Back in April 2010, the Middle East was in the MMA spotlight when UFC 112 took place in Abu Dhabi. The largest MMA promotion in the world hasn’t returned to the region since, but another organization has made sure that the area isn’t devoid of quality MMA. Cage Warriors Fighting Championships returns to Amman, Jordan for the ninth iteration of their ‘Fight Night’ series which has now visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan. The Al-Hussein Youth City Boxing Arena has become a favorite haunt of the organization, and it’s easy to see why, as the intimate setting gives a unique feel to fights. The card should provide some solid action to keep the venue entertained throughout the night, as top-to-bottom there are many names that are recognizable to Cage Warriors fans. The main event features the former CWFC welterweight champion Gael Grimaud (18-6) taking on Bruno Carvalho (15-6). Grimaud dropped the 170lb title to Cathal Pendred back in March, and rebounded with a victory in June with another promotion. A win over Carvalho would go a long way to getting him back in the title picture. Carvalho shares the same sting of suffering a loss to Pendred, and is hoping a win over the former champ can get him one step closer to a shot at both the belt and avenging that loss. These fighters match up quite well, as both have very proficient grappling games complimented by solid striking skills. Grimaud has more submissions to his credit over the course of his career, but I think Carvalho has the overall edge on the ground. The striking is close, with Grimaud having more of a kick heavy attack, while Carvalho prefers to get in a bit tighter. Where, and what range, this fight takes place at will likely determine the victor, but Carvalho has a couple of edges that have me leaning his way. Oddsmakers tend to agree, as the opening line at Several Bookmakers for this bout is -230 in favor of Carvalho (bet $230 to win $100) with the comeback +170 (bet $100 to win $170) on Grimaud. Unlike the headlining bout, the co-main event is quite a style clash. Che Mills (15-6-2) is recognizable to most based on his UFC run, but struggled at that level, and didn’t look particularly good in his return to Cage Warriors against the aforementioned Cathal Pendred. Mills relies primarily on his striking ability, which is solid although his ground work and wrestling can leave something to be desired. Those issues don’t usually present themselves on the regional level, but it is worrisome that Pendred was able to control Mills in that manner last time out. His opponent here, Faycal Hucin (9-3), would like to take advantage of those grappling deficiencies. Hucin has four submission and four decision victories amongst his nine wins, and if he is to pick up number ten it will have to be in the same manner, as Mills is the vastly superior striker. Right now, the odds say that Mills (-280) will be able to keep this one on the feet and make use of his striking. The comeback on Hucin is +180. In the bantamweight division, Ronnie Mann (22-6-1) looks to continue to rebound from his 3-3 run in Bellator. The challenge awaiting him this time around is Russian Marat Pekov (10-3). Pekov is a grappling specialist who has garnered eight submissions thus far in his MMA career. However, the Russian is not on the same level as some of the fighters we’ve seen make waves in UFC or Bellator competition, and his skillset matches up favorably for Mann to pick up another win here. While the Brit is often known for his technical striking he actually has a good submission game to accompany it. Really, Mann has nearly every advantage in this fight and there’s no reason he should be any lower than the -505 favorite he currently is. Pekov opened as a +335 underdog for those willing to back the Russian. The final bout with a betting line is between welterweights Jack Mason (24-12) and Vladimir Opanasenko (11-6). Mason is the betting favorite at -270, while the comeback on Opanasenkov is +190. What Mason needs to look out for in this bout is the Ukrainian’s submission game, which has claimed ten victims already in his career. This could be a concern for Mason, who — more than most British fighters — employs a grinding style. Since dropping down to welterweight Mason has enjoyed a size and strength advantage over most opponents and that should be true hereas well. As one of the longest tenured fighters in Cage Warriors, Mason needs a win here to keep himself relevant at 170lbs. Also on the MMA Junkie live stream is what should be a fun striking battle between Mohamed Ali (7-5) and Prince Aounallah (6-2). Nine of these fighters’ 12 career victories have come via (T)KO, and there doesn’t seem to be much reason to think that another won’t be added to one of their resumes. Kicking off the main card is a bout between one of the better French prospects in MMA, as Jean N’Doye (7-1) takes on Sergey Grochka (8-3). N’Doye will be making his fifth Cage Warriors appearance, and looks to keep moving up the featherweight ranks. Outside of his first career fight, all of N’Doye’s victories have come by stoppage, and he has been entertaining to watch to this point. Let’s see if that continues. Between the Cage Warriors Facebook page and MMAJunkie.com, the entirety of this event will be available to watch online. The card is in a rare Friday afternoon (or evening) timeslot, which means that the bouts will start at 12:15pm ET on Facebook before jumping to MMA Junkie at 2pm ET. A recap of the opening betting odds: ——————– Bruno Carvalho -230 Gael Grimaud +170 Che Mills -260 Faycal Hucin +180 Ronnie Mann -505 Marat Pekov +335 Jack Mason -270 Vladimir Opanasenko +190 ——————–
