Scotland’s own Reece McEwan will face former UFC Bantamweight Cameron Else at Cage Warriors 171.
The event will mark the promotion’s highly anticipated return to Scottish shores when they descend on the Braehead Arena on April 20th.
After a meteoric rise through the Cage Warriors Bantamweight division over the space of 15 months. In his promotional debut, he beat Sam Spencer in a thoroughly entertaining contest, tying up a rear naked choke late in the third round.
Wins against an inform Kingsley Crawford and Teodoro Scolieri later that same year, propelled him further towards the upper echelons of the 135lbs division.
McEwan was then scheduled to face Daan Duijs at Cage Warriors 152 but the Scotsman was forced to withdraw from the contest with a nasty staph infection. Once healed, he was straight back to it against Leonardo de Oliveira at Cage Warriors 156. A victory over the Brazilian appeared to all but confirmed McEwan would fight for the belt next.
And that he did, against Liam Gittins for the vacant Bantamweight title at Cage Warriors 164. After sustaining two incredibly nasty cuts in the first round, McEwan battled valiantly over the duration of the next four rounds but it was not enough and Gittins was crowned the new king at 135lbs.
McEwan’s loyal fan base have followed him around the UK ever since he joined the professional ranks and will no doubt look to create a hostile environment for the travelling Else as he enters the in attendance at the Braehead Arena, a venue that is closer to his home than the Griphouse, the gym he represents. He said:
"I’m going to bring an army to the Braehead Arena on April 20th. I want this night to go down in Cage Warriors history and I’m preparing to put on the performance of my life!
"Cameron Else is a great opponent. He is a UFC veteran, with a great resume. A win over him puts me right back into title contention and prove I’m one of the best bantamweights in Europe!"
Else returns to Cage Warriors 6 years after his last outing for the promotion. 2024 will mark the vastly experienced athlete’s 12th year as a professional in a career which has witnessed ‘Camchida’ beat some notable names, not least under the Cage Warriors Banner, and compete for some of the biggest global organisations.
Having made his debut in 2012, Else’s first showing with Cage Warriors came at Cage Warriors 60, where he met a 4-0-0 Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett. Else became the first man to beat Pimblett, submitting him in the very first round. He then fought once more at Cage Warriors 64 and lost to Spencer Hewitt before spells with BAMMA and Bellator.
A six fight win streak led to Else catching the eye of the UFC, signing with them in 2020. In his opening bout, he faced Kyler Phillips at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Aldana but came up short, getting stopped in the second round.
It would be two years before fans would see Else enter the octagon again, when he came up against Aoriqileng. Once again ‘Camchida’ was stopped and with that, parted ways with the UFC.
He was originally meant to return to Cage Warriors last year in a bout against Nathan Fletcher but the contest did not go ahead.
McEwan vs Else marks the first official announcement for the Cage Warriors 171 card. The promotion currently have a huge pool of Scottish talent signed, with the likes of Chris Bungard, Sean Clancy Jr and Keir Harvie all likely to also feature.
