Back at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England on Saturday May 3rd, Cage Warriors looks to deliver another entertaining slate of fights with Cage Warriors 68. The event is headlined by a welterweight bout between Jim Wallhead and Danny Roberts, but also features well-known MMA veterans Ronnie Mann and Che Mills. Jim Wallhead (25-8) has seen about all there is to see in MMA, competing in the UK and North America many times over his decade-long career against some of the top fighters in the world. He will be making his 16th appearance with Cage Warriors — which I believe is a record for the promotion — and this bout is certainly a contrast in career arcs, as Danny Roberts (10-1) is on his way up in the sport. Both fighters are well-rounded, so this fight could come down to conditioning. Ronnie Mann (23-6-1) looks to continue his trek up the bantamweight ladder as he takes on Marcelo Costa (8-2-1) in what should amount to a striker versus grappler type of bout. Mann actually holds almost three times as many submission wins as TKOs in his career, but he’ll likely want to avoid the mat against Costa who is excellent on the floor but lacks in other areas. If Mann can keep this fight standing, he’ll win and he could be in line for a shot at the vacant bantamweight title. Costa also missed weight for this bout by coming in slightly over 140lbs, so one would expect Mann will be the fresher fighter if it goes late. Another welterweight bout on the main card is between Matt Inman (13-5) and Mauro Chimento Jr. (15-10). Inman is on the best run of his career right now, winning four straight bouts — three by stoppage — and making some waves at 170lbs in Cage Warriors. Chimento has been out of action for nearly a year, and does not get an easy task in his first fight back. The other notable fight on the card is a middleweight bout between former UFC fighter Che Mills (15-7, 2 NC) and Leeroy Barnes (12-13, 1 NC). Both of these fighters are winless in their three most recent bouts and looking to get back on track, and if Mills can put a win streak together, he’s someone that Cage Warriors can market moving forward. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for the top five Cage Warriors 68 bouts at Several Bookmakers today: ——————– MAIN CARD (Internet Stream, 4pm ET) Jim Wallhead -140 Danny Roberts +100 Ronnie Mann -380 Marcelo Costa +260 Matt Inman -350 Mauro Chimento Jr. +250 Steve Dinsdale -155 Matt Hallam +115 Che Mills -405 Leeroy Barnes +285 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: I’ve actually found myself less and less impressed by Danny Roberts in his recent performances, as he struggled against an extremely short notice opponent in Henry Fadipe and had a very close bout with unheralded Juan Manuel Suarez in his next outing. Perhaps he’s piecing his game together and he’ll finally show off the full potential he’s flashed thus far in his career, but Jim Wallhead is no walkover. I actually think Roberts’ biggest advantage in this fight comes from the fact that he will be much bigger and stronger, but he could be at a cardio deficit. I’m not comfortable playing either guy yet, but if the line flips, Wallhead may be worth a small flier. A dog I don’t see myself playing at any price is Marcelo Costa. He was already in tough with this bout against Ronnie Mann before missing weight by a significant margin. Mann has been controlled by bigger, stronger wrestlers in the past, but Costa only fits half that description (, and the Brit has a massive advantage on the feet. As this fight gets deeper, I expect that Mann will become more and more dominant, and I wouldn’t be opposed to those parlaying him. There are a couple factors that have me leaning heavily towards Matt Inman here. Mauro Chimento isn’t particularly adept in any area, not is here especially durable. Inman is an excellent finisher, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t put Chimento away in this bout, and he could do it by submission or TKO. Inman has also faced the better competition recently, and only lost to fighters who are much bigger and better wrestlers than Chimento. I don’t have much experience watching Matt Hallam, but he’s going to be massive compared to Steve Dinsdale and has a striking advantage in this fight. Coupled with Dinsdale’s poor cardio, and the fact that Dinsdale is coming up to 185 for this fight, if I’m betting anything here, it would actually be taking a shot with the dog. Che Mills is a marketable fighter for Cage Warriors, and they’ve given him a very winnable fight against Leeroy Barnes. Basically, unless Mills dives headlong into a guillotine he’s going to win this fight. Barnes doesn’t have a great gas tank and is deficient defensively in multiple areas, so Mills should be able to avoid takedowns and punish Barnes on the feet to likely get a stoppage.
