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‘We’ll look to bring the big show here once or twice a year’ - Boylan says Cage Warriors could return to Colchester
Colchester's James Webb hits the floor after stopping Jason Radcliffe at Cage Warriors 99 in Colchester. Picture: BRETT KING - Credit: Archant
Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan says he hopes to bring the bright lights of Europe’s top MMA promotion back to the region – and revealed that Colchester’s James Webb is in line for a world title fight in 2019.
James Webb closes in to finish Jason Radcliffe at Cage Warriors 99 in Colchester. Picture: BRETT KING - Credit: Archant
Boylan, one of the most powerful people in the sport, was talking after the Cage Warriors 99 spectacular at the Charter Hall in Colchester on Saturday, the biggest MMA event ever held in the East of England, shown live on BT Sport.
It was headlined by a career-best performance from Webb, who stopped veteran slugger Jason Radcliffe in the first round of their middleweight clash, his fourth straight victory, which improved his record to 5-1.
And Boylan was impressed. He said: “You’ve got a local star in James Webb. Watching him over the past two fights, we thought this guy was one to keep an eye on, and with the middleweight division being a little bit thin at the moment, he could potentially next year be fighting for a world title on Cage Warriors.”
He added: “There’s not a lot of people in the middleweight division and he’s a shining star right now, he’s got a massive following, he’s just taken out a guy with five times more fights than him, and Jason Radcliffe is no easy guy to take out.
MORE: Cage Warriors 99 report - Local stars Webb and Aimable further title fight claims
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“So the fact that he’s taken him out, in the first round with a TKO, and James Webb is a submission guy, that gives us all the ammunition we need to build on that.”
James Webb savours his career-best win at Cage Warriors 99 in Colchester. Picture: BRETT KING - Credit: Archant
Boylan said the historic sell-out show was a great success and revealed that it likely won’t be long before Cage Warriors returns to the town, which has previously hosted Cage Warriors Academy South East events.
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“We work in regions where we have guys in those regions as it is,” he explained. “We have Richard Shore in Wales, Andy Ryan in Dublin, Paul Reed in Liverpool and we’ve got Jack Mason here, who’s building up Colchester.
“He’s built up the Academy here to the point where all the guys that fight on the Academy are now getting to the stage where they need to fight on the bigger shows, on the numbered shows and on the TV shows.
“Jack will continue to develop talent in Colchester and maybe we’ll look to bring the big show and the cameras here once or twice a year if posible.”
