Cage Warriors 138 Preview; Team KF’s Webb vs Aliu

Night 2 of the Cage Warriors double trouble event in Colchester goes down on Saturday night. This time it’s in front of a paying audience for Cage Warriors 138. There will be 6 fights on deck on the night.

The Irish interest on the night will be James Webb (8-3-1). Whilst he trains predominantly out of Team KF in Swords, he’s a Colchester man. Himself and his partner run a business in the town. Webb is the team captain for Team KF. He’s a great grappler. The one knock on him in previous times was adding damage to the dominance, which Chris Fields has been working hard with James in this regard. Webb is coming off a loss and is looking to show the hometown crowd why CW is in Colchester in the first place. Italy’s Leon Aliu (9-1) is here to spoil the party as he gets his first shot at a major European promotion. He’s got a nice guillotine and can cause damage on the feet. He provides a decent matchup for Webb.

Luke Shanks (9-3) is a man in purgatory in the flyweight division after beating champ Sam Creasey (albeit missing weight and not winning the belt). He’ll Jump up 10lbs to face Cage Warriors most exciting fighter Josh Reed (12-6). Shanks started his career by showing his submission prowess. In his title challenging years, he’s been showing a bit more danger on the feet and getting some knockouts. Reed can compete in any realm. If he can get on the front foot, he can do it all. If he’s on the back step, he’s in trouble. Big opportunity for Reed to take a scalp.

Tom Mearns (8-7) is a CW mainstay. He’s on a two fight win streak after dropping five on the bounce. He’s a grinder that’s always going to be in close fights. He’ll face Orlando Wilson Prins (3-0). The Dutch prodigy has shown to be a slick submission specialist thus far with an armbar and a couple of rear naked choke wins on his resume.

Oban Elliott (4-2) has been a man struggling to find a place for himself. He’s a Shore MMA prospect so that means his BJJ and striking will be well mixed. He has the skills, he just needs to find the confidence to push it through. He’ll take on a Lithuanian prospect in Herkus Lukošiūnas. He fights out of Kaunas and he’s an all action fighter who’s never seen the second round. KO, submission, he’s got his opponents out of there within 260 seconds.

Scott Pedersen (1-3) is another good fighter on the card. His record doesn’t represent his talent. He’s fought elite talent for his level fight after fight. He’s a good allrounder and a Shore MMA guy. George Tanasa (2-2) is a Romanian fighter who’s training out of Colchester. He was born near the Moldovan border in Iași. He’s a Cage Warriors Academy graduate and he’s a decent kickboxer. He also has a sneaky armbar in his arsenal.

Connor Hignett (9-7) isn’t called the “Hand Grenade” for nothing. He’s an absolute explosive object in the striking realms and he has a nice back take for rear naked chokes. Michelangelo Lupoli (5-2) is one of those Italians looking to smash the door down. He’s tough and gritty and is a hard man to get out of there. He looks to grind on his opponents and drain their energy.

Cage Warriors 138 will be live on Saturday night. The card starts at 20:30 and is live and exclusive on UFC Fight Pass.

Seán Denny is a Dublin man who writes mostly on the European scene, with a keen interest in the Irish, UK and Polish scenes in particular. Follow me on Twitter at @DennyRants.

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