With the weeks counting down until Cage Warriors hits the Vertu Arena for CW 193, anticipation is building for a card stacked to the brim with action packed fights. Chief among them perhaps is a lightweight barn-burner pitting former lightweight champion George Hardwick against one of the division’s most prolific finishers, Jan ‘Q-Bomb’ Quaeyhaegens.
Tickets for CW 193 are availible here!
In a recent sit down with Cage Warriors resident Play-by-Play man Brad Wharton, the Belgian brawler discussed keeping that finishing streak alive, the pressures of being the away fighter and why he’s not looking past September 13th!
With 12 wins to his name, Quaeyhaegens has proven himself to be one of the 155lb division’s most dependable assets when it comes to finishing fights. But with a consistently high level of opponent, is there ever a consideration with putting the finishes on the backburner?
“Never. I don’t expect it to go the distance. I don’t think George has ever been finished, right? But I hope to be the first. I’ve finished guys that were never finished before. That’s what I do, I only have one speed: I go as hard as I can towards the finish. Whether its a three round fight, a five round fight, whether I’m winning or losing, I look for the finish. That’s just my style, and I don’t think I can change it!”
With George Hardwick coming into the contest on the back of a crazy five-rounder against Samuel Silva back in March, ‘Q-Bomb’ was quick to give his thoughts on the contest and whether or not he’d spotted any particular takeaways.
“It was a great fight, I loved watching it. A close fight…I know George is a skilled fighter, Samuel Silvia is obviously as well. I like both their fighting styles and I have nothing bad to say about any of them. I certainly see things that Samuel exploited, I see things that I can exploit, and that’s what we’re going to do on the 13th!”
There are no two ways about it, Quaeyhaegens will be walking into the lion’s den on September 13th. Hardwick hasn’t competed this close to home for many, many years, and given the reception brother Harry received in his two headline bouts at the Vertu Arena, the Belgian will be walking into a wall of sound when he steps out from behind the curtain.
It’s nothing new for him though, in fact, he’s grown to relish the sensation.
“I like it!” he said. “I had those two fights a lot of years back in Antwerp that was obviously nice having all my people there, but now, all these Cage Warriors days are going on a trip with my corner, locking in for the fight. Sometimes the fans boo me and they don’t want me to win, but I don’t mind.”
That’s not to say that he’ll let his guard down completely, particular following his encounter with another home town favourite, Ireland’s Paul Hughes.
“I think maybe in the Paul Hughes fight it got to me a little bit I must admit. Mainly because I felt really unprepared for that fight. I amped myself up too much because I didn’t feel really confident going in there. But lessons learned, I made a good comeback in the next fight. Maybe had a rocky year as far as injuries and cancelations, but I feel extremely ready now.”
“They won’t like me before the fight but I think me and George are going to put on a show. We’re both hard fighters, we come to fight, not to win on points, and I think the Newcastle crowd is going to enjoy that. Win or lose, they’ll be cheering after!”
While there are innumerable potential outcomes once the cage door closes, one thing is for sure…by the time it opens again, the man with his hand raised will be at the front of a very long line of lightweight title challengers.
Given the high stakes, is a future title opportunity something on the mood board for the Belgian?
“Yeah sure. But honestly, I’m really not worrying about anything else after this fight. Just the 13th of September, I put it all on the line, I finish George and then whatever happens, happens. I’ve tried to map out my career for years and it always changes. We can have the best fight of the year, I could get the craziest finish of the year and fucking, break my hand on his head by knocking him out and everything changes. So I’ll see whatever comes next. Contender Series, title, another big fight, another big name, something that excites me, and we’ll go from there. But now, it’s only focused on the 13th of September. In my MMA career, I don’t look further than that date.”
It’s been a tough 18 months for the Q-Bomb, with injuries and circumstances beyond his control keeping him out of the cage. But now that he has a date, and opponent and a goal set in stone, he’s back to enjoying the process.
“I was very frustrated after the last cancelation, obviously a lot of frustration there. Took some time off, then I got the offer seventeen weeks out to fight George, a fight that I’ve wanted for years now. It really excites me, having sixteen, seventeen weeks to prepare. I’m feeling really confident, I’m really happy I got that time to prepare. I have a nice date set, a nice opponent…I’m ready to go!”
Jan Quaeyhaegens takes on George Hardwick at Cage Warriors 193 on Saturday, September 13th. Tickets are availible here. The event airs live on UFC Fight Pass and international broadcast partners.