With most MMA promotions choosing to run their events on Friday this week, Cage Warriors Fighting Championships will have Saturday all to its lonesome as CWFC 67 takes place from Swansea, Wales. Despite some mishaps at the weigh-ins the organization’s bantamweight title will still be on the line for one of the main event competitors. Reigning Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Brett Johns (9-0) ended up weighing in at 137lbs for his first title defense against James Brum (14-2) and was stripped of his belt as a result. The bout will still be scheduled for five rounds, and Brum has the opportunity to earn the title with a win, but Johns finds himself in a very unenviable spot as a result of those two extra pounds. Back in September 2013, Johns won the title by fighting eight rounds in one-night to win the bantamweight tournament to crown a new champion. Both fights were extremely competitive, but Johns did enough, primarily with his control, to get his hand raised each time. That won’t be such an easy task against Brum who may actually be the better wrestler here, and is riding an eight-fight winning streak (including a 7-0 record in Cage Warriors) into this bout. Each of these men is accustomed to going the distance regularly, so don’t be shocked if this turns into a competitive 25-minute affair. The co-main event features another fighter who was involved in one of Cage Warriors’ recent tournaments. Sean Carter (8-1) was the runner-up in last October’s lightweight tournament, losing in the final to Steven Ray. He bounced back with a submission victory on the New Years Eve card, and will look to add his seventh career sub when he steps in with Mario Saeed (5-1) who is making his Cage Warriors debut. Another intriguing bout on this card is in the flweight division, as Martin McDonough (11-4) makes his debut at 125lbs against Shaj Haque (4-1). McDonough has earned all of his professional victories by stoppage, including a win over top Cage Warriors featherweight prospect Alex Enlund. Haque has fought all but one of his professional bouts under the CWFC banner, and has gone to decision in all of his pro bouts, so this should be an interesting clash of styles. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for these three Cage Warriors 67 bouts at Several Bookmakers today. Check them out: ——————– MAIN CARD (MMAJunkie.com, 4pm ET) Cage Warriors Bantamweight Title Brett Johns -140 James Brum +100 Sean Carter -280 Mario Saeed +200 Martin McDonough -350 Shaj Haque +250 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Brett Johns missing weight definitely changes the dynamic of this fight. Where will his head be at? Where will his cardio be at? James Brum will still have the motivation of the belt on the line, and perhaps a bit of animosity towards Johns for missing weight. Even before those factors came into play, I liked Brum in this fight. I think the bantamweight tournament field was relatively weak when Johns earned the title, and Brum is a significant step up from the fighters Johns faced (and was very competitive against) that day. Brum should be able to control the grappling in this one, and I do expect the fight to go to decision. Many bettors will probably be unaware of Johns’ weight issues, so the line movement may not reflect that and there could be some additional value on Brum as a result. I didn’t think much of Sean Carter up until late last year, but he impressed me in the lightweight tournament and his NYE fight. He doesn’t seem like he’s particularly proficient with his grappling, but it gets the job done and I expect it to again here. I haven’t seen as much of Saeed as I’d like in order to bet this fight, but he seems like he’ll be willing to engage in grappling exchanges but will be a step behind Carter in them. Martin McDonough is definitely the more dynamic of the two fighters in this flyweight bout, and I think he’ll be able to earn another stoppage against Shaj Haque. Haque normally drags fights into the later rounds, but against a bigger fighter (McDonough has previously fought at 135 and 145) who is both a better striker and a better grappler, I’m just not sure where he goes in this fight to find his way to victory.
