As Europe’s Leading MMA organisation for over two decades, it’s no surprise that Cage Warriors attracts athletes from some of the most successful teams in Europe, the UK and beyond.
Quickly establishing itself as one of the premier Mixed Martial Arts teams in Ireland, Dublin’s Team KF has some deep-rooted connections with Cage Warriors.
Head MMA coach Chris Fields is a former CW middleweight champion, having won the belt in the finals of an eight-man tournament back in 2012.
Fields went on to compete at a high level internationally for several years, before turning his hand to coaching the next generation of Cage Warriors stars.
The K in Team KF is 3rd-degree blackbelt Tom King, one of Europe’s leading Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners and the mastermind behind the gym’s grappling programme.
Another former CW champion, Cathal Pendred, is also a regular fixture in the corner of Team KF fighters, and with the likes of Irish WMMA pioneer Aisling Daly part of the coaching set up, it’s no surprise that Team KF have seen incredible success on Cage Warriors in recent years.
With CW 153 in Dublin just around the corner, Team KF have four athletes in action.
Undefeated Ryan Shelley (5-0) is set for the biggest fight of his career when he faces Swedish wrecking machine Tobias Harila in a bout that many are already pegging as a sure fire ‘Fight of the Night’ contender.
Ryan’s brother Adam (3-2) will also be in action on the April 29th bill, looking to maintain the momentum from his CW 145 victory over El Hadj N’Diaye.
Leon Hill made his short-notice professional debut at CW 116, dropping a spirited decision to Josh Onwardi. He returns to action after racking up four wins on the regional circuit, and according to Coach Fields, is set to show CW fans some incredible strides in his game.
Finally, CW 153 will play host to the Cage Warriors debut of highly regarded prospect Taka ‘The Cat’ Mhandu; a fighter tipped for future UFC stardom by many industry insiders.
Cage Warriors’ relationship with leading teams like Team KF has consistently allowed the promotion to platform some of MMA’s biggest stars, past, present, and future.