Cage Warriors 62 adds seven bouts, but Brett Johns out of title fight with Brum

Cage Warriors 62 has taken seven steps forward, but a big step back.

Brett Johns (8-0) was set to put his bantamweight title on the line for the first time at next month’s Cage Warriors 62 event against James Brum (13-2). But promotion officials have announced that Johns has been forced out with an injury.

Cage Warriors is seeking a replacement for Brum, and in a statement said the hope is that Johns can defend his title in early 2014, presumably with Brum remaining in line with a victory over a to-be-announced opponent.

Cage Warriors 62 takes place Dec. 7 at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England. The main event is a flyweight title fight between champion Neil Seery and former UFC fighter Ulysses Gomez.

Johns won the bantamweight belt in a single-night, four-man tournament at Cage Warriors 59. He beat David Haggstrom in a three-round decision in the semifinals, then went five rounds to beat Jordan Desborough to claim the title.

Brum fought most recently at August’s Cage Warriors 58 event, where he scored an impressive first-round submission win over Ruslan Abiltarov. That pushed Brum’s winning streak to seven fights.

But the bright side is that the Cage Warriors 62 has added seven more fights to the bill.

Desborough (7-3) will look to rebound after his loss to Johns when he takes on Cory Tait (7-2), who recently signed an exclusive deal with Cage Warriors. Prior to his loss to Johns, Desborough had a three-fight winning streak. Tait will bring a three-fight streak of his own into the bout, all by stoppage. He has won five of his past six with three knockouts and two submissions.

In a middleweight bout, Leeroy Barnes (12-12) will try to snap a two-fight skid when he takes on Northern Ireland’s Ronan McKay (9-11), whose resume includes a win over Cathal Pendred. And also at 185 pounds, Steve Dinsdale (6-1) returns to the division after a stint at welterweight. He’s 1-1 in 2013, and will be looking to exit the year on a high note when he takes on Chris Scott (6-3), who will be looking for his first Cage Warriors win after back-to-back losses to Mats Nilsson and Pavel Kusch earlier this year.

Elsewhere, Alex Enlund (8-2) meets Danny Lawson (8-3) in a featherweight bout; Mark Connor (8-9) takes on Shaj Haque (3-1) at flyweight; and in women’s bantamweight action, Kerry Hughes (1-0) fights 18-year-old prospect Agnieszka Niedzwiedz (4-0), while judo standout Emma Delaney (0-0) takes on Laura Howarth (0-0), who currently is appearing on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

The latest Cage Warriors 62 card now includes:

• Neil Seery vs. Ulysses Gomez – for flyweight title
• James Brum vs. opponent TBA
• Ian Entwistle vs. Liam James
• Curt Warburton vs. TBA
• Jordan Desborough vs. Cory Tait
• Leeroy Barnes vs. Ronan McKay
• Steve Dinsdale vs. Chris Scott
• Alex Enlund vs. Danny Lawson
• Mark Connor vs. Shaj Haque
• Kerry Hughes vs. Agnieszka Niedzwiedz
• Emma Delaney vs. Laura Howarth

For more on Cage Warriors 62, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Brett Johns)