Cage Warriors Fighting Championship—the Great Britain-based MMA promotion that spawned Conor McGregor, Gegard Mousasi, Dan Hardy, Martin Kampmann and a host of other prominent fighters from around Europe and the rest of the world—will hold an event in April for the first time in nearly a year-and-a-half.
Cage Warriors officials announced the return in a statement sent to media members, which was later reported by outlets including MMA Junkie.
“We know that fight fans want to know everything right now, but I wanted to make sure Cage Warriors returns in a way that I felt comfortable with, and in a way that underlined our commitment to develop the sport in the EMEA [Europe, Middle East, Africa] region,” Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan said, according to the statement.
The event takes place April 15 at the Camden Centre in London. The statement did not mention any specific fights or fighters to be included on the card.
. @CageWarriors return will be at the Camden Centre in Kings Cross, London April 15th broadcasted live around the world at 9pm GMT
— Louise Green (@LouiseGreenMMA) February 11, 2016
The hiatus has been marked with symptoms of turmoil. Boylan, who was then CEO, resigned in February 2015. Fighters suddenly without promotional homes scattered to other shows around the world. News then surfaced in July that Boylan had purchased Cage Warriors. Boylan also indicated there might be as many as two Cage Warriors shows in 2015, which obviously never materialized.
Boylan also owns Intensiti Fighter Management, a management firm that handles the careers of many current and former Cage Warriors fighters including Joseph Duffy, Nicolas Dalby, Chris Fishgold, Ian Entwhistle and Jack Mason.
For now, at least, it seems all systems are go for the new iteration of Cage Warriors. Boylan said in the statement:
Cage Warriors is at the forefront of driving the sport forward in the EMEA region and is the ultimate proving ground. We were renowned for matching the best fights in the region and building talent as well as providing great value and entertainment for the fans. In 2015 alone [seven] fighters who had appeared on our show joined the UFC. In 2016 we plan to pick up where we left off, delivering the same explosive quality that we are famous for.
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