Following on from the previous bout of barracking aimed at Dan Hardy when he was first scheduled to fight Chad Reiner in the US back in March, the news of the upcoming World Welterweight bout on April 19th has clearly spread back to the States where the latest round of insults have come verbally and pictorally in an attempt to unnerve the UK Welterweight.
Earlier this week, Reiner commented on the war of words and said' ‘I think Dan is a great opponent for me and I'm really excited to fight my first fight in Europe. I have only fought outside the U.S. once and that was in Canada, so I am looking forward to showing the European spectators my respect and discipline both inside and outside of the ring. I am hoping to put on a good show for everyone and it is only a loss to me, if I let the true fans down. I am a big believer in being truly humble and I'm totally averse to any trash talking - there is a difference between being cocky and having confidence. Some people have told me that Dan has talked trash about me, while others believe that I have talked bad about him - well, I can honestly say I have never talked trash about Dan or any other opponent. When I met Dan in Florida, he was totally respectful'.
Hardy responded 'When I met Chad in Florida, he was respectful and I have no bad feelings towards him personally but this Saturday night is strictly business. When someone steps into the cage with me they better be ready because I'm throwing everything with bad intentions and unfortunately he has some mouthy friends, so there will be a little extra venom in there for them too.'
Since the match was announced, there has been a war of words between the two camps, noticeably from the corners and friends of the fighters and this has led to Cage Warriors FC to take the extraordinary step of cancelling Hardy's scheduled fight with Mattias Awad in order to get this issue cleared up once and for all. To add to the excitement, the fight has now been set to run over 5 x 5 minute rounds in the bid for the vacant World Welterweight title on April 19th.
So. the stage is set for these two welterweight contenders to battle it out for the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship World Welterweight Belt at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre on Saturday April 19th. ‘The Harvey Hadden venue is perfect for Mixed Martial Arts Events as the greater Nottingham area has more martial arts gyms per head than anywhere else in the UK' commented Tony McDonagh, Commercial Director of Cage Warriors FC, ‘the overwhelming support from fans of the sport in this area will ensure we keep coming back to host fights and to support the array of gyms who are training aspiring fighters to take part in the sport. Demand is so great that we have even added an afternoon card for amateur Junior fighters to gain valuable experience inside the Cage and to show that MMA has been evolving into a recognized sport and not the ‘no-holds barred' spectacle it has been portrayed as in the past'
The event, titled Enter the Rough House 6 (so named after the Team Rough House/Bushido MMA Gym) will be hosting 12 bouts of premium MMA action featuring; Ian ‘M16' Butlin, ‘Judo' Jimmy Wallhead, Andre Winner, Dean Amasinger and many local favourites.
Guest VIP's at the event include the British Cruiserweight Champion, Mark Hobson who will be speaking about MMA along with UFC Fighter, Ross ‘The Gladiator' Pointon plus the 1st XV of Leicester Tigers RFC.
Standard seating tickets will be available on the door from 2.00pm on Saturday afternoon when Cage Warriors FC will be hosting a Junior MMA competition until the main event begins at 6.30pm.