(London, United Kingdom | Tuesday, September 9, 2014) – An exciting flyweight bout has been added to the bill for Cage Warriors 73, which is set for the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.
Taking place on Saturday, November 1, 2014, Cage Warriors 73 will be headlined by a CWFC lightweight world title bout between defending champion Stevie Ray and challenger Curt Warburton.
The event will see Europe’s leading MMA promotion return to Newcastle for the first time since last December, when the same arena played host to CWFC 62, which saw Shaj Haque pick up his third Cage Warriors victory.
Haque (5-1), a Newcastle native, will once again have the backing of the home support when he welcomes Damien Rooney to the CWFC flyweight division.
Twenty-three year-old Haque signed an exclusive Cage Warriors deal last year after securing impressive wins over Olly Battell and Kris Edwards.
Having emerged on the wrong side of a decision against Paul Marin last October to taste defeat for the first time in his career, Haque rebounded with two more big wins against Mark Connor and Martin McDonough.
Rooney has been campaigning in recent months for a meeting with Haque, who holds more victories than any other flyweight currently on the CWFC roster.
Looking ahead to November’s bout, Haque said: “This is the first time someone has actively asked to fight me, which makes it interesting and reassures me that I’m moving in the right direction.
“Rooney is a good bantamweight and is quite big at that weight, so I’m not sure why he’s going to flyweight, but I’ve beaten bigger guys who have dropped down a division before, so I guess I’ll just have to do it again.”
Rooney (10-3-1) will be aiming for his third consecutive win when he takes on Haque, having overcome Alan Philpott and Bryan Creighton in his two most recent outings.
A 30-year-old Irishman, Rooney is currently ranked as one of Europe’s top ten bantamweights, but moves to flyweight for the first time on November 1, having beaten Creighton this past March in a 130lbs catchweight bout.
Rooney, who has taken nine of his ten wins by stoppage, has been defeated just twice – at the hands of current UFC flyweights Paddy Holohan and Neil Seery – in his last ten bouts.
He said: “I wanted a top opponent next and I’ve got one. Now it’s time to show people why I’m Cage Warriors Fighting Championship’s best flyweight and earn myself a shot at that vacant world title.”
Meanwhile, a middleweight bout has also been booked for CWFC 73, where Chris Scott and Leeroy Barnes will both be looking to return to winning ways following their respective defeats to Pavel Kusch and Che Mills last time out.
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