Cage Warriors adds six fighters to roster ahead of 2014 debut

Following its busy 2013, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship has added six more fighters to its roster.

Promotion officials recently announced five-fight exclusive contracts for Paul Marin, Toni Tauru, Martin Svensson, Martin Sheridan, Aaron Blackwell and Ronan McKay that will keep them working for the company for the next 18 months.

After putting on 14 events this past year, its busiest stretch on the calendar yet, the promotion will return on Feb. 15 for Cage Warriors 64 at The Forum in London. That show includes James Pennington vs. Cory Tait, David Lee vs. Nad Narimani and Spencer Hewitt vs. Scott Pooley.

Marin (7-3), from Romania, started his Cage Warriors career with back-to-back losses to Paul McVeigh and current flyweight champion Neil Seery in 2013. But he rebounded for wins over Shaj Haque and Hewitt, the latter coming in the first round at Cage Warriors 61 in December.

“Signing with the biggest show in Europe was a huge goal for me in 2013,” Marin stated. “I worked hard to achieve it and I’m very happy to have succeeded. My next goal is to be a contender for the CWFC flyweight belt, and I’ll do everything I can to get to that stage.”

Tauru (8-1-1), from Finland, joins has won seven straight fights, including five straight by submission. His only career loss came against former Cage Warriors title challenger Mikael Silander in 2011. In November, he submitted “TUF 18? hopeful Emil Hartsner with a first-round gogoplata.

Svensson (12-5) lost back-to-back fights to close out his 2013 campaign, including a title fight against featherweight champion Jim Alers at Cage Warriors 59 in September. Svensson took Alers the distance for the first time in his career, but came out short on a unanimous decision.

“Jim Alers, we’re not done with each other yet,” Svensson stated. “Keep the belt safe, because I’m coming back for it. I won’t rest until I have that belt and I’ll bring pain to any featherweight who stands in my way.”

Ireland’s Sheridan (7-4) picked up a big featherweight knockout of Jordan Desborough at Cage Warriors 62 in December. That got him back on track after a stretch that saw him drop three of four fights. The short-notice fight against former title challenger Desborough was his Cage Warriors debut.

Blackwell (12-9-1), who hails from London, returned to the sport in 2013 after a two-year layoff. The bantamweight won both his fights in 2013, including a split-decision win over Kris Edwards at Cage Warriors 60 to make him 2-0 under the promotion’s banner. He has won four straight fights.

McKay (10-11), a middleweight from Northern Ireland, has been on a nice surge compared to how his pro career started. He dropped six of his first seven fights. But since then, he has gone 9-5, including three straight stoppage wins. He made his promotional debut in December and stopped Leeroy Barnes with a first-round knockout at Cage Warriors 62. His resume also includes wins over Cage Warriors welterweight champion Cathal Pendred and Lee Chadwick.

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

(Pictured: Paul Marin)