Reflecting on Cage Warriors 100 and the Future of British MMA

Reflecting on Cage Warriors 100 and the Future of British MMA

By Keith Turrell 

What a night in Cardiff as Cage Warriors celebrated its 100th show and 16 years as a promotion. With the music pumping, Layla Anna-Lee smiled alongside Dan Hardy enjoying a surprise highlights package of his time with the promotion. The air of celebration was palpable and there was a definite feeling that we were witnessing a small piece of Mixed Martial Arts history. The Welsh crowd was loud and lairy, getting right behind their boys all night. Everything seemed focused on the big moments of the past but I couldn’t help but wonder about the future; of Cage Warriors as a promotion and of MMA in the UK over the next few years.

We’ve made it to 100, but where do we go from here?

There’s no denying that Cage Warriors has delivered on its promise to raise UK and European MMA up to a higher level, bringing it to a wider audience and giving the world stage a plethora of stars such as Michael Bisping, Conor McGregor, Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Hardy himself. While it has struggled with growing pains, slumps, and changes at the top, it currently delivers a slick product with excellent presentation that matches its UFC cousin and has benefited from its BT Sport and Fight Pass deals as well as strong leadership from current president Graham Boylan. Boylan carries with him a long history with the promotion and it’s that experience that shapes the modern Cage Warriors show.

My own big takeaway from the event is that while the famous names above were primarily focused on striking skills with just enough takedown defence and BJJ nous to keep them out of trouble, the British fighters taking to the cage at the Viola Arena in Cardiff this past December were eager to take the battle to the ground.

This is nothing new of course; the most popular fighter in Cage Warriors currently is Paddy Pimblett, who has been wowing crowds with his submission heavy style for a while now and the Scottish UFC veteran Paul Craig finished both of his 2018 fights with spectacular submissions. The myth of the flailing Brit on the ground has been dissipating for some time but I’ve never seen that dissipation revealed as clearly as it was in this show.

Of the five fights on the main card only one was ended on the feet, a TKO win for the Dane Nicolas Dalby. All four British winners scored finishes on the ground with two submissions and two TKO’s. The theme across the card was one of clinch battles, wrestling takedowns, and gaining dominant positions through Jiu-Jitsu.

The highlight of the night, Welshman Jack Shore beating Mike Ekundayo for the Cage Warriors bantamweight title was a story of ground fighting throughout the three rounds with Shore showing confidence and aggression in his takedowns and top positions. Indeed Shore (unbeaten at 10-0) looked so dominant in this main event battle that it’s hard not to imagine a call up to the UFC is imminent and we may get the chance to see the new generation of British grapplers tested against their American counterparts sooner rather than later.

As Cage Warriors looked to cement its position as the top dog in the UK a giant was stirring on the other side of the Atlantic.

Bellator MMA, the number two promotion in the US, recently announced that its February 9th card at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle would be the start of the organisation’s new Euro Series. This series will operate in the UK, Ireland, and Western Europe and will take advantage of the signings made as a result of the rumoured fall of British promotion BAMMA. These signings include former BAMMA two division champion Terry Brazier, Fabian Edwards, UFC veteran Norman Parke and reality TV star turned unbeaten MMA prospect Aaron Chalmers among others.

Bellator also placed former BAMMA CEO Dave Green in charge of its European arm in September of last year. The signing of Green along with his long-time colleague, matchmaker Jude Samuel, would appear to signify Bellator’s intent to seriously compete in the UK market. The biggest hurdle in front of this push initially is its TV deal. Viacom owned Bellator currently airs on Channel 5 in the UK, though the schedule is sporadic and often tape delayed up to a week after the event. Obviously this is far from ideal for a live sporting event and on its surface a bit strange as Viacom owns both properties and should be in a position to place its MMA events wherever it wants on its TV schedules.

This has been further complicated as Bellator’s recent negotiations with BT Sport have hit a wall because the UFC has opted to remain with the UK service due to the cancellation of its own negotiations with streaming platform Eleven Sports. The TV deal is really the key to the UK market and must be a priority for Bellator if it wants its Euro Series to be a success. It is currently a mess of a situation and where it will ultimately leave Cage Warriors is up for debate as the full picture of what Bellator’s Euro Series will look like, and how it will air, has yet to be laid out. The only thing that does seem certain with the information currently available is that the UK event schedule is about to get a whole lot busier.

However the pieces fall this all adds up to an incredibly busy 2019 for Mixed Martial Arts in the UK and Europe. A big player entering the market should, on paper, be a big win for fans and the added competition for talent could help raise the profile of fighters in the region as well as increasing their pay packets. It opens a new pipeline for homegrown talent to hit the international stage because the option is there to compete for Bellator in Europe with successful fighters making their way onto the promotions larger cards while Cage Warriors’ close relationship with the UFC should still keep it in high regard as a route to the MMA leader.

It gives our athletes options and it gives promotions a growing pool of talent to compete for. The more visible MMA is in the UK the more youngsters will look to make it their sport and the better the UK game will get. At least that is the hope as we face the dawn of a new era.