Having moved up to the 185lb division, former UFC welterweight Che Mills (pictured) will meet veteran of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes series Valentino Petrescu, in a middleweight contest when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returns to Cardiff next month.
Cage Warriors 59, which will also see the CWFC bantamweight and featherweight titles up for grabs, is set to take place at the Welsh capital’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, 14 September, 2013.
Having signed an exclusive 4-fight deal with Cage Warriors, Mills (15-6-0-2) makes the move to middleweight following a loss to CWFC welterweight champion Cathal Pendred at Cage Warriors 55 in Dublin this past June.
“Cardiff is one of my favourite places so I can’t wait to fight there,” said Mills. “After my last performance, I’ll be looking to prove a point by putting on a show.”
In contrast, Petrescu (12-3) has picked up seven of his 12 wins via first-round stoppage, with his only losses coming at the hands of highly-regarded opposition such as UFC lightweight Jimi Manuwa, Beslan Isaev and Lee Chadwick.
Petrescu said: “This one will make for an exciting fight because myself and Mills are both fighters who bring it. The fans in Cardiff will definitely be getting their money’s worth.”
Furthermore, with both fighters having overcome recent injuries, a lightweight tussle between Tommy Maguire, brother of UFC contender John Maguire, and home favourite Lewis Long will also feature on the Cage Warriors 59 bill, in a meeting of two of the UK’s most exciting lightweights.
After an impressive win against Mark Glover at Cage Warriors 54 in Cardiff back in May, an injury forced Long (7-2) to withdraw from a scheduled meeting with Saul Rogers at Liverpool’s Cage Warriors 57 last month.
Maguire (14-5), who appeared on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, had to postpone his CWFC debut against Merv Mulholland at Cage Warriors 52 in London last March after he also sustained an injury.
Also on the card, Welsh pair Jamie Rogers (9-6) and Owain Parry (3-1) will face off in a lightweight bout, while bantamweights Timur Mercanoglu (3-0) and Jordan Desborough (6-2) will also collide.
