Cage Warriors 52: James v Philpott, Bassett v Sizeland

London, England (January 21, 2013) - THE card for Cage Warriors 52 is taking shape following the addition of two more bouts to the bill.

The event, which takes place at London’s HMV Forum on Saturday, March 9, will be headlined by a welterweight title bout between Cathal Pendred and defending champion Gael Grimaud.

Officials have today announced that Liam James (pictured) and Alan Philpott are to meet in a bantamweight bout, while a middleweight rematch between Brett Bassett and Brett Sizeland has also been set for the organisation’s first show of 2013.

James and Philpott had been scheduled to square off at Cage Warriors 51 on New Year’s Eve, but a knee injury forced James out of the fight.

Philpott (7-3), who hails from Northern Ireland, made an impressive CWFC debut back in October, submitting Kris Edwards in the first round of their clash at Cage Warriors 49.

The 20-year-old said: “This is a fight that really suits me. I’m not worried about Liam’s stand-up and if he takes me down I’ll submit him. It won’t be a walkover but I will finish him. I think it could be Fight of the Night.”

James (6-4) recorded a career-best victory over Jean N’Doye at CWFC Fight Night 5 in Jordan last April, before moving down from featherweight and suffering a second-round submission loss to Olivier Pastor.

“I’ll put the fight where I want and knock Alan out or submit him,” said James, a 28-year-old Newcastle native. “Either way I’m going to win this fight.”

Bassett and Sizeland will meet for a second time following their previous clash – at Cage Warriors 45 in February of last year – which ended in a win for Sizeland by doctor stoppage after Bassett sustained a cut to the back of his head.

Sizeland (6-2), a 31-year-old Englishman, is a veteran of three CWFC victories but will be keen to return to winning ways following a loss to Denniston Sutherland at Cage Warriors 48 last July.

“I love a good rematch. I can’t wait,” said Sizeland. “Don’t blink because it’s going to be explosive and the outcome will be the same as last time.”

Bassett (8-3) is coming off a stunning KO victory over Mike Ling at last September’s CWFC Fight Night 7 in Jordan, a win that came after just 38 seconds of the first round.

The 26-year-old Londoner said: “This is my chance to set things straight. Sizeland didn’t beat me, he cut me and the fight was stopped. I came into that fight unprepared but that won’t happen this time. I’ll show that Sizeland isn’t on my level.”

James and Sheil to miss Cage Warriors 51

Dublin, Ireland (December 27, 2012) - INJURIES have forced some late changes to be made to the card for Cage Warriors 51, which takes place at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland this Monday, December 31.

John Michael Sheil has sustained a knee injury and has had to withdraw from his welterweight clash with Jack Mason. Sheil (8-1) is now expected to face a lengthy lay-off.

Mason (21-11) will instead take on Florent Betorangal (10-5), a highly-rated Frenchman who has taken eight of his 10 career victories by submission.

Meanwhile, the bantamweight bout between Liam James and Alan Philpott has been pulled from the card following an injury to James (6-4).

The 28-year-old Englishman also damaged his knee in training last week but a suitable replacement opponent for Philpott (7-3) could unfortunately not be found at such a late stage.

As a result, the lightweight bout between Paul Redmond (5-3) and Ryan Roddy (5-0) will be promoted to the main card.

Tickets for Cage Warriors 51 are on sale HERE. The main card will stream live on MMA Junkie at 9pm (GMT). 

Cage Warriors 51: Daly v Kankaanpaa, James v Philpott

London, England (November 20, 2012) - THE card for Cage Warriors 51 in Dublin on New Year’s Eve is beginning to take shape with today’s addition of two exciting bouts to the end-of-year extravaganza in the Irish capital.

Cage Warriors 51, which will take place at The Helix on Monday, December 31, is set to be headlined by a highly-anticipated featherweight title bout between Jim Alers and defending champion Conor McGregor.

That clash will be joined on the main card by a women’s 120lbs catchweight bout, with McGregor’s SBGi team-mate Aisling Daly returning to Cage Warriors action against CWFC debutant Katja Kankaanpaa.

On the preliminary card, Liam James will collide with top Northern Irish bantamweight Alan Philpott.

Daly (13-4), who’s currently eighth in the world in the women’s flyweight rankings, will be fighting under the Cage Warriors banner for the fifth time in her decorated career.

The 24-year-old Dubliner will be keen to secure a victory in front of her hometown crowd after suffering a decision loss to Rosi Sexton at June’s Cage Warriors 47 in Dublin.

Daly, who has also fought for the likes of Bellator and Invicta, defeated fourth-ranked women’s flyweight Jessica Eye to capture the NAAFS title last year.

Kankaanpaa (6-0-1) has yet to taste defeat since making her professional debut in March 2010.

A native of Finland, Kankaanpaa’s last outing was against Simona Soukupova in the main event at Botnia Punishment 12, which ended in a draw.

Sixth in the women’s world strawweight rankings, Kankaanpaa will be making her first appearance on a Cage Warriors card in Ireland next month.

Meanwhile, the meeting of James and Philpott on the Cage Warriors 51 prelims is a significant bout in the organisation’s bantamweight division.

Philpott (7-3) had a stunning victory over highly-ranked Welshman Kris Edwards at Cage Warriors 49 in Cardiff last month.

The 21-year-old, who hails from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, submitted Edwards in the first round despite taking the fight on less than a week’s notice following the withdrawal of Mark Platts due to injury.

That victory catapulted Philpott into 14th place in the UK’s bantamweight rankings.

James (6-4), who’s 18th in the rankings, will be fighting on a Cage Warriors event for the third time in 2012.

Hailing from Newcastle in England, the 28-year-old earned a Fight of the Night bonus and an exclusive Cage Warriors contract following his dramatic featherweight win over Jean N’Doye at CWFC Fight Night 5 back in April.

James then dropped to 135lbs for his clash with French veteran Olivier Pastor at September’s CWFC Fight Night 7 but suffered a second-round submission defeat.

Tickets for Cage Warriors 51 will go on sale later this month, with more bouts to be announced shortly. Keep track of Cage Warriors on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and updates.

Photos: (Aisling Daly, Alan Philpott, Liam James - Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors; Katja Kankaanpaa - Marko Tuominiemi)