Headquarters London, United Kingdom Founded 2001 | Founder Dougie Truman Type of business Private | |
 | ||
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion Key people Graham Boylan
(Owner/President)
Casimir Knight
(CEO)
Ian Dean
(Matchmaker) Profiles | ||
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship or CWFC is a mixed martial arts promotion, based in London. Cage Warriors was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Currently it has scheduled events in Chechnya, Baghdad and Beirut.
Contents
Many of the biggest stars in MMA have made their names under the Cage Warriors banner, including Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping. CWFC are one of the few top promotions to take their events abroad, travelling throughout countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East. CWFC staged 26 events across 12 different countries in 2012 and 2013.
History
Cage Warriors was founded by Dougie Truman back in 2001, the first event titled 'Armageddon', at which notable fighters like Jean Silva, Rosi Sexton, Matt Ewin and Paul Jenkins were victorious, was staged on July 27 of that year.
Irishman Graham Boylan assumed control of Cage Warriors in 2010 and has successfully set about returning the promotion to the forefront of MMA in Europe, as well as expanding internationally with shows in Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Bahrain. The Cage Warriors head office is located in London.
On October 25, 2012, it was announced that, along with Ultimate Challenge MMA and BAMMA, Cage Warriors have united with The Centre of Health and Human Performance in London to launch SAFE MMA, a non-profit organization established to improve the safety of MMA fighters in the U.K. Chief among the organization's plans is a centralized and confidential database for fighter medical records. SAFE MMA, which officially launches Jan. 1 2013, also will provide affordable, standardized blood and medical tests for all registered fighters, as well as advice from leading world experts in sports medicine, according to today's announcement.
Broadcast deals
Cage Warriors Events to be Streamed Live on UFC Fight Pass
All Cage Warriors events were streamed live worldwide on MMAjunkie.com and CageWarriors.tv, and televised live via:
Premier Sports | United Kingdom
Setanta Sports | Ireland
Fight Now TV | USA
Fight Network | Canada, Portugal, Turkey, Angola, Mozambique
Setanta Africa | Africa
FightKlub | Poland
Viasat Sport | Sweden
Rules
Cage Warriors' rules are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that were originally established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and modified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. These rules have been adopted across the US in other states that regulate mixed martial arts. As a result, they have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the US and for cage-based MMA worldwide.
All Cage Warriors fights are contested over three, five-minute rounds, with the exception of five-round championship bouts. There is a one-minute rest period in-between rounds. As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Cage Warriors only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. The referee has the right to stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position nor working toward one) after a verbal warning.
Match outcome
Matches usually end via:
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.
Judging criteria
The ten-point must system is used for all Cage Warriors fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. The decision is announced at the end of the match but the judge's scorecards are not announced.
Fouls
The following are considered fouls in Cage Warriors:
- Butting with the head.
- Eye gouging of any kind.
- Biting.
- Hair pulling.
- Fish hooking.
- Groin attacks of any kind.
- Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent. (see Gouging)
- Small joint manipulation.
- Striking to the spine or the back of the head. (see Rabbit punch)
- Striking downward using the point of the elbow. (see Elbow (strike))
- Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
- Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
- Grabbing the clavicle.
- Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
- Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
- Stomping a grounded opponent.
- Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
- Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. (see piledriver (professional wrestling))
- Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
- Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
- Spitting at an opponent.
- Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
- Holding the ropes or the fence.
- Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
- Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
- Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
- Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
- Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
- Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
- Interference by the corner.
- Throwing in the towel during competition.
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.