Just as they did back in June, Cage Warriors is putting together a double main card for their upcoming event. Cage Warriors 73 — from Newcastle, England — features 14 bouts in total, including 12 which will be streamed as part of the dual main cards on MMAJunkie.com. Each main card is headlined by a title bout, as lightweights Steven Ray and Curt Warburton meet for the third time to determine the Cage Warriors lightweight champion, while featherweights Alex Enlund and Nad Narimani will determine who succeeds Jim Alers as 145lb champion. UK stalwarts Ronnie Mann and Jim Wallhead are slotted in on the co-main event of the first and second cards, respectively. The event is also filled out with the usual assortment of veterans from the UK and European scenes, as well as some interesting prospects. In particular, a pair of flyweight bouts are very intriguing. Marcin Lasota will face Brett Caswell, while Shaj Haque takes on Damien Rooney. Lasota is an impressive looking 8-0 prospect from Poland, while Caswell and Haque both only have one blemish on their records. Rooney’s only losses in the last five years have come to now-UFC flyweights Paddy Holohan and Neil Seery. Whoever comes out victorious in those bouts will be primed to make a run at the flyweight title which was vacated when Seery signed with the UFC. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for eight bouts on Cage Warriors 73 today at Several Bookmakers. Check them out: ——————– MAIN CARD (MMAJunkie.com, 5pm ET) CWFC Lightweight Title Steven Ray -165 Curt Warburton +125 Jimmy Wallhead -305 Juan Manuel Suarez +225 Damien Rooney -160 Shaj Haque +120 Matt Inman -120 Lewis Long -120 Marcin Lasota -350 Brett Caswell +250 ——————– MAIN CARD (MMAJunkie, 2pm ET) CWFC Featherweight Title Alex Enlund -210 Nad Narimani +160 Ronnie Mann -425 Moktar Benkaci +305 Liam James -230 Dean Trueman +170 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Ray and Warburton’s bouts are always tough to call. The two are evenly matched, and their bouts have both been close. I think the difference is that Ray is still just 24 and clearly making improvements in his game at this point. Warburton is in his mid-30’s now, and I think he’s peaked as a fighter. I expect Ray to have the slight edge in the striking exchanges as he did in their last bout, but I think he’ll mix in a few more takedown attempts to make rounds a bit more clear. I doubt it will happen, but if I can get Ray as a dog again, I’ll take it. Juan Manuel Suarez is a tougher out than most people realize, but while his grappling was able to create some success against Danny Roberts recently, I think that Wallhead is a tougher test for him stylistically. Wallhead was actually getting the better of Roberts in their bout before the tide turned with one big shot, and I don’t think he’s at the stage of his career where he is unable to take punishment at all. Shaj Haque has always been underrated on the UK scene. His only loss came to a very talented wrestler in Paul Marin, but aside from that he’s been able to control most of his bouts. In fact, all of his pro bouts have gone to decision. This is a dangerous fight for him, as Damien Rooney has a good submission game, but I see Haque surviving. I’m still torn on who will actually have their hand raised, but if the line climbs (as it has in some European spots), Haque could be worth a play. Long and Inman are a pair of fun fighters to watch. Neither is particularly good defensively, but both bring solid offense to the cage. Inman is certainly capable of finding a hole in Long’s submission defense, but I believe that Long is able to win standing or on the ground here, so I have to lean his way. Marcin Lasota has a very, very impressive grappling game, and has also faced a higher level of competition than Brett Caswell. I definitely think he is able to get this to the ground and go to work, but I’m unsure if he manages to get a finish. I think he does, but Caswell is a talented and game fighter in his own right, I just see Lasota as one of the better prospects at 125 out there right now. Over five rounds, I’d be surprised if somebody doesn’t end up getting choked out in this featherweight title fight. Nine of Enlund and Narimani’s 17 combined victories have been by rear-naked choke, with an additional four coming via other submissions. In terms of the danger they present, I do think Narimani has more to worry about on the ground, but he’s also the better of the two strikers. If Enlund can drag it to the ground early, he should win, but the fact that he’s only gone past the first round once in his career is a bit worrisome if Narimani can drag this out. Still, my pick is Enlund. Ronnie Mann needs a win after he was completely dominated by Marcelo Costa in his last bout, and I think he gets it here but I’m not confident enough to play a wide line. Benkaci is taking a big step up in competition here, and he has lost when moving up to this sort of level in the past, but it’s hard to gauge what kind of improvements he’s made, and even though Mann is only 28 it seems like he’s on a decline already. Of the lines we’ve opened, I have the poorest read on James and Trueman, as I haven’t seen Trueman fight before. I’m not going to be playing this fight, but I lean towards James for the victory.
