The London, England headquartered Cage Warriors Fighting Championship was founded by Dougie Truman in 2001. Rosi Sexton was on the first card. She had her last fight for CWFC too, vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk’s next fight was in the UFC. Other notable CWFC vets include Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, and some new guy named Conor McGregor.
CWFC was acquired by Irishman Graham Boylan in 2010. Boylan accurately described the brand at the time as “dead.” It consisted of three cardboard boxes, and matchmaker Ian Dean. Two of the boxes were thrown away. Boylan then took it to great heights with 2014 featuring 197 signed athletes, in 13 events, across 5 countries.
The league was widely described as the most successful in Europe and was indispensable in the growth of MMA in Ireland. All seven Irish fighters in the UFC are CWFC vets or were contracted with the promotion.
And now he is stepping down.
He informed the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship board of his decision yesterday, following a meeting to map out the promotion’s schedule of events for 2015.
It’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life so I have stepped down as CEO of Cage Warriors, but I’m very proud of what we achieved in the last four years, Boylan revealed exclusively to The42.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time as CEO of a brilliant promotion. My team and I established the number one mixed martial arts organization in Europe, and I’m very thankful to every single person who played a part.
The departure of the Leeside native represents a significant blow to the European MMA scene, and particularly in Ireland. After assuming control of Cage Warriors, the London-based businessman made the growth of Irish MMA one of his priorities.
Cage Warriors is a brilliant organisation said Conor McGregor in an interview last year. They’re doing great things for European MMA and they’re giving the platform for guys like me who came through. They’re vital. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I got.
As for his future plans, Boylan says he will continue to have a degree of involvement in MMA. He’s currently managing fighters like Donegal’s Joseph Duffy, who’ll make his UFC debut in Dallas next month.
Boylan said: Joseph can go right to the top. The UFC understand his potential and they’re excited by the fact that he was the last person to beat Conor McGregor. In the short term, I am focusing on helping Joseph and my other fighters to develop their careers, along with my other business interests.
As for another promotion? Maybe, and there are certainly some interesting conversations going on about how to further the growth of the sport in Europe. I may play a role in that too.
I understand that my resignation will come as a surprise to fans, as it has to the board, but I know Cage Warriors will continue to do great things but it’s obviously important that the board is given time to find a successor and get the show back on the road.”
