Cage Warriors 59 hosts single-night bantamweight tournament for vacant title

Cage Warriors is hosting a single-night, four-man bantamweight tournament that will award the winner the organization’s vacant title.

Officials today announced the tourney, which takes place Sept. 14 as part of Cage Warriors 59 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

The main card, which includes the tournament final, streams live on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The prelims, which feature the two semifinal-round fights (as well as a to-be-announced reserve bout), stream on Facebook.

The tourney’s opening-round competitors include England’s James Pennington (7-1), Sweden’s David Haggstrom (7-1-1), and Welsh fighters Martin McDonough (11-4) and Brett Johns (7-0). The total combined record of the participants is a healthy 32-6-1.

Paul McVeigh vacated the title this past year with his move to flyweight.

Pennington recently rebounded from his first career loss and scored a submission victory over James Doolan during his promotional debut at Cage Warriors 53. He looks for his seventh submission win in eight career wins.

Haggstrom, a striker, enters Cage Warriors on the strength of a three-fight win streak and five victories in his past six fights.

McDonough, the tourney’s most experienced fighter, is on a four-fight win streak that includes submission wins over Cage Warriors’ Dino Gambatesa, Alex Enlund and Mark Platts.

Countryman Johns has a perfect record that includes a pair of wins (over Sam Gilbert and James MacAlister) under the Cage Warriors banner.

For more on Cage Warriors 59, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Martin McDonough)