Event: Cage Warriors 50 Date: Saturday, December 8 Location: Glasgow, Scotland How to Watch: Main card streams on MMAjunkie.com at 4 p.m. (ET) The U.K.’s premier MMA organization stages its 50th event on Saturday as Cage Warriors is back for another installment. In the main event of the evening, bantamweight Paul McVeigh takes on Brandon Hempleman. McVeigh opened as a decent -260 favorite (bet $260 win win $100) while Hempleman is a +200 underdog (bet $100 to win $200) according to the MMA odds. McVeigh was a contestant on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter and is an experienced veteran with 18 wins in his career, including 12 by way of submission. But he hasn’t fought in a year, with his last fight (a decision loss) coming last December to current UFC fighter Erik Perez. Hempleman is a promising young fighter who has picked up four wins in 2012, so look for him to try and push the pace and see if McVeigh has any ring rust, but he’s going to be at a severe experience disadvantage in this fight. In the co-main event, featherweight Wilson Reis takes on Owen Roddy. Reis opened as a -135 favorite while Roddy is a -105 underdog. Reis is a veteran of EliteXC and Bellator, and he has been on a roll as of late with three straight victories. He’s a solid ground fighter who has seven submissions among his 15 career wins but has shown that his chin is a question mark as he’s been knocked out twice in his last fight fights. Roddy has a ton of momentum coming into this fight with seven wins in a row, including six by way of stoppage. He’s coming off the biggest win of his career in his last outing against former UFC fighter Shannon Gugerty, and with the confidence he has right now, he’s not going to be an easy fight for Reis at all. Next is a welterweight contest between Aaron Wilkinson (-160) and Alan Johnston (+120). Wilkinson is best known for his stint on Season 12 of TUF, but in his lone UFC fight, he was submitted by Cody McKenzie. Since being released by Zuffa, he’s gone 4-1 with four finishes and has picked up two wins in 2012 alone. Johnston has only been fighting pro for less than two years and already has racked up a 5-1 record, with all five wins coming by way of stoppage. Only 21 years old, he’s no pushover and if Wilkinson wants to win, he will need to work for it. Then it’s a middleweight bout between Scott Askham and Denniston Sutherland. Askham and Sutherland both opened at -120 here, making it a Pick ’em fight. Askham is undefeated in his career with a 7-0 mark so far, with all wins coming by either knockout or submission, including six TKO/KOs. He’s a strong striker and that is scary for Sutherland, who has been knocked out three times in his career, including twice in his last four bouts. However, he’s also a strong striker with nine knockouts to his credit, as well as four submissions, and he has a significant experience advantage in this bout as he’s been fighting the cream of the crop in England for many years. But he’ll need to keep his chin tucked against Askham or else he could get knocked out. And in the opening bout of the evening, it’s a battle of featherweights between Graham Turner (-215) and Nathan Beer (+165). Turner is very experienced as his 27 fights indicate, and he’s a finisher too, with 14 wins by stoppage out of his 20 career victories. Plus, he’s won his last two fights, so he’s hot right now. Beer is also a finisher, with 10 stoppages out of his 13 wins, but he’s coming off of two losses right now, so you have to question where he is mentally. Either way, don’t expect this fight to go the distance.
