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5 Cage Warriors Signings To Watch in 2024

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During the final half of 2023 Europe’s leading promotion Cage Warriors, consolidated their roster with a strong line-up of upcoming talent to develop for the coming year. Now 2024 is upon us & the excitement has kicked in, as fans become eager to see the new signees in action.

With Cage Warriors looking to hit the year running, announcing several events already, we take a look at five of the promotions latest signings & how they may fare going forward in the famous yellow gloves.

Keir Harvie (6-3-2) – Bantamweight

At just 25 years of age, Scotlands own Keir Harvie has been a known name on the European & international scene for a while now having previously featured on South African promotion EFC three times & also an appearance Bellator back in May last year.

Harvie secured his call up to Cage Warriors after knocking out Martin Fouda in the first minute of their bout on Caestus MMA with a well timed head kick to put the veteran to sleep. This won’t be the Scotsman’s first rodeo in the famous yellow gloves either, after previously scoring an impressive first round submission win over Manny Akpan at CW 123 back in 2021 & you can guarantee he’ll be looking for more of the same when he enters the hotly contested Bantamweight division this year. 

Cage Warriors revealed late last year that they would be returning to Glasgow in April with CW 171, making this the most obvious date for Harvie to feature with the promotion. Regardless if that does or doesn’t happen, expect the Higher Level MMA prospect to make a statement & shake up the already stacked 135lbs division when he makes his return.

Tommy Hawthorn (5-1) – Lightweight

With over 10 years experience in Boxing & a British wrestling championship to his name, Asylum Vale Tudo’s own Tommy Hawthorn is swiftly becoming one of the UK’s most dangerous finishers after making an immediate impact on the UK regional scene.

The son of legendary coach Jimmy Hawthorn, Tommy made his start in MMA a lot later than others only debuting in 2022 after focusing on wrestling & boxing prior.

Despite the late career start Hawthorn has been active! Fighting four times in 2023, going 3-1 throughout with all his victories coming by way of finish. This includes a pair of highlight reel knockouts which opened & closed the year for the prospect.  From watching his fights you can see Hawthorn has a high level of striking & utilises it better than most when in action.

A magician when it comes to timing his counters, ferocious when it comes to applying pressure to force the grappling exchanges, there’s really not much Hawthorn can’t do when the cage door closes which is extremely impressive for the level of MMA experience he has in comparison to other athletes. An exciting signing to the lightweight division, Tommy Hawthorn has a bright future ahead of him, one which could include Cage Warriors gold if he continues to improve at the rate he already is. Training out of Leeds, I’d really like to see Hawthorn make his debut on one of the upcoming Manchester cards.

Alexandros Moumtzis (7-0) – Featherweight

When there’s something strange in your neighbourhood you shouldn’t call Venkman, Ray or Egon, oh no… the only “Ghostbuster” you need is the undefeated featherweight, Alexandros Moumtiz!

We saw the Greek MMA scene take Europe by storm following Giannis Bachar’s title winning victory over Omiel Brown at CW 163 & Moumtiz will be hoping he can create more of the same hype when he makes his debut in 2024. With seven victories to his name, Moumtiz has shown he is a capable opponent with prowess in both the striking & grappling departments which have led him to go on this undefeated run & earn two finishes along the way.

Having competed a lot on the Italian regional scene in the past, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Alexandros make his promotional debut on an upcoming Rome card. It would also make sense for him to feature on the same card as Giannis Bachar when he eventually returns but regardless, Moumtiz is a welcome addition to the stacked featherweight division & with nothing set in stone at the top of the division, we could be all set for yet another Greek upset this year.

Tom Burton (2-0) – Middleweight

Perhaps one of the most underrated talents active on the UK scene currently, Tom Burton is an incredibly well rounded athlete training out of HAMMA & The Warfare Academy & could very well be be one of the most exciting prospects that Cage Warriors have signed to their roster in the back end of last year.

Making his pro debut in July of last year, Burton made quick work of his opponent, finishing him within a minute of the first round before going on to earn yet another first round finish at FCC 36 in December of 2023. These performances were dominating & impressive, captivating fans watching & wanting more.

With Cage Warriors signing & eyeing middleweight talent up & down the country, an interesting fight I’d like to see made would be Tom Burton versus Joe Middleton. As both athletes are fresh additions to the promotions I can’t see this fight being made immediately but should definitely be one fans look forward to in the future.

Tommy Brunning (5-0am) – Bantamweight/Featherweight 

You know Big tings ah gwarn when 26 year old Tommy Brunning enters the cage! “Big Tings” is no stranger to the yellow gloves having made a name for himself on the UK scene going unbeaten as an amateur in the Bantamweight & Featherweight divisions on Cage Warriors Academy: South- East.

Impressing in his final fight of 2023, he proved his worth in a thrilling fight against Benoit Prigent, one of Frances most touted talents, to become Cage Warriors Academy champ-champ. This in turn sealed the deal for the young athlete to graduate from the amateur ranks into the pro leagues of the main promotional banner.

With big performances already in the bag in both the Bantamweight & Featherweight divisions, it will be interesting to see at which weight Brunning decides to compete in when he eventually makes his promotional debut. With both divisions being amongst Cage Warriors most stacked, “Big Tings” won’t be short of competition & won’t be delayed on his path to promotional gold! This is an athlete you will want to keep your eyes on.