes comes in to this fight having not won in his past four Cage Warriors fights since signing for them last year. Although to be fair to him he was on the wrong side of a very close decision against Norman Paraisy but since then he has been finished in the first round in all three fights. Last time out he had arguably his toughest opponent in recent times as he faced off against Che Mills and although the fight didn't go his way he certainly showed a lot of heart to stay in the fight as long as he did.
This could be do or die for Leeroy but I feel he is fighting a guy he has a much better chance of winning but must not get complacent as his opponent Redfearn has KO power in his hands. I do not see this fight going the distance.
Liam James vs Dean Trueman
James, who hasn't fought in nearly a year will be making his return in his home city and will be looking to get back to winning ways after being finished quickly last time out by Ian Entwistle. Trueman will be making his Cage Warriors debut and looking to make it three wins in a row but will be taking a step up in competition and we will find out on Saturday if the 25 year old can hang at this level.
Ellis Hampson 3-1-0-1N/C vs Lewis Monarch 3-0
Hampson will be coming in to this fight after making his Cage Warriors debut in his last fight, unfortunately for him that fight didn't go his way being submitted by Azi Thomas. That loss is the only loss on Hampson's record and he will be looking to get his first Cage Warriors victory second time around.
Monarch comes in to the fight undefeated and will be looking to continue his impressive start to his career where he has finished every fight in the first round by TKO.
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