Alers hopes Cage Warriors 53 win will have him following in McGregor's footsteps

Jim Alers saw what Conor McGregor did this past weekend in his UFC debut. And to no surprise, he wouldn’t turn a little of that down.

Alers (9-1) on Saturday fights Joni Salovaara (12-5) at Cage Warriors 53 for the promotion’s vacant featherweight title. It’s a title that was left behind by McGregor – along with the lightweight belt – when he signed with the UFC, then went through Marcus Brimage in 67 seconds at UFC on FUEL TV 9 this past Saturday.

Alers started his career with Cage Warriors with a couple Stateside fights, and ahead of Saturday’s event, which takes place at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow with a main card streaming live on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), he believes he’s in a good place.

“Right now, I feel like I’m riding a big high,” Alers told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s really good to be fighting for the Cage Warriors title. They were the first promotion I ever fought for, so it’s amazing to be fighting 10 fights later for their featherweight title. I’m really happy where I am right now.”

But not so good that he wouldn’t want a chance in the UFC, like McGregor got, even if he has a Cage Warriors belt.

The Florida-based Alers said he wants a few months in between fights so he can continue to evolve his MMA game beyond just being in shape for a fight and actually learn.

Part of that process while training for Salovaara included a trip to Duke Roufus’ gym in Milwaukee since his opponent is a strong kickboxer.

“He has more experience than I do, and he’s just all around pretty good,” Alers said. “He has wins on the ground, standing up, he’s been to decisions against tough, veteran guys. I’m just ready for anything. I’ve trained everywhere I can.”

Alers comes into the bout on a five-fight win streak, and seven of his nine wins have come on the ground with submissions. All nine of his wins are stoppages – just like McGregor.

Salovaara has eight of his 12 wins by finish. His slight advantage in experience would make for a solid victory for Alers – not to mention the title he’d hold right after McGregor held it.

And that combination, he believes, could have him on the same path McGregor took to the UFC.

“I want Conor to do good,” he said. “At no point am I going to say I want Conor to lose his fight, because he’s a good fighter. He’s a good guy, and I want Cage Warriors alumni to do good – it shows that there’s good talent there. It would mean the world and would really feel like my career is propelling in the right direction (if I win the title).

“Cage Warriors produces UFC fighters like Conor. I want to be the next one to get there.”

For more on Cage Warriors 53, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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